Experts only. 4 HD 5970's

[monstermankc]

I am interested ( if it is possible) (yes I know it is overkill so get those comments out right away) in installing 4 HD 5970's on a 4 Way Sli Classified Board. 2x Quad Crossfire! (8 GPU's)

Is this a bad idea? how much power will I need? Possible? Scaling?

Thanks for you help

 

[hunter315]

Cant be done, the drivers on support 4 GPUs, and even quad fire has pretty bad scaling for the last GPU. If you could do it you would need 1200W just for the GPUs at stock speed, add in a strong CPU, OC a bit and there isnt a power supply out there that will hold up to it for long.

 

[monstermankc]

Would it be better to use 3-4 GTX 480's than 2 HD 5970's. I figured there would be an issue with the drivers . I wish it was that easy though. Whats your opionion Nvidia? or ATI and why? Should I wait for the 6 series cards in November from ATI?

 

[Helltech]

3 480's is not better than 2 5970s in terms of raw power, however 4 480's is, if your going for the best possible setup 4 480's is the best right now.

Also 400 series > 5000 series. 400 series is newer and is better for DX11 then the 5000 series, the 400 series has good tesselation and with 3D Vision and Physx I don't think you can go wrong.

With 4 480's you're going to need two need the largest power supplies and you will not be able to cool your computer naturally.

 

[hunter315]

If you are buying soon, i would stick to either a single 5970 or 2 GTX 480s for now, and when the new 6xxx series comes out grab a couple of its flagship cards and you will end up with better performance in the end without obscene levels of heat.

 

[monstermankc]

I use a thermal take Xaser 6 and I take the side panel off and I fire a big but quiet fan directly on the inside. Some people say this is a bad idead but I havnt lost a component yet. The only thing I water cool is the CPU

 

[monstermankc]

If you are buying soon, i would stick to either a single 5970 or 2 GTX 480s for now, and when the new 6xxx series comes out grab a couple of its flagship cards and you will end up with better performance in the end without obscene levels of heat.[/quotemsg


Should I just use the 6 series cards alone? Im thinking of getting 2 of them after I read review of them of course.

 

[Helltech]

Wait till the holiday seasons if you can, the 6000 will comes out, likely dropping the price of some of the 400s and the higher end 400s MAY come out.

If the 475 is on the GF104 architecture and can be quad SLI'ed then I'd say they will probably be better then a 480.

 

[monstermankc]

3 480's is not better than 2 5970s in terms of raw power, however 4 480's is, if your going for the best possible setup 4 480's is the best right now.

Also 400 series > 5000 series. 400 series is newer and is better for DX11 then the 5000 series, the 400 series has good tesselation and with 3D Vision and Physx I don't think you can go wrong.

With 4 480's you're going to need two need the largest power supplies and you will not be able to cool your computer naturally.

What cooling system would you recommend? I have seen a few people running 4 480s in Sli at load at about 80-90c naturally. (Fan)

 

[monstermankc]

I know these are just graphic card decisions but damn I cant decide. I want the best and I am afraid to make a bad decision. I have been saving for a while now for this obnoxious system.

 

[monstermankc]

I should probably mention a budget.....$3400

 

[Helltech]

There is one important question.... what resolution do you play at?

 

[monstermankc]

1920 1050 ( i believe) 3x Screens

 

[monstermankc]

I dont know if I care about 3d or not yet I havnt tried it

 

[monstermankc]

I think it is split some people say 2 HD 5970's is king others say 3-4 GTX 480's. 10 people 10 different opinions. I wish there was a clear winner

 

[Helltech]

Just look at benchmarks, they are all pretty clear... for reference... taken from the GPU Heirarchy List...

Geforce GTX 480 In Quad SLI
Radeon Ares HD5870X2 In Crossfire
Radeon HD5870 In Quadfire
Radeon HD5970 In Crossfire
Radeon HD5850 In Quadfire
Geforce GTX 285 In Quad SLI
Radeon HD4890 In Quadfire
Radeon HD5830 In Quadfire
Geforce GTX 480 In Tri SLI
Radeon HD5870 In Tri fire
Geforce GTX 470 In Tri SLI

 

[unknown_13]

Just look at benchmarks, they are all pretty clear... for reference... taken from the GPU Heirarchy List...

Geforce GTX 480 In Quad SLI
Radeon Ares HD5870X2 In Crossfire
Radeon HD5870 In Quadfire
Radeon HD5970 In Crossfire
Radeon HD5850 In Quadfire
Geforce GTX 285 In Quad SLI
Radeon HD4890 In Quadfire
Radeon HD5830 In Quadfire
Geforce GTX 480 In Tri SLI
Radeon HD5870 In Tri fire
Geforce GTX 470 In Tri SLI

+1 this explains everything.

 

[monstermankc]

Best answer selected by monstermankc.