SLI Question

[Kippered]

Evening,

Possibly a silly question but is it possible to run two different GPUs in SLI?

For example..i have a PNY GTX460 1Gb. If i were to upgrade my amd mobo to one capable of SLI would i have to buy the same GTX model or could something with a bit more grunt like a GTX570?

Also been eyeing up the GTX460 Cyclone on offer.

Thanks,
Ben

 

[Ginger-Menace]

you can only sli 2/3/4 of the same cards with the same amount of memory,

 

[Mr. May]

you can only sli 2/3/4 of the same cards with the same amount of memory,

you can run cards with diffrent memory amounts but it will just run at the lowest Vram Spec

but anywasy back on topic yes you can sli any card as long as its the same model doesnt mater about memory/clocks/cooler design

 

[cmndr_andi]

you can run cards with diffrent memory amounts but it will just run at the lowest Vram Spec

but anywasy back on topic yes you can sli any card as long as its the same model doesnt mater about memory/clocks/cooler design

I think what he meant was he can't use a GTX 460 768MB to SLI with his GTX 460 1GB as even though they have the same product numbers they are different models (the 768MB has less stream processors and a narrower memory bus).

But you are quite correct, if you had a GTX 460 1GB and GTX 460 2GB (same GPU, just double the memory on the second one) then they would SLI together fine but you wouldn't gain anything from the extra 2GB on the second card.

 

[Kippered]

Right so the lowest memory determines what is used. Thanks for clarification.

Based on that would I'd be ok to go with..

PNY GeForce GTX 460 1024MB PCIe
MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card.

Not quite on topic of GPU but if i were to go for this what mobo would you recommend?
I see some of the newer ones support the bulldozer but I'm not overly keen to spend the extra pennies on those.

Whats the minimum PSU for SLI? Sitting with 500W at the moment. Guess I'd need 750W?

Thanks for info.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Yes, that would be fine. However, with a SLI setup you may want to consider going for a card that uses a rear-exhausting design (like the stock cooler) to aid cooling for the top card - since 2 closely packed graphics cards often run into heat/cooling issues when run at high load (like when gaming).

As for a motherboard - if you are buying new then I would recommend the MSI P67A GD53 or GD65 board (and a i5 2500K CPU of course). Both support SLI at x8/x8 speed (as good as you can get with current-gen sandy bridge) and space the graphics cards apart rather well.

As for the PSU, a good quality 650W would be fine, though a 750W isn't a bad idea as it will give you more headroom. I would suggest one of the Antec Truepower New range - they are great quality and well priced.

 

[Kippered]

Good stuff,

Sorry i never mentioned i'm actually sitting with a AMD Phenom chip at the moment so i'd rather get a phenom compatible board. The added cost of a new cpu is a no go for the time being.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Ah, fair enough. Would that be a phenom 1, phenom II AM2+ or Phenom II AM3 chip?

If it's a Phenom II AM3 then you will need one of the 990X or 990FX boards as these are the only modern AMD boards that support SLI. Something like this would be a good option.

 

[Kippered]

Hey,

Its a Phenom II X4 925.

Was just looking for boards, seems I was looking at the wrong models!