• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Sapphire R9 290.

Rhoxy

Rhoxy

Rhoxy

Associate
Joined
23 Apr 2014
Posts
135
I'm wasn't originally interested in going dual GPU but he's selling it quite cheap compared to retail so I thought I may as well purchase now to save the upgrade in the future.

My current one (Tri-X no OC) is not OCed. I''m new to PC's so I'm not really knowledgeable in that area.

Should they work together then?
 
Rhoxy said:
I'm wasn't originally interested in going dual GPU but he's selling it quite cheap compared to retail so I thought I may as well purchase now to save the upgrade in the future.

My current one (Tri-X no OC) is not OCed. I''m new to PC's so I'm not really knowledgeable in that area.

Should they work together then?
Click to expand...

They will work nicely together.

What cpu do you have? What about your PSU?

You should ensure the cards will have reasonable spacing to ensure they get enough room to breathe.
 
That was what I was worried about, considering that they are rather large cards to. I've also linked the MB and case I use.

It's not the best quality, but I attached a picture to show how much space is left from my current card. Let me know if you want anymore.

1526944E-7180-422B-B900-8D7DE1067242_zpsivubb6hu.jpg


7b040542-449d-4906-91ba-1c83f4fb62a3_zpsf7c5cf1f.jpg
Had to edit the contrast a little since the LEDS were really bright on the photos.


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-HD3 Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £82.99
1 x BitFenix Ronin Tower Case - Black £69.95
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 650W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £65.99
Total : £402.42 (includes shipping : £11.25).

 
Looks like it may be a bit cramped to be honest. If you can fit some extra fans to the right of the GPU's blowing cold air on them that will help. The best bet will be to try and get some side exhaust fans to suck out the heat they will both drop in your case. Try and maintain a positive pressure case (more intake than exhaust) and remove any spare pci brackets around the cards to allow the air to be naturally forced out via those gaps.
 
Thanks for the help.

I think I'll wait until my next upgrade to fit another GPU, for now I've been reading up on dual monitoring since this is my first PC build and might go for another monitor for now.

Will the 650W PSU be good enough to dual monitor? Since the GPU alone requires 600W+.

Thanks.
 
Going dual screen won't make a noticeable difference to your power consumption (it's comparable to testing your car's fuel consumption with and without a passenger).

Depending on your screens it may make a difference on your card's memory idle speed - specifically it may stay at full speed even though the core will clock down. I've run different resolution screens for years (1920x1200 + 1600x1200; 2x1920x1080 + 1920x1200; 3x1920x1080 + 1600x1200) and the memory on each card at the time has always stayed at full speed. Recently changed to 4x1920x1080, and it now clocks down to 150MHz as if I was running a single screen. :) Has made a difference to my card's idle temperatures but obviously doesn't affect my power draw under load.
 
I've just ordered another of the current monitor I have, so it will be two 2560x1440. Should I expect a similar reaction with my GPU?
 
Good question - no idea! I would say expect your memory to stay at 1250, and if it does clock down to 150 at idle then it's a nice bonus. Would you mind reporting back when you've got both screens up and running so others thinking of the same situation know?
 
Will do. However, I'm currently taking exams this week so may have to get round to it next week.

What's the best app to check memory usage etc..?

Thanks.
 
I use MSI Afterburner for most of my GPU monitoring, and the latest beta also gives my CPU temperatures and loads, so that cuts down on the number of monitoring tools I have running in the background. I now just have Afterburner giving me the GPU & CPU figures, and Speedfan running to alter my case's intake fans based on GPU temperatures.
 
Quick question ready for set up tomorrow.

My current monitor is connected to my GPU through HDMI. There is available outputs such as DP and DVI on the GPU. Should I connect my second monitor using one of those to the GPU or another HDMI but to the mobo?

Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom