re: PC Discussion - Gaming, Performance and Enthusiasts

If you get extensions, you'll need:

One of these


One of these:


And four of these:




Now, with the cards you got, you only need 6-pin connectors. However, I am assuming your PSU uses all 6+2-pin connectors, or perhaps has 2 6-pins and 2 6+2-pins? If you ever upgrade your cards to something that draws more power, you'll be glad you have the 8-pin extensions. In the mean time, you can tuck the 2-pin part away with the rest of your cables. I'd recommend you just match extenders with PCI-e cable type. I am pretty sure your PSU is all 6+2-pin though. If not, I'll link you to the 6-pin extensions.

All of those will put you at about $60 through Amazon Prime. I wouldn't worry about other power cables (SATA and molex), because if you do your wire management correctly those shouldn't be visible. The exception being if you have an optical drive, the the SATA power might be slightly visible.

Granted, these are the absolute best extension cables you can buy. They use premium sleeving that's more durable and clothlike, and the other brands are honestly not much cheaper. When I first got extension cables a year ago, I made the mistake of mixing and matching brands. First I ordered some Rosewill and NZXT cables because both brands looked similar. Specifically, I ordered 1 NZXT 24-pin and 2 8-pin CPU cables, and 4 rosewill PCIe cables. The Rosewills ended up being pure shite so I returned them, but I was unable to find any NZXT PCIe cables in stock in black, so I ordered the Silverstone for a dollar or two more. Turned out the Silverstones were highly superior. They also looked different because of the sleeving material. The NZXT sleeving was more plastic-like and shiny compared to the silverstone. I ended up using them all though, and I guess it only really bothered me since nobody else ever pointed it out. But it's pretty obvious if you know to look for it:



When I did some revisions to my build last month, I went ahead and ordered silverstone cables to replace the 8-pin and 24-pin NZXTs.



The difference is subtle in the photo since they don't get as much exposure to the lighting as the PCIe cables, but it calmed my OCD at least.

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It makes me want a new CPU/mobo combo, but it would be the most pointless upgrade for me. If I got a 4790K, it would be marginally faster at best, and only if I do fairly well in the silicone lottery. If I go socket 2011-3, that means a $250+ motherboard and overpriced slower DDR4.

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Yeah I am pretty much in the same position. 980s just not enough bang for the buck to replace the Ti's. Kinda want a better cooler and put my Ti's on blocks, but just don't have the want to do it right now, it runs cool as is and I run everything on ultra with not too many hiccups.

I just kinda really want to tinker with new parts. Since I got out of the christmas lights to music game, I am itching for an electronics project this time of year.

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I just won a Intel i7 4790 processor.

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Wow nice. If you look at the build he put together for me here and if you take out the 4790, liquid cooling, monitor,and one of the 970's you will be under budget with room for a PSU

Gotcha, I ordered what you suggested and with prime it will be here quick, I should just wait and build next week but I'm too impatient.

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I hope to not have to touch this system for quite some time.

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Good luck with that, you have the knack now.

They are definitely perfect steambox cards within the heat and power constraints. With the cost of waterblocks bringing the pair to $1400, probably not the best of upgrades from a 780 Ti. They were the perfect pair of cards for my entry into Team Green after many years of AMD.

I've no complaints about them so far, except they are not nearly as overclock-friendly as AMD out of the box, but that was fixed with a bios mod. Still, Boost 2.0 sucks.

That cooler was a bitch to install, at this point I am going to be surprised it this thing even boots.

man that looks awesome

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I can't get it to recognize the new HDD though gonna have to figure that out.

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If it's new, you need to go in windows disk management and format it. Then it'll recognize it.

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I can save a cable by using the 2nd 6+2 connector for the 2nd card, but should I run another cable for the 2nd card or is it fine to run both off of the same power cable?

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Fine to run both off the same cable, especially with a single-rail PSU like yours.

EDIT: Also, it looks like your PSU is upside down. Ideally you want it pulling air from the outside instead of the hot air in your case generated by your two GPUs right above. The 550D has a removable filter on the bottom vent.