Upgrading my Workstation - Which MoBo and Which GPU to add?

#1

Hi!
I’m thinking of upgrading my workstation from:
CPU: Intel I3 2100K
MoBo: DH67CL
GPU: GTX 580 1.5GB (x1)
RAM: 8GB (2 slots)
Dual-Monitor (different res’)
4 HDDs
PSU: Gigabyte 900(unit) (can’t find more details…)

To a:
CPU: Intel I7 3770K
MoBo: (???) (must be with PS2 connectors…I’m going to work with gaming hardware…)
GPU: GTX 580 1.5GB + (???) —SLI!!
RAM: 16GB (4 slots?)\32GB
Dual-Monitor (different res’)
6/5 HDDs (need opt for 6 anyway)
Same PSU

I have this budget:
for GPU - under 300$
For Mobo - under 300$ (too…)

and I’m going only with those brands:
Gainward, Intel, Asus, Gigabyte, NVIDIA

I work with Windows 7 64 Bit,
Photoshop,
After Effects, (GPU AND CPU)
ZBrush,
and mostly:
Cinema 4D (R14) (RENDERING, cpu only as c4d limits us)
(Also I’m a gamer…)

The specific questions are:

  1. Should I take super cheap Quadro (under 300$, like quadro 600) or something else? (I need quadro for better dual-monitor setup, geforce with win7 doesnt support h-span)

  2. Which MoBo should I take? does it really matter for my needs?

  3. I already have a (Winfast PX) GeForce 8600gt in hand, should I SLI it, too?
    (if mobo supports 3 way SLI, should I add it??)

  4. Do I need a bigger PSU for this kind of SLI?

EDIT:
Well I got it that I can’t SLI different GPU’s and that’s so sad…
And I wont buy cheap Quadro because it’ll suck…
SO the only question is:

For the following specs what Mobo would you recommend me?
CPU: Intel I7 3770K
MoBo: (???)
GPU: GTX 580 1.5GB
RAM: 16GB (2 Slots) (Need 4 slots for future upgrades)
Dual-Monitor (different res’) (future - 3 or 4)
6 HDDs
PSU: Gigabyte 900 Watt WITH BLUE LED LIGHTING (~.~) XD (just saw that and remembered…)
And i will probably need at least one PCI (no the mini but normal…) for the PS2 connection.
(Should I already have a SLI compatible Mobo?? In case I have spare 900$ for another 580 XD won’t happen easily)

EDIT2:
My final decision about my upgrade is:
CPU: I7 3770K (Box)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO (Support for 3 way SLI)
RAM: 16GB (2 slots) (F3-1333C9D-16GAO)
Case: Phantom 410
And I’ll order the SD-NECPS-2U2PS2 PCI card for PS2

#2
  • cheap Quadro is a waste of money, no use of that, only Quadro 4000/5000/6000 are worth of money.
  • 8600GT? forget it…it is almost like you said nVidia Riva TNT :stuck_out_tongue: NHF!
  • DUAL SPAN?@! EVERY normal GeForce support span across monitors /my GTX460 for egz./
  • PS2? hm you should try with some adapters, no way to find some normal mobo with PS2 :slight_smile:
    I am not so shore for the rest, its not some to rare kind of PC hardware
    GOOD LUCK!
    :slight_smile:
#3
  • So no quadro… these are a hell out of my budget…
    • I remember it worked very well with crysis (1) and some heavy games… (back in the dual core days)
    • How do I set it?? I have GTX 580 and cant seem to setup spanning… (just the seperate thingy, “extend display” and games for example will be on 1 monitor)
    • PS2 because of NKRO, or I’ll spend another 60$ (which is alot for me) for a 6kro USB KB…

Thanks for reply :slight_smile:

#4

Quadro 600, waste of time
GF 8800, waste of time
Spanning a game over 2 screens of different sizes… thats not a great idea… spanning any game over 2 screens is a bad idea too, the centre of your view is where the screen divides, you need an odd number of screens, even numbers make no sense.
Dont pick a motherboard based around a ps2 port, you can grab a ps2-usb dongle for $5 from ebay.

#5

thanks for the reply
too bad about the spanning - i have no room for another monitor
and the ps2 - i need nkro (or at least 6kro) and thats only with ps2, not usb… (or i need to buy a new 60-100$ keyboard)
and any suggestion about a mobo or a gpu??? everyone’s around the old thingies…

#6

The multiple keys issue is a problem with the keyboard controller, not usb. Just grab a cheap 5 dollar ps2 usb converter and plug the keyboard into a usb port. Out of curiosity though, what are you needing 6 keys at once for? Even gaming, you might strafe, crawl and hit a grenade button at once, and thats 4, what are you doing with 6?

Keep the 580, nothing else is significantly faster. As far as SLI goes… is there really much point? the 580 can handle virtually any game at full details to 1920x1200. Id rather save money for the next upgrade further down the road than waste of on dual gfx cards. Im on a 4 year old i7 and 580 card; it runs crisis 3 at 1920x1200 at the full 60fps, what more is a faster card going to offer?.

Motherboards, no idea.

#7

btw, you can’t SLI different GPU’s… so you will not be able to use the 580 and 8800 in a set, doesn’t work that way.

and if you do have the same GPUs but they have different memory sizes, the set will only use the lowest amount available on all the cards.

#8

I’m talking about rendering (outside of C4D) and After Effects… both need very hardcore GPU performance…
In gaming - my current PC is doing the same as yours XD (only some specific games are on medium settings, other on highest and its 60FPS)

Oh… I thought I CAN pair up different GPU’s in SLI (and now checked on NVIDIA’s website… :sad: )
So i’m kinda screwed… I wanted SLI for the performance hit and option for 3 display (and dual with REAL spanning, not DisplayFusion’s…)

Thank you for the replies!

Anyone have suggestion for Mobo??

#9

you can still span the desktop (atleast in windows) with independent video cards, this is what i’m currently doing with two devices. SLI will not help with spanning displays.

#10

A word of caution. content creation apps generally dont use SLI. To use the GPU processing for AE filters or 3D rendering, you typically need to leave the cards as individual cards. This would mean rebooting and turning SLI on and off between gaming and working, which might be a bit annoying.

It might be different now, the last time I checked was about 2-3 years ago.

#11

A quote from another forum (google IS my friend indeed!)

SLI does work with CINEMA 4D

And BTW, I don’t care about SLI for gaming… If I have triple screen support without SLI (which I probably will) so I don’t care :slight_smile:
And there’s an update… Watch the original post ^^

#12

Should have read the whole quote, which goes on to say :

SLI does work with CINEMA 4D, it’s just that it does not give you any advantage. This is due to SLI beeing completely targeted and optimized to games, 3D apps and CAD apps work very differently here and can’t take advantage of SLI.

Happens to be from Srek, who’s also a regular around here :wink:

#13

And here’s my ADHD comes in to play XD
Thanks for the heads up…
Anyway - At some point I’ll need SLI for both gaming and 3 Monitors Setup (for design, too).
What do you say about the package??

#14

This still, mostly, holds true, except you more rarely need to turn SLI on or off these days, you just let it there, sitting pretty, wasting money.
So less annoying, but still (mostly) useless (for DCC).

#15

According to these benchmarks, dual or triple 580 configs give some of the best value for money results as far as GPU acceleration in AE CS6

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AuE_AZZfskx3dHotTzVGamhiUkIySTUteGlzeG9xMEE#gid=2

http://www.loopoutcontinue.com/2012/08/benchmarking-cuda-performance-in-after-effects-cs6/

#16

Here comes the confusion…
Anyway - I’ll have the option for 3-way.

WHAT DO YOU SAY ABOUT THE SPECS OF THE UPGRADE?
You don’t really get that I already understood the SLI thingy… And going to order the upgrade…

#17

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