Power and Chassis requirements for SLI based system

shree_kotekar

Junior Member
Sep 20, 2010
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Hi I am building a new machine around X58 chipset (probably MSI Bigbang Xpower or ASUS rampage III formula).

I want to put two GeForce GTX 460 in SLI configuration. This is the first time I am building a dual card machine. I would like to know what kind of power supply I will need to comfortably run this configuration? and which computer cases should I go for? midtower or full tower? I will be connecting two monitors to the system. Not too much into overclocking, just whatever the stock cooling supports or none.

Thanks for your help.
Shreedhar
 

CurseTheSky

Diamond Member
Oct 21, 2006
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You'll probably want a decent 650-850W power supply (~750W being the sweet spot), and a full tower with good cooling if you can afford the desk space.

I suggest a Corsair HX750 / AX750, or Seasonic X-750 for the power supply.
 

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
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shree_kotekar

Junior Member
Sep 20, 2010
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Ok. so looks like 750W to 850W is the PSU for me. However I still need to confirm if I can put SLI configuration into a mid tower case? is that possible?

Shreedhar
 

MrK6

Diamond Member
Aug 9, 2004
4,458
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With the tremendous airflow that the Antec 900 has, you should have no issues with cooling. The GTX 460 is also a very small card, so space isn't an issue either.
 

darckhart

Senior member
Jul 6, 2004
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psu really depends on your setup. check the max Amps both cards will need. add how many extra hard drives you will run and how many extra fans. (small numbers, no big deal, but if you have some crazy 5+ hard drives and 8+ fans well you need to give yourself some comfortable room.) i recommend a psu with the greatest amps you can afford on the single 12V rail at the highest operating temperature. (i own 2 pc power & cooling psu and 1 corsair. they all work really nicely.)

yes, sli in midtower should be possible. i had 4870x2 with arctic cooling xtreme hsf in the antec nine hundred and that is probably the longest card+hsf ever. (just cant have any hard drives in front of it.) if you're ever in doubt, find the length of the cards. also check if your psu will be bottom mounted or top mounted. in case your mobo doesn't have the x16/x16 slots right next to each other you may run into height probs if it needs top/bottom slots and psu is on bottom.
 

cusideabelincoln

Diamond Member
Aug 3, 2008
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Ok. so looks like 750W to 850W is the PSU for me. However I still need to confirm if I can put SLI configuration into a mid tower case? is that possible?

Shreedhar

Yes, mid tower will work fine since there are some pretty big mid towers.

Here are some options:
Cooler Master 690 II Advanced http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119216
Cooler Master 690 II Basic http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119215
Cooler Master 690 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119137
Cooler Master HAF 922 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119197
NZXT Tempest Evo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-062-_-Product
And etc...

There are a lot of cases to choose from, full and mid tower a like. Since the GTX 460s aren't very big cards you can basically get any case that you like, but the ones I suggested were just "big" mid tower cases like you wanted.

I look at the Nine Hundred Two and it doesn't really impress me. It looks like it has less space than the above cases.

As for the power supply, a minimum of 600W made by Antec, OCZ, Seasonic, Corsair, Silverstone, Enermax, and other quality units is what I would recommend. You will need four 6-pin PCI-express connectors (which can be accomplished by adapters if need be). As a rule of thumb if the power supply has at least four 6 or 8 pin PEG connectors, then it should be more than enough for your needs.
 

shree_kotekar

Junior Member
Sep 20, 2010
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ohh cool. So I can fit the SLI in a mid tower. I am getting Asus rampage III formula motherboard which has 1st and 3rd PICE in 16x config. So matter of just check the hight and select the case.

Thanks again to everyone for you valuable inputs.