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pci express help

im getting ready to build a system with sli geforce 6800 ultras. i read that the ultra requires two power connectors. with two cards thats four connectors. i think the card comes with the connectors, but where and how would i connect them to the power supply?
 
PCI-E 6800U should have a single 6pin power connector. The adapter/connector should come with the card. It is usually a 2 molex to 1 PCI-E connector. You will plug 2 of your regular power connectors into it, and then plug it into the card.

Many newer power supplies already have a PCI-E video card connector. That would leave you needing only one adapter.


You can see the power adapter included with this XFX 6800U.


PCI-E Power
 
If you can't find an adapter, they are also sold separately.

PCI-E vid card adapter

Although I'd look for a cheaper source with less shipping charges.

Most of the mid and high end PCI-E cards require the 6 pin connector, despite the promise that PCI-E would get rid of the need for one.
 
alright but if i were to run two of them, thats four molex connectors. im trying to think of how many come with most psu's. id be using sata so i dont need a molex for that, but unless i bought one of the sata opticals, i would need one. damn im going with the xconnect modular. it has everything
 
Get a PS that has the 6 pin PCI-E connector already. That will plug right into the video card. Then you'd only need 2 molex connectors for the second card.

You might even find a PS that has 2 PCI-E connectors.
 
I saw a TT at Newegg. 600-something watter. It had 2. $169, iirc.

But really, if you just have one PCI-E connector, it will help.

The problem is that few of the PS's list exactly what they have. You have to do your research and try to visit the mfg's pages.

If you are running 2 PCI-E cards in SLI, you'd better get used to big PS numbers. 😀
 
Hi,
I've just joined this forum, but have been reading it for the past few days.
I was especially interested in the SLI stories as I bought 2xGeforce 6800GT (MSI brand) and had most of the problems being discussed here.
BTW, It turns out that 4 pipelines and 1 vertex shader is disabled on these cards, so they are more 6800NU than 6800GT. Maybe this has something to do with why they don't work so well in SLI....

I'm returning them and have ordered two XFX 6800 Ultra's instead.
Can you confirm that these (i.e. the PCI-E versions) have 6 pin power connections, and how many?
XFX's web site seems to indicate that they use two 4pin molex connectors, but I have a feeling this is a mix up with the AGP versions of these cards.

I guess from your post that you actually have one of these cards and can tell easily.

thanks for any info.

Darragh
 
You'll need 2 molex connectors to plug in to the 6pin adapter, which then plugs into the video card. The same adapter in the links above. Each video card will come with the adapter.

Essentially, unless your power supply already has the 6 pin PCI-E power connectors, both AGP and PCI-E 6800U's would need 2 molex connectors. The AGP card will use them straight, the PCI-E card will use them with an adapter.

I have seen AGP 6800GT's with one molex and two molex connectors.
The PCI-E 6800GT will either use the 6 pin connector from the PS, or two molex connectors plugged into a 6 pin adapter.

Those cards sound like they were 6800GTO's, rather than 6800GT's. There are no GT's like you describe as far as I know. GTO's don't work in SLI, I've heard.
 
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