Will 4x GTX 480 be worth it for 3D Surround?

[heatlesssun]

So just got my third standard clocked eVGA GTX 480 and will be putting together a new build, running a 2x SLI setup now, and I was thnking about the Asus Rampge III Extreme for the motherboard, apprarently you don't need the NF200 anymore, 4x SLI should would with any SLI motherboard with that has 4 PCIE slots. Guess I could always get an eVGA Classified board if needed but would prefer the Rampage III.

The intenet is to run a triple head 1920x1080 setup. I've got the power curcuit to handle it so no problem, have a window AC to deal with the heat, plan on using a Mountain Mod case and don't plan of using water cooling. Noise will be not a problem because of how my office is steup.

Thoughts? Please no BS, serious and helpful comments only, thanks!

[Muppet]

Rampage 3 will be a very good board. Unlike the 4-way Classified it will fit in most computer cases. I would wait on buying the forth 480 though. ATM there isn't much performance increase going from 2 to cards to 3, let alone 4 cards in SLI. That should change though when the drivers mature a bit.

You certainly will need a lot of graphics power to run 3 monitors in 3D, that's for sure.

[K007]

what kind of a psu would u need for that much???

[Muppet]

Originally Posted by K007

what kind of a psu would u need for that much???

I would think he would need 2 PSU's if he was going to run 4-way GTX480's. He could get away with just one if he was going to stick to 3-way SLI though. jAkUp was playing around with 3 480's running a Corsair 1,000 watt.

[krokodil]

Originally Posted by heatlesssun

So just got my third standard clocked eVGA GTX 480 and will be putting together a new build, running a 2x SLI setup now, and I was thnking about the Asus Rampge III Extreme for the motherboard, apprarently you don't need the NF200 anymore, 4x SLI should would with any SLI motherboard with that has 4 PCIE slots. Guess I could always get an eVGA Classified board if needed but would prefer the Rampage III.

Can't comment on your mobo but if I remember correctly i7 / X58 does only support 40 PCIe lanes / links so if you are running more than 2 graphics cards you will need to set them up as 16 / 8 / 8 or, with quad SLI, 8 / 8 / 8 / 8, and I'm not sure I would want to do that with a bunch of GTX 480.

The intenet is to run a triple head 1920x1080 setup. I've got the power curcuit to handle it so no problem, have a window AC to deal with the heat, plan on using a Mountain Mod case and don't plan of using water cooling. Noise will be not a problem because of how my office is steup.

Thoughts? Please no BS, serious and helpful comments only, thanks!

Ok, back in 2003 I set up a 3-wall CAVE with 6 pcs each consisting of a P4 3GHz, 1GB RAM and a FX5900 128 MB. Each FX5900 was connected to a 1280x1024 beamer, 3 pcs rendering for the right eye and the other 3 for the left. We used passive polarisation filters in front of the beamers and cheap passive glasses instead of electronic shutter glasses.

Your current setup with an i7-980X (eek!), 6GB RAM and 2 GTX 480 has more power than my setup had and should be sufficient to drive 3 displays (as soon as drivers are available).
My understanding of http://www.nvidia.com/object/3DV_Sys...echnology.html is that drivers should be available any day now

My CAVE project has been discontinued (restructuring ) and I will have to get a Nvidia 3D vision kit myself to get going with 3D again.

...oh, and you might start beginning to think about a new psu too (3x GTX 480 in *one* box and an oc'ed 980X and the rest of your system might bring a Galaxy 1000 to its limits ).
...and I would start thinking about temperatures in the box too.

[Muppet]

Originally Posted by krokodil

Can't comment on your mobo but if I remember correctly i7 / X58 does only support 40 PCIe lanes / links so if you are running more than 2 graphics cards you will need to set them up as 16 / 8 / 8 or, with quad SLI, 8 / 8 / 8 / 8, and I'm not sure I would want to do that with a bunch of GTX 480.




.

The Rampage 3 has 4 16x PCI-e lanes that can run at x16; x16/x16; x16,x8,x8 and x8/x8/x8/x8

[Bah!]

Originally Posted by heatlesssun

Thoughts?

No, not even remotely worth it.

First off you'd have to ditch your two current monitors and buy three new ones at $400 a pop. Second, Quad-SLi isn't really showing all that much in benchmarks, maybe future drivers will help but I'd wait and see before I dropped all that money on two more cards, three monitors, and another power supply.

[heatlesssun]

Thanks guys. I think the Ultra X4 1600 will have plenty of power for it. I guess I just wanted to know if I should proceed with getting the Rampage III over the Classified. I'm going to see how 3 480s work and how well multi-monitor works before I'd get a 4th 480anyway , just wanted to be in a position to go that route if I so choose.

[newparad1gm]

Are you in the US? I don't think a standard US 120V outlet can allow a 1600W power supply to completely utilize its power. You'll either have to use two smaller PSUs or get your outlet upgraded. Also, as far as I know, 3D Vision drivers are still in beta for Tri-SLI and Quad-SLI setups, so you might be relegated to playing your triple monitor setup in 2D until NVIDIA releases better 3D Vision drivers for Tri and Quad SLI.

[bacon12]

Wow thinking about this is just crazy, maybe for folding or rendering but anything other than that would be way over the top.

[kesker01]

Originally Posted by heatlesssun

4x SLI should would with any SLI motherboard with that has 4 PCIE slots. Guess I could always get an eVGA Classified board if needed but would prefer the Rampage III.

FYI Rampage III does not come with a 4 way sli bridge and Asus website does not mention 4 way sli in the specs

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_I...ksC&templete=2

Unlike CrossfireX where you can connect three 2 way connectors,you need a 4 way sli bridge to make 4 way sli work.

They are not sold seperately so only option is to buy/borrow one from an evga 4 way sli owner.(if you can find someone sells)

I was considering a similar setup to yours and bought an EVGA 4 way sli last week because of the 4 way sli bridge.

Hope this helps

[heatlesssun]

Originally Posted by newparad1gm

Are you in the US? I don't think a standard US 120V outlet can allow a 1600W power supply to completely utilize its power. You'll either have to use two smaller PSUs or get your outlet upgraded. Also, as far as I know, 3D Vision drivers are still in beta for Tri-SLI and Quad-SLI setups, so you might be relegated to playing your triple monitor setup in 2D until NVIDIA releases better 3D Vision drivers for Tri and Quad SLI.

A standard 15 amp line in the US can handle 1440 watts @ load and I have a separate circuit and can add another if needed. This rig on is on 15 amp circuit by itself withnothing else will be fine.