CPU/GPU combo?

[ALIENZ!]

Hey guys I have some money to spend (about $700) and a friend of mine is selling two GTX 680 FTW's (4gb). He's asking $350 per or $650 for both. I currently have an AMD FX 8120. I know that the AMD CPU's don't support PCIe 3.0, so would it be worth it to buy both cards or buy one card and an Intel i5 + mobo?

Can't really decide

 

[Supertrucker]

You won't really be limited by 2.0. Sandybridge was 2.0 as well, lots of people run dual cards on that platform. I'd be more concerned with that psu than pcie 2.0

 

[ALIENZ!]

Thanks for the info. According to the 'details' on Newegg, the PSU is SLI ready, but I might upgrade if it can't handle both. I guess I'll go the old 'trial and error' method

 

[Supertrucker]

Well its not the wattage, its the brand. And trial and error on a psu's capability is asking for dead hardware. If you burn it out there is a fair chance for it to take anything or everything its plugged into out with it in a blaze of glory.

What exact psu do you have, the only one I could find suggests its a rebadge of an aspire beast which jonnyguru reviewed as a mediocre overpriced 550w unit with a 680w peak label.

 

[ALIENZ!]

Here's the link to the PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148022

If I need to, I can buy a new one, but I'd rather not have to spend the money if I don't need to.

 

[Supertrucker]

I wouldn't try and run a bulldozer and 2 680s on it at anything above stock, and I would be looking to upgrade it first chance I got.

 

[Knufire]

Please most definitely do not run all of that off that PSU. You want a good 750W for all of that, and that's assuming the CPU at near stock since a hefty OC on a 8120 would probably cause that motherboard to go blammy.

 

[Supertrucker]

Ah i didnt even look at his boards specs. That board doesnt even support sli. And the second card would be running at 4x, if he used an sli hack to make it work. I wouldnt bother running dual 680s without a motherboard upgrade.

 

[Zebodog]

Go for it! That's a good a good deal for 680ftw cards. You'll need to upgrade the mobo which will run about $150-250, and likely the PSU will need to be upgraded as well.

If you decide not to go SLI, you can keep one of the 680ftw cards and still run most games at 1080p with an easy 60+fps and sell the second for what you paid for it if not more.

Dooo it.

 

[ALIENZ!]

Ah i didnt even look at his boards specs. That board doesnt even support sli. And the second card would be running at 4x, if he used an sli hack to make it work. I wouldnt bother running dual 680s without a motherboard upgrade.

Exactly. My original question was whether or not I should buy a new mobo that supports SLI, or if I should just pick up one 680 and buy an i5 and Intel-based mobo.

 

[ALIENZ!]

Go for it! That's a good a good deal for 680ftw cards. You'll need to upgrade the mobo which will run about $150-250, and likely the PSU will need to be upgraded as well.

If you decide not to go SLI, you can keep one of the 680ftw cards and still run most games at 1080p with an easy 60+fps and sell the second for what you paid for it if not more.

Dooo it.

Haha. Then I definitely will.

 

[ALIENZ!]

Okay, so I think I'll pick up both cards, stick one of them in my rig for the time being until I can get a board that supports SLI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131877) as well as a PSU. The nice thing about the aforementioned motherboard is that it can support the new AMD CPU's that were just announced, once they become available for sale.

 

[Zebodog]

Okay, so I think I'll pick up both cards, stick one of them in my rig for the time being until I can get a board that supports SLI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131877) as well as a PSU. The nice thing about the aforementioned motherboard is that it can support the new AMD CPU's that were just announced, once they become available for sale.

Good choice on boards.

 

[ALIENZ!]

Good choice on boards.

Thanks! I guess I know which route I'm going to take now. I appreciate your help everyone!

 

[ALIENZ!]

Ah i didnt even look at his boards specs. That board doesnt even support sli. And the second card would be running at 4x, if he used an sli hack to make it work. I wouldnt bother running dual 680s without a motherboard upgrade.

Must you refer to me in the third person?

 

[Supertrucker]

When responding to knufire about the motherboard, that would be the appropriate way to talk about you, yes.

 

[manu2b]

If you go SLI, sell your CPU and MObo and go for a 4760k/z87 MoBo or a 3770k/z77.

Your 8120, even taken to 4.5/4.6GHz will bottleneck your 680's SLI.

Edit: you won't have to change your PSU then and get a new one

 

[ALIENZ!]

If you go SLI, sell your CPU and MObo and go for a 4760k/z87 MoBo or a 3770k/z77.

Your 8120, even taken to 4.5/4.6GHz will bottleneck your 680's SLI.

Edit: you won't have to change your PSU then and get a new one

Well, I'm happy with my 8120, so I think I'll go with a new mobo and PSU, that way I can run the cards in SLI right away, and if I do end up needing to upgrade the CPU, I'm ready to go with either an FX8350 or a FX9370/9590.