Few SLI questions

[daninthemix]

So I have a GTX570. Am thinking about maybe getting another one. Few questions:

- Will a Corsair 650W PSU be sufficient?
- Are there many games that exhibit problems in SLI?
- Are there many games that don't benefit from SLI?
- How much extra noise do you think I will notice (if any)?

Thanks!

 

[w3bbo]

So I have a GTX570. Am thinking about maybe getting another one. Few questions:

- Will a Corsair 650W PSU be sufficient?
- Are there many games that exhibit problems in SLI?
- Are there many games that don't benefit from SLI?
- How much extra noise do you think I will notice (if any)?

Thanks!

Doubtful
No
Some don't show much benefit but most do.
More noise, not so much louder but more 'dense' if that makes sense. Basicly you will have two cards making the same amount of noise.

 

[setter]

A 650w wouldnt be enough, id be looking at an 800w minimum for sli'd 570's, fan noise isnt to bad if you set a custom fan profile.

 

[cmndr_andi]

+1

A corsair 650W is a nice PSU, but not enough to supply two rather power hungry cards like the GTX 570.

This review gives you an idea of how SLI performance affects a wide range of games. These days most games see a significant performance increase with SLI cards.

As for extra noise, it really depends on your case, motherboard slot spacing and general airflow to the cards. As setter mentions, it is a good idea to set a custom fan profile once you have them set up and you see how hot the cards get under load.

 

[Blue160]

I've been running GTX 460's in SLI for three months now, and it's pretty good. Make sure you use cards with good coolers, and that you have good airflow in your case. I was amazed how much temperatures increased with two cards. Higher temperatures obviously mean more noise, and mine was pretty unbearable till I replaced the cooler on the top card.

In most games the performance increase is fantastic. I can now max just about any game at really smooth framerates. With two 570's performance should be epic. You do get the very occasional game that doesn't like SLI, but it's only a couple of mouse clicks to temporarily disable it.

You will need a beefier PSU though. Have a look on the Nvidia website at what PSU's they recommend for 570 SLI. That will give you a idea of how much power you need.

 

[a giant fox]

Running GTX470 SLI for about a month now, really good, only gme had issues was Crysis, will not work with SLI but don't mind as a single overclocked 470 will max out setting anyway.

Been playing just cause 2 and red river on highest setting and no issues both running with 50 + fps.

As Blue160 says those, creates so much more heat, would really suggest water but if possible make sure u have well air cased.

For example had 4 hour gaming session and decided to keep MSI afterburner open to check temps, top card was ok only hit 67C, bottom card hit 84C so good cooling is a must for SLI

 

[setter]

A great addition to any sli setup would be an antec spotcool fan.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SY-000-AN

Prior to fitting one, my topmost card ran 10c higher than the bottom one. With a custom fan profile set in afterburner, they max out at 67c each in game.

 

[Blue160]

A great addition to any sli setup would be an antec spotcool fan.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SY-000-AN

Yup. Got one of those after seeing that picture ages ago. Really helps keeping the air flowing over the cards.

 

[Reaper 392]

the only game ive heard that has problems with SLI is need for speed shift (i believe it is the 2nd one, not sure). for some reason you get about half the framerate with SLI compared to a single card. disabling SLI cant be too hard though for this one game if you want to play it

 

[Blue160]

NFS hot pursuit doesn't like it much either (at least on my rig).

 

[setter]

When cod bo first came out, it ran better for me with a single card. Much better now with sli, but then bo is a notoriously buggy game for some.