Aye, I need some help on deciding on a new video card. I've looked at a couple cards and a few ideas, and I came down to two choices. I could also take a few suggestions. The more help, the better.
I'm running a PCI-E x16 motherboard with SLI interface, 750W Power unit, and have adequate cooling to keep the computer at an easy temperature. I plan to use if for high-end gaming and engineering programs. But I have a budget of ~$250. I also am going to run an Athlon64 X2 6400 with 4gigs of DDR2-800 if it helps.
(Thought it would be good, GDDR3, good amount of it, only problem I hear about it is cooling and overheating. So if anyone can tell me what's with that, I'd be grateful.)
Choice #2: (Two of these running in SLI) XFX GeForce 8600GT XXX 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 SLI Supported Video Card
(Easier to maintain and I'm not sure if it would be just as effective as having one 8800)
However, if you're still thinking SLI, then you could try and get a pair of 9600GSO's and SLI those. I think you can get them for under $250 and they'd perform pretty well I think.
Also your other option would be to spend the $250 on something more powerful than a single 8800GT like a 9800GTX or a HD 4850. Heck, if you're lucky, you might be able to get a GTX 260 for that money.
Any card can run well on an PCI-E 16 1.1 slot with no measurable loss in performance. The bandwidth ceiling is still high enough. A gtx 260 might be your best bet because it will give you the option have sli-ing them later, but with you budget the 4870 is still the best single GPU.
And with a little bit of hunting, you might be able to get a pair of 8800GTs for SLi for under $250 after rebates.
I don't remember hearing anything about 8800GTs overheating either, so I'm not sure where you got that idea. Whatever you do, don't get an 8600 or below - those cards are crap.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] CatId=2349 180 after rebate plus vision tech has lifetime warrenty.
Best bang for your bucks
I Think just getting one card, by the time you upgrade, you will probably upgrade your whole mobo
Message edited by kelfen on 07-26-2008 at 04:41:16 AM
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