Graphic board and PSU for 990FXA-UD7 mobo?

[AnnabellaMoorlord]

Hello,
This is my first build, and I'm trying to gether up needed parts. I have the AMD Phenom II Black Edition (6 core 1100T processor), have the 990FXA-UD7 mobo (specification page link: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3880#sp )I am totally lost on which graphic cards to get hence which psu to get also. I am into some high resolution "casual" games (not action games) and also studying graphic design (defiantly looking to go to 2 monitors or more). I've heard that newer amd processors seem to "like" amd graphic cards better, was looking at amd site and don't know about gaming cards v/s their professional graphic card line (such as the ATI FirePro™ V9800) Was thinking of starting with 1 or 2 graphic cards now and getting 1 or 2 more later (a little confused on the dual slot card set up (does this mean that I can only do 2 cards not 4?) HELP?? and if I can run 4 later it seems that currently there is no power supply to run 4 or more graphic cards right now? (could be miscalculating wattage?)?? Confused?

 

[ko888]

Four GPUs (i.e. Graphics Processing Units) is the maximum that can be supported by the drivers. Notice that I said GPUs and not cards.

The Radeon HD 6990 for example has two GPUs on one graphics card. You can only run a maximum of two of these cards in CrossFireX mode.

The Radeon HD 6970 for example has only one GPU on the graphics card. You can run up to a maximum of four of these cards in 4-way CrossFireX mode.

Some of the 1200/1250/1300 Watt or greater power supply units are able to power four graphics cards that require two PCI-E power connectors each.

Which graphics design applications are you planning to use?

 

[badtaylorx]

are you planning on running any graphic design software or cad???

 

[AnnabellaMoorlord]

right now we are only using Adobe Master Suit 5.0 (have been told we will learn/use different software later???) I have found my current HP with a nivida card can't handle the adobe illustrator, Photoshop, and In-design running at same time and web searching graphics, so reason I'm building my own is to have something that will last for many graphic photo and video editing programs to come, I am not sure what other programs are to come later on, but yes 3D-video graphic illustration will be on the plate next semester.

 

[badtaylorx]

well a workstation card may be your best bet then......you can game on them even tho thats not what they're meant to do.......but will have MUCH better 3d modeling capabilities

somthin like this would do quite nice

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195098

and id recommend running plenty of ram in whatever you end up building 8-12gigs

 

[AnnabellaMoorlord]

Four GPUs (i.e. Graphics Processing Units) is the maximum that can be supported by the drivers. Notice that I said GPUs and not cards.

The Radeon HD 6990 for example has two GPUs on one graphics card. You can only run a maximum of two of these cards in CrossFireX mode.

The Radeon HD 6970 for example has only one GPU on the graphics card. You can run up to a maximum of four of these cards in 4-way CrossFireX mode.

Some of the 1200/1250/1300 Watt or greater power supply units are able to power four graphics cards that require two PCI-E power connectors each.

Which graphics design applications are you planning to use?

so in other words the Radeon HD 6990 is 2 in 1, but since it's 2 in one it still requires 2 slots right? (I'm trying to get this learned)

 

[AnnabellaMoorlord]

well a workstation card may be your best bet then......you can game on them even tho thats not what they're meant to do.......but will have MUCH better 3d modeling capabilities

somthin like this would do quite nice

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195098

and id recommend running plenty of ram in whatever you end up building 8-12gigs

yea defiantly going to max out on the ram, just having a hard time finding DDR3 at 8GB a stick so to run 32 GB at 1333 at least (sony i think makes it, but still can't find where they are selling it?)

 

[badtaylorx]

no not quite......the slots only have to do with the thickness of the card..or....if by slots you mean pci-e slots ....it only takes one for the 6990


they only make 8gig sticks for servers currently.....and i believe they'd fit but are profiled a lil different making them incompatible???

 

[AnnabellaMoorlord]

yes pci-e slot, so last "dumb" question, how do I tell if it is a dual or single GPU card? I have a feeling this relates to the 8 or 16 that is normally attached to the card's "name/description" but i could be totally off base?

 

[badtaylorx]

not a dumb question.......the only way to tell is by it name and knowing the card companies naming tendencies.....it's really quite confusing to someone not into computers.....

the only way to tell is to read up in its discription.....somewhere it will list its gpu with an x2......


the 8 and the 16 refer to the motherboards pci-e slots available lanes.....ie electrical pathways connecting that pci=e slot to the northbridge and ultimately the processor

 

[AnnabellaMoorlord]

ahh, now i know what to look for thank you , thank you, thank you!! (I haven't been "into" computers since your screen color choice what white, green, or amber!) (yes I meant or!!)

 

[ko888]

Another thing to consider is the slot width of the cards you purchase because it will determine whether or not you can fit multiple graphics cards on the motherboard with adequate spacing between the cards to allow for proper graphics card cooling. A dual slot width card will block access to one slot and a triple slot width card will block access to two slots making those slots unusable. Depending on the motherboard maker's PCI-E x16 slot layout the multiple graphics cards may or may not fit and breathe/cool properly.

Triple slot width example : ASUS HD 6970 Series EAH6970 DCII/2DI4S/2GD5

Dual slot width example : ASUS HD6970 EAH6970/2DI2S/2GD5

 

[Xtina]

Hello,
This is my first build, and I'm trying to gether up needed parts. I have the AMD Phenom II Black Edition (6 core 1100T processor), have the 990FXA-UD7 mobo (specification page link: http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3880#sp )I am totally lost on which graphic cards to get hence which psu to get also. I am into some high resolution "casual" games (not action games) and also studying graphic design (defiantly looking to go to 2 monitors or more). I've heard that newer amd processors seem to "like" amd graphic cards better, was looking at amd site and don't know about gaming cards v/s their professional graphic card line (such as the ATI FirePro™ V9800) Was thinking of starting with 1 or 2 graphic cards now and getting 1 or 2 more later (a little confused on the dual slot card set up (does this mean that I can only do 2 cards not 4?) HELP?? and if I can run 4 later it seems that currently there is no power supply to run 4 or more graphic cards right now? (could be miscalculating wattage?)?? Confused?

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