2nd opinion on a Crossfire build?

[Mr_Bluntman]

Well I've been doing the research for about two weeks now, and I'm about a week and a half away from starting to snap up the parts. While I realize there's nothing faster right now than the 8800 Ultra now, one of those costs about as much as what I'm spending here total. If I need DX10 down the road I can always grab two RV670 cards and throw 'em in crossfire. Plus I'll need $300+ for a copy of Vista which I simply don't have to take full advantage of that hardware. Anyways, here goes nuthin'.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ 90nm Windsor, AM2 (2.8GHz , 2M)
N82E16819103771, $179
Geil 1GB x 2 DDR2-800 SDRAM 5-5-5-15 timings
N82E16820144047, $76
ECS KA3 MVP AM2 AMD 580X Crossfire
N82E16813135024, $109 w/$20 MIR
OCZ GameXStream 600W PSU
N82E16817341001, $109 w/$10 MIR

Dual Sapphire ATi Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB (580/1400)
N82E16814102061, $136 ea. w/$20 MIR ea. ($232 total after MIR)

I can get these two for over $120 less than a 8800GTS 640MB. Still even cheaper than a quality 320MB card - and that's what I'm looking at is TOTAL COST here. I really don't care about DX10 at the moment, since nothing grabs my eye yet in my price range (these STOMP the 8600GTS cards and for much less), and by the time there is that title out there I absolutely have to have, much more powerful hardware will be available, or at least the Radeon HD/8800 series will have come down in price a good deal.

Besides two cards in crossfire has too much pimp factor to lay off of.

*EDIT* took off the 512MB card since there is really no performance improvement to justify the added cost.

 

[prof_chaos]

8800gts 320

 

[Mr_Bluntman]

8800gts 320

How did I know you were going to say that?

Like I said, I'm waiting for more mature and more powerful DX10 gen. hardware to come out. I learned my lesson for going with a 6800GT off the bat. Plus I'm hearing about the RV670 and G9x series that are just months away, so I'm gonna stick it out with DX9 hardware for a while since there aren't any *must-play* DX10 games in the near future for me. This would be more than powerful enough for what I play and what resolutions I would be gaming at. Not to mention I'm selling the system I have now and I really don't want to go without a computer for 2-3 weeks while I save for a GTS.

But, would two of these change the situation a little?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102067

Problem with that is where the hell would I find a crossfire ed. card for it?

Anyone? Anyone?

 

[alcattle]

My question is why bother? One x1950 will run most games at a good rate, and will last at least a year of service before the newer DX-10 cards are out and come down. If you had one now then maybe it would be ok, but don't buy 2 cards just to set up X-fire.

 

[lunyone]

My question is why bother? One x1950 will run most games at a good rate, and will last at least a year of service before the newer DX-10 cards are out and come down. If you had one now then maybe it would be ok, but don't buy 2 cards just to set up X-fire.

Agreed! Unless you are using a large display on high resolution, you can use a single card for 12--x9-- or around a 19" LCD display. I would definately stick with one graphics card and save the $ for later when you want to upgrade to something better. By the way, which PSU did you say you were going to use for the power hungry graphics cards?

 

[Daredevil_8]

His psu woud be fine for crossfiring two x1950pros.

And I have to agree with other people..your system with 1 card would be fine until the next wave of cards hit. I'm still sittin on one x1900xtx and have no issues with gaming...even with a 22" monitor (but man..some games are pretty brutal with aa/af on at that res -_-)

 

[Mr_Bluntman]

My reasoning is that they're only $115 ea. after rebate which is an absolute steal. Together they're about the same price as a 512MB X1950 XT and still less than an XTX. And the fact that one of these isn't quite powerful enough to play STALKER or Oblivion with all the goodies turned up.

I will be gaming on a 19"-21" flat CRT or a 20" 16:9 LCD - whichever is cheaper off of ebay when I'm ready to buy...

 

[Mr_Bluntman]

Well it looks like I'll be going with a 7900GS SLI setup. A friend locally is willing to sell me two BFG cards for $90 each so this changes things. Thanks for the input though!

 

[ComputerCustomizer]

good decision
sli rox