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Is air cooled 3-way SLI possible?

Post Date: 2008-12-01
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JamesAstro View Drop Down
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Posts: 624 		  Quote JamesAstro Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Is air cooled 3-way SLI possible?
    Posted: 01 Dec 2008 at 5:02pm
Bah!

I recently ordered a Core i7 system from DSO, and I wanted 3-way SLI using the Asus Rampage II motherboard. Unfortunately DSO called me back, and said that the Rampage II didn't have room for 3 air-cooled 280 GTX cards. My only options were to upgrade to liquid cooling, or downgrade to 2 video cards.

Dang that sucks. That seems like a pretty big design limitation for the Rampage II. How can a motherboard call itself 3-way SLI compatible if it doesn't support air cooling in that configuration?

I'm bummed. It looks like it's back to the drawing board.

James
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3 way SLI is way overkill man . like i say to everyone else who wants to get tri-sli. stick with 2 cards, your performance difference will  be minimal in games. 
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skyR View Drop Down
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Posts: 2220 		  Quote skyR Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 01 Dec 2008 at 5:11pm
3-way SLI with dual-slot heatsinks is possible on the Rampage II. However the Rampage II is longer than the traditional ATX motherboard so your case must have enough room for the last card at the very bottom of the mobo.

If you want 3-way SLI on air, the EVGA X58 is a viable option.

Edited by skyR - 01 Dec 2008 at 5:11pm
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JamesAstro View Drop Down
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Posts: 624 		  Quote JamesAstro Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 01 Dec 2008 at 5:45pm
Originally posted by skyR

3-way SLI with dual-slot heatsinks is possible on the Rampage II. However the Rampage II is longer than the traditional ATX motherboard so your case must have enough room for the last card at the very bottom of the mobo.

If you want 3-way SLI on air, the EVGA X58 is a viable option.


Hmm, I guess I'll have to wait and see if DSO offers the EVGA X58 at some point.

Also, do you have any idea which case might support 3-SLI with the Rampage II?

Thanks.
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skyR View Drop Down
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Posts: 2220 		  Quote skyR Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 01 Dec 2008 at 6:14pm
I believe both the Antec 1200 and Coolermaster 830 is capable of Rampage II's tri-sli.
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JamesAstro View Drop Down
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Posts: 624 		  Quote JamesAstro Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 01 Dec 2008 at 6:51pm
Originally posted by skyR

I believe both the Antec 1200 and Coolermaster 830 is capable of Rampage II's tri-sli.


I wonder if the HAF 932 would work?
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jtspectra2 View Drop Down
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Posts: 840 		  Quote jtspectra2 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 01 Dec 2008 at 7:10pm
i don't see why it wouldn't . the HAF is huge .  Correct me if i'm wrong though
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skyR View Drop Down
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Posts: 2220 		  Quote skyR Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 01 Dec 2008 at 7:57pm
Probably is able to but it would be tight fit. Basically you will most likely experience some sort of overheating issue as the PSU and GPU will be right beside each other. If the PSU fan is on top, it would be sucking air from the GPU and the GPU ran would be sucking air from the PSU =\

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/11304-cooler-master-haf-932-case-review-11.html
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Alex View Drop Down
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Posts: 16314 		  Quote Alex Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 01 Dec 2008 at 8:02pm
We just added the EVGA X58.
 
I also let James know as well.
 
You can do a Triple SLI setup with the EVGA X58 motherboard.
 
Warm Regards,
Alex
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JamesAstro View Drop Down
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Posts: 624 		  Quote JamesAstro Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 01 Dec 2008 at 9:27pm
Ah sweet! This forum rocks!

While I'm here...is there much of a difference between the Asus Rampage II motherboard and EVGA x58? As an end user will I even care?

Thanks again,

James
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Alex View Drop Down
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Posts: 16314 		  Quote Alex Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 01 Dec 2008 at 9:33pm
The Asus Rampage II has some great overclock tweaks, but, the X58 is your choice if you want Triple SLI power.
 
Warm Regards,
Alex
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skyR View Drop Down
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Posts: 2220 		  Quote skyR Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 01 Dec 2008 at 9:42pm
Originally posted by JamesAstro

Ah sweet! This forum rocks!

While I'm here...is there much of a difference between the Asus Rampage II motherboard and EVGA x58? As an end user will I even care?

Thanks again,

James


ASUS uses passive northbridge cooling while EVGA uses active. ASUS also has a dual bios but I doubt you'll even use this feature.
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 1:29am
wait was this a case issue or a mobo issue? does this mean that rampage can't do triple sli on air in the haf?

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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JamesAstro View Drop Down
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Posts: 624 		  Quote JamesAstro Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 1:48am
Originally posted by DST4ME

wait was this a case issue or a mobo issue? does this mean that rampage can't do triple sli on air in the haf?


From what I understand, 3 air cooled cards will fit on to mobo. However, there needs to be some extra room at the bottom of the case. The 950si doesn't have enough space down there. It's unclear whether the HAF 932 will have enough space.
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Posts: 624 		  Quote JamesAstro Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 1:51am
Originally posted by jtspectra2

3 way SLI is way overkill man . like i say to everyone else who wants to get tri-sli. stick with 2 cards, your performance difference will  be minimal in games. 


Ya know, I'm starting to lean that way. It seems like triple SLI is more work than it's worth. Plus Nvidia will probably have a new dual-GPU card within the next 6 months, and then I can do quad-SLI.

James
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Rad!caL View Drop Down
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Posts: 292 		  Quote Rad!caL Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 1:54am
R2E is a better overclocker and has more features. 
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 4:46am
evga supports only upto 1333MHz ram

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JamesAstro View Drop Down
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Posts: 624 		  Quote JamesAstro Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 12:11pm
Originally posted by DST4ME

evga supports only upto 1333MHz ram


Oh wow. That's good to know. I reordered my system last night. I decided to go with these changes based on our conversations above:

HAF 932 case
Asus Rampage II motherboard
Only two 280 GTX video cards

I'm hoping there might be room at the bottom of the case for a 3rd 280 GTX, but we'll see. Hmm, I wonder if there would be more room if the power supply was moved to the top of the case. I must ponder that!

James
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Posts: 340 		  Quote paraguy1 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 1:49pm
If you are willing to spend the money for a third card you would be wiser to use that money on a different upgrade like your processor or cooling or PS or ram before you do that unless you are maxed there. Also nvidia is due for a new card soon. I was thinking about adding a third too but the gain is minimal. 
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Posts: 16314 		  Quote Alex Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 1:57pm
You can do 1600MHz on the EVGA X58, you just need to overclock the system to achieve it.
 
We can do this for you.
 
Warm Regards,
Alex
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JamesAstro View Drop Down
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Posts: 624 		  Quote JamesAstro Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 2:09pm
Originally posted by paraguy1

If you are willing to spend the money for a third card you would be wiser to use that money on a different upgrade like your processor or cooling or PS or ram before you do that unless you are maxed there. Also nvidia is due for a new card soon. I was thinking about adding a third too but the gain is minimal. 


Actually, I'm finding more and more benchmarks that show 3-way SLI is quite a performance boost:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-280-sli-triple-review-test/11

However, I think you're right about waiting for the new Nvidia card. I'm hoping they will offer a dual-GPU card similar to the 4870 X2. Then my gaming world will be complete!
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Posts: 292 		  Quote Rad!caL Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 2:40pm
You won't ever want 3 way SLI. By the time you're ready to upgrade just grab a couple dual-GPU cards such as nVidia's new 260X2 or the 4870 X2.
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Posts: 624 		  Quote JamesAstro Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 2:48pm
Originally posted by Rad!caL

You won't ever want 3 way SLI. By the time you're ready to upgrade just grab a couple dual-GPU cards such as nVidia's new 260X2 or the 4870 X2.


A 260X2 sure would be awesome. I'd buy that in a heartbeat. Are there any rumors as to when it will be available?

I'm afraid I didn't have much luck with the 4870 X2. I tried it when it first came out, and it had problems with Crysis and Half Life 2 E2. Then I tried it again 2 weeks ago, and it had major problems with Tomb Raider Underworld, and it wouldn't even run Half Life 2 Lost Coast. I've been burnt twice now, so I'm going back to Nvidia for the foreseeable future.

James
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Posts: 2220 		  Quote skyR Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 2:51pm
January 2009 at earliest.
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Posts: 292 		  Quote Rad!caL Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 3:10pm
You know there are new Catylst drivers out now that have resolved a lot of problems like that.

But go with whatever's easiest for you.
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Posts: 840 		  Quote jtspectra2 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 7:35pm
Originally posted by DST4ME

evga supports only upto 1333MHz ram


Reallly ????? why is that DST ?
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Posts: 2220 		  Quote skyR Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 8:41pm
evga x58 only has a mem multi of 10x so with a bclock of 133, you are stuck with 1333MHz. jacob has said that a future bios will have more mem multis.

so to achieve 1600mhz ram on the evga x58, you would need a bclock of 160mhz and a uncore clock of 3200MHz+.

to achieve 1800mhz ram, you would need bclock of 180mhz and a uncore clock of 3600MHz.

and so on..
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Dec 2008 at 11:57pm
Originally posted by jtspectra2


Originally posted by DST4ME

evga supports only upto 1333MHz ram
Reallly ????? why is that DST ?


look at what it says above the green line on the bottom right the rest skyR has explained




Edited by DST4ME - 02 Dec 2008 at 11:58pm

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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JamesAstro View Drop Down
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Posts: 624 		  Quote JamesAstro Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 03 Dec 2008 at 12:10am
I'm curious: How much does ram speed really matter? Has anyone seen benchmarks?
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 03 Dec 2008 at 12:15am
from say 1333 to 1600, to be honest you will never notice the difference, but it does provide very little improvements.

Edited by DST4ME - 03 Dec 2008 at 12:16am

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