New Builder -- 2x4870x2 or GTX280 SLI?

[IKA258]

Well, truth be told I already put together a rig but made some mistakes. Ordered off newegg so I have ~30 days to return these parts with a 15% restocking fee. Anyways, he's what I have thus far.

GPU
1x BFG GTX280 OCX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814143145

CPU
1x Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

RAM
1x CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820145194

MOBO
Here's where I messed up
ASUS P5K DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813131182

Mobo supports CrossFire, not SLI?


PSU
OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817341002\

All this with a 7200 500gig raptor HD + Antec900


Anyways, with that out of the way I also need to preface that I game on a 2560x1600 monitor. I'm looking to try to max out most modern games on that resolution. Also, I'm trying to build a rig that will last me at least 2 years as far as games go.

At this point I have ~30 days to decide what to do. I think I'll take this as an opportunity to see what the 4870x2 can do once it gets released. At which point I'll either change Mobo to SLI or change Vid cards from GTX280 to 4870x2. The Mobo I have right now pretty decent for CrossFire?

Eventually I'd like to add another 4870x2 or GTX280 depending on which I choose. Therefore I need to know if the PSU I purchased will be enough with the other hardware listed (2x4870x2 and GTX280 SLI)??

Anyways, I should just sit and wait for the results of the 4870x2, or are they pretty clear even now? What would you guys do in my position?

Thanks for any input, this is my first desktop assembled by me =)

 

[curryj02]

If you choose to go with crossfire/SLi then you will need at least a 1000W, but probably a 1200W PSU. If I was you I would wait until the release 4870X2 crossfire benchies come out before deciding, because drivers can effect multi-gpu performance so much (and atm AMD haven't released any true 4000series drivers).

 

[TemjinGold]

OP: Just FYI, the only mobos that support SLI are nVidia chipset (which aren't all that great.) Any dual-slot boards you find from Intel will be XFire.

 

[jevon]

You'll want an X48 Intel chipset to go with the 4870x2's. P35 will terribly bottleneck 4xxx cards in Crossfire, and I wouldn't put 4870's in CF on a P45 either. X48 is your best choice. nVidia motherboards aren't worth it, and Crossfire > SLI in my opinion.

Also, get at least a 1000W PSU. Antec Quattro 1000W should do the trick, but if you can cough up the cash it doesn't hurt to have more headroom - more efficient, less heat/noise, longer life.

 

[Crazy-PC]

Listen to Jevon as if you are going to have 4870X2 Crossfire with a modified P35 Chipset is almost a joke as P35 chipset is normally no CROSSFIRE and some modified P35 mobo only with PCI-E X 16 in x4 bandwidth.

 

[lasttarget]

You guys are idiots. 1 kw for two 4870. Geez. I run two 4850s on my antec 500w. You need 650 to 700 w.

 

[invisik]

You guys are idiots. 1 kw for two 4870. Geez. I run two 4850s on my antec 500w. You need 650 to 700 w.

im running 2 gtx 260 with a quad core oc with the same psu. i would get ea650w to be safe but u can even get away with ea500w.

 

[BobfaceBilly]

These "idiots" are actually paying attention and reading the post...

He's not talking about crossfiring 4870's, but two 4870x2's.

And you will want to go with a x48 mobo for Xfiring those.

EDIT: invisik your cutting it awful close running that system on a 500w PSU.... One of these days you'll be playing a new game and it'll get to a really intense part, and POOF.... No more gaming rig.

 

[babybudha]

You guys are idiots. 1 kw for two 4870. Geez. I run two 4850s on my antec 500w. You need 650 to 700 w.

If you can read at a 3rd grade level, you should be able to see he wants to crossfire 2 4870x2's (So 4 GPU's all together). I would say a good quality 850watt power supply with a single 12v rail will do the job well, and give you a little headroom.

Something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703013

lasttarget = douchbag!

 

[goonting]

WOW... wish i can get a huge monitor...i'm saving for a 22inch for future builds... A great PSU would be fine... Which brand would you guys recommend to him? Coolermaster, PPC, Enermax, Corsairm,etc.?

 

[samuraiblade]

corsair all the way , ive had alot of psu's and the corsairs although expensive certianly are uber quality

and 2 x 4870 will need alot more than 500w! , i have a 620w corsiar and i dont dare put 2 x 4870 on that. i did a voltage usage test on mine with one in there and it comes up at close to 500w under full load so 2 of them will bypass that. yes 700-800w will probably suffice , but why not just spend a lil more and put the psu under less strain , they last longer that way and run more stable + cooler. so people arent idiots for buying more than enough power , there actually quite sensible unlike your comment lasttarget

 

[jj463rd]

I wouldn't get anything more than just 1- 2 GB DDR5 ATI Radeon 4870 X2 graphics card for that resolution (2560x1600).Anything more is just pure overkill and a complete waste of money because the performance won't be improved much.Having 2 of those 2 GB 4870 X2 cards would only show FPS improvement if the resolution were double that of your 2560 X 1600 pixel monitor.
ATI will be coming out with a 4 Gigabyte version of that card (4870X2) too but it would be a waste as well unless you wanted a very expensive super high resolution monitor.

 

[ovaltineplease]

corsair all the way , ive had alot of psu's and the corsairs although expensive certianly are uber quality

I'm big on thermaltake myself.

and 2 x 4870 will need alot more than 500w! , i have a 620w corsiar and i dont dare put 2 x 4870 on that. i did a voltage usage test on mine with one in there and it comes up at close to 500w under full load so 2 of them will bypass that. yes 700-800w will probably suffice , but why not just spend a lil more and put the psu under less strain , they last longer that way and run more stable + cooler. so people arent idiots for buying more than enough power , there actually quite sensible unlike your comment lasttarget

Indeed, cutting your power wattage/amperage too close does very little more than gimp your OC-ing potential. It is definitely, 100% worthwhile to invest in a good PSU which will last you at least 3+ years.

I think the things you should look for when buying a PSU you intend to keep for a long time:

80plus efficiency
2x 8pin pci-e + 2x 6pin pci-e
modular cabling


other things which are nice as well:

low operating temperatures
silent operation
aesthetic looks

 

[V3NOM]

lol u put the GTX 280 as not a mistake....

btw i hope you're running them corsair DIMM's on a 64bit OS....warranty void if run on a 32 bit!! stupid imo....i've gone off corsair tbh.

umm for the psu argument... even tho a recent company, i'm extremely interested in Xigmatek PSU's! Modular, look nice, moderately priced, nice pci e cabling.... check it out
for the people vouching for corsair PSU's...some of the "best ones" are actually nothing more than rebadged seasonics if you google around a bit! open it up and its 100% the same rofl...

anywho, for the main topic thingy... i second two 4850x2's....even that i doubt would run crysis on max at that res...

and finally...

lasttarget = douchbag!

+1

 

[ovaltineplease]

speaking of re-badging, doesn't someone else make Xigmatek's models too?

A lot of that happens I hear, its nothing too unusual for a reselling company to buy from a fabrication company and whatnot

 

[sabot00]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006 60 amps on the single +12v rail
if not then how about this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007

 

[hhahaahyea]

according to this:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3354&p=8

the maximum power consumption is almost 407W. so double that to be safe, and then remember you have other components to power.

you shouldn't get a shoddy PSU or you'll regret it.

i would go with 2 4870X2s instead of the GTXs, read other parts of that review, one 4870X2 crushes the 280.

 

[IKA258]

wait, 407W for JUST the 4870x2 or the entire system the guy is using?

 

[hixbot]

hhahaahyea, i agree a single 4870X2 crushes a single 280. But thats not entirely relevant, as we dont know how 2 4870X2s in quad crossfire scale.

However from the link you posted, we do see that 280 SLI scales quite well.

So we need to know more about 4870 quad crossfire to make a recommendation.

Definitely get a high quality PSU, around 1000W.

 

[invisik]

oh 2 4870x2 i would suggest a good brand psu 700-800watts. 1000w seems like overkill unless u gonna put 3 4870x2.

 

[Kari]

wait, 407W for JUST the 4870x2 or the entire system the guy is using?

it is the entire system...
4870X2 has 8 pin and 6 pin PCIe power connectors. 8 pin can provide 100W, 6 pin 75W and the PCIe slot itself max 75 watts, totals 250 Watts as the absolutely maximun the board could use... or so I'm told

 

[Disco_Maleta]

oh 2 4870x2 i would suggest a good brand psu 700-800watts. 1000w seems like overkill unless u gonna put 3 4870x2.

3 of those is theoreticly impossible since that would be six-fire?!?!?
Or maybe Crossfire XY

 

[Kaldor]

Id go with the 4870X2 in Xfire at that resolution. HardOCP and Guru3d have shown some pretty sick benchmarks at 25x16 resolution with those cards. You will need a 1kw PSU to run them however. Something like a Corsair 1000w will do the trick.

Get a decent X48 Intel board like others have suggested. Asus or Gigabyte.

And not to start a flame war here, but I have a feeling SLI is going bye bye. The only thing stopping you from running SLI on a X48 board is the drivers. Nvidia just wants to milk the SLI brandname/cashcow as long as they can, before they cave to the rest of the market and everyone runs on a single interace. Once they finally cave, it will only be good for everybody as it simplifies everything.

 

[cjl]

oh 2 4870x2 i would suggest a good brand psu 700-800watts. 1000w seems like overkill unless u gonna put 3 4870x2.

3 of those is theoreticly impossible since that would be six-fire?!?!?
Or maybe Crossfire XY

Hexafire?

 

[crysis900]

Well, truth be told I already put together a rig but made some mistakes. Ordered off newegg so I have ~30 days to return these parts with a 15% restocking fee. Anyways, he's what I have thus far.

GPU
1x BFG GTX280 OCX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814143145

CPU
1x Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

RAM
1x CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820145194

MOBO
Here's where I messed up
ASUS P5K DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813131182

Mobo supports CrossFire, not SLI?


PSU
OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817341002\

All this with a 7200 500gig raptor HD + Antec900


Anyways, with that out of the way I also need to preface that I game on a 2560x1600 monitor. I'm looking to try to max out most modern games on that resolution. Also, I'm trying to build a rig that will last me at least 2 years as far as games go.

At this point I have ~30 days to decide what to do. I think I'll take this as an opportunity to see what the 4870x2 can do once it gets released. At which point I'll either change Mobo to SLI or change Vid cards from GTX280 to 4870x2. The Mobo I have right now pretty decent for CrossFire?

Eventually I'd like to add another 4870x2 or GTX280 depending on which I choose. Therefore I need to know if the PSU I purchased will be enough with the other hardware listed (2x4870x2 and GTX280 SLI)??

Anyways, I should just sit and wait for the results of the 4870x2, or are they pretty clear even now? What would you guys do in my position?

Thanks for any input, this is my first desktop assembled by me =)

Go Dual 4870x2's. Get an X48 mobo with 2 PCI 2.0 Slots (Fan of Asus myself). And to be on the safe side with the psu, get a Corsair HX1000. An entire system with a single 4870x2 is 407 watts. When you add in the second 4870x2 you could be up to 700-800. Get the 1000.