GTX 460 or 560ti SLI on 750watts?

[drmobius]

System:

CPU: AMD Pheonom II X6 1090T
Cooler: Zalaman CNPS9900ALED
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5 R
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB SDRAM DDR3 1600 (CAS 9)
PSU: Corsair AX750
Drives: 1 DVD/RW, 1 750g Seagate, 1 120g p-ata (currently scratch drive, soon to be replaced with 60g SSD and then using 750 as storage)
OS: Win 7 x64
GPU: See below
Overclocking: Nothing. My goal is to buy the overclocked versions of the GPU's, but not to do any further overclocking.
Preffered sites: I've ordered everything so far from Newegg.
Budget: ~270 per card, max.
System use: Gaming.

I'm in the process of upgrading my system. Already have the mobo, cpu, heatsink; and just ordered the psu and ram today. Video cards come last.

Originally I was going to go with two EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 superclocked cards, so I picked a 750w power supply. Then I saw the best cards for the money article here and decided jumping up to two EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1563-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti's would be a longer lasting investment, so I've been hoping to grab those instead.

Problem is, I've already ordered the PSU, its en route now. Will that PSU be able to take two 560's in SLI or will I need to revert back to the 460's?

Second question is in regards to the actual cards. I've been seeing alot of people mention heating issues, and the EVGA's only have the one fan. I liked their brand for their support and the option to upgrade down the road, but I'd rather take a better cooled (meaning hopefully more stable longer) card as long as the manufacturer still backed their cards with a reasonable warranty/return period. I have looked at many reviews that put Palit and Gigabyte overclocked above EVGA, but Palit only has a 2 year limited warranty, and Newegg is out of the Gigabyte 560ti superoverclock. I'm also not opposed to the idea of Radeon cards in crossfire, but most of the reviews I've came across have been putting the SLI of the 460/560's over the crossfire of comparable Radeon cards. Would there be a better option for the video cards?

 

[Mousemonkey]

Unless you plan to change your motherboard and possibly the CPU as well you needn't worry about SLi'ng as you have a Crossfire board and would have to resort to hacks in order to use SLi.

 

[drmobius]

...I'm also not opposed to the idea of Radeon cards in crossfire... Would there be a better option for the video cards?

I've seen many people use Nvidia cards on that motherboard and post reviews that they love the board, but if for some reason AMD means I have to go with Radeon, then my question remains, would there be a better option for the cards? I was also looking through some of the 6870 cards, like the MSI R6870 Twin Frozr II Radeon HD 6870, but then there's still the power question. Can I run two of those on my PSU?

 

[Mousemonkey]

You should have no issues with using a single Nvidia card on that motherboard.

 

[drmobius]

I appreciate you replying, however my questions are being unanswered. I am not interested in a single Nvidia card as I know the dual 560ti's or 6870's will outperform a single card.

If I can only use crossfire on this board, then the question would be can I run two 6870's with the power supply I have, or would that be too much power draw.

I'd love any suggestions on good 6870's.

And finally, if the motherboard itself is going to prevent me from having any luck with dual video cards, then I can return the motherboard for something of comparable price, though I would rather avoid this if I can run two 6870's on the board I have as I would eat shipping costs.

Edit: Again, if the motherboard is going to be a problem, would this be a good alternate: MSI 890FXA-GD70

 

[drmobius]

I read some nasty things about the spacing of the PCI-Express slots on the Gigabyte motherboard I have. Luckily I haven't opened it, so I can still return it. With that in mind, I'm thinking of buying the MSI 890FXA-GD70 which would allow for more spacing, and seems to be more solid all around.

Still, my biggest question, can I run two 6870's with the Corsair AX750 PSU?

And second, what are some good recommendations for 6870's intended to be run in crossfire?

 

[Mousemonkey]

Powerwise you be OK as they use less than the 560's if you run them at default clocks.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

that power supply could run 2 OC'd 560's no problems.

 

[drmobius]

That was my main concern, thanks for the replies.

Last question, the issue with the gigabyte mobo is that the two PCI-Express slots are too close together, so it leaves very little space between the cards. Some people are running just fine, others are having overheat problems. I have 30 days to return the board if the graphic cards don't fit, so I'm looking for a good dual 6870 combo that has good cooling around $270 each.

 

[jb6684]

Just use this handy calculator:

http://www.antec.outervision.com/PSUEngine

460's 520watts, 560's 550watts, 570's 675watts,
6870's 509watts, 6950's 6950's 542watts,

Pair of 6970's 715watts TOO much for your 750watt supply... but any of the others listed above would be fine.

Be sure your motherboard is SLI certified if you want to go with NVidia

Running two card means the top card is going to run 10C to 15C hotter than the bottom card, PERIOD....

I own 5770's, 5870's, and 460's. In Antec 183, Corsair 800D, HAF-X. The motherboards I have ALL allow for a full card to be installed Between the pair of video cards, so, there is as much space as you'll ever get.


You might not want to hear it, but, if you've got $500 for video cards just buy a GTX 580 and be done with it....
- less heat
- less power
- no compatibility issues with the motherboard

A single GTX 580 is either faster or so close it doesn't matter when compared to a pair of 5870's or 460's.

True, a pair of 560 Ti's would beat any of these.... if you gotta have it get a new motherboard too...

 

[drmobius]

Best answer selected by drmobius.

 

[drmobius]

Just use this handy calculator:

http://www.antec.outervision.com/PSUEngine

460's 520watts, 560's 550watts, 570's 675watts,
6870's 509watts, 6950's 6950's 542watts,

Pair of 6970's 715watts TOO much for your 750watt supply... but any of the others listed above would be fine.

...You might not want to hear it, but, if you've got $500 for video cards just buy a GTX 580 and be done with it....

Calculator showed I could definitely run two 6870's without a problem. I wasn't looking at 6970's. However, after seeing the motherboard, there definitely is a spacing issue for the pci-e x16 slots, so I will probably just be going with an evga OC'd 580.

Thanks for the link, proved quite useful.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey