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When building an SLI system, where does one begin? With the motherboard of course! Without an NVIDIA SLI motherboard, you can't build an NVIDIA SLI PC. NVIDIA and its partners offer tons of NVIDIA SLI-ready motherboards. Click here to view a list of budget SLI motherboards from NVIDIA and its partners. Remember, when you're shopping for an NVIDIA SLI motherboard, make sure that it's on our certified list - if it's not NVIDIA SLI certified, it cannot support NVIDIA SLI!
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If you're building an NVIDIA SLI-ready PC and starting with one graphics card now, with plans to add a second one later, you're probably worried about being able to find the EXACT same graphics card to make a matched pair. Fear no more! With NVIDIA's latest driver series, you guys can mix and match NVIDIA graphics card vendors, memory clocks and GPU core clocks - as long as the GPUs are the same. Here are some examples of what combinations would work, and some that would not:
- EVGA GeForce 6600 with a BFG GeForce 6600 GT = WOULD NOT WORK (different GPU)
- ASUS GeForce 7800 GTX 512 with an MSI GeForce 7800 GTX 256 = WOULD NOT WORK (different GPU)
- Leadtek GeForce 7800 GT with a PNY GeForce 7800 GT = WOULD WORK (Same GPUs)
Also, it's important to note that you don't need to have a motherboard from the same manufacturer of your graphics cards. For example, you could have an ASUS motherboard, paired with an XFX GeForce 7800 GT and a BFG GeForce 7800 GT. As long as they are all NVIDIA SLI-Certified parts, you're good to go!
With the flexibility of the most recent NVIDIA drivers, you don't have to worry about being able to find the EXACT same make and model of your existing SLI-ready graphics card when you upgrade to SLI - you just need to worry about finding the same model (same GPU). So if you buy a graphics card from XFX featuring a GeForce 7800 GT, you won't have to necessarily buy an XFX GeForce 7800 GT when you decide to upgrade - you can do so using ANY NVIDIA SLI-ready graphics card featuring a GeForce 7800 GT GPU.
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A high performance car doesn't perform to its potential without high performance gasoline, parts and fluids….and the same is true for your NVIDIA SLI PC! Don't starve your NVIDIA GPUs and other PC components of valuable energy. Because each GPU is sharing the graphics load equally and dynamically, it's very important that they each get a continuous, dedicated flow of power from your power supply. Even if you think your PC doesn't need the power now, it's always a great idea to set the table for future upgrades, and future-proof your SLI PC with an NVIDIA SLI-certified power supply. Learn more about the importance of an NVIDIA SLI-certified PSU here.
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With the rapidly dropping prices of storage in the past few years, PC gamers have many more flexibility and options for what they can do. Simply put, hard drives are getting larger and cheaper every year! With more storage and more drives, you can do more with your SLI PC.
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In a nutshell, RAID means using multiple disks to store the same data, and writing that data to multiple disks at once. This allows for better data recovery, should something ever go wrong with one of your hard drives - you can always recover it from the other one. NVIDIA nForce SLI motherboards have a great feature called MediaShield that makes setting up your disks for performance or security pretty straightforward.
Here are some types of RAID configurations:
- RAID 0: A "striped" configuration, this will give you better speed (more performance)
- RAID 1: A "mirrored" disk configuration, this will give you redundancy
- RAID 0+1: This hybrid does both mirroring and striping simultaneously
- RAID 5: If you're super paranoid about losing your data and can't afford enough drives to "mirror" it, you might want to look into this complex technology, also available on nForce motherboards.
Some guys will do one setup with RAID 0 and one with RAID 1 or RAID 5 separately. These guys put the operating system and their favorite games on the "striped" (RAID 0) disks, and anything that they want to secure on the redundant disks (RAID 1) - MP3s, photos, game saves, etc. The logic here is that operating system and game files are easy to replace and contribute more to performance than your treasured memories do. Click HERE to learn more about NVIDIA and RAID technology.
As for drive specs, if you are starting from scratch, get yourself some SATA (serial ATA) drives with high RPMs and more cache memory. Both of these factors speed up your performance. As for size, that doesn't really matter!!! (Or does it?) You're on a budget, so get something on sale that will meet your needs. With careful planning of your RAID strategy, it's easy (and cheap) to add more space later.
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The short answer is yes. Today's games and applications demand a lot of your PC. Most PC gamers don't settle for less than 1 GB (1024 MB) or system memory. Some games like Battlefield 2 do much better with 2 GBs or more of system memory. So, if you can afford 2 GBs, you'll be doing great - but be sure to at least get 1 GB if you want a decent gaming experience. When you're building an NVIDIA SLI PC, skimping on system memory is like putting cheapo tires on a performance car - don't' skimp on the important stuff!
For an AMD based SLI PC, DDR400 RAM is a good foundation - if you don't plan to overclock your memory. For an Intel based SLI PC, DDR2 667 is also a great start - again, if you don't plan to overclock your memory. If you DO plan to overclock memory, be sure to purchase memory with a faster speed than your CPU specifications.
If you DO overlock, be sure to get a memory solution that has adequate cooling. Many of today's performance memory modules come standard with heat spreaders to dissipate heat generated by the faster-than-spec speeds. These heat spreaders can also be purchased as an aftermarket upgrade.
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Your system memory is not the only thing you need to cool in your NVIDIA SLI PC. With so much performance being squeezed out of your PC, there's bound to be a lot of heat built up, especially if you overclock. There are good cooling solutions out there to fir every budget.
It's always good to start with a case that allows for maximum airflow. Look for one that has a 120mm fan in the front of the case (to suck fresh air in), as well as the back (to push the air out and make room for more). 120mm fans have become very popular in the past few years because they push more air per minute than 80 mm fans and are much quieter. You can also purchase fan controllers for cheap - these mount on the front of your case and allow you to manually adjust the voltage output to each fan in your system - effectively changing the speed from full blast, all the way to "stop." When considering a fan purchase, be sure to look for the "dB" rating (decibles). dB ratings are based on a logarithmic scale - so a small change in the number makes a HGUE difference in noise levels. Look for the lower ratings - they are quieter. A dB number of 23 or lower is really good for a 120mm fan, and a dB number of 26 or lower is good for 80mm fans.
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Another (quieter) way to increase your cooling capacity and reduce noise levels is to use heatsinks. These are pieces of metal that usually have fins protruding from them (to dissipate heat) and affix to heat-producing components like GPUs, CPUs and RAM modules. Generally, copper is better than aluminum. A good rule of thumb is, more fins = better heat dissipation. Surface area is key in this space - the more surface area you can attach to a component, the more heat you can dissipate - so look for lots of fins. Something that adds to the effectiveness of heatskinks is heat pipe technology - essentially pipes that attach to the heatsink and channel heat away from the cooled component. These are getting more affordable these days, so don't count this nifty feature out when shopping for heat sinks.
So there you have it - building an NVIDIA SLI PC isn't as expensive as you thought. While you may not necessarily be shattering benchmark records with your PC, you'll definitely see a huge increase in your gaming performance and the features you can enable when you build an NVIDIA SLI PC. Now go out there and build yourself and NVIDIA SLI PC! |
