3 way SLI GeForce 250GTS, Asus P5N-T Deluxe

[blclay23]

Need help....

In the process of building my a 3 way sli, so far I have 2 EVGA GeForce 250GTS w/ Asus P5N-T Deluxe, and will be buying the 3rd G250GTS (aka 9800GTX+) in a day or two, how much PSU do I need? or should I just return 2 of my video card that I have and get and of those $300+. Thank you.

Bob

 

[toyota]

with all the good high end single cards out there why would you want to use 3 midrange cards? honestly I would go with a gtx260 sli setup for even cheaper. what res will you be running and what will the rest of your specs be?

 

[blclay23]

Thanks, first time game pc builder, no clues at all, anyways specs :

Asus P5N-T Deluxe
Core2 Quad 2.4 Ghz
2GB(x2) Patriot
250 SATA
2 DVDRW ASUS
Enermax Case

3 EVGA 250GTS 512 Superclocked
19' Viewsonic ( planning to upgrade to 24 inch)

 

[alcoholbob]

Is this a consideration or do you already have it? 3 x G92s is inefficient use of tri-SLI, 260 x 2 is faster unless you are doing synthetic testing only. Also, how much do you plan to overclock your CPU? Because your CPU at stock mhz is far too weak to handle tri SLI.

 

[blclay23]

Thank you. Now I'm really spinning here ....
I have 2 Evga 250GTS 512mb SC (still unopen)
The only thing I'm missing is the third card and the PSU, and hoping for advices like yours.
I probably won't do any overclock maybe....

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: blclay23
Thank you. Now I'm really spinning here ....
I have 2 Evga 250GTS 512mb SC (still unopen)
The only thing I'm missing is the third card and the PSU, and hoping for advices like yours.
I probably won't do any overclock maybe....

well you certainly need to oc that cpu a little to keep up with those video cards. a 3rd gpu with your cpu at that stock speed would give you zero benefit and could even slow you down due to overhead. I would just return those cards if you dont plan on getting a 24inch in the next few months. a single gtx260 for 180 bucks on a 19inch would make more sense. if you do plan on getting that 24inch very soon then just keep those 2 cards but absolutely do not get a 3rd. no matter what high end card set up you get that cpu needs to be overclocked a little. as for power supplies a Corsair 550vx would be good for only $59.99 after rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139004 or Corsair 650tx for $79.99 after rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139004

 

[cbn]

Speaking of OCing the CPU.....why not use a LGA 1366 Mobo instead (X58 chipset)?. Not only does the X58 chipset use 50 less watts of power a A DO stepping Core i7 would demolish that Q6600 with respect to running 3 video cards.

P.S. I also agree with Toyota that two 260 GTX would probably be better than three GTS 250s. (I even think the power consumption is less. See Very recent Anandtech article comparing various 2,3, 4 Video card set-ups)

 

[chizow]

I'd agree with the others, if you're going to go SLI, start with something like the GTX 260, which will offer more consistent results with a single GPU and much higher performance in SLI. The problem with daisy-chaining low-end parts in SLI and CF is that their specs are typically neutered or insufficient in two key areas that become an issue at the very resolutions and settings you'd look at CF or SLI to begin with: bandwidth and VRAM. Both become a much greater issue at high resolutions or AA settings, so simply increasing GPU power may do very little if your parts are bottlenecked elsewhere.

Also, about the CPU issue, as some others stated, you'll also need a faster CPU to fully realize the performance gains from SLI or CF. Core i7 adds significantly to baseline performance, but you will certainly see additional GPU scaling as you increase CPU clockspeeds when running in SLI or CF with the GPUs being discussed. The difference in price is still there with i7, but its come down quite a bit compared to launch. Otherwise you'll certainly want to look at overclocking that Core 2 Quad to 3GHz+ to see better GPU scaling in SLI, especially if you go with GTX 260 or better.

 

[nitromullet]

Couple of questions...

- How much of this stuff is still new-in-the box, and can be returned for a full refund?
- What is your total budget goal?
- Are you in the US, or do you live somewhere where PC parts are more expensive?

If you can let us know these three things, the kind folks on AT forums should be able to recommend you a fantastic build. The P5N-T Deluxe/Q6600 is not a bad combo if you already own this, but I wouldn't buy it new anymore unless it was significantly less expensive than an X58/i7 based setup.

 

[blclay23]

Thank you once again, yes, I already own most of it, but I can still return the video cards, and definitely I am taking all the advices here, I live in San Diego,CA, I might as well return those cards and get atleast 1 GTX285 or something similar, no plans of upgrading my quad6600, the plan was to build a 3 way sli game pc but thanks to all, save me some headache, money and trips to frys......

Bob

 

[nitromullet]

If I was doing it all over again today I'd go for two of either of these for $360ish total:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814143155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150361

both cards have a lifetime warranty - the XFX is 55nm while the BFG is 65nm.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: nitromullet
If I was doing it all over again today I'd go for two of either of these for $360ish total:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814143155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150361

both cards have a lifetime warranty - the XFX is 55nm while the BFG is 65nm.

Yep, definitely especially given the OP was already interested in and considering SLI. OP's worst case will still be very close to that GTX 285, best case would be almost 2x, but probably closer to 1.5x the GTX 285. It'd be very hard to justify a GTX 285 at $330-360 right now given a GTX 260 is about half the price.

 

[LtPage1]

Check out this article. The 250GTS is a rebranded 9800GTX, so you can see where your cards will stack up. Essentially, the verdict is that a single card makes way more sense than 2-way SLI, which in turn makes way more sense than 3-way SLI.

 

[McLovin]

Basically going off of what everyone else is telling you, I'd do this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139005 Corsair 650w PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814143155 BFG GTX 260s Mentioned above x2

and I am huge fan of this 500GB seagate drive not only because of the space, but the speed of it since its a single platter HDD.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148395


All told, if I quote a price with San Diego zip code of 92101, Total is 572.33

That includes $11.64 for shipping and 42.73 for Tax.

I'll bet that if you take both of the cards back to frys and purchase these items, it would still be cheaper then buying just the cards from frys. $36 dollars more the parts can be overnighted. Since Frys way over prices things, I still stand behind my opinion lol.

 

[blclay23]

Thanks for all the replies, I have to go with my budget and so far very happy with what I have right now, dont know much about overclocking, CRYSIS runs very fast and smooth in high resolution.... Thank you
Asus P5N-T Deluxe
Viewsonic 24' 1080p FullHD 2ms
Core2Quad Q6600 (2.4Ghz)
4GB Patriot Viper DDR21066
EVGA 250GTS 3 Way SLI 512 SC
850 Watt Corsair
Enermax Case Chakra
Thermaltake Fans
Asus DVDRW 16x lightscribe x2
WD250 & 500GB HD