3870 to big ??

[Celtic]

I'm thinking about getting 2 HD 3870's to Crossfire. I have a Apevia X dreamer 2 Midtower case?

I know the card is 9" in length (Length is my concern) I took some measurements and at 9" i run right into the Power connector piece on the mobo. It "appears" that i may clear it on the underside by a fraction of an inch, (Ill have to relocate my HDD) But thats not an issue.

I would have gone for the 3870x2 but its 10.5" long and that simply wont fit at all. Besides i cant afford it. I screwed up buying this case

Has anyone tried this or can anyone confirm if its going to be possible to install 2 cards like this.


http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j117/syndicateEcho/mb-k9a2cff.jpg

heres my Mobo

 

[stoner133]

If your talking about the 24 pin power connector that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[rgsaunders]

The card will clear the power connector. Clearance at the back of the card where you connect the 6 pin PCI-E power connector is the issue for either a single or Crossfire setup.

That case however, is seriously lacking in cooling capability for your system unless you are handy with a dremel tool and plan to remove the intake and exhaust grills completely and use chrome wire grills. This, paired with decent quality 120mm fans, will significantly increase you airflow and decrease the turbulence noise cause by the current case. Also, if you are using the PS that came with the case, forget about Crossfire.

 

[rgsaunders]

You might be better off selling that case and power supply to someone with less requirements, and getting a decent case and a good power supply. If you haven't already purchased the video card then give serious consideration to the new ATI HD 4850, a much better gaming card than the 3870, and its currently retailing at newegg for less than 200.

 

[Celtic]

ok.... Great reply's , I have a coolmaster 600w psu, Will that be enough for 2 4850's ? And will the power connector be an issue with this card in CF? And what is the size of the 4850...smaller than 3870?

Also, Will 1 4850 out perform 2x 3870s

The dremel tool thing is already in motion. Iv ordered a Silverstone FM121-B fan to replace the stock exhaust i have now.There is no frontal intake, but i'm looking into a 5.25 front bay case fan since i only have 1 dvd drive anyway and plenty of room for it.With the 2 stock case fans and these adjustments im hoping that this will be sufficient.

 

[Celtic]

anyone ?

 

[WR2]

I have a coolmaster 600w psu, Will that be enough for 2 4850's?

Also, Will 1 4850 out perform 2x 3870s

What model is your CM 600W PSU? And how old is it?

4850 out perform 2x 3870s? Yes... and No. It depends on the specific game, the monitor resolution and the AA/AF quality levels you prefer to use.

 

[Celtic]

Thanx WR2..MY PSU is New, just got it. IM torn between a CF setup and a single 48 series. I dont have the cash or the power for 48 series CF...As far as i know !?

I had this built on a budget at a crucial card development time. My Bad!

any advice ..

Cheeers!!!

 

[Celtic]

I wanna expand on this situation a bit for better understanding.

In 5 years i have been gaming on an emachine circa 2003, It has perfomed for me well with a radeon 9600XT i threw in when i got it in 03/04. not sure. This IS my first real anything PC. I love tto game and i drool at the things i see on the EB website when i have a few too many and wanna torchur myself. Im 41 and live on a budget and i saved 2 years for this PC (I went to Cyberpower becouse they were the cheapest)

I would love LOVE to have a CF system with what i have so far. I know my PSU needs upgrade and my CPU sooon.


Whats the best recommend for a graphics card/cards for the setup???

I have anouther $230 american to spend on this, Then..its what i have i live with!

Signed: An old man with a gaming addiction!


cheers Fellas


PO: I get little or NO help from Cyberpower on this one. They got there cash so...

 

[rangers]

i think you will get away that psu and crossfire 2x4850

 

[Celtic]

I hope can i that would be awsome

 

[FrozenGpu]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171013

I have to assume this is your PSU, it has 2 12v rails, at 18 amps each, so combined it probably has 28ish, it is rarely if anything is adding the amps up [that would indicate an extremely high-end PSU, which is not the case here] . There was a few people who i have heard among many bad and not so great views running a 3870x2 on it. So it seems possible.

What are the rest of your system specs? [the more information the better!]

 

[Celtic]

AMD Athlon(TM) X2 5400+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology + 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD + MSI K9A2 CF-F AMD 790X CrossFire Chipset DDR2/1066 Dual 16X PCIE SATA RAID MB + CoolerMaster Unit 600 Watts eXtreme Power + ATI Radeon HD 3650 PCI-E + Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz

 

[Celtic]

I called MSI and they Claim that the 3870 OC edition is 9" long, Can anyone verify this?