My X58 Build Log

[X58Guy]

TL;DR - I'm building a custom loop, 3-way SLI X58 desktop computer, and this is the initial post outlining the plans and goals of the build.

Introduction:

As someone who only had enough money to start building computers around the time the AMD Radeon RX 400 series launched, I had missed the golden years of SLI. Regardless, I would gaze in awe at builds with multi-card setups and custom loops. Various JayzTwoCents builds come to mind. When a friend gifted me an X58 build from his grandfather, I knew what I had to do, so I bought a second graphics card for it. It had an i7-960, 6GB DDR3 in triple channel config, a Gigabyte ATX board, and a BFG Tech GTX 260. Even though it was slow by today's metrics, I had a blast messing with game settings trying to get a good balance of performance and visual quality as well as try to get SLI to function in otherwise unsupported games, and I was hooked on the old gaming rig bug.

Fast forward to today, my goal is to assemble a mostly period-correct rig (with exception to some water cooling components and cabling) that would have been one of the "best" at the time: i7 extreme edition, 3-way SLI, and a full custom loop being the main qualifiers. I also want to share the journey with the online community as it should be a fun project, and I would love some guidance in choosing some parts. I'm sure that there are people here who had systems in the early 2000's who could provide some great first-hand knowledge.



The Current State of the Build:

As of now, the computer is air cooled in an Apevia x-Jupiter-Jr case.

Parts list:

Intel i7-960
Cooler Master GeminII S
EVGA X58 SLI Micro
Corsair XMS3 3 x 2 GB DDR3-1333
PNY CS900 120 GB SSD
BFG Tech GTX 260
Gigabyte GTX 260
Apevia X-Jupiter-Jr G-Type ATX Mid Tower
Ultra 750W
Sony DDU1681S-0B DVD/CD Drive
LG GH24NSC0 DVD/CD Writer
Various power cable adapters

Waiting to be used:

Second BFG Tech GTX 260
3 x GTX 200 series water blocks (two thanks to arnemetis here on the forum and a third identical one found recently on eBay)

Still need to purchase:

Custom loop hardware (likely from FormulaMod)
Fans
Larger power supply for 3-way SLI
Motherboard that supports 3-way SLI
Sleeved power cables
Lighting?
Case
SLI bridge (either second ribbon, or possibly a purpose made three-way bridge)
More RAM
New Xeon or i7
More storage



Build Milestones:

I am going to be splitting the build up into stages due to cost and time availability.

Stage 0 - Air cooled

The state of the build as it's been outlined above.

Stage 1 - Initial custom loop
Target date - 1/1/2022

Parts to assemble a custom loop purchased and installed in the system.
Still 2-way SLI and in the same, original case.
Temporary mounting solutions likely.

Stage 2 - Cleaned up 2-way SLI
Target date - 3/17/2022

New case purchased or built that can accommodate the future planned ATX motherboard, 3 graphics cards and at least two large radiators (240 and 360).
Existing parts from previous stage transplanted into the new case with proper mounting solutions.

Stage 3 - Polished 2-way SLI
Target date - 5/31/2022

Finishing touches like sleeved cables (probably extensions), tasteful lighting, and possibly colored coolant and painted RAM covers.
Should be a "show-ready" build at this point.

Stage 4 - 3-way SLI
Target date - 8/1/2022

Acquire 3-way SLI motherboard (or possible fix the original) and power supply that can safely power the build under full load.
Swap the new parts into the build.

Stage 5 - Quality of life updates
Target date - 12/31/2022

Update to Xeon W3690 or i7-990X
Increase RAM to max capacity for the platform
Acquire SSD with larger capacity along with 1 or 2 additional HDDs.



Final Thoughts:

In all likeliness, the build will be done by the end of next year so I can spread out the cost. With all of this in mind, I am currently in the phase of hunting down water cooling gear. I found Formula Mod, but I'll also see what other sites there are as well as what used parts are floating around.

I'm also trying to determine which X58 boards supported PCIe 16x (or at least 8x) in 3 slots. The only way currently that I've found is to hunt down random forum posts. Maybe there's one with a list someone has already compiled.

The last big thing is the case. I particularly like the SilverStone TJ07, but the prices are a bit out of my range currently, so I'm looking for a period correct (or at least correct looking) case instead that can support 240 and 360 radiators with preferably one 5.25" bay for an optical drive. I might just look for a beat up case and do some mods to add radiator support.

If anyone has parts that are just collecting dust and think they could be used here, do let me know and I'd be happy to purchase them if I haven't found something already. Shout out again to arnemetis for selling me his two EK 280 series GPU blocks (here).

I will be taking pictures as the build goes on as well as post pictures of the initial system. I'm not with it currently, so it will probably be a while before they get posted.



If you've made it to the end, thanks for reading! I look forward to posting incremental updates as the build progresses.

 

[arnemetis]

Pretty cool idea setting deadlines for phases of the project! Looks like evga's x58 classified E759 will get you full 16x 3 way sli - https://www.evga.com/articles/00447/

 

[Kiriakos-GR]

Parts list:

Corsair XMS3 3 x 2 GB DDR3-1333 (6GB)

While I am very happy with what my system can do today, when I am researching for MB upgrade that my DDR3 along other components will stay in use, the X58 Chip-set and the 6GB RAM limit, this is a serious deal breaker.
Now I do wonder which INTEL based board this can work with 12GB of DDR3-1600 ?

 

[kirbyrj]

While I am very happy with what my system can do today, when I am researching for MB upgrade that my DDR3 along other components will stay in use, the X58 Chip-set and the 6GB RAM limit, this is a serious deal breaker.
Now I do wonder which INTEL based board this can work with 12GB of DDR3-1600 ?

It should work fine with 12GB+. I had 24GB (3x8GB) in my X58 Sabertooth board before I decommissioned it.

 

[Kiriakos-GR]

It should work fine with 12GB+. I had 24GB (3x8GB) in my X58 Sabertooth board before I decommissioned it.

ASUS memory QVL does not mention higher count than 3 Dim of 2GB its.
I did inspect several ones yesterday, as I was exploring XMP profiles of most DDR3 1600 but there was not any 4GB ones listed.

 

[kirbyrj]

ASUS memory QVL does not mention higher count than 3 Dim of 2GB its.
I did inspect several ones yesterday, as I was exploring XMP profiles of most DDR3 1600 but there was not any 4GB ones listed.

QVL is a joke. All it is is a record of what they tested at the time the MB was released. Very rarely (if ever) do they go back and update the QVL to reflect newer memory kits that have been released to the market.

Clearly the X58 chipset isn't limited by only 2GB dimms so the QVL for that board is obsolete. By the end of the useful life of the motherboard, you likely won't be able to find the exact same memory available or the ICCs will have changed to something else (Corsair "versions" of the same model number).

 

[X58Guy]

Pretty cool idea setting deadlines for phases of the project! Looks like evga's x58 classified E759 will get you full 16x 3 way sli - https://www.evga.com/articles/00447/

Thanks! I figured it would help to have some sense of urgency for the project. I saw this board while searching. I'll probably be going with that or one of the other classified versions as the E759 seems to be a bit harder to find but I like the evga boards. I'll still keep looking around for other options in the meantime, though

 

[X58Guy]

First Update:

It's been a while since the initial post, but the project has not been forgotten.

I've realized more and more the cost required for the project, so I've been unable to order the water cooling parts as of right now. Hopefully, I should be able to figure out something by the start of summer. I definitely want to complete it, but no sense going broke over it either.

Parts Acquired So Far:

All three GPU blocks and here, and it's awesome to see them together. The left is on an EVGA GTX 280 I needed to buy to get the block. I was super lucky to find three matching.

I also recently went to an electronics recycling center and picked up a Mac Pro tower case. I'm considering using that as the case for the build due to cost even though it might not fit the spirit of the build.

This case I have laying around is another option, but I don't like it as much, and the radiators would be harder to fit.

Finally, here are a few pictures of the computer as it sits right now. The last case option is to use this case, but I don't really want to cut this one up (I took the front cover panel off because I thought it looked nicer).

I'll post back once I've decided on a case. If it's the Mac Pro, there will be a fair amount of fabrication work to get ATX boards to mount to it, but plenty of people have done conversions, so there should be a plethora of do and don'ts out there.

 

[X58Guy]

Second Update:

It's been 3 years? Time flew by a bit faster than I expected...

I've finally stopped dragging my feet on this project and have some updates.

While at my local e-waste collection site last fall, I found this Cooler Master Cosmos S with an Enermax EGA1000EWL power supply:

After fixing the fan bearing in the PSU and replacing the 200mm side intake on the case, I finally had a case and PSU that could comfortably support 3 GPUs.

Seeing as it's been so long, I skipped past my milestone idea and started searching for a 3-way SLI capable motherboard. I have a soft spot for EVGA, so that was my main criteria. Some searching on eBay found me an X58 SLI LE, several sticks of RAM, a RAM cooler, and Koolance CPU block:

With that, I installed the GPU blocks and mocked up the board and GPUs in the case.

I ended up getting the fittings, pump and reservoir on AliExpress. Back on eBay, I found a pair of Hardware Labs 360 GTS radiators and a Scythe Kaze Master Pro 5.25" bay fan controller to fill the empty front slot. I had some tubing left over from my main system.

Now that everything is here, I assembled the system for testing. Cable management is pretty poor currently.

I swapped the ram in the picture out for the 6 2gb Corsair Dominator sticks that came with the board. The above was a placeholder as I ran memtest on the other sticks. Turns out three of the nine I recieved were dead, which is probably why there were nine included.

While installing everything, I noticed one mistake I made with the board. The slot my third card is installed in is the x4 slot... the x8 slot is the bottom most. I had some discussion on the EVGA forum about this, and the theoretical conclusion is that it didn't matter. I got the extra fittings and SLI bridge to try out the card in the bottom slot anyways just to mess around and test, but I ran into a problem with the motherboard... the GPU is not recognized in the bottom slot. Unfortunately this was right after the EVGA forums closed down and moved to Reddit. I made a new post on the EVGA subreddit with the issue. If anyone has any ideas or experience with the board, I'm open to suggestions.

But, this is where I stand currently. The system runs and can play period games at high FPS.


Parts List:

Part	Model
CPU	Intel i7-960
Motherboard	EVGA X58 SLI LE
RAM	6x Corsair Dominator 2GB DDR3 1600MHz (TR3X6G1600C8D)
RAM Cooler	Corsair CMXAF2
GPUs	2x BFG Tech GTX260 Maxcore (216 CU), 1x Nvidia GTX 260 (192 CU)
Power Supply	Enermax EGX1000EWL 1000W Semi-modular
Case	Cooler Master Cosmos S
Optical Drive	Plextor PX-810SA
Fan Controller	Scythe Kaze Master Pro
Fans	5x Arctic P12 120mm, 4x Corsair LL120 120mm, 1x Thermaltake Pure 20 200mm
Radiators	2x Hardware Labs 360 GTS
CPU Block	Koolance CPU-345
GPU Blocks	3x EK-FC280 GTX
Fittings	11mm barbs, unbranded 90°s and t-junction, Barrow valve, plugs, and extensions,
Pump	Byski CP-RX-X-V3 DDC
Reservoir	Unbranded 210mm long tube reservoir
Tubing	Tygon A-60-G 10/13mm, clear 10/13mm

Next Steps:

Cable management and overall aesthetic has a ways to go. I'm looking for something that belongs on MDPC. I have access to a 3d printer and will be designing some new parts.

Most of the hardware in the front half of the system is floating and in need of some custom mounting brackets. I'm also planning on cutting and bending some black acrylic to cover the back wall and make a PSU shroud to hide the bulk of the cables.

While I did do a quick wipe of the case, there still is plenty of dirt and dust that needs to be cleaned. I'm still undecided if I should re-paint the case or clean it and leave the scars from its previous life. I'm thinking the latter for now.

Cables are one of the other aesthetic issues. Ideally, I would have a modular power supply and make custom length, sleeved cables. I did consider sleeving the existing cables, but my preservation mindset has a hard time with the idea of cutting up an otherwise clean example of this power supply. Another option is to add more sleeving and heat shrink to cover the remains of the exposed cables. The 24-pin extension for the case power button is also frustrating. I'm going to look into some better way of doing it, or take it as an opportunity to make a short, custom extension for 24-pin. I would like to avoid extensions if possible, as there's already a lot of cable bulk with no where to put it. That's the one frustration I have with this case. It has lots of space, but hiding cables for aesthetics in it is difficult.

My plan for tubing is to go fully with the Tygon A-60-G. I think it works well with the other accents. I'm just waiting to finalize mounting locations before I cut up my last couple feet of tube.

 

[X58Guy]

Forgot to add a picture of the alternate GPU configuration:

 

[X58Guy]

Okay, something a bit more interesting than assembly.

GTX 260 Back Plate

Though I'm very fortunate to have a matching set of 3 GPU blocks, the third one I bought did not have a back plate, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to make a matching full-cover set.

I used to be pretty handy with a mill, but it's been a few years and the shop I have access to doesn't have the best tooling, but I made it work.
I started off by making a cardboard template to get the rough dimensions and placement of the SLI cutout.

I decided to make it out of some scrap 1/8" aluminum sheet I have from a previous project. I made a CAD model of a water block to fit this card when I first started the project. I never ended up manufacturing it, but the CAD model made it easy to get a hole layout printed 1:1 scale.

Rough cut to size.

I'm not proud of the work holding. My CNC instructor would be having a fit I'm sure, but we're not shooting for 10th here. Or even thous.

Started off with a skim pass to figure out my boundaries and verify that the piece wouldn't fly off the table immediately. The back stop is spaced off intentionally. I used another block in between to set the gap before tightening everything down, and the space allows for access to that side of the part.



Drilling the holes was by far the biggest pain. Keeping track of the number of rotations of the handle and the addition was a tricky, and I realized my CAD wasn't perfect... Whoops!

After some boneheaded moves I'm not going to share, the part was off the mill and ready for test fit.

After passing the "good enough" check, I sanded the back to give it a brushed look.

After widening the holes (I drilled them too small to begin with), it's ready for final test fit.

Not bad for a first attempt after so much time out of practice. As you can see, I mis-drilled one of the holes by the die. The one closest to the water inlet/outlet was off by a good hundred thou. Not sure how that happened... I should be able to slot it, though, and make it work.

The finishing needs some refinement, but I need to get some longer screws, some spacers, and thermal pads to properly test fit it. Right now the screws just pass through the PCB and don't thread in and the plate touches some SMDs... The area around the SLI fingers is also a bit off-center, but I can go back in and mill a bit out. I'll probably do this when I make the other two.

In all honesty, there's no real reason this needed to be done on the mill. I just wanted to get some practice in, moving the dials and such.

Next up, I need to figure out how much I'm off on measurements, make some adjustments, and mill out the other two. I'm in the process of deciding cable sleeving as well. I'll hopefully have that figured out by the weekend.

 

[Smoblikat]

Very cool. Does SLI work if 2 of your GPUs are C216 and one of them is the regular version? What are your plans with this rig, and what FPS do you get in Crysis?

Swap out that 960 for an X5690 or a 990X

 

[X58Guy]

Does SLI work if 2 of your GPUs are C216 and one of them is the regular version?

Yes! Though I'm having trouble with 3 way scaling. Not sure that's the fault of the lower core count, though, there are a lot of mismatched variables in my system currently.

What are your plans with this rig,

Mostly just to play old games like the Metro series, Crysis, ahd Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) and pretend like I'm back in time.

Maybe sell it if someone takes an similar interest.

and what FPS do you get in Crysis?

I couldn't get an FPS counter to work for some reason, but I'll get back to you on that when I get it back together! It's pulled apart right now for some more modifications.

Swap out that 960 for an X5690 or a 990X

I'd love to! Maybe if I come across one for relatively cheap. While I'm at it, I'd also want an EVGA X58 Classified 3

 

[arnemetis]

I couldn't get an FPS counter to work for some reason, but I'll get back to you on that when I get it back together! It's pulled apart right now for some more modifications.

Give Fraps a try, it isn't updated anymore but should work on hardware of that era.

 

[X58Guy]

Give Fraps a try, it isn't updated anymore but should work on hardware of that era.

Will do! It came to mind while testing, but I forgot to try it out

 

[Smoblikat]

+1 for fraps, thats what I still use.......I guess I should probobly look into somthing else.......the installer I have is over 10 years old lol

If you ever do go for a board swap why not an SR-2? Youre basically one waterblock and board away from having the single most potent 1366 system you could ever hope to build, I see X5680s (6C/12T @ 3.33 base) for like $11 on ebay right now, and the boards definitely arent cheap, but im surprised to see them in the 150 - 250 range, they werent all that common to begin with.

This makes me want to finish my 1366 build

 

[X58Guy]

If you ever do go for a board swap why not an SR-2? Youre basically one waterblock and board away from having the single most potent 1366 system you could ever hope to build, I see X5680s (6C/12T @ 3.33 base) for like $11 on ebay right now, and the boards definitely arent cheap, but im surprised to see them in the 150 - 250 range, they werent all that common to begin with.

That's the dream for sure! Where are you seeing $150-200? Lowest listing I see is $400, and they go up to $1400. There's one for $150 I see that says it's broken and is missing the SB cooling fan.

This makes me want to finish my 1366 build

Do it! What parts do you have currently?

 

[Smoblikat]

That's the dream for sure! Where are you seeing $150-200? Lowest listing I see is $400, and they go up to $1400. There's one for $150 I see that says it's broken and is missing the SB cooling fan.


Do it! What parts do you have currently?

I swear I saw 2 for 250 and that 1 for 150 (which is for parts apparently), but now I guess im a liar because theyre all $400+ lol

I have a NIB SR-2 purcahsed from newegg 10+ years ago thats been sitting in my climate controlled parts storage facility, a pair of X5690s, a Rosewill blackhawk ultra, whatever RAM I want (I have so much DDR3 its crazy), I have a couple EVGA PSUs to choose from in the 1K - 1600W range (plus I have other brands), and I have exactly 1 of the coolers I need. The coolers are the big part for me, I have used every style/type of cooler thats come on the market for the past 20 years and I have never seen one perform above its class as well as the old EVGA Superclock cooler did.

https://www.newegg.ca/evga-superclock-m020-00-000234/p/N82E16835288001

Its been discontinued for at least a decade at this point, in that time I have managed to locate exactly 1 for sale on ebay, and I am desperately trying to find my second matching one. I think they made another similar cooler, but the one I need has dimpled fins rather than smooth, which dramatically increases the surface area without increasing the overall footprint of the cooler. I really dont know what GPUs I would use, probobly either 480s or 580s, I have plenty to pick from but I would need to buy 2 - 3 more of some of them because im definitely going quad SLI (quadfire would be an option but I dont remember EVGA making cards for the HD5XXX series). Depending on how many PCIe slots I had left I might do some mickey mouse stuff and get it booting off of an NVMe drive, otherwise I plan to fill all 10 bays with WD Velociraptors (I think I have 6 of the 6gb/s ones now).

Though to be totally honest if I ever did get around to finding that missing cooler and start getting serious about the build I would probobly just get a pair of X5698s because......im not really sure, maybe im insane lol............but nobody else would have a system like that.

Maybe I should just go all out, find one of thsoe old DG series cases from EVGA and just do a full on EVGA only build. I have one or 2 of their GTX 580 3gb versions, 4 of those would be prety cool..........

 

[X58Guy]

I swear I saw 2 for 250 and that 1 for 150 (which is for parts apparently), but now I guess im a liar because theyre all $400+ lol

Haha, no worries. Stuff comes and goes pretty quickly sometimes. I'll have to keep my eye out

I have a NIB SR-2 purcahsed from newegg 10+ years ago thats been sitting in my climate controlled parts storage facility, a pair of X5690s, a Rosewill blackhawk ultra, whatever RAM I want (I have so much DDR3 its crazy), I have a couple EVGA PSUs to choose from in the 1K - 1600W range (plus I have other brands), and I have exactly 1 of the coolers I need. The coolers are the big part for me, I have used every style/type of cooler thats come on the market for the past 20 years and I have never seen one perform above its class as well as the old EVGA Superclock cooler did.

https://www.newegg.ca/evga-superclock-m020-00-000234/p/N82E16835288001

Its been discontinued for at least a decade at this point, in that time I have managed to locate exactly 1 for sale on ebay, and I am desperately trying to find my second matching one. I think they made another similar cooler, but the one I need has dimpled fins rather than smooth, which dramatically increases the surface area without increasing the overall footprint of the cooler. I really dont know what GPUs I would use, probobly either 480s or 580s, I have plenty to pick from but I would need to buy 2 - 3 more of some of them because im definitely going quad SLI (quadfire would be an option but I dont remember EVGA making cards for the HD5XXX series). Depending on how many PCIe slots I had left I might do some mickey mouse stuff and get it booting off of an NVMe drive, otherwise I plan to fill all 10 bays with WD Velociraptors (I think I have 6 of the 6gb/s ones now).

Though to be totally honest if I ever did get around to finding that missing cooler and start getting serious about the build I would probobly just get a pair of X5698s because......im not really sure, maybe im insane lol............but nobody else would have a system like that.

That's a hell of a parts list already! I hear you on wanting to go all out or not at all. That's why I think I'm content with a single socket board... cause otherwise I'd want to build a clone of yours!

Maybe I should just go all out, find one of thsoe old DG series cases from EVGA and just do a full on EVGA only build. I have one or 2 of their GTX 580 3gb versions, 4 of those would be prety cool..........

Yeah, those EVGA cases looked clean. I like the grill on the DG-87 quite a lot, but that's a few years ahead of the period, lol. I think an X99 build is in my future...

I'd love to see your build come together, though, so you've definitely got my vote

 

[X58Guy]

GTX 260 Back Plate: Finished

Stuff picked up and I didn't have as much time for the build as I expected. Knocked out the back plates and SLI bridge cover over the last couple days, though.

I took a different approach to help save some time. The blanks were squared up and notched on the mill in a stack, and I transferred the holes with a punch to be drilled out on the drill press.

This worked pretty well, so I did some finish filing and applied a brushed finish. I wish I had a dedicated machine. It's almost impossible to get a perfect finish by hand.

Before and after sanding:

I had a scrap aluminum hard drive cage that I turned into the SLI bridge cover. After some hacksawing, filing, and epoxying, I had a perfect slip fit cover.

With that, they were ready for assembly and test fit. I think it turned out pretty good.

I forgot to put the thicker thermal pads for the memory on the top two cards, so the plates are currently touching some SMDs... not ideal. The thicker pads solve the issue though. I'm working on some 3D printed spacers to make sure it's not an issue in the future.

I'm starting to wonder if it'll clash with the rest of the build. Ideally, I'd anodize and dye everything black to match. That might be a summer project.

 

[Harvestor]

Makes me want to dig my asus maximus 2 out of storage throw a couple of 3870’s and my Q6800XE and fire up some classics

 

[X58Guy]

Makes me want to dig my asus maximus 2 out of storage throw a couple of 3870’s and my Q6800XE and fire up some classics

You definitely should. Just booted up Crysis and I'm still in awe every time at how well the graphics aged.

 

[X58Guy]

Fixed the plate spacing and installed the cards in the system. After some testing, everything seems to be working as expected.

It definitely makes me wish I had the bandwidth to anodize the parts... Maybe in the future.

 

[Haswellbeast]

Wow dude! I got a free x58 platform with an i7 950. I am currently looking into a xeon x5675 for it! My biggest issue is a lackluster motherboard (MSI x58m) to say the least. I just love the idea of triple channel, 6 core, beefy cpus!

 

[X58Guy]

Nice! Looks like Xeons are pretty cheap on Ebay, and $60-$80 seems to get a decent X58 board as well. Should be a fun system for sure! Something about triple channel feels special. Probably because I only grew up around dual and quad

 

[Haswellbeast]

Nice! Looks like Xeons are pretty cheap on Ebay, and $60-$80 seems to get a decent X58 board as well. Should be a fun system for sure! Something about triple channel feels special. Probably because I only grew up around dual and quad

Oh yeah, the x5660 is literally $3! I still might go for the twice as expensive x5675 for better headroom, if it matters. Do you know if there is that much for O/C headroom in the 5675?

 

[X58Guy]

Oh yeah, the x5660 is literally $3! I still might go for the twice as expensive x5675 for better headroom, if it matters.

I won't speak for your financial situation, but if they're that cheap I'd go big or go home

Do you know if there is that much for O/C headroom in the 5675?

Unfortunately I'm just here for the nostalgia, but I'm hoping to learn about the quirks of OCing this platform now that it's in running order. I know there's plenty of people here with X58 experience, though, so hopefully they can chime in.

 

[X58Guy]

Definitely poke around old posts from the period, as there's usually a lot of good info.

 

[X58Guy]

what FPS do you get in Crysis?

Finally got around to installing Fraps

35-40 with maxed out settings. 50s-60s are achievable dropping to high, though.

That's with 2-way SLI and dedicating the third card to PhysX. In 3-way, core utilization is down (60-70% on the first two cards and about 85% on the third), fps is similar, and it stutters a lot more. It's not helping that the third card is a first gen 192 shader core while the other two are the updated 216s. I'll pick up a third BFG Tech card this summer to have a matching set. Might be the PCIe 2.0 x4 interface for the third card as well... Anyways, SLI being SLI. Nothing new. OC might help a little, and I'll try that out.

 

[Smoblikat]

Finally got around to installing Fraps

35-40 with maxed out settings. 50s-60s are achievable dropping to high, though.

That's with 2-way SLI and dedicating the third card to PhysX. In 3-way, core utilization is down (60-70% on the first two cards and about 85% on the third), fps is similar, and it stutters a lot more. It's not helping that the third card is a first gen 192 shader core while the other two are the updated 216s. I'll pick up a third BFG Tech card this summer to have a matching set. Might be the PCIe 2.0 x4 interface for the third card as well... Anyways, SLI being SLI. Nothing new. OC might help a little, and I'll try that out.

Nice numbers, those 260s still holding on

I dont think the X4 slot is really a limitation, definitely not for a physx card, I remembe rlinus testing that a while back with dual GPU cards and it never really mattered. Whats the VRAM usage like? IIRC this is one of the games back in the day that got me to go from an HD5850 to a GTX 470 for the extra VRAM.

 

[X58Guy]

I dont think the X4 slot is really a limitation, definitely not for a physx card, I remembe rlinus testing that a while back with dual GPU cards and it never really mattered.

Yeah, that's what I've heard as well. I'll have to gather some more games to do more 3-way testing. It's a shame I can't use the lower X8 slot though. Windows won't fully recognize the card when it's installed there.

Whats the VRAM usage like? IIRC this is one of the games back in the day that got me to go from an HD5850 to a GTX 470 for the extra VRAM.

It's sitting at 758 out of 896MB with maxed settings according to GPU-Z