Going Sli

[zc89]

Well with this new influx of dx10 stuff, im seeing alot of older cards go down the tubes in prices (a good thing for a penny pincher like me)

My specs:
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ x2 (939) (OC to; 2.45ghz)
Asus A8n32-SLI Deluxe
kbyte pc3200 2gig DDR ram
XFX Nvidia 7900gs (OC to; 610mhz core, 1.57ghz mem)

Is the step up to SLI really what some say it is (A 40-60% increase in performance?) Or would waiting for another price drop be a better plan.

I'm looking forward to playing C&C 3 and the new oblivion expansion, And hopefull crysis when it comes out.

Any feedback appreciated

EDIT:
Forgot my PSU and some drives - Antec Smartpower 2.0 500w
Running an old Dvd rom and a 160gig seagate

 

[Primitivus]

I think you 'd gain more with a 8800GTS. Unless of course you can find the 7900GS at a really good price

 

[jeff_2087]

You'd get better performance for price out of another 7900GS, I think. They're only like $170, and if I recall correctly the GTS gets similar scores in 3dmark06 to SLid 7900GSes.

 

[prozac26]

if I recall correctly the GTS gets similar scores in 3dmark06 to SLid 7900GSes.

The 8800GTS wins pretty much all gaming benchmarks, so the 8800GTS would be a better choice.

@ OP
If you want to play Crysis, going for a 8800 would be a better choice.

 

[jeff_2087]

if I recall correctly the GTS gets similar scores in 3dmark06 to SLid 7900GSes.

The 8800GTS wins pretty much all gaming benchmarks, so the 8800GTS would be a better choice.

@ OP
If you want to play Crysis, going for a 8800 would be a better choice.

Sure, but it's also nearly double the price for the 320mb version, well over that for the 640mb. Price is what really matters, else he'd get two GTXs in SLi. That's why I said he'd get better performance/price, not just performance.

Although with that said, I wouldn't actually recommend either upgrade. The 7900GS should play any current game decently, and seeing as Crysis won't be out for a long time yet, there's no point buying a card for it now.

 

[DarkTide]

Wait.

In a few months we'll see the R600 and possibly some announcements about 8900, that will cause the price of the 8800 series to come down.

Buy an 8800 then.

 

[prozac26]

In a few months we'll see the R600 and possibly some announcements about 8900, that will cause the price of the 8800 series to come down.

Buy an 8800 then.

What makes you say so?

Find me a cheap 7800 card... :roll:

With 8900s, and 8600s out, 8800 will become obsolete, just like the 7800s... You won't find any "cheap".

 

[Primitivus]

In a few months we'll see the R600 and possibly some announcements about 8900, that will cause the price of the 8800 series to come down.

Buy an 8800 then.

What makes you say so?

Find me a cheap 7800 card... :roll:

With 8900s, and 8600s out, 8800 will become obsolete, just like the 7800s... You won't find any "cheap".

Agreed.

 

[jeff_2087]

Very true, though there will be the 8600 and possibly 8900GS to consider when R600 comes out, and of course the R600 midrange cards themselves.

So unless you have some dire need of an upgrade, I think you should stick with your single 7900GS, especially with an overclock of that magnitude. That's not far off 7900GTX specs.

 

[Primitivus]

Very true, though there will be the 8600 and possibly 8900GS to consider when R600 comes out, and of course the R600 midrange cards themselves.

So unless you have some dire need of an upgrade, I think you should stick with your single 7900GS, especially with an overclock of that magnitude. That's not far off 7900GTX specs.

Thanks... I think. But shouldn't you have replied to prozac26 instead of me? And isn't the 2nd part of your post directed at the OP?

(Don't mind me, I'm just bored so I'm nitpicking)

 

[jeff_2087]

Thanks... I think. But shouldn't you have replied to prozac26 instead of me? And isn't the 2nd part of your post directed at the OP?

(Don't mind me, I'm just bored so I'm nitpicking)

Yeah, but I just hit the reply button to your post cuz it was the last one and I was hoping nobody would notice or care. lol I'm bored too, that's why I'm posting on here.

 

[DarkTide]

In a few months we'll see the R600 and possibly some announcements about 8900, that will cause the price of the 8800 series to come down.

Buy an 8800 then.

What makes you say so?

Find me a cheap 7800 card... :roll:

With 8900s, and 8600s out, 8800 will become obsolete, just like the 7800s... You won't find any "cheap".

Well nVidia has a DX10 monopoly at the moment, there's no competition. Once the R600 is finally released that won't be the case any more.

Now the 8800 might not become 'cheap', but at least it's a possible price drop.

Or who knows, maybe the R600 will be better and sell at the same price. Too many possibilities in the near future to buy right now.

 

[Heyyou27]

especially with an overclock of that magnitude. That's not far off 7900GTX specs.

Well, the 7900GTX has a higher clockspeed, 2x as much memory, and 24 pixel pipelines and 8 vertex shaders, vs. the 20 pixel pipelines and 7 vertex shaders of the 7900GS so it's not really as close as you thought.

 

[jeff_2087]

Well, the 7900GTX has a higher clockspeed, 2x as much memory, and 24 pixel pipelines and 8 vertex shaders, vs. the 20 pixel pipelines and 7 vertex shaders of the 7900GS so it's not really as close as you thought.

That's why I said "not far off". I didn't say they were equivalent, or even nearly equivalent. The overclocked GS is not far off the GTX. I'd guess within or about 15% at resolutions at which the 256mb isn't a limitation.

 

[zc89]

Well i can't compare the 7900gtx to the gs, the price difference is so wide that its not even a valid option.

I thank you all for your replies but this is one of my final upgrades for a while, i dont plan on getting vista / dx10 any time in the near future.

To Jeff_2087: My video overclock, is it really that big of a deal? I just used coolbits to select optimal performance, Your reaction makes me think my card will burn up tonight! 8O Although i never had a heat problem with anything in my system (All air)

After reading your posts i've decided on getting another gs.

Now that raises more questions,
Do i have to make the clocks (Core and Mem) the same speed? Or would they autobalance out. OR would matching them give me a performance boost?

And i had purchased my motherboard, Asus A8n32-SLI Deluxe, and rather unknowingly i think i've made an extremely good buy.
This motherboard supports full 16 lanes from both cards in SLI, Now do i have to enable this option or does this automatically happen (The manual was rather confusing)

Again, i appreciated your help