Considering 970 or 980...PSU questions etc

[maniacalpha1-1]

I know very little about hardware specifics, I just know where the parts go when I build a PC and where to stick the windows DVD, so...

Right now my system uses an Antec Neo Eco 620c. I was thinking get 1 970 now, because frankly, I think that's going to handle my needs when I upgrade to a 1440p monitor, based on the benchmarks I have seen; and add another later as needed. Will my current PSU handle 2 970s? I would have to use the molex to PCI-E connectors, of course.

At the point I would get the second 970, my expected build would be:

• Raidmax Helios case( 3 fans I believe)
• Antec Neo Eco 620 C
• Something like an Asrock z97 Extreme3
• 4690k
• Hyper 212 Evo
• 3 sticks DDR3 1600
• Up to 4 SSDs (right now I have 2 Vertex 4 128s and 1 Vertex 3 60, I'd probably add a 512 GB MX100 or something)
• 1 HDD
• 1 DVD RW
• I usually have USB headset and 1 thumb drive in my USBs, and charge some really small bluetooth headphones

Would my PSU handle 2 970s or 980s? Would there be any room to OC the CPU?


If this won't work, I might go the route of a single 980 now to last me longer. If so, I will give serious thought to a 970 now and second later.

 

[tviceman]

You could run two GPU's with your PSU, but there wouldn't be much room left for significant overclocking. Some, but not much to make a noticeable difference. You wouldn't be able to overclock your CPU much either.

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

You could run two GPU's with your PSU, but there wouldn't be much room left for significant overclocking. Some, but not much to make a noticeable difference. You wouldn't be able to overclock your CPU much either.

Thanks! If I was not going to OC the GPUs anyway, does that add to CPU OC room? I'm expecting the mere presence of the second GPU to handle that part of it, but considering I will likely be in MMOs heavily, CPU can be essential.

If not, I guess I will plan on a new PSU with second GPU. For some reason I'm averse to pulling out just the PSU from a built system...

 

[Termie]

I think you'd be cutting it too close with dual 970s on 620W. OC'd the 970s would be using about 400W total, leaving about 200W for the rest of your system. I'd probably go with a 750W unit to be safe.

 

[toyota]

and no way I personally would spend 1100 bucks on an SLI setup with an i5 anyway. SLI is going to add some cpu overhead and your cpu will already be tapped out in a game like Crysis 3. and why do you have 3 sticks of ram in a system that uses dual channel?

 

[maniacalpha1-1]

and no way I personally would spend 1100 bucks on an SLI setup with an i5 anyway. SLI is going to add some cpu overhead and your cpu will already be tapped out in a game like Crysis 3. and why do you have 3 sticks of ram in a system that uses dual channel?

I don't actually have that system yet, right now I have a i5 3570. But I can revise to plan on a 4790k (or 5770k), and 4 sticks of RAM. (this is why I say I just know where to plug stuff in)

 

[toyota]

I don't actually have that system yet, right now I have a i5 3570. But I can revise to plan on a 4790k (or 5770k), and 4 sticks of RAM. (this is why I say I just know where to plug stuff in)

yes 4790k would be the cpu to get. for ram I would get a 2x8gb 16gb ram kit at 1866 to 2133 mhz and 1.5 v.

 

[Termie]

I don't agree that you need Hyperthreading just because you're going with SLI. It helps a lot in Crysis 3, but in most games it doesn't help all that much. Clock speed is going to be far more important with an SLI setup, so hopefully you're fine with OC'ing the CPU up to the level of a 4790K. If you're comfortable with that, no need to get a 4790K just because you plan on dual cards eventually.

 

[toyota]

I don't agree that you need Hyperthreading just because you're going with SLI. It helps a lot in Crysis 3, but in most games it doesn't help all that much. Clock speed is going to be far more important with an SLI setup, so hopefully you're fine with OC'ing the CPU up to the level of a 4790K. If you're comfortable with that, no need to get a 4790K just because you plan on dual cards eventually.

if he does not have the parts and can get the 4790k then there is no reason not to. a cpu is more of a long term component so no need to save 100 bucks if planning to run high end gpu setups now and down the line. HT helps in real world too if anything else is also running as before my oced 2500 max maxed or nearly maxed in some games at times. not just Crysis 3 but that was the most needy by far and affected playability since I wanted 60 fps. when my system needed cpu power sometimes there was none there to give. he will be running twice the gpu power and again SLI does add some more additional cpu overhead. and why have a killer gpu setup only to be gimped by the cpu in the most visually impressive game out there from day 1? seems silly to have 980 SLI when and still get only 40 fps in spots because of the cpu.

 

[escrow4]

I'd take a single card over SLI anyday. that just eliminates a whole pile of potential issues so a single 980. I'd second a 4790K, Haswell-E is still immature and DDR4 RAM timings are horrible currently.