2 x GTX285 possible?

hello,
i use a dell precision t7400 workstation and would like to put two gtx285 gcs into it. put already one which is working fine.
first quest: the second card would fit, but there is almost no space between the cards (because of their fat cover panel). i worry about the cooling of the two cards. anybody ever had this case? risks of damage?
second quest: each card needs two power cables (six pin each) but i only got two.
their is one empty 4pin, one empty 10pin(8con) and a empty 8pin adapter (on one of the already used lines).
the card comes with two adapter cables (two 3pin to one 6pin) but they do not recommend to use them!
how can i know all this produces enough power for two cards? where can i see it and how can i check this?
thanks in advance and kind regards,
armin

hi armin,

today i installed sucessfully a second zotac gtx285. we have a really well ventilated case with a huge fan directly next to the cards, so i didnt have much heating issues, even with the 30°C outside.

http://www.coolermaster.com/uploads/product/products_highlight/file1203677290118.jpg

all outputs are working fine, once the sli is deactivated. with sli you only get a single output working.

you have roughly 400W just for the two geforce, add the other stuff you have in your system and you’ll finde you need a good power supply. i assume the dell work station is not anticipated to handle that kind of gear, but check on the label on the power supply. everything below 850W doesnt cut it.
there is no reason to be cheap on that. we went for a bequiet dark power pro. it has a nice modular power line system with enough options for everything.

hi,
my power supply ouputs around 1000W so it should work. i am waiting for a adapter cable from dell to plug the second card.
one more quest:
how much space is between the two cards on your setup?
(when i put both cards they “sit” on top of each other with less than 5mm space between. got a big fan infront too but i worry about the fan on the lower card. overheating? airflow? hm…).
thanks a lot.
kind regards,
armin

it has around 3cm of space.

hello,
how does the ram is handled in a dual card setup
can you share/combine the stored textures between the 2 cards?
does a 32bit system (xp pro 32) limits the ram usage to 2GB?
thanks

the vram is completely independent, no sharing is possible.

the only thing that is possible is to activate sli, then the vram of both cards is kept completely in sync to boost framerates. downside seems to be that only one head is possible with sli activated.

thx vel,

using a triplehead on the active head
could be a solution for a specific project…