Is this PSU enough for GTX 690 SLI?

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With that monitor setup, he shouldn't spend anymore than a 670 SLI. Both the 680 SLI and 670 SLI will get you over 60 FPS at max settings in just about any game that it is possible to, and will save him a couple hundred dollars.
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17seconds

17seconds

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Jul 27, 2010
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That's top of the line. [strike]Much more than you will need for everything overclocked and then some[/strike]

Wait, I just noticed that you are talking about SLI'ed GTX 690's. According to Guru3d, you need 950 watts on a high-end overclocked system. You might be okay with that PSU, but something with more power would be better. The Corsair HX850 definitely can sustain well over 850 watts, but you should never skimp on your power supply.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_690_review,8.html
 
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Au_equus

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sli 690s is a waste of money and power. you're essentially running 4 GTX680s in SLI. The third gpu only gives <5% increase in FPS on average while the 4th may not even add a single FPS.
two titans costs about the same with higher performance and lower power
 
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johnvonmacz

johnvonmacz

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Alright, Thanks for all of your replies! My friend just wants to get the HX850 from Corsair as it's currently on sale for $129. Anyways, he also wants to know if he better get a GTX 690 or GTX 680 SLI or a Crossfired 7970. Thanks in advance!

Here are the prices in Canada:

GTX 680 SLI: $940
GTX690: $995
CF 7970: $911

He plans to play this games:

Battlefield 3
Crysis 2 and 3
Far Cry 3
Black Ops 2
Arkham City

Maxed out running @ constant 60fps+
He's going to pair it with a this specs:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($226.99 @ Newegg Canada)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($84.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-GD65 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($158.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Kingston 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($97.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Seagate Momentus XT 750GB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($94.99 @ DirectCanada)
Case: Cooler Master HAF XB (Black) ATX Desktop Case ($82.53 @ DirectCanada)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.88 @ Canada Computers)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($17.06 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($98.90 @ DirectCanada)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($149.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $1251.80
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-24 16:42 EDT-0400)
 
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bystander

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Are you planning on running 3 of those monitors, or are you seriously wanting 690 quad-sli for a single 1080p, 60hz monitor?

If you want that kind of power, for what ever reason, get Titan SLI instead, but you really should have a reason for that much power and money, such as 5760x1080 resolution, if not higher. The only time 1080p could utilize a single 690, is with 3D Vision/120hz monitors. You are at 60hz and wanting two??
 
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17seconds

17seconds

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Do NOT get 7970's in Crossfire. Check the latest reviews using FCAT tests and you will see that they are a waste of money. It was one of the main takeaways from today's 7990 reviews as well, Crossfire has a ways to go before it can be considered a legitimate option.
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Frame-Rating-Dissected-Full-Details-Capture-based-Graphics-Performance-Test-3
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7990-review-benchmark,3486-5.html


GTX 680's in SLI will be just about the same as a GTX 690, maybe a little faster due to their increased clock speeds. At 1920 x 1080 resolution, you won't need much more than a GTX 680 in SLI or a single GTX 690, or even a Titan. Here's a review with many of the games you listed:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_690/9.html
And a Titan review:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan/27.html

perfrel_1920.gif



In terms of the SLI GTX 690's, there are a few reviews on the web that show how much performance you can expect. You clearly need to be using the latest CPU on an overclocked system and preferably a high resolution to make it even close to worthwhile. For the cost, I would definitely consider SLI Titans, which would easily run on the Corsair HX850 power supply (which is the PSU I have). But again, the resolution of your friend's monitor makes it a waste.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-titan-performance-review,3442-9.html

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/geforce-gtx-690-sli_7.html#sect0
16_690_big.png
 
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johnvonmacz

johnvonmacz

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He plans to play on a single 1080p monitor bystander. Now I told him that SLI'ing 690's is a waste of money and that gain of performance on 1080p is minimal. My friend doesn't want the TITAN as he thinks that its performance is between a 680 and a 690 and that it's overprice for the performance it has. And yesterday I checked that 7990 is on its way and I saw tomshardware review and the performance is pretty good. Now, matto17secs and other, would you consider a 680's in SLI, a single 690 or 7990 paired with the specs I posted before? And also, would he need to overclock the 3570k right away to prevent a bottleneck in the *GPU*? Thanks a lot!
 
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bystander

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If you are looking at a single card, the Titan is between a 680 and 690, but once you start going with two, things change. The Titan is a single GPU, and going with two gives great scaling with minimal problems, but the 690 is already an SLI card on its own, and using two results in 4 way SLI, which does not scale nearly as well, and comes with lots of compatibility problems, and at that resolution, will often be slower than a single 690.

Look at this review: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_Titan_SLI/22.html
perfrel_1920.gif


It's close in performance, and the Titan is much more consistent between them. Either way, for a single 1080p 60hz monitor, a single 680 is enough. Though if you have to have max performance on the latest games and be over 60 FPS, then you might get 670's in SLI and leave it at that.

 
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gridironcj

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Why would you go cheap on a power supply when you're willing to spend $2,000 on graphics cards? Get a 1200w or higher if you want to stay on the safe side. As mentioned before, get 2 Titans instead of 2 690s. They consume less power and perform better. Plus, you can still keep upgrading since you're only in 2 way SLI whereas you're maxed with 2 690s (quad SLI).
 
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johnvonmacz

johnvonmacz

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Thanks for ur response! I would tell my friend to take that in consideration!

Thanks matto, ok now for a SINGLE 1080p Monitor cuz my friend doesn't want to run 3 monitors in the future, just one, should he get 670's in SLI, 680's in SLI or go for a single 690. Also should he overclock the CPU right away to prevent bottlenecking those cards? Thanks a lot man.


My friend's budget on GPU is $1000 and below. And like i said earlier, I told him that a 690's in SLI doesn't have much gain if he wants to get another in the future if he pick a 690. and since he's only running a single monitor cuz he doesnt like triple monitors he wants a GPU that can max out current games in 1080p that constantly runs @60fps. So his choice now is either 670's and 680's in SLI or a single 690. And HX850 is enough for that kind of setup..
 
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This just comes down to a question of budget. How much do you want to spend? A lot of people will say that the advantage of the 680's doesn't justify their price, same for the 690, over the 670's in SLI. That may be true to some extent, but the bottom line is that the 670's do deliver less performance. If you can afford it, and don't want to compromise, then go for the 680's, even that small difference will come in handy on games like Crysis 3.

Now the question of 680's/670's versus a single 690 comes down to overall build design and aesthetics. The 690 will be better when there isn't as much room inside the PC case. I'm not really familiar with the Cooler Master HAF X case on the list, but it looks funky like it actually might be a smaller form factor. So decide if space will be tight, then get the 690. There may be other reasons to get one or the other as well, including case airflow, fan noise, and overall design of the build. Just sort of plan it out and try to prefer a design with two separate cards if feasible.
 
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gridironcj

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It depends on what you mean by "max out" a game on 1920x1080. Technically, that means the highest setting of antialiasing for each game, which you will not be able to attain over 60FPS for any of the newer and more demanding games; i.e., Crysis 3, Far Cry 3, Need for Speed Most Wanted, Tomb Raider, Hitman Absolution, Metro Last Light, Grid 2, Battlefield 4, Watch Dogs, etc. I know some of those games aren't even out yet, but they will likely be very demanding (especially Metro Last Light, where a GTX Titan or a GTX 690 is recommended for higher settings and we're not even talking about maxing antialiasing).

With that said, you cannot really say you'll be "maxing out" any of the games mentioned above. Just to give you a glimpse of what it takes to get over 60FPS on a game like Crysis 3 with MSAA x4, you'll need 2 Titans, which will get about 75FPS. MSAA x8 will probably get you 60-65FPS.

I apologize if I seem like a snob about it, but it's simply a false statement when I read comments such as "My 660TIs in SLI can max out Far Cry 3 easily!!1!" No, they can't.
 
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johnvonmacz

johnvonmacz

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Ok my bad, what my friend is trying to say is, like maxed out @60fps with at least 2x or no anti aliasing.
 
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johnvonmacz

johnvonmacz

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Thank you so much for all of your answers! This is why I love this forum. Anyway, my friend decided to get...... A pair of GTX 670's so he can use the extra cash to upgrade the CPU to 3770k and upgrade the RAM to 16gb.
 
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