Some SLI questions...

[The_Techie]

/me falls in line behind hj2k x

 

[WiseCrack]

Just got my second 7800GTX still waiting for my motherboard though I was wondering if my Asus 450w PSU would be enough to power them in SLI and if I really need to buy a bigger PSU?

 

[hj2k_x]

Just got my second 7800GTX still waiting for my motherboard though I was wondering if my Asus 450w PSU would be enough to power them in SLI and if I really need to buy a bigger PSU?

Gut feeling would say just about, but I would go bigger...

 

[WiseCrack]

Eish I hate upgrading just when you think you got everything you need theres something else.

 

[The_Techie]

I'd also say that it might work, but you'd be safer to buy a bigger one

 

[thisgeek]

Just got my second 7800GTX still waiting for my motherboard though I was wondering if my Asus 450w PSU would be enough to power them in SLI and if I really need to buy a bigger PSU?

It depends on the power supply and what other components you have.
I'm running my two 7800GT's off an Antec TruPower 2.0 500W PSU.
I've got 4x SATA hdd's, 1x dvd writer, audigy2 zs... with an AMD cpu, plus a couple of USB devices.

You might be scraping the barrel with the 450W - but then again, it may work fine. It shouldn't hurt you to try it. If there isn't enough power, the driver will throttle the graphics and will give you a warning.

 

[WiseCrack]

Thanks thisgeek I will first try before I buy.

 

[Jongi]

if one wants to run an SLI setup, is it best to get the nVidia mobos or will any mobo with 2 free PCI-E slots work? And do both PCI-E slots have to be the same ie 2xPCI-E 16s?

 

[.geek]

Tom's Hardware: Can You Run Nvidia Dual Graphics Without SLI?

It appears you can, I just don't think it's recommended.

 

[antowan]

SOmething I found, if you enable SLi your tv out will not update for some reason. Everytime I want to use the tv out I have to disable SLi...

 

[hj2k_x]

SOmething I found, if you enable SLi your tv out will not update for some reason. Everytime I want to use the tv out I have to disable SLi...

Really? So, say you wanted to play a game and run it on your tv, you would have to disable one of your gfx cards?

 

[antowan]

Really? So, say you wanted to play a game and run it on your tv, you would have to disable one of your gfx cards?

Yup.

 

[thisgeek]

Hmm, well if you have multiple displays, when you enable SLI, all the additional displays shut down. I guess that includes the TV out port. Kinda sucky really.

 

[hj2k_x]

Yup.

What motherboard you using and what gfx cards?

 

[hj2k_x]

Hmm, well if you have multiple displays, when you enable SLI, all the additional displays shut down. I guess that includes the TV out port. Kinda sucky really.

That is indeed sucky.

 

[antowan]

What motherboard you using and what gfx cards?

asus a8n-sli deluxe

two 6600 nvidias.

 

[The_Techie]

Hmm, well if you have multiple displays, when you enable SLI, all the additional displays shut down. I guess that includes the TV out port. Kinda sucky really.

That is very sucky indeed

 

[scotty777]

hmmm... well, i wouldn't worry about only using one card, as the resolution will only have to be 640x480... so you can roll on the other visuals. and i think it's just because the 6600's are old, and don't have the mojo to use sli for tv

 

[supersunbird]

No scotty, its probably a driver limitation...

 

[scotty777]

and the point i was trying to make is that the software was limited on that card