Computer Hardware Assistance

[Maglorius]

I need a little assistance with my current gaming machine. The specs are listed below along with the upgrades I ordered.

Mother Board
XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Intel Motherboard 3-Way SLI Support

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813141005

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor BX80562Q6600

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

Memory – (4 GB Total)
Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KHX6400D2LLK2/2G

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134066

Video Cards – (2 Installed SLI) I have a 3rd one also.

XFX PVT98WYDBF GeForce 9800 GTX+ Black Edition 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150327

Power Supply
ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ900 900W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Patent Piperock Modular Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814013

Hard Drives (4 Installed in Raid)

Western Digital Caviar RE WD2500YS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136055

Case
XCLIO A380BK Fully Black SECC 1.0mm thickness ATX Full Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103010

Current Upgrades Ordered

SSD
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706

Memory – (Ordered 2 sets to make a total 8GB)

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KHX6400D2LLK2/4G

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104020

As I mentioned before, I currently still have a 3rd 9800 GTX+ I never installed in my computer, When I ordered my original PSU, I thought I was unable to hook up 3rd 9800 GTX+ video cards in SLI because of the power cable hook ups I was limited too.

This all changed when I saw this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjSI1fcGECA

The computer in this video has the same PSU, Tagan BZ900 with 3 XFX GeForce 260 GTX in 3 Way SLI.

After doing some research, I have come across 6 pin PCIe Splitters. I am not a “power guru” so I am not sure if I can use these types of splitters but if I can, how would I hook it up properly to avoid power issues?

 

[Raiddinn]

Instead of trying to get the PCIE splitters, I think I would try to get my hands on more regular PCIE cables.

I am guessing that you have 2 cables each with 2 PCIE connectors that add up to 4. I would try to get another one of those to have 3 of the same cables that add up to 6.

Then you don't have to subject yourself to the kind of risks that come with splitter cables.

I would look into getting another one of those first, and if you can't then think about getting the splitter cables.

 

[Maglorius]

Raiddinn,

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately Tagan went out of business and the PipeRock type modular cables are no longer available to purchase.

On the back of the PSU there are 8 PipeRock connections. 4 blue for Sata / Molex, 2 Red PCI-E and 2 Green PCI-E.

I have read on different forums that a good 900W PSU is plently for a 3 9800 GTX in SLI, but I just want to make sure that I am hooking it up correctly, Don't want to turn this project into "Bailout Situation"

 

[Raiddinn]

Are the connectors physically different for the different lines that connect to the PSU?

What I mean is, do you think the red cord would fit in the blue slot?

I don't really understand why a PSU maker would limit it this way, but maybe it was done with yours.

Also, there may still be cables available on the secondary market somewhere. There could be a broken Tagan modular PSU on ebay that is being sold for scrap parts as we speak. You could potentially get a cable that way.

 

[Maglorius]

There is actually two units on Ebay but they don't have the cables I need. If you take a look at this picture from one of the post on ebay you will see what I am talking about.

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/ABS-Tagan-BZ-Series-BZ900-900W-ATX12V-EPS12V-SLI-Ready-CrossFire-Power-Supply-/00/s/OTYwWDEyODA=/$(KGrHqJ,!jQE8Jc0!)3+BPLHQUeryQ~~60_3.JPG

The red and green connections are for PCI-E and have 6 pins inside where as the other 4 only have 5.

 

[Raiddinn]

Well, I guess you would probably be fine with something like this then

http://www.atxpowersupplies.com/Molex-to-PCI-Express-Adapter.htm

I wouldn't try to split a PCIE wire into 2x PCIE wires, but 2x Molex into 1x PCIE should be fine if that is the route you have to take.

It would be best to take as much as possible from different power cable ports on the SATA/MOLEX lines.

If you had 4x drives (1 dvd and 3x hard drives or whatever) you would want 1 on each cable and with the 4 molex cables that you need to make 2x PCIE you would also put one on each of the SATA/MOLEX lines.

That would give you two connections to each wire, one a regular drive and one that links to the video card.

Keep in mind the safer bet is to just have a PSU that can handle this stuff natively. One with 6x PCIE built in.

It should work just fine as I described, but it isn't going to win any best practice awards.