My awesome new build

[Dacrim]

I havent put my pc together yet because i dont get the other parts until later this week but my new build is going to look similar to this but with a few differences

Again, this is not a picture of my build...just what it will look like

Specs:
i5 3570k
ASUS p8 z77-M Pro
MSI GTX 680 twin frozr OC
G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB 2133mhz
WD 500GB HDD
Antec HCG 750W PSU
NZXT Vulcan mATX case
Corsair H60 CPU water cooler
*Extra MSI GTX 680 twin frozr OC for SLI
*SSD between 64-90 Gb to use as HDD Cache
*Another pair of G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB 2133mhz for a total of 16 gb ram

*means i will buy it sometime in the future

Im pretty confident ill be able to run PS2 at max settings with AT LEAST 60FPS :D

[Ailos]

Achievement unlocked: Minimum Hardware Requirements.

[Dacrim]

Achievement unlocked: Minimum Hardware Requirements.

lol thanks...i think my build is looking pretty good tho. you disagree?

[Vancha]

mATX SLI with those coolers...I feel sorry for whichever 680's on top. Other than that I see no problems with it, though I'd have given such an extravagant build a nicer home.

[Dacrim]

yeah...the 680s will be pretty close but i need an mATX case for mobility and since my dorm room has limited space. I havent bought a second GPU yet tho. I guess i could always save up for a 690 with has basically the same performance as 2 680s but that would be an extra 500$ :(. I also plan on attaching lots of case fans btw. 2 120 mm 1 80 mm and 1 200mm, not counting the ones on the cpu cooler

[Goku]

Dear god. The performance per cubic inch is mighty in that machine. Anyway enjoy it!

[Pancake]

Case fans will never fix the lack of airflow to the second card. I would just stick with one 680 until you have space in your home for a full ATX mobo. Anyways, by then the 700 series will be out.

[Ailos]

lol thanks...i think my build is looking pretty good tho. you disagree?

No, I was just trying to be genial about how much of a beast that machine is - especially if/when you get the second 680 in SLI.

[Dacrim]

thanks for the feedback. maybe i will wait for 700 series to come out before upgrading rather than getting an extra 680 or getting a 690. I just want to be prepared for this>>>

@j_smedley At high yes. We also have an Ultra mode that is designed for cards not even out yet :)

https://twitter.com/j_smedley/status/222456631647145984

I assume he just means it takes a very good setup to run ultra, not that it can literally only be run on cards that have yet to be released

[Goku]

Haha. What the hell...lol

[Ailos]

thanks for the feedback. maybe i will wait for 700 series to come out before upgrading rather than getting an extra 680 or getting a 690. I just want to be prepared for this>>>

@j_smedley At high yes. We also have an Ultra mode that is designed for cards not even out yet :)

https://twitter.com/j_smedley/status/222456631647145984

I assume he just means it takes a very good setup to run ultra, not that it can literally only be run on cards that have yet to be released

Posted in the other thread: they probably mean you need SLI'd cards to run it on ultra atm. Long time ago (February) Higby told us his PC was running SLI'd 580s. I.e., currently, you'd need a 690 to max this thing, but in the future, we expect this kind of capability to come from just one gpu.

[Goku]

Ailos if that proves to be the case I'm going to just wait for the GK110 to come out for a upgrade. Jeez.

[Bags]

Higby said the sli'd 580s was complete overkilled even for an unoptimized build.

[Dacrim]

just found a perfect solution to my airflow problem with the sli'd 680's. a pci extender

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00646VJDG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ref=prid-20

Good idea?Will this hurt my gpu performance at all?

edit: Or i can buy a water cooled 680 for my second one so it wont need any air flow. according to geforce as long as it is the same type of card(I.E. gtx 680 and not gtx670 etc.) i can use any combination of brands together. like msi w/ zotac or gigabyte w/ msi etc.

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/sli/faq#c16

[Goku]

How is that going to help? Not sure where you can move in that small case is all.

[Vancha]

If it's top speed is the same as PCI-E 1.0 (is that what PCI-E 1.0 compliant implies?) then yes, the second card will be a little slower. Nothing major, though.

That said, who knows what kind of other issues something like that might create...

Edit: Considering the case in question, he might even be able to attach it to the side panel...That'd be interesting.

[Ailos]

just found a perfect solution to my airflow problem with the sli'd 680's. a pci extender

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00646VJDG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ref=prid-20

Good idea?Will this hurt my gpu performance at all?

edit: Or i can buy a water cooled 680 for my second one so it wont need any air flow. according to geforce as long as it is the same type of card(I.E. gtx 680 and not gtx670 etc.) i can use any combination of brands together. like msi w/ zotac or gigabyte w/ msi etc.

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/sli/faq#c16

That extender won't be of any help unless you can find a longer SLI bridge, too.

I would say just have a case fan sitting on the side panel, delivering cool air right up to the GTXs' intakes. They will run slightly hot, but I don't see it as a problem unless you overclock them (in which case, yeah, water cooling is probably for the best).

[Dacrim]

How is that going to help? Not sure where you can move in that small case is all.

without the extender the fan of the back gpu will be up against the back of the other gpu. with an extender i can move it so the fan faces a different direction. i also found this http://www.amazon.com/Nvidia-flexible-bridge-interconnect-connector/dp/B0025VT6LQ?ref=prid-20 so sli connector length shouldnt be a problem either

[Ailos]

without the extender the fan of the back gpu will be up against the back of the other gpu. with an extender i can move it so the fan faces a different direction. i also found this http://www.amazon.com/Nvidia-flexible-bridge-interconnect-connector/dp/B0025VT6LQ?ref=prid-20 so sli connector length shouldnt be a problem either

So where are you going to mount the bottom GPU then? (Or the top - whichever one you move off.)

The MSI 680s you're trying to order don't have the same reference cooler that we see in your sample pictures. there will be a bit of a gap. If you put a fan (or two) at the case door right in front of those cards, you should be OK.

[Pancake]

I admire your thirst to max out PS2's settings. However...

1. We don't know the actual video settings of the game. For all we know, a 680 could run ultra no problem.
2. Technology scales exponentially. When they mean "future" they might mean technology five years from now that is 5X more powerful than current generation. Take FSX for example.
3. If dual 680's don't max out the game you will be disappointed and short $500
4. If PhysX technology is included, you will likely want a dedicated PhysX card anyways. A 680 would be waaaaaaaaaay overkill when a 660 will max out performance on any game.
5. You don't have space in your case to efficiently run a second card. Running it hot will lower its life and degrade its performance.
6. The 700 series will be out soon enough and give you far better performance than the current generation.

Just my opinion. :)

[Goku]

700 series is still 6 months out....

[Dacrim]

hmmm...all very good points.

well, i guess its probably best just to see how the single 680 works out and go from there. I guess its probably best to just wait rather than blowing all my money immediately on a potentially disappointing build. ill get more/a better gpu when i know exactly what im dealing with

Thanks again for all the feedback :)

[Pancake]

Thanks again for all the feedback :)

Always glad to help :)