Best bang for buck 3-way SLI or help with 460gtx issue?

[zxchris8931]

Anything out there worth the performance of 3-way SLI at an 'affordable' price?

basically just 3-way cause I can... Not really necessary... which is why I dont want to go all out and 3-way the top of the line card.

I have 3 460GTX but found out the hard way that they are only 2-way SLI capable (just dove into the scene without doing much research) so I have one for just physX.... the problem with those is a lot of people with the 460 seem to be having issues with them running too hot.. i have noticed that with mine aswell, in fact it causes my video output to shut off (monitors go into power saver mode) I assume this is the GPU quitting out because they are too hot [the PC still stays on with audio but just no video output]. The temps on one of my GPUs gets to 90+C (using speedfan 4.44) , i dont know at what point it finally craps out.

Specs for my rig:

Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950

EVGA 131-GT-E767-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 SLI3 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 24GB (6 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9T2-24GBRL

ABS Aplus ABS-CS-Monolith Black SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Cooler Master Silent Pro M1000 Series Modular 1000W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Active PFC Power Supply RSA00-AMBAJ3-US

3x EVGA GeForce GTX460 SSC+ Graphics Card w/ Backplate (01G-P3-1380-KR) [all exactly the same]

3x Dell S2409W

Windows 7 64-bit

CPU is not overclocked, RAM is at default (or should be). [I don't ever tinker with any of the voltages for anything]


Any suggestions for new cards or how to possibly resolve this issue would be appreciated


P.S. Anyone know the specifications of the 250mm fans in my case (RPM, etc..)? I cant seem to dig that up anywhere... wondering if I buy 3rd party ones if they would be the same or different... or maybe something a little smaller with more OOMPH using an adapter... or just a new case that is not too pricey (I guess it would be better than 3 new GPUs ) I dont know what to do!! ah!

 

[OVerLoRDI]

If you REALLY want to get it just cause, then sure.

If I was you, I would be looking at AMD 6xxx series cards since they scale significantly better than Nvidia cards in tri card setups.

Looking at your monitors, I'm guessing you'd like to get some eyefinity/surround going on. In which case 5760x1080 is definitely a resolution you will want more than 1gb of video memory for.

So with these things in mind, the setup I would chose is 3x 6950 2gb versions.

Also I am not sure if all midrange cards support tri-sli/cfx.
Also you might want to look into overclocking your CPU since multi card setups become cpu limited very quickly (lots of overhead)

EDIT: NEVERMIND.
You already have the cards... I'm guessing the cards have no space between them? That will make them very toasty. Maybe someone who runs a tri-sli system on air can chime in. Spacing and cooling considerations for 3x card systems, water seems to be the best way to cool them because no matter what they are going to end up being sandwiched.

Or ditch the tri-card idea and get 2 solid cards, space them nicely, and be happy.

 

[zxchris8931]

Just to update this thread if anyone stumbles across it when encountering overheating issues with 3-way SLI.

The problem was due to the close proximity of the 3 GPUs, you need ample gap space or lots of air cooling, or the more costly water cooling. Removing one of the GPUs solved the high temperatures, they are now running as they should.

 

[Kakkoii]

460's run at nice temp if you get a good brand that has a good cooling system. Like MSI's Twin Frozr II's. Their 460's are cooled very well and can achieve a pretty good stable overclock even.