New computer, would like advice

[grimm]

Hey,

I'm now able to get a new system and have been looking at Newegg to purchase it. I build my own systems and they usually work out fine. This time I'm looking to get one more suited for Octane. I will be running Linux on it (Fedora 13) so keep that in mind. I have a case already but I need to check the power supply, either way I can always get a new ps. Here is what I'm looking at purchasing:

1) MSI NF980-G65 AM3 NVIDIA nForce 980a SLI HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 813130236R

2) AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103851

3) G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231311

4) Palit NE5X460SF1142 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Sonic 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814261077

For a grand total of a little more then $700 US. The motherboard is nice in that it has 3 PCIx slots so I could put up to 3 cards in the system. I'm going to put in my old GT220 as the main display and use the GTX460 as a render beast. Does this look ok? I was thinking that a 450 to 500 watt power supply would be able to handle this? Thanks,

Grimm

[erik]

Hi,

Good plan. I went with an Asus Supercomputer Mobo as it has 7 PCIe slots (although I must admit I haven't filled in more than 3 yet).

[pixelrush]

450W is the min recommended for one GTX460 alone.
For the GT220 as well I would get say a decent 550W but this doesnt leave any room for adding more cards
If you are going to put in 2x460 + GT220 I would be looking to 850W
Have a look here for a list http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html
HTH

[erik]

Yep, I'd say 750W is the bare minimum you should be looking at. I'd suggest don't skimp on the PSU, get a good modular/cable management one (eg Thermaltake or Silverstone). I've got a Silverstone 1000W which is very good for adding extra gfx cards when the time comes.

[grimm]

Thanks guys for the help, I went out and purchased a 650W PS, the larger ones were just too expensive for my budget. I will let you know how it works out, at least it fit in the case I had (a good sign I think).

Grimm

[grimm]

Well i finally had some time to set up the new system. Wow!! The GTX460 is so much faster then the GT220 (and even faster when cuda 3.2 is ready). The 650W power supply is working great no problems so far. Having the 220 do the display and the 460 number crunch is so much nicer then just having one card. I would definitely recommend the two card set up. If I get another 460 some time in the future I will get a larger power supply at the same time. It's nice having the option at least.

Now I need to change my sig.

Grimm