Dual video cards?

[needhelpnoobie]

Well let me first say I recently tried to stay with my 478 socket processor and upgraded the AGP to a 7800GS card.. Games did not run very well at all I was EXTREMELY disappointed.

I'm ordering an 805 pentium D/Abit dual PCI-E mobo and will OC the processor just a little, not to much though keep it nice and stable and cool.

I'm also adding 2gb's of Corsairs DDR2-800 ram

Now for my main question:

I want to compliment the above setup with a new PCI-E video card for under $350 total, is there one asingle card I should consider for that price over all others? OR is there a cheaper card I could buy two of and pair for the price and have better results than all others for the price?

I currently play games like: CS:S/HL2/BF2/Quake4/COD2. I'd also like to be able to run the newer games that are coming out soon.. Maybe that wont be possible with my setup/budget? Let me know what you guys think, lord knows I haven't a clue.


Hopefully that makes some sense!!

 

[nottheking]

In the vast majority of cases, buying a pair of cards RIGHT OFF does NOT make any sense. In virtually 100% of the cases, you'll be able to get a vastly better card for your money rather than spending it on two; compare a pair of 7600GTs to a single 7900GT, for instance; both weigh in around the $300US mark, but the 7900GT will leave them in the dust, and you won't have to worry about some games not working with SLi as well as others.

What CAN make sense, though, is getting one expensive card now (such as that 7900GT) and enjoying its power today; then, perhaps a year or two down the road, the 7900GT will be old hat, and marked vastly lower; you could probably grab another for $100-150US then, and put another 60-80% onto your performance. Far cheaper than getting a new card. (though you'd be warned that you would hence not be getting any DX 10 support, but we'll all have to wait and see how that bit plays out anyway) Likewise, if you don't have quite that much cash, just go with the best card that fits in your budget now, such as a 7600GT or even a 7600GS.

If you plan on buying a pair of cards, (for SLi or CrossFire, it doesn't matter) the only way it possibly makes sense is to use it with the best cards out there (usually shelling out $1,000US+ in the process) to have the most power possible. However, such a platform becomes obsolete in less than a year, and because the whole POINT of such is to have the best, that entails replacing them with ANOTHER $1,000US+ set... It's a vicious cycle, not one I recommend for just about everyone.

 

[needhelpnoobie]

Hmm okay that makes sense. I guess I didn't realize a pair of 7600's couldn't compete with a single 79xx series card.

I'm considering this card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125219

What do you think? Will this be good for the games? Also if Dx10 wont be a problem next year, would I be able to add another one? Or is this card not compatible with dual setup.

 

[enforcerfx]

the X1800XT is not a bad high end video card for what your looking for, but if you want to spend 20 bucks more and get this, its a bit of a bargain i think.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143036


i know its only a 256MB instead of the 1800XT being a 512, but it will top out better for the games that you want to play.