Single high end card or two mid grade?

[Berk]

On my birthday last week, where I recieved an amzing CPU and enough DDR2 to complete any geek's fantasy, I am presented with the delema of where to go graphicly. I am faced with so many questions and have done alot of reading on nvidia vs ati and taken into account my bugget vs the end result. I have come to understand that the differance between the two graphics titan on almost every front could go one way of the other and I personaly have no loyality to either. My taste in games varies from MMO's like WoW and Oblivion, to games like FEAR and Far Cry. As I have the new unexpected cost of a MOBO and video card in front of me I was wondering where I would get the most bang for my buck. Should I buy two middle grade cards using sLi or crossfire, or would my money be better spent on one card near the to like the 1900xt or the 7900gt? While I have your attention I would also be curious to know which cards you would would recomend and also, if a single card solution is the way to go, what your thoughs on PhysX card from BFG Tech. Should I maybe consider this as a later add on?

 

[Berk]

Thank you so much for weighing. I really appreciate the post. It confirmed my gut feeling on things. According to things I have read there is a new card line coming up in the near future as there always is. I have descided to take one step down from the very top of the line and opt for the X1800XT or 7900GT. Any thoughts on which is best? The 1800xt 256meg is the cheapest, 7900gt coming in a bit less the the 1800 with 512. I could afford any of these but want the bang for the buck. Also wanna take into account the future and what your thoughts are on which has the strongest future for upgrades in cards and vista support.

 

[smedlin]

Also wanna take into account the future and what your thoughts are on which has the strongest future for upgrades in cards and vista support

All current cards will work under vista. Now, they won't be dx10 cards. To take full advantage of dx10, you will need a new card. Don't be suprised though if it's a year from now before that happens.

 

[wstcoaster07]

If you plan to play Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter then note taht you can not turn on high details without a 512MB video card (the game disables that option)

 

[cleeve]

Any 7900 or X1800 will support vista exactly the same way.

The X1800 XT 256mb would serve you well. If you're planning to upgrade when vista comes it'll tide you over nicely.

If you can affrod the extra cash, go with the 7900 GT or X1800 XT 512, whichever is cheaper. But that extra memory won't make a noticable performance difference, although it might let you run with higher detail settings in a handful of games...

 

[clue69less]

On my birthday last week, where I recieved an amzing CPU and enough DDR2 to complete any geek's fantasy, I am presented with the delema of where to go graphicly. I am faced with so many questions and have done alot of reading on nvidia vs ati and taken into account my bugget vs the end result. I have come to understand that the differance between the two graphics titan on almost every front could go one way of the other and I personaly have no loyality to either. My taste in games varies from MMO's like WoW and Oblivion, to games like FEAR and Far Cry. As I have the new unexpected cost of a MOBO and video card in front of me I was wondering where I would get the most bang for my buck. Should I buy two middle grade cards using sLi or crossfire, or would my money be better spent on one card near the to like the 1900xt or the 7900gt? While I have your attention I would also be curious to know which cards you would would recomend and also, if a single card solution is the way to go, what your thoughs on PhysX card from BFG Tech. Should I maybe consider this as a later add on?

Anandtech had some interesting stuff to say about Oblivion and GPU choices. Look at the second paragraph on the summary page.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2746&p=8

Edit: Forgot to add that my point is that more and more games will equal and exceed the GPU demands of games like Oblivion. Clearly, that author thinks that SLI and XFire are the ONLY way to do Oblivion, even when using the top cards. Let's just hope that video cards continue to evolve rapidly because are we really so far away from the point where additional improvements are meaningless? (How's that for a loaded question?)

 

[theaxemaster]

A 7900GT will be cheaper, but you get less memory on the card and the shader performance won't be quite as good. I think ati has the best card out there right now (I'm an nvidia fan due to linux support). You can get a 7900GT for 299, the x1800xt 512 will run you about 350. 7900gtx will run you more like 450-475. Any of them are money well spent, and you get what you pay for, meaning more $$$ = more performance. So, decide about how much you want to spend on a GPU and look at both brands and see what falls closest to your price point.

 

[Bluefinger]

One high-end graphics card will pwn two mid-range cards. For example, why bother with two 7600GTs when a 7900GT will thoroughly kick its ass? Same goes with ATI's X1600XTs and a X1900XT. A single high-end card is much better supported than a dual-card config, and a single-card's performance is guaranteed, unlike with dual-cards. Its like with pistols. Two glocks at once may look cool, but won't come close to a single Desert Eagle in terms of power.

 

[moparman390]

Read my post here >>> http://forumz.tomshardware.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=185825&highlight=

 

[dvdpiddy]

One high-end graphics card will pwn two mid-range cards. For example, why bother with two 7600GTs when a 7900GT will thoroughly kick its ass? Same goes with ATI's X1600XTs and a X1900XT. A single high-end card is much better supported than a dual-card config, and a single-card's performance is guaranteed, unlike with dual-cards. Its like with pistols. Two glocks at once may look cool, but won't come close to a single Desert Eagle in terms of power.

Are you sure you know that 2 7600gt's will own a 7900gt.

 

[sojrner]

Any 7900 or X1800 will support vista exactly the same way.

The X1800 XT 256mb would serve you well. If you're planning to upgrade when vista comes it'll tide you over nicely.

If you can affrod the extra cash, go with the 7900 GT or X1800 XT 512, whichever is cheaper. But that extra memory won't make a noticable performance difference, although it might let you run with higher detail settings in a handful of games...

probably true on that, but more memory may serv him better in the long run... as more games come out that can use that memory like ghost recon

my vote is for the 1800 w/ 512... if you can afford a 1900xt get that for sure but either will do you well.

 

[Bluefinger]

One high-end graphics card will pwn two mid-range cards. For example, why bother with two 7600GTs when a 7900GT will thoroughly kick its ass? Same goes with ATI's X1600XTs and a X1900XT. A single high-end card is much better supported than a dual-card config, and a single-card's performance is guaranteed, unlike with dual-cards. Its like with pistols. Two glocks at once may look cool, but won't come close to a single Desert Eagle in terms of power.

Are you sure you know that 2 7600gt's will own a 7900gt.

Eh, I know its cheeper to go with one 7900GT than two 7600GTs...

 

[dvdpiddy]

I know but how about 2 7600gs will that come close to a 7900gt?

 

[cleeve]

No, they won't.

 

[dvdpiddy]

Then what will they own on the Ati side?

 

[rodney_ws]

A 7900GT will be cheaper, but you get less memory on the card and the shader performance won't be quite as good. I think ati has the best card out there right now (I'm an nvidia fan due to linux support). You can get a 7900GT for 299, the x1800xt 512 will run you about 350. 7900gtx will run you more like 450-475. Any of them are money well spent, and you get what you pay for, meaning more $$$ = more performance. So, decide about how much you want to spend on a GPU and look at both brands and see what falls closest to your price point.

More money means more performance? Ha!

Value = Performance / Price

So what you're saying is that all cards possess the same value? If you're tring to make a direct link between performance and price, how do you explain a price drop? Did the performance of the card drop because the price was lowered?

As a general rule, I do believe (in most cases) you get what you pay for... but there are plenty of instances where more money is just that... more money... and is completely disconnected from performance/reality.

 

[cleeve]

Two 7600 GTs will own two X1600 XTs I guess, just like a single 7600 GT will own a single X1600 XT.

 

[dvdpiddy]

Will a 7600gs own a x1600?

 

[cleeve]

A 7600 GS performs closely to an X1600 XT, but will soundly beat an X1600 PRO.

 

[dvdpiddy]

Thats awesome real awesome so a 100$ card can beat a 125$ card.