Which graphics cards?

[GoogalyMoogaly]

I'm thinking of getting 2 GTX 680s, but not sure what's best to get.

I'm currently looking at:
Palit GeForce GTX 680 Jetstream 4096MB

Would that be good for SLI or would I be better off with reference design cards like the EVGA FTW cards?

Have Gainward ruined there 680 Phantom by making it triple slot again?

My other option is to go with 3 x 7950s, but I'm worried about airflow when air cooling 3 of them.

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Anyone?

Is this just a really silly question?

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

I don't have a triple monitor setup, but was planning to get one, which was the reason behind going for the 4GB 680s.

I think I'd prefer the 680s, but the 7950s do seem to offer better value, which is why I keep coming back to them. The trouble with 3 air cooled cards is that it would cover up all the PCI/PCI-e slots on most motherboards. Also, it'd leave virtually no gap between the cards.

Do the reference 7950 cards have the fan in the middle?

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Didn't realise the Jetstreams were triple slot coolers either, that might be awkward in SLI.
The KFA2's look nice though. I looked but couldn't find any reviews.

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Just had a thought.
How would you connect 2 680s to 3 x 3D monitors? Don't you need a certain sort of DVI connection for that?

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

I'm now wondering about how to arrange the graphics cards and soundcard.
How much gap should I leave between the graphics card and the soundcard?

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

That would depend on your motherboard.

Probably Asus Rampage IV Extreme. Possibly Asus P9X79 PRO/DELUXE (I've not decided yet, would probably prefer one of these if I could).

I'm looking to get 2 x KFA2 EX OC 4GB GTX 680s.

And thanks for the 2D/3D surround SLI setup thing.

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Yeah, that's why I was think of going for the Rampage (despite wanting a P9X79 DELUXE).

As for 4GB, I'm hoping to run 3 x 1080p 3D monitors. So I'm thinking 4GB might be neded, even if I don't actually run in 3D. It's also why I want to run gboth graphics cards in 16x PCI-e 3.0 slots.

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

3 things that bother me with the Rampage IV Extreme:

1) the amount of power connectors the board needs (and their location)
2) lack of SSD caching
3) fan on the southbridge(?) that I haerd can be loud.