Retro Rig Question

[drcheeseman]

I'm a fan of the old retro style cards that had graphics on them and recently got my hands on a pair of 8800GT's with my absolute favorite design. I want to build an SLI system with both cards vertically mounted and then get the whole case painted custom inline with the design. Would like the rig to be as high-end as possible without overbuilding it for the available graphics because it would be cool to play stuff like Fortnite if at all possible. Questions are as follows:

1. What CPU and memory would people recommend for this? I'm leaning towards a Q6600 775 or a 4790k 1150 build with DDR3 memory. Leaning towards a 4790k build because I heard the 775 mobo's sometimes required special components to enable SLI.

2. Any leads on extended SLI bridges? Since they'll be mounted vertically I may need more than a 120mm bridge. Also, are these cards late enough in the game that SLI bridges were optional?

3. Any advice on SLI compatibility with such old cards. Will I be restricted to Windows 7 or earlier?

 

4. Any leads on a case with 2x120mm rear fans or that would be good with dual GPU mounting in a vertical format? Given the cards have a graphic design they both need to be mounted in the same direction. I have 2 Mnpctech Stage 2 Vertical Video Card GPU Mounting Bracket's for this purpose but would need a case with a vertical bracket and 120mm fan or more desired 2 120 mm fans in the back so the cards could both be mounted upright and in close proximity (considering the SLI bridge is probably already going to be stretched).

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Kalm_Traveler]

Nvidia SLI bridges are never optional for SLI, even today. 

[drcheeseman]

Thanks for the correction; always been on red-team myself but the AMD cards never really had the same flare when it came to graphic card design art in my opinion.

[Bananasplit_00]

an I7 4790K is insainly overkill for dual 8800GTs, dont have much help beyond that but SLI on LGA775 has never worked for me but neither has SLI on any other platform i have tried it on

[drcheeseman]

5 minutes ago, campy said:

for giggles, here is my 775 build:

 

Basically what I'm trying to do XD, though the system will also serve a dual role as an emulation rig. Planning on dual booting Windows and Linux with Linux being the foundation for the emulation side of things and Windows being around to play retro-PC games and modern low-end-geared PC games like Fortnite.

[LukeSavenije]

10 minutes ago, campy said:

SLi ready ram"

i shit you not

Because it was and is a scam? But it looks nice. I did something like this, but the other way around with an hp desktop. It's fun, but not always easy

[drcheeseman]

Yup, this particular SLI build is NOT about functionality. This is a build to be abnoxious, not necessarily super smart in terms of best implementation XD.

[LukeSavenije]

Just now, drcheeseman said:

Yup, this particular SLI build is NOT about functionality. This is a build to be abnoxious, not necessarily super smart in terms of best implementation XD.

You know xps laptops used to have a 8800 gts (or gtx, not sure) sli setup in them? They look so cool, but still cost so much here

[drcheeseman]

1 minute ago, LukeSavenije said:

You know xps laptops used to have a 8800 gts (or gtx, not sure) sli setup in them? They look so cool, but still cost so much here 

Yes, I remember those well. This is all about showcasing the graphic card design art. Only regret is the two cards I landed for this project don't have the original boxes to showcase with them; thus the interest in getting a custom case wrap or something similar done up.

[LukeSavenije]

Well, sounds like a cool project to me, let me know when you're done. And post those 8800's in the retro parts tread. They like those things over there