TJ07 Build v2.0: Core2Quad, 8800GTX trade-station/frag-box

[Sam__]

damn! that is isane! we want benchies.

 

[Theorie]

yeah was out of town for a week so havent had time to run benchmarks. gonna run some this week when i have time.

@BlackOut: yes, i day trade

 

[ØC]

I need to get into the stock market!!!!!!!!!!

 

[phantasm]

I need to get into the stock market!!!!!!!!!!

Tell me about it. I was gonna throw about $2k at that Bear company that went tits up. The wife said no; the stock was $2 a share and now its over $10. Damn it. lol.

 

[Theorie]

soooo....

decided to take advantage of the eVGA "step up" program.

i'm returning out (2) of the 8800GTX cards and i have (2) 9800GX2 cards on their way.



EVGA 01G-P3-N891-AR GeForce 9800 GX2
1GB (512MB per GPU) 512-bit (256-bit per GPU) GDDR3
PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

updates when they get here...

(by the way i'm selling the left over 8800GTX...it's posted in the classified section...just search for posts made by me if youre interested.)

 

[Albaholic]

Im thinking about buying a Silverstone. You've always got nice builds. *subscribed*

 

[Theorie]

so.....i realized that i now have an extra pci-e x16 slot, so i decided to get another video card - this way i can run the GX2's in SLI mode running my 40" lcd full-time, and i can also have my (2) 22" lcd's running too.

just picked up this card on newegg for $80 ($50 after rebate):
EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card


here's the breakdown of my vid card setup so far:

- bought (3) 8800GTX SC's for $499.99 each -->
- stepped up (2) 8800GTX SC's for (2) 9800GX2's for +$100 each -->
- sold the remaining (1) 8800GTX SC for $275
- bought (1) 8600GT for $50

$1500 + $200 = $1700
$1700 - $275 = $1425
$1425 + $50 = $1475 (total spent for current setup)

so after shipping i'm now just about break even on my original purchase and i will have (2) 9800GX2's and (1) 8600GT, running my 40" in quad-SLI mode full-time and also keeping my (2) 22" lcd's on full-time. also, this new config will leave me with a free PCI slot incase i want to add a sound card or whatever.

i've already shipped the (2) 8800GTX's back to evga, and ordered the new cards, so they should be here soon...pics when i get everything!

 

[evomac]

Looks great man. Can't wait to see it when you get the parts!

Just OOC why did you choose the Zailman over the other air coolers available?

 

[Automata]

Theorie, your idea will not work. I tried running my 8800GTS 512 in SLi and a 7800GT in between them. IT WILL NOT WORK. I'll save you time and money, they purposely made it so it "breaks" SLi.

That was another reason I returned SLi.

 

[Theorie]

Theorie, your idea will not work. I tried running my 8800GTS 512 in SLi and a 7800GT in between them. IT WILL NOT WORK. I'll save you time and money, they purposely made it so it "breaks" SLi.

That was another reason I returned SLi.

nah man, it is possible, check out this thread, it tells you how to do it:

http://forums.slizone.com/index.php?showtopic=14989

basically, you disable the 3rd card in the Device Manager, then you enable SLI, then you re-enable the 3rd card.

(this is not my screenshot, just for example)

 

[Automata]

http://forums.slizone.com/index.php?showtopic=14989

Sorry, but you do not have permission to use this feature. If you are not logged in, you may do so using the form below if available.

I tried many many times (different reinstall/drivers) and it just didn't work for me at all. Every time I had the third card in, it broke SLi and didn't see the second GTS.

 

[Theorie]

I tried many many times (different reinstall/drivers) and it just didn't work for me at all. Every time I had the third card in, it broke SLi and didn't see the second GTS.

here's ill copy and paste from the other thread:

- I take no responsibility for your computer hardware nor software if you decide to follow my guide - Do it at your own risk!
- Multiple Monitors when SLI is enabled are not supported in any way by Nvidia when this guide was written.
- This guide is written for the 169.25 drivers but will most likely work with any driver.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have read a lot of threads in this forum about how to run multiple monitors when SLI is enabled. And it differs from thread to thread and I don't think the solution I found has been mentioned earlier (but I could be wrong). Actually I was thinking about this "trick" before I decided to tested it and before I asked in here, and when I got the time to test it, it actually worked right away. I was afraid that my trick would be reset after a system reboot but it didn't which makes this solution perfect in my eyes.

One way to use multiple monitors is to use an adaptor, but this adaptor will just tell your graphics card that all your monitors are one big monitor and due to the large resolution the game performance will be much worse than playing on one monitor. The other way to run multiple monitors is to have another graphics card not running in SLI to handle the other 1-2 monitor you would like to connect, and let the SLI-cards handle the primary display. And this is very confusing since some people seem to have succeeded while others didn't.

It is said that an ATI-card combined with 2 Nvidia Card in SLI will work in Windows XP but not in Windows Vista because Vista doesn't allow two different video card drivers and unfortunately I haven’t been able to test if that's the case. But I will try ATI in Windows Vista later, but I don't have access to a card at the moment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Requirements for this Guide
There are a few requirements to be able to succeed with this and those are:

• 2 Nvidia Graphics Cards running in SLI
• 1 other Nvidia Graphics Card (PCI or PCI-E)
• Windows Vista (32bit or 64bit)

This guide has only been tested on Windows Vista. Some replays in this thread report about problems in Windows XP and that it's not working.
The Guide
The two cards running in SLI will handle the main monitors which you would like to use when you play games or other graphics hungry applications. This is exactly like the same as before. The second monitor, or even the third if you have a total of three monitors, will be connected to the other graphics card not running in SLI. Make sure you do these changes before you continue.

Also make sure you disable SLI, if activated and have all three cards installed in your computer before continuing.

When you start your computer with two similar cards and another Nvidia graphics card, you will not be able to activate SLI. I think Nvidia detects that all graphics cards are not the same and have no working SLI bridge between them and automatically disables it. But don't worry, we will activate it anyway!

1
If you open your Display Settings, it should look similar to this:

There should be 6 "monitors" to attach if everything is correct so far.

2
Now go to Device Manager by right clicking on "My Computer" or "Computer" as it's only called in Vista and click "Manage". Click on the Device Manager and expand your "Display Adaptors". Now Disable the graphics card that you are not going to use in SLI. In this example it's 8600GT since the two 8800GTX will be used in SLI.

You will get a question asking you if you really want to disable it, but for this guide to work it's required.

- Restart your Computer
3
Now when the computer has been restarted, you can activate SLI in your control panel.

And you should restart your computer after enabling SLI, even if you didn't need to.

- Yes, restart the computer...

4

Now the other graphics card that you disabled in Device Manager should have been enabled again automatically, if not enable it yourself.

Then go to Display Settings again and it should look like this now:

You can attach the other monitor(s) now and expand your desktop.

The SLI graphics cards are using the main monitor together, like they should in SLI-mode. And the other graphics card can handle the other two monitor(s).

Proof that it actually works with 8600GT:
Screen shot (Original Size)
Screen shot (Medium Size)
Screen shot (Small Size)

Tested with DirextX applications (CS:S and 3DMark06) and it works.

Proof that it also work with another series (7100GS):
Screen shot (Original Size)
Screen shot (Medium Size)

Tested with DirextX applications (CS:S and 3DMark06) and it works.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope this helps and Good Luck!

Edit1: Added proof that it also works with two different Nvidia series.

 

[Automata]

Huh...so you have to dance around to get it to work. I'll pass

Get it right nVidia!

Thanks for the link, at least I know that there is indeed a way

 

[Theorie]

well the 8600GT came. got it installed and running. looks so small in the case compared the the (3) 8800GTX's that were in there before!

just waiting for the (2) 9800GX2's to come...im guessing it should be about a week or two because i just used ground shipping each way.

 

[traldan]

Man, that's awesome. Sweet car, sweet computer, and it keeps getting sweeter.

Looks like a REALLY nice setup. I might need to check out EVGA stuff for my next build - I have heard about the step-up program before, but never bought anything from EVGA.

 

[Theorie]

just got the tracking number off the evga website. my 9800GX2's will be here on monday

 

[Sleepy_Steve]

I love it when you get tracking numbers.

I hate not getting tracking numbers from online stores when I buy stuff for my car... So depressing after all the pleasant experiences buying for the PC.

Looking forward to what Monday's update will look like.

 

[Theorie]

UPDATE:

the 9800GX2's come tomorrow!

also, decided to replace the CPU while i'm at it...just ordered this baby:

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Yorkfield 3.0GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail



should be here by wed or thurs, benchmarks by FRIDAY!

 

[moto211]

if your going for max clocks with that new chip, i would recommend getting a different cooler or going water cooled.

 

[Theorie]

the zalman wont be good enough??