Does a power supply have to be SLI ready in order for SLI to work?

Question

And if the card (only one) and board were SLI would the PSU have to be SLI ready?

Answer 1

you cannot have one video card in SLI. SLI, by definition, is two GeForce video cards working together on the same motherboard. it stands for Scalable Link Interface, or something like that.

the short answer to your question is no. SLI Certified just means the PSU has been approved by nVidia - but there are PSUs out there that haven't been certified but will still work just fine.

if you plan on running 2 video cards in SLI in the future, the key things to look for in a PSU are two (6-pin) PCI-E connectors on it and at least 30 Amps on the +12V rail(s). that's all you really need for SLI.

Answer 2

No. However, SLi graphics cards have a different connector than the standard hard drive molex connectors that were used to power the graphics cards. Most of them will come with an adapter so you can use a standard molex connector with them, however, I believe it is advisable to get a power supply that has the correct SLi power connectors on it, that way, you will be able to install two graphics cards if you want. Note, not all graphics cards require a direct connection to the power supply. PCIe ports are capable of delivering 80W of power to the graphics card and in most cases, that is plenty.

nvidia cards that require connections to an SLi power connector would be the:

7800 series
7900 series
8800 series

the 7300 and 7600 series receive their power directly from the PCIe port.

ATi cards that need a power connection are:

X1800 series
X1900 series

all other ATi cards are powered directly by the PCIe port.

Answer 3

you can use a power supply to run one pci express card. minimum of 12v to the rail and i do believe a recommened 30 amps (could be 3.0) u can use the 4pin molex to 6pin pci-e plug. but really, u want a good strong power supply. i recommend atleast a 650watt for one card if you are not using an 8800gts/gtx. also, the video card should have a power line (rail) all by itself to ensure stability. get a coolermaster or thermaltake power supply. and no, the cpu does not have to be sli ready, since there is no such thing as an sli ready processor.

Answer 4

The power supply has to have at least two PCI Express power connectors to be able to power two video cards, and have at least a certain number of amps on the 12V rail; the video card's box probably says this. SLI ready is just a term given to certain power supplies by NVIDIA that they've tested. So as long as it has good power for your cards and you see some good reviews online, the power supply will be fine.