What do I need to SLI?

[peterpancake]

Hi guys, awhile back I purchased this prebuilt gaming pc.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...883227443Mobo:

I now realize that wasn't the smartest idea as I have little knowledge on how to go about this sort of thing. I recently upgraded to a GTX 660 with no problems but I am now interested in buying a second one to SLI with. My best guess is that I'm going to have to buy a new mobo and psu to accommodate a second card. Can anybody point me in a more informed direction?

ASROCK H61M-HVS
CPU: i5 3350P
GPU: GTX 660
PSU: 400W

 

[Essence_of_War]

As you've guessed, you'll need:

1) A MoBo that supports SLI
2) a Second GPU
3) A PSU that can put out enough power to drive both cards.

What resolution are you gaming at, and what sorts of games are you playing?

 

[monkeydelmagico]

E of W has described what would be needed. I just want to ask why you think you need to SLI? The reason I ask is SLI will take a full rebuild. An easier/cheaper option may be to upgrade the current system......although the current system looks pretty good!

 

[peterpancake]

Im running 1920x1080 and preparing for BF4 with lots of frames. The beta has me worried.

 

[lehtv]

I would not go SLI the GTX 660. As a rule of thumb, never SLI a card if there is a decently priced single GPU to upgrade to.

I would probably get an AMD card for BF4 since BF4 is the pilot project of AMD Mantle. Either get one of the below or wait for the new Radeons.

Sapphire 7970 $290 AR
Sapphire 7950 $200 AR
Recover $100+ by selling your 560
Overclock the 79xx

GTX 660 vs HD7970: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/783?vs=770

Exactly what is your 400W PSU? It's possible you may have to upgrade it

 

[Zap]

Im running 1920x1080 and preparing for BF4 with lots of frames. The beta has me worried.

I hear there are beta Nvidia drivers which fixes some (not all) of the performance issues with BF4 beta.

Before shelling out mucho dinero for an upgrade, try updating Nvidia drivers and then fiddling with (lowering if necessary) graphics quality for now. A lot can happen with BF4 and with graphics drivers between now and when the game becomes officially released. Also, new AMD cards are coming out. This is important because of Mantle, which was mentioned above, plus what it may (or may not) do with pricing.

Finally, can you tell us what PSU you have? The Newegg pictures don't have a closeup of the label, only stating it is 400W.

If you are mentally preparing for a new CPU, motherboard, PSU and second graphics card, you may as well build a whole new rig. :awe:

 

[peterpancake]

I just checked the PSU. It appears to be this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817154020

That 7970 looks awesome. I'm defiantly considering that now regardless if I have to get a better PSU. Thank you.

I also tried the beta Nvidia driver but it didn't help much. I get around 50 fps dropping to 30 fps fairly often regardless of the graphics quality. I'm still going to wait until the final game comes out before I make any purchases.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Im running 1920x1080 and preparing for BF4 with lots of frames. The beta has me worried.

Just wait a little bit. Couple months. LOTS of reviews and real world data will get posted then you can make an informed decision.

 

[lehtv]

Here are a couple of good PSU deals at the moment:

Corsair CX750M $50 AR AP
Corsair TX750 $70 AR AP (not modular)
CM Silent Pro M2 720W $60 AR AP

The 7950 I posted is also worth considering, it's not far from 7970 performance and can very nearly equal when overclocked. The 7970 is just more likely to hit higher clocks and has a higher stock clock speed.

However I'm tending towards agreeing with waiting until the new AMD cards come out and until BF4 is actually released.

 

[peterpancake]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm really digging all the useful information on this site.