Lucid Hydra: GTX 460 & GT 430

[gamingaccess]

I am in a dilemma here regarding Lucid Hydra

I don't have:
1) Money
2) Power Supply
3) The Girl of my dreams

Those 3 things are missing in my life.
1 and 2 can be solved later

Now, since I don't have money and watts, my main question is:

A) Even though I won't benefit much, can I buy a GT 430 and run it in Hydra with a GTX 460?

I want to TRY Hydra, so I want to know if that's an option.

I heard that if the power of card #2 is less than 50% of the power of card #1, the performance boost of Hydra can be negative, or non-existence

If I buy a GTS 450 I doubt the PC will even turn on

I have Ultra 600 watt

I appreciate responses, but please do not say

"buy a better power supply"

That's not an option for a while

 

[Jack the Newbie]

Apart from the fact that the combination your are aiming at does not really make much sense to begin with, it also not part of the offical "suggested combinations" provided by Lucid Logic:  http://www.lucidlogix.com/download/driverdownloads-driver2_24_2067888232.pdf [Page 12].

I am pretty sure that you will have a hard time, finding another user that has actually tested such a configuration on a Fuzion class mainboard.  So, basically, all we can tell you (especially since your budget does not seem to allow you another option) is:  "Go ahead and try it and then share you experience".

In the end (since there will most likely not be any significant performance bonus), you are probably better off saving the money until you are able to purchase additional hardware that serves the whole point of increased performance with dual gpu configurations better.

 

[gamingaccess]

Well the problem is the power supply really

I can buy a GT 430 and after 30 days return it, and buy a GTS 450

Now, I THINK that MAYBE the GTS 450 will work

In my computer, GT 240 + GTX 460 worked before

now, I believe the GT 240 and the GTS 450 have similar power requirements (since GTS 450 is more energy efficient than GTS 250)

If that's true, that would be great

Basically, I want to have 2 cards
1) GTX 460
2) PhysX card

The PhysX card I can use it for PhysX games and for CUDA applications (Adobe Premiere CS5)

I can also use that card whenever I sell my main card and I ran out of cards

So, I was thinking, if I can use Hydra to give a small boosts in FPS in games that don't use PhysX (such as World of Warcraft for example, or Starcraft II)

 

[Jack the Newbie]

Well the problem is the power supply really

Since you said because of your limited budget, there is no way that buying another power supply is an option, all you can do is to test it. 

You did not mention any specifics about your PSU (exact model number, number of 12V rails, amperage limit on each rail and global amperage limit/wattage for all 12V rails).  That makes it hard to say anything about that.

How are we supposed to help you regarding your GPU combination?  What is your actual question?

 

[gamingaccess]

Ultra 600 watt modular power supply
36A on 12V Rail

I already have
1) Intel Core i7 875k @ 4200 Mhz
2) Corsair H70
3) 2 hard drives
4) 1 DVD-RW drive
5) MSI Big Bang Fuzion mobo
6) GTX 460

I had pretty much the same config (Cooler Master V8 instead of H70, and CPU @ 3.8Ghz instead of 4.2Ghz) and

GTX 460 + GT 240 ran fine

 

[Jack the Newbie]

A GT450 will consume about 106W. A GT240 about 73W tops.  That's about 33W more (or 2.75A@12V).  If the ratings on your PSU are correct, it should be able to handle that.  Else, try without the overclock, that should save a few amps as well.

 

[gamingaccess]

I spent $100 on Corsair H70

I will not go back to that hell hole
I will not go back to that life!

Now I am part of the +4Ghz club

haha, no really, if I have to downclock 500Mhz or so in order to run Hydra, forget it

 

[Jack the Newbie]

haha, no really, if I have to downclock 500Mhz or so in order to run Hydra, forget it

You probably don't.  It is just a possible test, that COULD be done, IF there should be PSU related problem, which MOST LIKELY WON'T be the case.

Now I am part of the +4Ghz club

Yes, you're right, that is the only thing that counts. 

 

[gamingaccess]

Thanks for your support

I tried GT 430

as you said it doesn't works, I can't see the Hydra logo

the first time I installed this, WOW was sloooooooooow and all the games were insanely slow

so I removed i

then I reconnected it

I got BSOD

To be honest I haven't tried 4.2Ghz with games (just prime95 test), so it might be an issue with power supply, overclocking too much, or memory timings

Anyway, I downclocked to 4GHz, and everything works fine

Now, my question will be

1) GTX 460 how many AMPS does it needs?
2) ATI HD 5770 how many AMPS does it needs?

If I downclock to 2800Mhz or whatever, and disconnect my DVD... can I buy ATI HD 5770 to do the test on Hydra?

I REALLY want to test HYDRA, see if it works, and how well it performs

 

[gamingaccess]

If I do the tests on World of Warcraft, I don't know if the power supply will allow me to play it.

I'm not going to try Crysis or anything crazy, just WOW

I will downclock my CPU to 2.8Ghz, turn off DVD drive, and see if it boots.

WOW uses around 25% CPU power, so I hope it leaves juice for this HYDRA test

Do you think that will work?

Today I saw some nice Power supplies for around $99-$140, 700watt-850Watt

 

[Jack the Newbie]

1) GTX 460 how many AMPS does it needs?

150-180W / 12,5A-15@12V max. (depending on the version)

2) ATI HD 5770 how many AMPS does it needs?

108W / 9A@12V max. (make it 10A, to be on the safe side)

can I buy ATI HD 5770 to do the test on Hydra?

No idea if the PSU will be able to handle that.  Add the GTX460 and the HD5770 together and you already end up with up to 25A.  The CPU (non-overclocked) has a TDP of 95W -> another 8A, that makes 33A.  Some board components, optical drives, hard drives, fans etc. will need 12V-power as well.  The PSU will be at its very limit (if its stated specifications can be trusted at all).

For such experiments you should buy a better PSU.

 

[gamingaccess]

I can unplug my DVD

Can you tell me how much AMP the GT 430 users?

the system booted up with GTX 460 + GT 430
However Hydra didn't worked so GPU usage was 0%

I just want to know which graphic card is the closest to the GT430 card (in terms of AMPS), the lower, the better, again, I am just testing HYDRA

What are the "official combinations" for HYDRA?
In the 1.7.103 they tried with GTX 460 and Radeon 5770

that one might work since none of the GPUs are power hungry really, they are mid-budget cards

I was thinking Radeon 5770 or GTS 450

Which one is more power efficient? I ASSUME GTS 450

 

[gamingaccess]

This is a card I can buy to test

1) http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0347248
That one doesn't looks power hungry at all

besides, my PSU is Ultra 600 watt SLI ready
So in some point of history they must have plugged two GPUs to this power supply

Maybe 2 GTX 260 or something like that, or 2 GTX 9800 or something

This power supply was released I think around Q4/2009

 

[Jack the Newbie]

I can unplug my DVD

That is not going to help much, if at all.

Can you tell me how much AMP the GT 430 users?

50W / 4.2A@12V

What are the "official combinations" for HYDRA?

Follow the link I posted in my first reply, check page 12.

I just want to know which graphic card is the closest to the GT430 card (in terms of AMPS)

I am not going to google the power consumption of every video card for you or check the NVIDIA & ATI specs.  You can do that yourself.

GTS450 is 106W / 9A @12V

besides, my PSU is Ultra 600 watt SLI ready

Yes, but that does not mean anything. 36A @12V max. is what counts.  My 450W-Corsair PSU can do 33A@12V and is therefore almost as strong in that region as your "SLI Ready" Ultra-PSU.

This power supply was released I think around Q4/2009

That won't turn it into a high-end PSU.

Maybe 2 GTX 260 or something like that, or 2 GTX 9800 or something

Forget it. Not gonna work.

Maybe

Too many "maybe"s involved here.  It is pointless to speculate about this stuff.  Either try your luck or get a stronger PSU which you can really rely on.

 

[gamingaccess]

I am going to try if it boots,

I am going to buy

http://www.frys.com/product/5672731?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

That one is $109 GT 450

Basically I can try GT 450 or Radeon 5770

So, for my next power supply, how many AMPS on 12V would you recommend?
I would like something that holds up 2 GTX 460 + Intel Core i7 875k overclocked to 4.2Ghz

In the future, I don't know, 2 years from know, I guess I'll overclock to 5GHZ, so I want something a little bit future proof

Ok, tomorrow I'm going to buy

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0328209

that is the card that costs the less and SHOULD work according to HYDRA

it says:

? Different graphics card manufacturers ? ok (e.g. MSI + Other vendor)
? Different graphics card memory size and type ? ok (e.g. 512MB + 1.76Gb)
? Overclock and non-overclock graphics cards - ok
? Multi GPU performance ratio should be between 1:1 and 1:2 ? see suggested combinations in Appendix A below
? It is recommended to connect the display to the stronger GPU

Now I have a question for you

SLI is not perfect

I remember GTX 260 SLI in WOW the SLI slider was 5%
in Call of Duty it was maybe close to 100%

I do understand that in WOW there was no need to use the second card, but I was hoping SLI will still not use 1 card and THEN use the other one

I was hoping SLI will use 1 frame with one card, and 1 frame with the other card

I do remember buying SLI GTX 460 with 1000 WATT power supply, and I do remember feeling disappointed with the technology

People say it scales 60% at it's best, although I haven't tried that in almost 2 years or so

Now, my question is

If it scales around 60%-80%, do you think HYDRA is a good idea?

I read that it's supposedly going to make the scale work better since it works via hardware and it's supposed to scale in parallel or something like that, it's supposed to be a "hardware scale" and supposed to be much better, or solve some issue in SLI that I can't recall now


So, if this thing doesn't scales that well (SLI), what is the point of spending another $200 to get a few FPS to my GTX 460?

If that is the case, then HYDRA makes sense for me

instead of spending $220 on a Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB, I can spend around $145 on a Gigabyte GTS 450, and games will see an improvement

for example, just giving an example, World of Warcraft will scale from 75FPS to 100FPS

maybe with SLI i will scale to 120FPS, but again, I need to invest in a high power supply, and I need to invest in an expensive GTX 460 1GB, that's $440 just in graphic cards with SLI

With Hydra I can spend around $220 (GTX 460) + $84 (GTS 450)

I will still get a "small boost"

Think of it as a small nitro in racing games, that's cool with me

What are your thoughts?

 

[Henry]

For PSU I recommend Corsair TX650W, +12V~52A. It's at the best price you can get it for, current price at newegg:

    * $89.99
    * $69.99 with Rebate
    * Free Shipping

 

[gamingaccess]

I want to have enough juice to have 2GTX 460 or 1GTX 460 and 1GTX560

I also want to have 2 hard drives, 1 SSD, 1 DVD drive, and
Intel Core i7 875k

I would say price should be max $100

and I also want it to be modular, and have a blue LED fan

Can u guys please tell me if these one will work?

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317409

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317411

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0321588

I also want to know, my old Ultra power supply (I have two, one 600 watt and one 400watt), my 400watt power supply, what kind of CPU can it power?

I was thinking a Intel Core i3/i5

the Intel Core i5 655k seems like a good mid-range CPU

I want to sell my 400wat power supply and give it a good use

 

[gamingaccess]

I was thinking that buying this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002P9D54C/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A3LLGYOXXGRPIS

would be a good solution, what do you guys think?

I really want in July or so to build

GTX 560 + GTX 460 and use it with Hydra

In the meantime I want to use the GTX 460 + GTS 250, which should work with Lucid HYDRA

Let me know

 

[Jack the Newbie]

Better get a PSU with one single & strong 12V rail.

 

[gamingaccess]

Yeah that's what the guy in the store told me

I can buy a Power Supply at Microcenter, use it for a month, and return it

they don't sell a lot of power supplies

another idea would be just to buy one good one from the internet

why is that Kingwin power supply not good for GTX 460 SLI?