SLI compatibility Q and others

[nonsubmssve]

Hi
I have been wondering if 2 of my different GPUs can be used together in SLI, ive been building a new PC but at the moment can't buy the new one but thinking in the future for beneficial reasons if I can put these two together.

What I currently have
EVGA GeForce GTX 260

and

What I will buy
GIGABYTE GTX 570

From what it looks I don't think they are compatible but to make sure, I wanted to ask the experienced on their opinions, you guys.

If you guys think I should get a different card from what I will buy in the future (gigabyte one) if you think there is a better, cheaper and more reliable card then I answered the questions on the sticky post in advance just incase.




APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: 2-3 Weeks from now (the week of black Friday for better deals)

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming - Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Metro 2033, Crysis. Hopefully all in full/max settings. Watching Movies in HD. Surfing the Interenet. Music.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: Current GPU - as said before, GTX 260. Current PSU - Corsair Crossfire 750w

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: MOBO I WILL get: ASUS Z68
Already bought and recieved RAM - Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB)

CPU I WILL get: Intel i5-2500k

Already bought Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper EVO 212

Other:

CASE - NZXT Guardian 921

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Mainly newegg.com, amazon.com.

PARTS PREFERENCES: I prefer the Geforce family type. GTX and stuff, etc.

OVERCLOCKING: No
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe (varies on compatibility and your guys' opinions.)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I already have a planned wishlist of my PC build but I have not bought any of the main parts GPU, PCU, MOBO. So if you do not think what I have is not recommended or do not like and prefer something else, please explain to me why this and that is better than mine. I will show my full specs of what is to be my future PC:

MOBO - ASUS ATX Intel Mobo.

GPU - Gigabyte GTX 570. (Optional for I might re-use my EVGA GTX 260 until I buy this last. Still good to fit everything else right?)

PSU - Corsair Crossfire 750w.

CPU - Intel i5-2500k.

COOLER - Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO.

CASE - NZXT Guardian 921.

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 1TB http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...nnorswebguidec

RAM - Corsair Vengeance (2x4GB).

Links for all this is above.

Also, i do want to run Crysis to max settings with ease just to make sure if it does, then i should have little problems with other games for Crysis does have the toughest specs to pass and Metro 2033.


Thanks for reading my post and having patience to help me.

 

[monsta]

You can't SLI two different models of graphics cards, a 260 can only SLI with another 260

 

[nonsubmssve]

thought so, thanks.

 

[monsta]

No problem , the GTX 570 is a great upgrade, may even be overkill for your resolution , but if you are planning on upgrading your monitor the GTX 570 is a good choice.

 

[nonsubmssve]

oh alright, thanks for the advice. Quick question(s), You think that it will be able to play Crysis flawlessly hopefully on Max settings or near that? I mean including including everything else with it?

I might change my GPU though, its still 570 but this one really interested me

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121432&Tpk=ASUS%20GTX%20570

 

[inzone]

To max out the game settings is a lot different than just being able to play the game at a reasonable fps. To max out the games you listed that means you want to play those games at the highest settings and to do that with as you say "ease" you will need two cards in SLI. A nice card that was just released by Evga and is a double gpu card which means you can run a single card SLI. The card has two 560Ti gpu's and will get 25 to 30% performance increase over a GTX 580.

EVGA 02G-P3-1569-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win (Fermi) 2GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
$519.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130737

The other choices you have are ok , you didnt list a motherboard but an Asus z68 is a good choice like this one;

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS $209.99


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730

The cpu cooler is ok but you could check out this one;

ZALMAN CNPS12X 120mm Long Life Bearing High Performance Triple Fan CPU Cooler
$99.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118097

 

[inzone]

oh alright, thanks for the advice. Quick question(s), You think that it will be able to play Crysis flawlessly hopefully on Max settings or near that? I mean including including everything else with it?

I might change my GPU though, its still 570 but this one really interested me

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121432&Tpk=ASUS%20GTX%20570

Wow a three slot killer beast video card! That thing will take up half your motherboard and you would have serious problems if you wanted to SLI.

 

[monsta]

Yes with the GTX 570 and your resolution you will play flawlessly on max settings with your resolution.
The Asus GTX 570 is a great card, overclocks and has excellent cooling.

 

[monsta]

Haha its a 2.5 slot card

 

[nonsubmssve]

lol yeah for real. if I did get that card I won't be planning to SLI for my mid-Tower could not provide the space. But it is only $30 or so dollars more and it seems like a beast of a GPU.

I dont know yet if it is compatible with everything else I have to get.

 

[inzone]

The only problem with that card is that you are stuck with a GTX 570 and you won't be maxing out any games , you will play them all right but not at max.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

MoBo - That's the older version. This is the new one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792

RAM - Get the same RAM w/o the toothy heat sinks.....they will interfere w/ ya cooler

The only cooling effect of these big coolers is that they "look cool". While they served a purpose (when they were effective) w/ DDR2, they are absolutely useless on DDR3.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=67&limit=1&limitstart=1

At more than 2" tall in certain areas the Corsair Vengeance could pose a problem for users like me who use large coolers such as the Scythe Mugen 2. I was able to use the Corsair Vengeance only after I mounted the fan on my cooler on the backside. Size is definitely a concern with heat spreaders of this size and therefore I encourage users to check that they will have enough space under their heatsinks before purchasing the Corsair Vengeance kit.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=773&Itemid=67&limit=1&limitstart=6

The problem I have with the Corsair Vengeance is the same I have with many kits of RAM on the market. Companies insist on putting large coolers on their RAM and it limits the choice in CPU heatsinks that can be used within users system. DDR3 does not require these elaborate coolers with its lower voltages which translate to lower temperatures then RAM saw during the DDR, and DDR2 era. Corsair is correcting this with low profile versions of its Vengeance line but ultimately I would like to see the average size of coolers drop instead of having to look for specific low profile versions of a memory line.

Same specs, no cooler interefrence:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233199
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233196

Cooler - The hyper 612 is out but now in newegg, tho if not overclocking an aftermarket cooler is of no benefit.

PSU - 750 watter is undersized for two 570's ... would be OK for two 560's if not OC'd. This XFX Model is cheaper than the Corsair, gets same jonnyguru rating of 9.5 and is 850 watts

GFX - Consider the following:

900 MHZ GTX 560 gets 862 fps in SLI in Guru3D'd gaming test suite for $215
GTX 570 gets 873 fps in SLI in Guru3D'd gaming test suite for $340

Your old 260 is worth keeping as a dedicated PhysX card ... at least until ya get another 560/570 to SLI

 

[nonsubmssve]

What do you mean I can't max it out? is it because it's one big card?

EDIT* Did not see last post lol.

Wish I knew this earlier, for I already bought the RAM and the Cooler. (Just received it today actually ). What if I don't use the cooler, can I still use the RAM? Though your suggestions are better.

I don't plan on OC'ing because this is my first build and have little knowledge of actually OC'ing :/.

The PSU i will worry later but thanks for the heads up on it.

Interesting on the GFX, I'm definitely gonna look at those.

Thanks for the extensive research. Really appreciate it.

 

[nonsubmssve]

Also, will this factor any compatibility issues?

Sorry for kind of a bump and double post.

 

[nonsubmssve]

Best answer selected by nonSubmssve.