what graphic card? help please

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Apr 24, 2008
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Hi, I'm putting together a gaming rig with a 24" monitor (Benq G2400W) and want to be able to play new games at high settings at 1920x1200 (mostly for MMos and some FPS).

Would 2 8800gts in SLI be an overkill? My budget is not that thight but I also don't want to spend money on something that wont help...

thanks for your input
 
I've played my 8800GTS OCed on my 42" 1080p tv already (1920x1080). COD4 runs almost maxed out. I think I turned down a few renduring items one notch to keep a constant 60FPS. I think you will be good with a single 8800GTS, You can always throw another one in if you need it. Like you said you don't want to spend money on something you don't need. That resolution is tough because you could go to either side of the fence on it. 2 cards in SLI will guarantee you the performance you need at a price, but then again do you really need it?

I'd at least let yourself the room to SLI with a compatible mobo.

With romulus's comment. I never bank on cards that aren't on the market and tested yet. 1, you don't know how expensive they will be. 2, you know they will be jacked up in price for a few months. 3, drivers sometimes aren't always the best off the bat. 4, you will want to wait for several good reviews before buying them.
 
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I wouldn't say "MUCH BETTER" but they are a great deal now that they hover just above $200. You can get a $160 8800GT (after mail-in rebate) but is a stock clock, stock cooled card.
 

pauldh

Illustrious
No doubt SLI 8800GTS G92 will smoke one card at that resolution in most games.

But like everyone is saying, you should probably start with one card and see if you are happy that way. In most games you probably need fsaa to stress one 8800GTS, even at that res. But there are some games like crysis where a single card won't cut it for high details at that res. Still for those that do SLI, you can crank eye candy beyond what one card can handle. Example is [H] where in COD4 they could enable 4x trss aa and have a minimum of 40 fps with SLI. With one card it was 4x MSaa with a low of 26 fps. Not everyone will appreciate the higher level of aa or the 26 vs 40 fps min difference. COD4 is so amazingly efficient it's not a great example really.
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ3NSw1LCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ0OCw4LCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

You may also want to note in the 8800GTS review, in LOTR online, max details at 19x12 no fsaa is not playable on one card. Unfortunately they didn't test that game in the GX2 review, so who knows if the SLI solution would do better or not. Potentially yes, but it's a not tested. You would have to search for proof SLI makes a difference in that game if it's of interest to you.

Oblivion there is a huge difference outdoor between a single G92 or SLI G92. But you'll really need 4xaa/16xaf if you want to hurt the single card and make a big difference in gameplay not just measured fps. Even then, it will only be the most GPU demanding areas where a single G92 hurts, such as waist high grass (foliage) outdoors.




 

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Thanks for all the replies! I think I'll go with one 8800GTS in that case. The only thing I'm 'worried' about is that I read that you can't really just buy a second card and go SLI with a new and a used card (same model of course). Is that true?

The next game I'm looking forward to play (and for which I'm getting a new macgine) is Age of Conan. As far as I've heard it is very demanding...

I think I'll buy everything I need and see if I have enough cash left to go for another gfx card ;)

Oh and btw is the Benq G2400W a good gaming display?

Thanks
 
Just make sure you get a SLI motherboard (e.g. XFX 780i,etc.) and a powerful PSU. If you decide you want a second video card, you don't want to discover that you need to replace the MB or PSU or both first.

Have you picked a PSU yet? If not, I suggest the 620HX or Silencer 750W.