[Sourtop]

Hi!

I'm thinking about upgrading my PC and I'm concerned I'll have issues fitting the Asus Matrix II and a Xonar Essence STX PCI-e in the P67 Sabertooth. It looks like the only way to do it is to have the sound card in the first PCI-e slot and then the GPU in the first PCI-e16 slot and covering the other PCI-e slots. I guess I could also get the PCI version of the Xonar Essence and connect it in the bottom slot?

I'm a little concerned over heating issues with the first option. Any advice/help with this would be great!


Thanks

EDIT: I'm also considering using my current GTX 460 for PhysX and use the GTX 580 as the main GPU. Again this might cause heating issues. I'm using a HAF 922 so I have plenty of airflow in the case at least.

[JR23]

Hey, I think all 3 cards would fit on the sabertooth without any trouble. I have two 570's in mine and there is a fair gap in the middle and plenty of room on top for a sound card, well an entire slot. I'm sure cooling will be fine in the HAF

[Sourtop]

Won't there be an issue with the 580 blowing hot air directly onto the 460?

[JR23]

Would you not put the 580 on the bottom. As its 3 slots deep then it would be touching the 460 if it were on the top

[Sourtop]

You can't put it on the bottom. The PSU would be in the way. At least it would be in the HAF 922.

[JR23]

Ok you would probably have a fair gap in my case. I guess this is going to be a problem on any motherboard. Do you already have the Matrix II?

EDIT: In the HAF you have 6 slots and a total of 6 slots of card so its not going to work out different on any motherboard, putting the sound card inbetween would be weird and I don't think there would be any motherboards to do that with. I think the sound card would be fine directly on top of the 580 but the Matrix II is massively deep I don't think anything is going to fit under it. If you found a mother board with pciE(a) pci16(b) pciE pci16 pci16 pci16(c) do you think you could get away with the 460 one slot off the PSU?

EDIT 2: Hang about you need a motherboard like pictured on the coolermaster site in the HAF with a pci 16 at the top for your 460 and then two E's the bottom one being for your sound card and then another pci16 for your 580 and you would be sorted? No? just gotta go board hunting!

MSI Z68MA-G45 (B3) Could that work out?

Anyway getting late here I wish you luck, sorry if I have overlooked something and been a noob, I am a noob, but I did just put a sabertooth together so thought I may shed light on something. Just a thought perhaps a 580 can handle physX on its own, its a pretty big boy.

My friend suggested two 560's and a 460 to me I guess it would have been pretty cool but it woulda been toasty and a lot of trouble finding a board.

[Sourtop]

Yes I currently have a GTX 460 with my P67 Sabertooth. I was planning on buying a GTX 580, a SSD, and that sound card next week or the week after and I'm trying to figure out if I can get the Matrix II. Otherwise I'll get the EVGA GTX 580.

It seems to me that there might be just enough room to go with:

Slot 1 (PCI-e) - Sound card
Slot 2 (PCI-e *16) - Asus Matrix II
Slot 3 (PCI-e) - """"
Slot 4 (PCI-e) - """"
Slot 5 (PCI-e 16) - eVGA GTX 460
Slot 6 (PCI) - """"

But then I have both video cards tight together with the 580 blowing air on the 460 and the 460 blowing air on the PSU.

[JR23]

I'm not sure that would be so great. looking at the Matrix from the backplate the cowling is exactly 3 slots deep. You would have the same space as there is between the very top of the backplate on the 460 and the top of the chip. Like 1/4" at the absolute best.

If it was me I would get the eVGA but thats because i'm a freak and like things to match. On that the fan would stick out of the end of the 460, it would be kinda neat. Could the budget stretch out to a GTX580 classified? That would leave a whole slot for cooling?

[Sourtop]

I just saw the new eVGA GTX 580. Seems like its just a further overclocked GTX 580. I'll probably just go with a regular eVGA GTX 580 to give myself the extra room in the case.

[JR23]

Seeing as the classified is the same size why would you not have the OC, unless its a little over budget ofc?

I think you are right to go with the eVGA over the Asus though.

[Sourtop]

I was under the impression that you could overclock the GPU yourself without having to buy the factory overclocked versions. I imagine the classified has a better cooler though and it comes with 3 GB memory instead of 1.5 so it seems like a pretty good investment anyway. I've wanted to get another monitor too so that would help a lot.

[JR23]

Its nice to have their official approval that it can run that clock and be stable, and evidently a better cooler on it.

You can get them both in 1.5 and 3.0GB I thought

Will your PSU be up to the job of two graphics cards. Also check the power inputs to whichever 580 you pick as I think they are something like two 8 pins and a 4 pin, or two 6's and a 4.

Sweet monitors are cool, I have 3


Hows your sabertooth going. I finaly got mine to stop double posting and showing two bios screens! Yippee proper boot times at last, the force of my Force 3 is set to full force!

[JR23]

GTX580 Classified:

Minimum of a 600 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 42 Amps.)

An available 6-pin PCI-E power connector and two available 8 pin PCI-E power connectors

[Sourtop]

I was going to have to get a new PSU. I was thinking a TX850 or an AX850. Either should work for the cards.

How did you manage to stop the double booting and double bios screens? I'm still on the 1502 BIOS version.

[JR23]

Latest stable BIOS (can't remember number 17XX?).

Reset CMOS using the little jumper.

Disable Marvell storage controller and JMB storage controller.

Job Done!

PS: Be advised when you reset your CMOS to check all of your clock speeds, it decided to OC everything in my system by 15% lol

What power do you need to your 460?

[Sourtop]

I think the GTX 460 requires 400 W. I assume 850 W on a high quality PSU will be more than enough for 460+580 and give me the option to SLI 580s in the future.

[Sourtop]

Would it be better to just reset all BIOS settings to default when you clear the CMOS and then put in your overclocking settings afterwards?

[JR23]

Yeh I guess you will have to use the adapters with the 580 to take an extra 6 pin off the Molex.

The TX850V2 was bundled with my case its nice, looks and feels nice quality if that stands for anything. It even comes with a little corsair bag you can use for something =/ I put my rat in it the other day.

Lol rat innuendos.

Same as all non modular PSU's I have a molex line and 2 sata lines with absolutely no use filling the back of my case up but nothing tragic. Depending on the routing in your case the MB 8 pin is bordering on short but I got individual sleeved extensions now anyway, they are slick.

[Sourtop]

I was going to go with a modular PSU anyway. I didn't think it would be worth it originally, but after putting my PC together I can see how much better it would be for cable management.

[JR23]

About the BIOS, I did reset it to default right after. I am just saying that it overclocked when the CMOS was reset so just watch that when you first boot.

If you disable the Marvell and JMB now it may get rid of the double post/screens?