2x GTX285 questions.

[roast]

Hey all,

I've come into a bit of cash recently. I'm purchasing 2 new GTX285's to replace my 9800GT within the next week. I will be then using the 9800GT as a dedicated Physx card.
I just have a few questions.
Will my current CPU (E7200 OC'd to 3Ghz) bottleneck this or cause any problems?
I'm purchasing these from the US - I live in Ireland. Is there going to be any power issues? Anything I should be aware of?
Currently I have a 520w PSU, with 35A on the 12v rail. Will It actually run these cards? And if not, what PSU can you recommend me?

Thanks for the help,
Michael.

[Reefer86]

a 520watt power supply will not leave much power left when the 2 285's are underload, if not enough. A 750 would proberly cover it, go for one that is 80plus certified.

Plus at 1440x900 res is there much point getting SLI, as far as i understand and when i have used sli, its only really great when used at higher res.

[BarbaricSoul]

Will my current CPU (E7200 OC'd to 3Ghz) bottleneck this or cause any problems?

Most definently, you'll need to OC to around 4 gigs for a intel dual core to even have a chance in keeping up with two GTX285 cards

I'm purchasing these from the US - I live in Ireland. Is there going to be any power issues? Anything I should be aware of?

not to my knowledge, though I could be wrong.

Currently I have a 520w PSU, with 35A on the 12v rail. Will It actually run these cards? And if not, what PSU can you recommend me?

Lord, please don't even try to run a pair of GTX285 cards with a 520 PSU. I personally wouldn't try to run one GTX285 on a 520 watt PSU(600 would be my minimum for 1). In my system, my current PSU is not enough for my two GTX280 cards if I OC my system. I'd recommend atleast 850 watts, 1000 watts would be alot safer and give more headroom.

[roast]

Its not really the wattage that causes me concern, its the amperage. What I'll probably do is just get the cards and if the PSU isnt enough, I'll just buy another.

I know its nearly pointless going SLI with that res, but I will be getting a higher res monitor soon..

[Tatty_One]

Can i ask why you are considering two GTX285's instead of a GTX295? and just to confirm, forget it with that PSU, you will probably need a high quality 850W at least.

[BarbaricSoul]

Originally Posted by Tatty_One

Can i ask why you are considering two GTX285's instead of a GTX295? and just to confirm, forget it with that PSU, you will probably need a high quality 850W at least.

that coming from one of the most respected members of TPU

[roast]

Thanks for the info. What do you think about the amperage? What should be my minimum for running the two cards?

Eventually, I want to run three GTX285's - not a huge fan of the GTX295, and they are far too expensive over here.

-Michael.

[Fishymachine]

Even better why not buy a single HD5870 or Crossfire HD5850,there both cheaper eat less(need a cheaper PSU) and a bit more future proof? http://techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/R...ossFire/3.html

[Tatty_One]

Originally Posted by roast

Thanks for the info. What do you think about the amperage? What should be my minimum for running the two cards?

Eventually, I want to run three GTX285's - not a huge fan of the GTX295, and they are far too expensive over here.

-Michael.

More expensive than two 285's.... damn thats bad. Well if your going to go tri SLi you would be foolish not to get the right PSU from the off, but you need to get into some CPU overclocking fast! personally I would never recommend Tri Sli purely from the scaling on that third unit, you will be getting like just 40 - 50% of the cards true performance, less without the right CPU backing it up.

My suggestion therefore would be a PSU something like this which has 80A to the 12V line......

http://www.corsair.com/products/hx1000/default.aspx

there are plenty of other good quality units out there, some for less cash.

[Tatty_One]

Originally Posted by Fishymachine

Even better why not buy a single HD5870 or Crossfire HD5850,there both cheaper eat less(need a cheaper PSU) and a bit more future proof? http://techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/R...ossFire/3.html

Good point but he probably dont wanna change his motherboard at this stage as well.

[Fishymachine]

than a single HD 5870...it should be close to a GTX285 SLI.And if even there won't be any miracle DX10 drivers soon a MSI/Asus board is about the same as a single GTX 285 and have volt tweaks.And I'm sure a 1000(@1.25-1.3V)/1300 card should deal with every thing that will hit the market in the next year

[Tatty_One]

Originally Posted by Fishymachine

than a single HD 5870...it should be close to a GTX285 SLI.And if even there won't be any miracle DX10 drivers soon a MSI/Asus board is about the same as a single GTX 285 and have volt tweaks.And I'm sure a 1000(@1.25-1.3V)/1300 card should deal with every thing that will hit the market in the next year

A single HD5870 is 17% quicker than a single GTX285 across all resolutions so even taking SLi scaling into consideration, i would guess the GTX285's would be at the very least 40% faster than the HD5870.....

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...D_5870/30.html

We agree on one thing though, whilst i have had several crossfire and SLi setups, I still prefer the powerful single card solution.

[Hayder_Master]

Originally Posted by roast

Thanks for the info. What do you think about the amperage? What should be my minimum for running the two cards?

Eventually, I want to run three GTX285's - not a huge fan of the GTX295, and they are far too expensive over here.

-Michael.

i don't know if you like wate your money it is up to you , but you should know gt300 going to release soon or as tatty say gtx 295 will be cool , another thing you can take ati dx11 rad's now so it is better option to take an 5870 with upgrade you cpu such as q9950 to avoid bottlenick and better performance
also i go answer your question , yes you have bottlenick and your psu is not enough , corsair 750w will be cool for one card and for multi card go for 1000w

[Fishymachine]

indeed it currently is just 17% faster,but it's specifications are basically those of a HD4890X2,and a 4890 is close to a GTX285,overclocked to 1000,like the MSI SOC and Sapphire Atomic,it beats it in most games that are not in the "way it's meant to be played program"(including those biased towards ATi) so given more mature drivers and memories capable of 6000ddr(like the Hynx modules from some HD5770) it should get closer and even with the current situation a MSI board with current driver and memory chips sould deliver 80+% of performance for 50% of cost and with a cheaper PSU

[Tatty_One]

Originally Posted by Fishymachine

indeed it currently is just 17% faster,but it's specifications are basically those of a HD4890X2,and a 4890 is close to a GTX285,overclocked to 1000,like the MSI SOC and Sapphire Atomic,it beats it in most games that are not in the "way it's meant to be played program"(including those biased towards ATi) so given more mature drivers and memories capable of 6000ddr(like the Hynx modules from some HD5770) it should get closer and even with the current situation a MSI board with current driver and memory chips sould deliver 80+% of performance for 50% of cost and with a cheaper PSU

So you are comparing an overclocked 4890 at 1000+ mhz (like mine) against a reference clocked GTX285? Overclock the 285 to it's max and watch the gap open up. But again, as I said before, I am a supporter of the single GPU solution so you dont need to convince me.

[Fishymachine]

also there one thing I didn't notice...1440*900...buy a HD5870 and a 650W PSU and you'll get 24fps minimum even in Crisis,and Dirt 2(for which you might get a coupon),Alien vs Predator,the latest Stalker and basically all the next gen(mostly DX11 or 10.1) games that will appear this year and another thing does anybody know how much a current stepping 5870 can reach with 1.4V?

[roast]

Thanks for the advice you guys.

The only feasible option right now is the GTX285. Anything else over here is far too expensive for me to consider.Retailers tend to match 1€ to 1$, and I dont want to fund that BS. I have had issues with ATI cards in the past, and despite not being a greenteam fanboy, I'd prefer to go for Nvidia cards. I have an nVidia 780i, so I have the option for SLi anyway.

The E7200 I have no problem OC'ing a little more for the time being - its been stable at 3.62 on air before, only reason I downclocked it from that was to save power. That should reduce the bottleneck some, until I get the QX6850 from a friend of mine.

In regards the PSU, I'll be getting a corsair 850w to take the heat.

-Mick.

[Fishymachine]

in US and in Romania a HD5870 costs the same(a bit more) as a GTX285,and both firms that I recommended have both ATi an nVidia cads,and a 5870 with 1200core/1400(5600)VRM will be miles ahead of any GTX285 out there(I'd there say even one under LN)

[phanbuey]

Originally Posted by Fishymachine

in US and in Romania a HD5870 costs the same(a bit more) as a GTX285,and both firms that I recommended have both ATi an nVidia cads,and a 5870 with 1200core/1400(5600)VRM will be miles ahead of any GTX285 out there(I'd there say even one under LN)

well, yeah... i mean no matter how you slice it, the 5870 is a better card, hell... the 5850 is most likely a way better card. It doesnt even have to be at 1200 core lol... I don't think a single 285 could touch a stock 5870.


The 285's are nice cards in the sense that they have are very smooth to game on - the min FPS is high on these cards and gameplay experience is very good. But bench-wise, they don't hold a candle to the 58xx series.

[gaximodo]

OP has stated he doesn't want go ATi.

And @roast, your CPU will be fine even just leave it with current clocks, a friend of mine can't notice a difference between stock and overclocked to 4050mhz with a E8400 and two 275's. Yes in benchmarks your CPU would bottleneck your cards but in game you can barely see the difference(1~2FPS maximum for most games I think)

[newtekie1]

My main rig, with a GTX285, only pulls ~325w from the wall under load(maxs out at 315w running furmark).

So your 520w powersupply, assuming it is from a good company, should handle two GTX285's. I wouldn't want to run it like that for long, as it will likely be at its max, but it should handle it. It will definitely handle one without issue though, with power to spare.

Upgrading to that 850w Corsair is definitely a good idea.

[Tatty_One]

The OP might find this interesting....... Tri and dual SLi review with power consumptions, in the reviews case with the 2 cards full system draw at load was 556W but thats with a core i7.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforc...ew--3way-sli/3

[BarbaricSoul]

So your 520w powersupply, assuming it is from a good company, should handle two GTX285's. I wouldn't want to run it like that for long, as it will likely be at its max, but it should handle it. It will definitely handle one without issue though, with power to spare.

my Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750 watt PSU is BARELY enough for my GTX280's with no system OC'ing.

[roast]

All comments are appreciated... especially that article Tatty. If I hadnt had issues with ATi in the past, I would go for the 5870... but I really dont want to take the risk of having to pull my hair out again.

[JrRacinFan]

One moot point in the thread is 1440x900. Go with a single HD4870 HD5770 or GTX275. As far as power supply goes, it all depends on the quality.