Will 650W be enough for my 460 SLI?

tyl998 · 10-25-10, 03:30 PM

After getting a lot of good answers from the other thread and doing some more research myself, I've decided to upgrade from my GTX280.

I just ordered two of these cards: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125333 and now I'm worried that my PSU might not be able to handle it.

I'm building a new system from scratch, and I will be putting everything together minus the 460s tonight. In their place I will be using a single GTX280 until the new cards arrive.

So, I've got some questions:
1) Does have two cards increase the Tessellation capabilities of the setup?
2) Can the 460 handle DX11 well?
3) Is Tessellation and DX11 important? It's part of the reason I upgraded from my GTX280.
4) Will my 650 Watt antec PSU be enough?
5) I plan on overclocking my CPU, but I've never done any OCing before. Do I need some special software? What is this CPU-Z and GPU-Z I keep hearing about?

The rest of my rig:
MOBO -Gigabyte GA-X58a-UD3R
Processor - i7 930 Bloomfield
Memory - Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 XMS3 6 GB 3 x 2 GB PC3-10666 1333MHz 240-Pin DDR3 Core i7 Memory Kit
HDD - Samsung F3 Spinpoint 1 TB 7200 rpm, 2x old IDE drives with about 120-140 GB capacity each
Optic drive - Sony Optiarc Black 24x DVD+R
Case - Antec 300 (has 3x 120mm fans, 1x 140mm fan)
Peripherals - Logitech MX518 mouse, Logitech G15 Keyboard, Logitech headset
Monitor (has own power source) - ASUS VH236H 23 Inch Widescreen LCD

EarthDog · 10-25-10, 03:44 PM

1. Yes. but not 2x its dependent on scaling.
2. Yes, the 460 is a DX11 card.
3. Yes, if you play DX11 games which include tesselation (BFBC2 is one I can think of)
4. It should be fine.
5. You need to read the link in my sig (i7 overclocking guide). You can google CPUz/GPUz, but they are just programs that show some needed statistics such as clock and bus speeds, voltages, memory speed and stock speeds, etc.

I still would have went with the 470, especially considering the price drops lately ($250 for one of those now). I know 460 1gb in SLI beats them but... I dont like SLI/Crossfire b/c if I pay 2x, I want 2x performance all the time, not 1% of the time. Scaling on average is around 70% or so.

tyl998 · 10-25-10, 03:50 PM

I'm sure the 480 is sweet, but the best price I've seen so far is about $500. That's about a 42% increase in price over my SLI combo...

EarthDog · 10-25-10, 03:50 PM

Sorry, ninja edited on you... 470.

tyl998 · 10-25-10, 07:18 PM

Out of curiosity...what about compared to a 480? Is 460 SLI > 480?

It's certainly less expensive...

ravaneli · 10-25-10, 10:04 PM

i hope you didnt pay 440 for the 2 cards. THese 2 were on sale for 320 total, after the rebate (see cyber deals)

i7 will to to ~3.6 without even touching the voltages.

Badbonji · 10-26-10, 01:40 AM

The GTX460 SLI setup generally outperforms the GTX480:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...80,2694-9.html

But power usage is slightly increased over one GTX480 (only slightly, more performance per watt with the SLI setup)

tyl998 · 10-26-10, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravaneli

i hope you didnt pay 440 for the 2 cards. THese 2 were on sale for 320 total, after the rebate (see cyber deals)

i7 will to to ~3.6 without even touching the voltages.

I was the one who put up that cyberdeal

Badbonji:How much do the 460s use? 160 watts each?

EarthDog · 10-26-10, 10:51 AM

Yes, 160W each. Vs 480 that is 250.

Badbonji · 10-26-10, 03:29 PM

Power consumption for the 1GB models in SLI
http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=25498&page=9

Overall it isn't much more than the GTX480, the increase in performance is more than the power increase %-wise.

tyl998 · 10-27-10, 11:04 AM

Thanks Earthdog, Badbonji!

Earthdog, the link in your thread is the updated version of the original guide right? The author is not you right?

EarthDog · 10-27-10, 11:11 AM

My link, goes to here, which now that article is not hosted here. I did not write it, that was MIAHALLEN.

cmipilot · 11-27-10, 11:45 PM

New to the site and would like to ask whether you folks think I have enough power supply in this new system I'm putting together, my first since about 1995:

Asus P6T Deluxe V2 MoBo
Antec 1200 case
Antec 1000w psu
i7 950 CPU
12 GB RAM
120 GB SSD (1)
1T HD (2)
MSi N460GTX Hawk 1 GB GDDR5 Graphics Cards - SLI'd (2)

Reason I'm asking is the MSi box recommends 450W for just 1 video card. I sure appreciate any feedback I can get.

cmipilot · 11-27-10, 11:49 PM

Sorry; should have also mentioned that each of the 460 GTX's seems to require 4 molex connectors, which has me wondering about cabling issues.

Grief · 11-28-10, 02:15 PM

Well you get converters and most PSU's have 4 molex connectors.

cmipilot · 11-28-10, 02:45 PM

Thanks for replying. Each of the converter cables does three, that gives me a possibility of six, but the two video cards together are needing a total of eight molex terminations. Any ideas on whether the 1000w will be enough?

Darknecron · 11-29-10, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EarthDog

3. Yes, if you play DX11 games which include tesselation (BFBC2 is one I can think of)

BFBC2 has tesselation??? That's new...

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmipilot

Thanks for replying. Each of the converter cables does three, that gives me a possibility of six, but the two video cards together are needing a total of eight molex terminations. Any ideas on whether the 1000w will be enough?

Get a PCI power splitter. Turns one 6-pin power connector into two.

amnios · 11-29-10, 08:47 AM

All along you should have been thinking buying a new PS and getting 460 SLI and using dedicated 280 for physX(or sell the 280 to someone with a dual 280 system so they can go TRISLI and buy a third 460 with the money). Three card setup = You won't be sorry.

I'm running 3 GTX 280's on my Corsair 1000HX. It's a good power supply in my opinion but I'm sure there are better ones. If I can run this you can run 2 460's and a 280.

Darknecron · 11-29-10, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amnios

All along you should have been thinking buying a new PS and getting 460 SLI and using dedicated 280 for physX(or sell the 280 to someone with a dual 280 system so they can go TRISLI and buy a third 460 with the money). Three card setup = You won't be sorry.

I'm running 3 GTX 280's on my Corsair 1000HX. It's a good power supply in my opinion but I'm sure there are better ones. If I can run this you can run 2 460's and a 280.

You can't go tri-sli with 460s.

tyl998 · 11-29-10, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darknecron

You can't go tri-sli with 460s.

You can't use 2 in regular SLI mode and a third just for PhysX?

10-25-10, 03:30 PM	Thread Starter #1
tyl998 Member Join Date: Aug 2010	Will 650W be enough for my 460 SLI? After getting a lot of good answers from the other thread and doing some more research myself, I've decided to upgrade from my GTX280. I just ordered two of these cards: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125333 and now I'm worried that my PSU might not be able to handle it. I'm building a new system from scratch, and I will be putting everything together minus the 460s tonight. In their place I will be using a single GTX280 until the new cards arrive. So, I've got some questions: 1) Does have two cards increase the Tessellation capabilities of the setup? 2) Can the 460 handle DX11 well? 3) Is Tessellation and DX11 important? It's part of the reason I upgraded from my GTX280. 4) Will my 650 Watt antec PSU be enough? 5) I plan on overclocking my CPU, but I've never done any OCing before. Do I need some special software? What is this CPU-Z and GPU-Z I keep hearing about? The rest of my rig: MOBO -Gigabyte GA-X58a-UD3R Processor - i7 930 Bloomfield Memory - Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 XMS3 6 GB 3 x 2 GB PC3-10666 1333MHz 240-Pin DDR3 Core i7 Memory Kit HDD - Samsung F3 Spinpoint 1 TB 7200 rpm, 2x old IDE drives with about 120-140 GB capacity each Optic drive - Sony Optiarc Black 24x DVD+R Case - Antec 300 (has 3x 120mm fans, 1x 140mm fan) Peripherals - Logitech MX518 mouse, Logitech G15 Keyboard, Logitech headset Monitor (has own power source) - ASUS VH236H 23 Inch Widescreen LCD
	QUOTE Thanks

10-25-10, 03:44 PM	#2
EarthDog Senior PITA Member Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stuck in Maryland...	1. Yes. but not 2x its dependent on scaling. 2. Yes, the 460 is a DX11 card. 3. Yes, if you play DX11 games which include tesselation (BFBC2 is one I can think of) 4. It should be fine. 5. You need to read the link in my sig (i7 overclocking guide). You can google CPUz/GPUz, but they are just programs that show some needed statistics such as clock and bus speeds, voltages, memory speed and stock speeds, etc. I still would have went with the 470, especially considering the price drops lately ($250 for one of those now). I know 460 1gb in SLI beats them but... I dont like SLI/Crossfire b/c if I pay 2x, I want 2x performance all the time, not 1% of the time. Scaling on average is around 70% or so. __________________ C2D/C2Q Overclocking Guide / i3/i5/i7 (s1366/1156) Overclocking Guide/Info / SandyBridge/ Ivybridge Overclocking Guide / AMD Overclocking Guide / Power Supply Guide SSD Reliability/Write Endurance / JOIN THE BENCHING TEAM! / Bulldozer Overclocking Guide / Forum Etiquette Want to see your writing featured on the overclockers.com Front Page? PM me, I can help! "We have more information and more ways of accessing it than ever, yet seem increasingly less inclined to do so."- Michael Wilbon Last edited by EarthDog; 10-25-10 at 03:50 PM.
	QUOTE Thanks

10-25-10, 03:50 PM	Thread Starter #3
tyl998 Member Join Date: Aug 2010	I'm sure the 480 is sweet, but the best price I've seen so far is about $500. That's about a 42% increase in price over my SLI combo...
	QUOTE Thanks

10-25-10, 03:50 PM	#4
EarthDog Senior PITA Member Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stuck in Maryland...	Sorry, ninja edited on you... 470. __________________ C2D/C2Q Overclocking Guide / i3/i5/i7 (s1366/1156) Overclocking Guide/Info / SandyBridge/ Ivybridge Overclocking Guide / AMD Overclocking Guide / Power Supply Guide SSD Reliability/Write Endurance / JOIN THE BENCHING TEAM! / Bulldozer Overclocking Guide / Forum Etiquette Want to see your writing featured on the overclockers.com Front Page? PM me, I can help! "We have more information and more ways of accessing it than ever, yet seem increasingly less inclined to do so."- Michael Wilbon
	QUOTE Thanks

10-25-10, 07:18 PM	Thread Starter #5
tyl998 Member Join Date: Aug 2010	Out of curiosity...what about compared to a 480? Is 460 SLI > 480? It's certainly less expensive...
	QUOTE Thanks

Will 650W be enough for my 460 SLI?

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10-25-10, 10:04 PM	#6
ravaneli Member Join Date: Mar 2009	i hope you didnt pay 440 for the 2 cards. THese 2 were on sale for 320 total, after the rebate (see cyber deals) i7 will to to ~3.6 without even touching the voltages. __________________ Q9550 @ 4.0 Ghz 9800 GX2 @ 750/1850/1075 GSkill 1333mhz 4x2GB RAID_0 3x500GB WD Black Caviar Corsair 750TX Gigabyte GA-EP45T-UD3LR BlackIce 360GT watercooled NB, GPU and CPU
	QUOTE Thanks

10-26-10, 01:40 AM	#7
Badbonji Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Birmingham, UK	The GTX460 SLI setup generally outperforms the GTX480: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...80,2694-9.html But power usage is slightly increased over one GTX480 (only slightly, more performance per watt with the SLI setup) __________________ i7 3770K 4.5GHz 1.2V \| Phanteks PH-TC14PE \| 16GB TeamGroup Elite 1600MHz \| GIGABYTE G1.Sniper M3 \| EVGA GTX680 SC 1254/1500MHz \| M4 256GB + 150GB Raptor \| Corsair HX+ 850W \| Antec 1200 i7 965 \| 8GB OCZ Gold 1600MHz \| GIGABYTE Extreme X58 \| HD5450 \| M4 64GB + 7TB \| OCZ 500W P9500 3.13GHz \| 4GB 1000MHz DDR2 \| Mobility HD4850 550/900MHz \| 500GB
	QUOTE Thanks

10-26-10, 10:51 AM	#9
EarthDog Senior PITA Member Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stuck in Maryland...	Yes, 160W each. Vs 480 that is 250. __________________ C2D/C2Q Overclocking Guide / i3/i5/i7 (s1366/1156) Overclocking Guide/Info / SandyBridge/ Ivybridge Overclocking Guide / AMD Overclocking Guide / Power Supply Guide SSD Reliability/Write Endurance / JOIN THE BENCHING TEAM! / Bulldozer Overclocking Guide / Forum Etiquette Want to see your writing featured on the overclockers.com Front Page? PM me, I can help! "We have more information and more ways of accessing it than ever, yet seem increasingly less inclined to do so."- Michael Wilbon
	QUOTE Thanks

10-26-10, 03:29 PM	#10
Badbonji Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Birmingham, UK	Power consumption for the 1GB models in SLI http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=25498&page=9 Overall it isn't much more than the GTX480, the increase in performance is more than the power increase %-wise. __________________ i7 3770K 4.5GHz 1.2V \| Phanteks PH-TC14PE \| 16GB TeamGroup Elite 1600MHz \| GIGABYTE G1.Sniper M3 \| EVGA GTX680 SC 1254/1500MHz \| M4 256GB + 150GB Raptor \| Corsair HX+ 850W \| Antec 1200 i7 965 \| 8GB OCZ Gold 1600MHz \| GIGABYTE Extreme X58 \| HD5450 \| M4 64GB + 7TB \| OCZ 500W P9500 3.13GHz \| 4GB 1000MHz DDR2 \| Mobility HD4850 550/900MHz \| 500GB
	QUOTE Thanks

10-27-10, 11:04 AM	Thread Starter #11
tyl998 Member Join Date: Aug 2010	Thanks Earthdog, Badbonji! Earthdog, the link in your thread is the updated version of the original guide right? The author is not you right?
	QUOTE Thanks

10-27-10, 11:11 AM	#12
EarthDog Senior PITA Member Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stuck in Maryland...	My link, goes to here, which now that article is not hosted here. I did not write it, that was MIAHALLEN. __________________ C2D/C2Q Overclocking Guide / i3/i5/i7 (s1366/1156) Overclocking Guide/Info / SandyBridge/ Ivybridge Overclocking Guide / AMD Overclocking Guide / Power Supply Guide SSD Reliability/Write Endurance / JOIN THE BENCHING TEAM! / Bulldozer Overclocking Guide / Forum Etiquette Want to see your writing featured on the overclockers.com Front Page? PM me, I can help! "We have more information and more ways of accessing it than ever, yet seem increasingly less inclined to do so."- Michael Wilbon
	QUOTE Thanks

11-27-10, 11:45 PM	#13
cmipilot New Member Join Date: Nov 2010	Building New System - 1st in a long, long time. New to the site and would like to ask whether you folks think I have enough power supply in this new system I'm putting together, my first since about 1995: Asus P6T Deluxe V2 MoBo Antec 1200 case Antec 1000w psu i7 950 CPU 12 GB RAM 120 GB SSD (1) 1T HD (2) MSi N460GTX Hawk 1 GB GDDR5 Graphics Cards - SLI'd (2) Reason I'm asking is the MSi box recommends 450W for just 1 video card. I sure appreciate any feedback I can get.
	QUOTE Thanks

11-27-10, 11:49 PM	#14
cmipilot New Member Join Date: Nov 2010	Sorry; should have also mentioned that each of the 460 GTX's seems to require 4 molex connectors, which has me wondering about cabling issues.
	QUOTE Thanks

11-28-10, 02:15 PM	#15
Grief Member Join Date: Jul 2010	Well you get converters and most PSU's have 4 molex connectors.
	QUOTE Thanks

11-28-10, 02:45 PM	#16
cmipilot New Member Join Date: Nov 2010	Thanks for replying. Each of the converter cables does three, that gives me a possibility of six, but the two video cards together are needing a total of eight molex terminations. Any ideas on whether the 1000w will be enough?
	QUOTE Thanks

11-29-10, 08:47 AM	#18
amnios Member Join Date: Dec 2009	All along you should have been thinking buying a new PS and getting 460 SLI and using dedicated 280 for physX(or sell the 280 to someone with a dual 280 system so they can go TRISLI and buy a third 460 with the money). Three card setup = You won't be sorry. I'm running 3 GTX 280's on my Corsair 1000HX. It's a good power supply in my opinion but I'm sure there are better ones. If I can run this you can run 2 460's and a 280. __________________ CPU ------ i7 920 @3.4 COOLER --- NOC NH-U12P SE MOBO ----- ASUS Rampage 2 RAM ------ 6GB Corsair Triple Channel 1333 POWER ---- Corsair 1000hx GPU ------ GTX 280 TRISLI CASE ----- NZXT Tempest HD ------- OCZ Vertex(OS), OCZ Solid, WD Green MONITOR -- Acer X263w and 3DTV PN58C7000 3D ------- Nvidia 3D Vision(with roller emitter hack), Tridef3D, IZ3D Last edited by amnios; 11-29-10 at 08:52 AM.
	QUOTE Thanks

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