hi all, in a few weeks im going to buy 2 9600GSO XXX's from scan and a coolermaster Elite 330 with 650w CMeXtream, the psu has 2 x pci-e connectors, i just want to be sure that this is going to be enough to power the two cards? thanks
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hi all, in a few weeks im going to buy 2 9600GSO XXX's from scan and a coolermaster Elite 330 with 650w CMeXtream, the psu has 2 x pci-e connectors, i just want to be sure that this is going to be enough to power the two cards? thanks
May I ask why you would want to buy 2x 9600GSO's? For the money (in fact less) you could buy a 9800GTX+ (£117), a HD4850 (£100-115) or a HD4850 1GB (£130) all of which will out perform 2 9600GSO's in SLI
Personally I wouldn't buy that power supply not a wattage issue but a quality one, look at Corsair, Enermax and Seasonic for some decent alternatives, 500W will be enough to power any of the single cards I have listed above.
*Edit, Beaten to it*
ditto :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Webby
it's not the wattage of the PSU that is the problem, it's the stability and the amperage it can put down the rails.
and SLi is SEVERELY OVERRATED... most games scale horribly with SLI and a single card more often than not gives better performance, is cheaper, uses less power, quieter and more stable.
personally i've never seen a seagate PSU (:P) but seasonic are good too (make most of corsairs PSUs)
Doh :stupid:
the PSU is made by CoolerMaster, is that not a good brand? and i never thought of just getting a GTX+, iv just wanted sli for a while now, suppose its because i want to get the most out of my motherboard (foxconn C51), but u may be right, maybe i should get a 9800GTX+ and then add another at a later date.
coolermaster are decent (who actually makes their PSUs?*) but not as decent as Seasonic/Enermax/Corsair, enermax are probably the best of them all, and IIRC have a uk based RMA procedure, unlike corsair (goes to netherlands) (no idea about seasonics rma TBH)
*actually, they are big enough to make them themselves... ive no idea :(
OK the, what would you say to a single 8800gt 256mb?, they are available for £58, then possibly add another at a later date?
i think a 9600GSO is better than a 8800gt 256
Not worth it really.Quote:
Originally Posted by ColinMCMXC
you can pick up a 512mb version for not much more. (around £78 delivered from Novatech iirc)
Alternatively, a 9600gt for £67 delivered
In fact, what is your budget?
Also what resolution will you be playing at? (and which games?)
my budget is not high, around £110, the 9600gso xxx beats the 9600gt btw :) and is cheaper
If you have £110 to spend you will get a much better performance from a HD4850 or a 9800GTX+ (which is slightly more at £117) than any of the lesser cards even with them SLIed. I can see where your coming from in terms of using the full potential of the motherboard but unless you will get better bang for buck with the higher speced single cards.
As Mithrandir asked what resolution are you planning on playing at? The main drawback of the GSO is that it only has 384MB of RAM (the 8800GT 256MB is even worse) so when you move up the resolution scale it becomes a limiting factor, if you want to play at 1280*1024 it will be less of an issue but if you want to be working at 1680*1050 or higher you shouldn't really be considering cards with less than 512MB of RAM, remember when SLIed they don't share the RAM they each use what they have to process whatever they are told and since one card is loaded more heavily than the other (in most cases) the low RAM is still a limiting factor.
thanks for the advice webby, i plan on playing at 1680x1050, my mobo as two full 16x lanes so the load should be balanced, but i see what ur saying, and as for ati, no thanks lol, im a bit of an nvidia fanboy, well kind of, i will only buy XFX lol, so i will most likely end up with a 9800GTX+, bout £140 (i will have to find the moneys, Sell my 8600GTS maybe)
As mentioned above (webby et al), there will be limitiations when using SLi.Quote:
Originally Posted by ColinMCMXC
You'll find a 4850 will be more than sufficient even for high res gaming with AA on. Scans got the Palit version of the 4850 for £99 on today only and even comes with a Tagan surge protector plug free.
Well I have no idea why you would have brand loyalty to XFX but hey each to there own!
If I was getting a 9800GTX+ it would be the Scan one for £117 I could not justify spending an extra £25 for basically nothing. And once I had reached the £140 mark I would be thinking well just another £30 and I can get myself a GTX260.
But honestly if I was spending my own personal money in this price range it would be on a HD4850 not through any loyalty to ATI (although as it happens I do prefer them) but because on a price to performance ratio you really can't beat it, same performance as the 9800GTX+ and available from £100 for a Palit and £110-120 for other "named" brands.