I'm finally taking the plunge and getting a new system. For Blender and other modern 3d applications, my old Nvidia 2060 card just isn't cutting it no matter what settings I change. So I'm thinking about cannibalizing my current system to make a more powerful new system. I want to be able to support an Nvidia 3060 ti, an Nvidia 2060 super (I wouldn't mention brand but that apparently matters on GPUs) and my old drivers -480gb solid state, 1tb sata III, 16gb ddr 2226mhz memory. It runs on an 8 core CPU but I suspect that will be changed by default with a new board. I'm mostly concerned about the PSU and mother board. I'm told I need an SLI but I don't know my minimums there and I'm not sure what I need on power. If you're curious about the specific computer model, this was a pre-package deal purchased from Best Buy called a BB970. Any advice?
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For SLI, you need the same model GPU, a 2060S and 3060ti won't work very well together in SLI, no matter of your mobo support– Irsu85Commented Aug 7, 2022 at 9:58
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I now know not to always take the word of a Best Buy employee then. So what do you do to get two GPUs working together? I know it's possible.– Zack HoundCommented Aug 7, 2022 at 12:55
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Whether I used the wrong words or not, there IS a way to get to different cards to work together, especially from the same company, I know that. Can you tell me the word I'm looking for then?– Zack HoundCommented Aug 7, 2022 at 16:25
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You need the same GPU model for it to work using an SLI bridge, brand then does not matter AFAIK.– Irsu85Commented Aug 8, 2022 at 7:58
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I don't think OP actually needs SLI. SLI makes two cards act like one so that a single program can divide work to both cards simultaneously and that's why they have to be the same model. But you can still use any 2 separate GPUs in any system you want and use them for separate programs or programs that are multi-GPU aware. Outside of gaming there are all kinds of software (including Blender) that can use multiple GPUs.– RomenCommented Aug 11, 2022 at 15:29
2 Answers
If you're curious about the specific computer model, this was a pre-package deal purchased from Best Buy called a BB970. Any advice?
watch office space, do to it what they did to the printer in the field.
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/30-series/rtx-3060-3060ti/
An RTX3060 requires 1 x pcie 8-pin power connector from the PSU. Along with 2 slots of space about the PCIE 3.0 x16 connector on the motherboard. If you want to do 2 nvidia cards, both which require dual slots, and preferably pci 3.0 x16, you'll need a new motherboard and tower and PSU to accommodate all that. That BB970, I don't think so.
you should compare the RTX3060, why you chose that one vs a newer one like RTX3090ti... SLI to do 2 or more cards is often problematic, my opinion I don't think it ever really caught on was more for bragging rights and fancy visual builds. For reliability stick with one card but the best you can afford that makes sense for what you are looking to do.
So- it was all just the power supply turns out. The guy at the repair store tells me all the money I was planning on spending may very well have been wasted as 2060 Super should have been well enough to handle the renders I was doing. The problem was the 600W power supply. He recommended I get a 1000W and let him install that instead of helping me build a whole new system. I find that much more trustworthy than Best Buy- especially since he wasn't trying to upsell me. Just a general tip, always be wary of someone trying to upsell you on computer parts.