PC Build confusion

[kingzboi]

Hi guys

Recently I built my first gaming pc I have an aercool strike x case and a msi gtx 660 twinfrozr version and would like to run sli and buy another card. My problem is do I have enough cooling? I heard that whenever you run 2 cards you need a side panel fan, I do not have this. Also do I have enough power I have a 650w power supply, thanks in advance. Also when I buy the second graphics card can it be any 660 or does it have to be an MSI one and also can it be a ti version or does it have to be the twinfrozr which is what I already have.

Jack

 

[wanderer11]

What psu do you have? The rating is next to meaningless on cheap psus and accurate on good ones. As far as the cooling goes, just get the second gpu and watch temps. If they are too high you can setup a fan profile in msi afterburner and/or add case fans. Mind if I ask why you want to SLI 660s instead of getting one more powerful card?

 

[USAFRet]

Put in enough fans, in the proper orientation, to achieve the cooling level you want/need. There is no hard and fast rule about 2 cards = required a side fan.

 

[wanderer11]

Oh I forgot to answer your last question. You should get another of the exact same card. It might cause an issue having two different manufacturer's cards. So get another of the exact same card if you can.

 

[kingzboi]

This is the PSU http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0068ODTZA/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1, also I wanted to use 2x 660 because i could not afford a card worth 400 pounds i built the pc last year and when i built it i didnt have enough money so I said when i get the money i will get a second card. Would you not recommend this?

 

[kingzboi]

This is the PSU http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0068ODTZA/ref=oh_details_o09_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1, also I wanted to use 2x 660 because i could not afford a card worth 400 pounds i built the pc last year and when i built it i didnt have enough money so I said when i get the money i will get a second card. Would you not recommend this?

 

[Xenturion]

The Power Supply you linked should be more than enough. I wouldn't accuse it of being the most quality power supply out there, but it should still be more than sufficient for two GTX 660s. Given that both cards will require 1 PCIe-6-Pin power connectors and that your Power Supply has 2, you'll be fine on that front.

With regard to the case, every Aerocool Strike X case on their site either has a sidepanel fan, or has mounting points for it. It doesn't need to be something fancy, but I would recommend you pick up a 120MM fan for that purpose and mount it via the existing screw holes. You shouldn't 'need' it to run, but it'll undoubtedly help temperatures.

2 660s should at most use about ~ 300 - 350W of power, even with a worst case scenario of a 130W processor and other equipment, you're still well under the 650W rating of that power supply. Those cases all look roomy enough to be able to handle that with the default cooling setup.

 

[kingzboi]

Thankyou for answering, when I buy this fan what way does it go round? and also my cable management is very poor in the case, alot of cables are 2 short to be used properly is this going to affect the cooling much or is this just a compulsive thing with pc builders.

Thankyou

 

[kingzboi]

The Power Supply you linked should be more than enough. I wouldn't accuse it of being the most quality power supply out there, but it should still be more than sufficient for two GTX 660s. Given that both cards will require 1 PCIe-6-Pin power connectors and that your Power Supply has 2, you'll be fine on that front.

With regard to the case, every Aerocool Strike X case on their site either has a sidepanel fan, or has mounting points for it. It doesn't need to be something fancy, but I would recommend you pick up a 120MM fan for that purpose and mount it via the existing screw holes. You shouldn't 'need' it to run, but it'll undoubtedly help temperatures.

2 660s should at most use about ~ 300 - 350W of power, even with a worst case scenario of a 130W processor and other equipment, you're still well under the 650W rating of that power supply. Those cases all look roomy enough to be able to handle that with the default cooling setup.

Thankyou for answering, when I buy this fan what way does it go round? and also my cable management is very poor in the case, alot of cables are 2 short to be used properly is this going to affect the cooling much or is this just a compulsive thing with pc builders.

Thankyou

 

[Xenturion]

Generally, side panel fans that are over the video cards are intakes or "blow air in". If you mean in regards to the fan itself, they usually have little arrows pointing which direction the airflow goes. You can actually tell by looking at the blades, but that's a little tough to explain. Guess and check always works.

I wouldn't worry about cable management too much. Lack of cable management really only becomes a problem in small, cramped enclosures or in obviously less-than-ideal situations like an IDE/Floppy ribbon cable completely blocking a CPU intake, or a rat's nest of cables blocking a GPU intake. Serious concern with cable management is a recent phenomenon. For years, thanks to legacy cables, case designs, and non-modular power supplies, there wasn't much of an option to make things tidy. Do the best you can, but there's no reason to spend additional money over it.