Test successful: 2x GTX 570 SLI, x6 125w (stock) & Antec EA650 PSU

R

ragejg

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 16, 2002
Messages
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So i evaluated an NVIDIA reference GTX 570 as well as an EVGA 570 SC; compared them with a GTX 580 in a relatively simple, 6 game/3 synthetic benchmark performance review... I get done with it an publish it; and I take one of the 570s out an plug the 580 back in.

... And I'm sitting there looking at these two nice GPUs. Then I look at my PSU. Antec Earthwatts 650 (EA650). Now, I know that's a darn good PSU; I've had it for a while and it's powered everything from an A8V Deluxe 939 rig to a litany of AM2+/AM3 setups. I've kept it clean and dust-free on the inside, and I inspect the caps every few months. The lines/rails are pretty good on it, but not as steady as today's $100-$150 PSUs. In other words, it's likely a good PSU for something like a single HD 5830/5850/5870 or GTX 470/480/570/580... On the SLI side it would seem it could put up with maybe dual GTX 465s.

I thought "heck, I'll try these two 570s... they're supposed to be more power efficient; maybe this PSU can handle them". So I plug them in and look at the first SLI setup I've ever seen in person (though I've been a staffer/reviewer since 2003; I don't know anyone in my area that's a PC gamer; maybe I should drive up to Rochester once in a while and hang out at FrozenCPU).

Before I plugged them in, however, I de-overclocked. I figured there would be no way these cards would run in this rig with the x6 overclocked to 3.96ghz @ ~1.47 vcore.

... Smooth startup, good idle temps (42)... so I figured it's time to benchmark a bit and compare my single card results (albeit with CPU @ 3.96) with some SLI figures.


AVP Benchmark went fine:

Single card (with CPU @ 3.96 ghz):

108.jpg



SLI with x6 @ stock 2.8 with turbo mode on:

Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Texture Quality: 3
Shadow Quality: 3
Anisotropic Filtering: 16
SSAO: ON
Vertical Sync: OFF
DX11 Tessellation: ON
DX11 Advanced Shadows: ON
DX11 MSAA Samples: 4


Benchmark Summary:

Number of frames: 7816
Average Frame Time: 13.4ms
Average FPS: 74.5



hm, ok, it works. :) So then I tried Stone Giant:


Single card (with CPU @ 3.96):

102.jpg



SLI (CPU @ 2.8):

Min: 85
Avg: 136.0
Max: 176


... 90% scaling; nice...



So I was convinced at that point to play a game for an extended period of time. I think amongst all of my games (not really that many), Bad Company 2 seems to be the best all-around system-stresser.

So I played for 2 hours on the new Harvest map... full server, 19x10, all settings highest, HBAO on, and played with all the AA modes. It ran great; no issues all the way through.



It's reasonable to say that I have two GTX 570s running @ EVGA SC speeds, in SLI mode using my x6 system with a good (now I'd call it great) 650W PSU.


I wish I had a Kill-a-Watt. :p Come next review I'll have one though; I've waited too long to get one.

I'm willing to bet that I'm right at the threshold. Well, I think I'll enjoy this for a while... and then I'll get a better PSU as insurance. :p
 
well I think that was pretty foolish because you are absolutely pushing that psu to its limits. you are talking 540 watts available on the 12v when brand new and your pc is easily pulling close to that.
 
mgulbran said:
Cool write up, thank you.



Foolish? He was curious and tested something. Very [H] of him. I'm pretty sure if it wasn't going to work it wouldn't have. Obviously he knew the risk and was having fun with it.
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so its fun to risk damaging components?
 
one hell of an experiment! Very interesting and informative, my thanks.
 
Almighty ODST said:
Just because it might not be fun for you to risk components, maybe it is to him. Who are you to judge what he does or doesn't do with his kit? Like mgulbran said: he obviously knew the risks.
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its a public forum so I can state my opinion about what he did if I want to. :rolleyes:
 
While it's certainly ok for the OP to share his experiences I think it should still be stated that 570 SLI shouldn't be run 24/7 on a 650 watt PSU.
 
Ehren8879 said:
While it's certainly ok for the OP to share his experiences I think it should still be stated that 570 SLI shouldn't be run 24/7 on a 650 watt PSU.
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As said in the OP, I'll be getting a better PSU soon enough. Cannondale, I'm well aware of your bluntness, so I'm not offended.

As far as running this 24/7, well, everything is at stock except for the reference 570 which got clocked up to the EVGA SC spec. I'm keeping an eye on voltages, and still have yet to adjust load line calibration/VDDA Voltage... as the vdroop on this mobo is pretty dramatic; vcore and VID fluctuate a lot (and always have.

In normal use the PSU is staying remarkably cool.. and even under load i runs a lot cooler than some other PSUs I've been around.

This unit has more than paid for itself; if it goes it goes. :p
 
IronRuler said:
People put too much emphasis on power requirements.
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Perhaps, however, I had an instance where I had a name branded 680W power supply, and was running an SLI setup, overclocked i7 920, etc...

Welp, it all started out fine.. Didn't have any issues, etc... Ran it for a few days, gamed with it, etc, then the trouble started .

The only way I can describe it was it looked like a complete meltdown... The monitor started to turn white in the middle of a game of BC2, then the video started to corrupt and fade into black from one corner of the screen to the other...

After which, the smell of ozone entered the air quite profusely followed by a large puff of white smoke.

I was lucky, I only burnt out the PSU, and didn't damage the mobo or any of the components. I used to be really skeptical of PSU requirements until that occurred. Now, i always make sure I buy the best PSUs I can afford with the most capacity.
 
neonardo said:
Your CPU is overclocked, is it not?
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I knew something like that would be said. my cpu is at basically stock voltage and has an aftermarket cooler. the risk of damaging it is so minimal that it is of no consequence. risking damaging multiple components when you know that for a fact your psu may not be sufficient is a completely different scenario.
 
jkmetal said:
Ha nice job rage. Tough crowd here at [H] huh?
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I've been here 8 years, I can handle it. :p

I could have sat there looking at two 570s and my consistently impressive PSU and played it safe, but where's the fun in that? Why be a limp noodle? :cool: I'd rather be dumb and daring than conservative & careful any day of the week. Life's too short.
 
ragejg said:
I've been here 8 years, I can handle it. :p

I could have sat there looking at two 570s and my consistently impressive PSU and played it safe, but where's the fun in that? Why be a limp noodle? :cool: I'd rather be dumb and daring than conservative & careful any day of the week. Life's too short.
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sli 460's on 500w earthwatts? (lol)...
 
Its not foolish. Some people are just [H]arder than others.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
Good work OP. Interesting results , that poor 650w PSU must be ready to have a complete break down lol.
 
kuyaglen said:
Its not foolish. Some people are just [H]arder than others.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
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its certainly foolish in my opinion. a power supply going out can damage other components too. being [H]ard does not have to mean doing something that risky.
 
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Oh christ who cares. I suppose your going to go through and shit on every thread about water cooling now because "you run risk of damaging components!!" Or find all the threads regarding pushing the limits of overclocking. Everything has its risk. If no one ever tried new, exciting things this forum would be pretty damn boring.

No one cares, it's pretty great that the little guy can run an SLI setup, end of story. Move on.
 
mgulbran said:
We should all post our opinion in every single thread all the time over n over.



Works works pretty well.
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Indeed it does work well. Its not so much people posting their opinions over and over, its people posting their opinions, then getting defensive about people having opinions about their opinions. Its a circle of worthless posting.... but I suppose it doesn't matter now.

I'm really interested to see what the full system draw is under gaming conditions. Should be pulling ~400 to 450 watts for 2 570's alone.
 
I don't have enough money to be truly [H]

I break/damage something, I'm screwed as I probably won't be able to afford to replace it (if it's not covered via a warranty). I had to save for 8 months just to build this new system so it's only basic OC for me.
 
UtopiA said:
Oh wow, that poor little case is about to pop.
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Yup, I got it when I was fairly committed to owning and using exclusively midrange equipment, but since things have started to get out of hand... well, things now look like they're out of hand, lol. The cool part is that the darn thing still stays pretty cool and has good airflow though.
 
hi: just a couple of questions. I would like to do a sli config with your same mobo (M4A98TD), an amd X6 1055t and 2 gtx 580. how perform the X6 on this mobo? can you overclock well (cause I've read about a huge vdrop on this asus)? how perform chipset 980a with sli? any issues about driver or anithing else? thanks
 
Pardon me for saying that but unless you already have this mobo and CPU you would be lot better with Sandy Bridge cpu like i5 2400 or 2500k and cheapest sli capable mobo they have (I think that would be Asrock Extreme 4 for the moment)

First X6 cpus are not really worth money amd is asking at the moment
Second nforce chipset for amd are troublemakers for some people so it would be much better to avoid this combo.
 
yes, probably you right Michaelius. I ask about that mobo cause I have the amd X6 yet, so all I need should be just buying that asus
 
Then perhaps investigate some of the cheap crossfire 890gx mobos and 6970 series?
 
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