question about connecting 2 8600 cards

[Nigel Atkins]

do the cards have to be exactly the same? i have 1 8600 gt 512mb & a 8600 gts 512mb. the only apparent difference is 1 has a fan (gt) and the other is passivly colled (gts) s=silent i`m gussing.

thx

 

[Jim Cole]

I would give it a try and see how it works out. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

 

[Nigel Atkins]

so it`ll either work or it wount work?

dont mind trying it so long as it doesnt go fizz bang

 

[Jim Cole]

The only thing you are going to have to worry about is do you have enough power in your power supply to make them work. If you do, there is a good chance they will work together. If you don't, there is no chance they will work together.

 

[Nigel Atkins]

thx Jim

PSU be ok its a Corsair 550w

 

[Neil Gault]

GTS have the same components as a GT but it does run at a higher clock speed

 

[Mike Sterckx]

No you cant. To put 2 nvidia cards in sli they have to be exactly the same as far as i know. Your psu might also give a problem. A single 8600gt consumes arround 200watt on full load.

 

[Nigel Atkins]

ok thx for the advice everyone, i did some more checking and the cards have even got different memory, the GT has DDR2 & the GT silent has DDR3. so its a no go.

i looked on flebay and theres quiet a few 8600 on there so i might buy 1 that matches then sell the odd card to get my money back

 

[Adam Vaughan]

On the site it should say what wattage you need to connect the two up. If it uses 200W on its own id imagine it would be around 500W.

 

[Nigel Atkins]

On the site it should say what wattage you need to connect the two up. If it uses 200W on its own id imagine it would be around 500W.

just went on the Corsair PSU Finder & 2 8600`s would run fine with a 550W & as a test i even selected better cards and it wasent till i picked 2 9600`s & overclocking that it said i needed a 650

 

[Nigel Atkins]

i think i`ve found a match for one of my cards on ebay. only difference i can see is 1 of the resistors in the top right corner is in a different place and the pcb board is a different colour.

what do you think? will these run together? thx

my card

ebay card
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250773315672&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[Jim Cole]

Different manufacturers set up the cards a little different. What matters is that they are rated the same for clock speed and ram.

BTW might I suggest a good can of air to take care of that little problem with the dust on your card?

 

[Nigel Atkins]

BTW might I suggest a good can of air to take care of that little problem with the dust on your card?

thx Jim, i new someone would spot that but it will be as shinny as the 1 i just won on ebay when i fit it

now is all i need is a sli bridge cable, the pci-e slots are 6cm centres. so i guess this 1 should do the trick? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SLI-BRIDGE-CA...uting_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item3ef911763d

 

[Jim Cole]

You can also ask around a little, there were quite a few that purchased a single video card that came with the bridge cable and don't use it. There is a possibility that someone will have one laying around that can help you out.

 

[Ben Zenon]

Different manufacturers set up the cards a little different. What matters is that they are rated the same for clock speed and ram.

BTW might I suggest a good can of air to take care of that little problem with the dust on your card?

Agree with Jim on both obersavations