My new tri-sli build with pics (56k warning!!)
Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - My new tri-sli build with pics (56k warning!!)
So, I have just completed stripping apart both my computers and rearranging parts to get myself a working Tri-SLI machine 
Specs:
Main PC:
Core 2 Extreme QX6800 @ 3.9GHz
8GB OCZ Reaper DDR2-800 4-4-4-15
8800GTX Tri-SLI
Asus P5N-T 780i SLI
5*WD Caviar 750GB drives
PC Power and Cooling 1kW PSU
FSP Booster X3 300W Auxillary PSU
Plextor PX760-SA
Thermaltake Kandalf case
Water loop : Swiftech Apogee GT block, Thermochill PA120.3 Rad, Laing D5 pump.
Dell WFP3007-HC 30" 2560x1600 TFT
Media PC:
Core 2 Quad Q6600
4GB OCZ Reaper DDR2-800 4-4-4-15
Radeon x2900XT
Dell nforce 680i SLi
2*160GB (yes, 160GB) Raptors
2*1TB Seagates
Dell 1kW PSU
Blu-Ray reader/DVD±RW
Xbox360 HD-DVD drive
Soundblaster X-Fi Fatality Champion
Ageia PhysX card (nothing better to do with it so it goes in here...)
Dell XPS 720HC Case and cooling
LG 37" 1080p TV over HDMI
Pics:
GPUs:
This is a total of 4 8800GTXs (one died in an earlier water cooling leak, thats the one without its heatsink), and two x2900XTs (one died because AMD suck and can't design a card that can cool itself even though it is as loud as a Dyson)
CPUs:
QX6800 G0 and Q6600 G0, stable at 3.9 and 3.6GHz respectively
Water Radiators:
The 360mm rad from my Thermaltake case (utter crap, never buy one), my Thermochill PA120.3 (nice, but needs a shroud and 3 more fans - next project!), and a little Swiftech 2*120mm Rad. (not bad, but wont cope with my future plans of WC 8800s)
Ram:
12GB total of OCZ Reaper 2GB per DIMM, DDR2-800 4-4-415 modules.
DVD Drives and Aux PSU:
The top one is an FSP Booster X3, its an Auxillary PSU that sits in a drive bay and can provide up to 300W via two PCIe connectors. They are pretty cheap, and I might get another one to power a peltier....
Then we have a random SATA DVD-Rom, this wasnt put in either PC in the end and is going to have its laser ripped out for use as a laser pointer... The Blu-Ray drive, the PX-760SA, and a Lite-on DVD±RW
Thats the components, on to the PCs....
The Media Center PC:
On its side, all components in place.... horrible Dell monstrosity with cables blocking the 3rd PCIe slot, preventing it being used for Tri-SLi, hence all this...
Again, in situ:
The Main PC:
A mess of wires I know, the final presentation needs some work. The radiator is currently freestanding also!
My attempt to get an overall view is foiled by the cameras decision to focus on the wires....
The CPU and water block
http://www.stabbityevedeath.com/dspic/trisli4.JPG
The GPUs
http://www.stabbityevedeath.com/dspic/trisli6.JPG
Here you can see the front, doors open. The tubing here is for the fillport at the top.
http://www.stabbityevedeath.com/dspic/ups.JPG
To protect my baby...
Next projects:
1. Mount the radiator..... somewhere.... tidy up wiring.
2. Add 1 GPU to the existing water loop, either with a Swiftech MCW60, or a Swiftech Stealth water block.
3. Add a 2nd water loop, same model of pump and radiator, for GPUs 2 and 3.
4. Get a QX9750 
5. Dissasemble my aircon unit (12,000BTU) and make it into a coolant chiller. Insulate boards from condensation, add more antifreeze to coolant, and enjoy sub-Zero temps
oauuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
when your done playing with them toss me a vga or something
That is one nice rig as-is 
. I am interested about your temps and some benchmarks if you can get those numbers that would be great. Thanks in advance.
Reply to Shadow703793
Looking at this reminds me how much I need a new machine -_-
Message edited by n00b_SLicer on 02-03-2008 at 01:19:10 AM
Pretty nifty.
When running 3dmark06 try to get your CPU to even a higher OC as even 4ghz seems to bottlneck the god damn tri-sli
Reply to Hatman
Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive is for playing HD-DVD movies, as that PC is my media center
It is the cheapest HD-DVD drive going, and is fully compatible with both my PC and my Xbox360 Elite (also in the pic).
Temps:
Idle, with 1.6v vCore (alot of voltage and 4 cores!!) is 25°C-28°C across the cores.
Ambient temp is approx 22°C.
Under full Prime95 load, it hits about 45°C. The coolant temp hardly increases tho, to be honest I think thats just due to the limits of thermal transfer from Die->IHS->Waterblock. I may Lap the CPU just in case.
Benchmarks are a work in progress... My Tri-SLi score in 3Dmark06 seems roughly similar to my old 2 way SLi score, I think it might be CPU bound at default settings (1280x1024).
Might try a non SLI, 2 way SLI, tri SLI comparison at 2560x1600
Its a definate improvement in games over 2 way SLI at 2560x1600. I wouldn't bother with it at a lesser resolution tho, 1920x1200 for example is only just over half as many pixels as 2560x1600!
I'll probably get rid of these GPUs in a couple of months tho, 9800GX2 SLI would be 4*G92s and would leave me a PCI slot for an X-Fi I have spare....
Message edited by darkstar782 on 02-03-2008 at 12:56:16 PM
^^ Can I have the spare cards
Reply to Silverion77
| Acethechosenone wrote : Cool, looking at the wires is giving me a headache. There are not enough cable ties in the world to sort out that mess but its not like you have to worry about air flow,lol |
That comes from having 3 GPUs, 6 HDDs, 1 optical, 2 PSUs, and god knows how many fans, all in one case 
Not quite sure what I will ever do with them!
| nossr50 wrote : Yeah I don't think this guy is going to be a walking charity but it sure goes to show you how jealous we get over computer hardware...maybe this isn't the most healthy hobby after all! |
I did consider giving away my old GA-X38-DQ6 on here or another forum, but firstly it has no northbridge heatsink (ripped it off to fit a waterblock) so is only usefull to someone that wants to watercool it, and secondly the thought occoured to me I could set up a 3870X2 crossfire system....
Message edited by darkstar782 on 02-04-2008 at 08:52:46 AM
Please mind
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