Hi guys,
So I have gotten down to the nitty-gritty final details of my next system build, but am having problems making up my mind on graphics. The 4870 is an amazing card and for the money two in CF has got to be a killer combo, but what about the 260 and even its bigger brother the 280? What card or cards will offer the best value for a gaming system? Let me say a little more about me first.
I am a college student studying photojournalism and as a result I do a lot of work with Adobe apps editing large photographs, cutting video, and creating multimedia presentations. Because of this I have chosen to go quad core (9450 unless I can wait for Nehalem) with 4GB of DDR3 1600 mhz OCZ ram on Vista Home Premium 64 bit. I will probably add another 4 GB kit in the future to bring myself up to 8 GB to help with the tasks mentioned above. On top of this, I play a lot of video games.
So, what to do ...
Here is the ATI path. If I go the ATI 4870 root I will get a P45 motherboard (or again, wait for the accompanying P55, or X58 chipsets that will be released with Nehalem) like the ASUS P5Q3-Deluxe. If i do this, I also will probably bag two 4870s to enable a crossfire setup. Hopefully this way I can take advantage of my LCDs 1920x1200 resolution for gaming while still having all the eye candy turned up. So really the question here in choosing ATI is whether or not the best value for me as a gamer will be in a single 4870, two 4870s in crossfire, or possibly even a single 4870X2. Opinions appreciated.
Now for Nvidia ...
If i go the Nvidia root things get a bit more complicated. Within Nvidia my card choice has been narrowed down to either the 260 or the 280. In a strait comparison a 280 will be faster than a 260 or a 4870, but slower than two 4870s in crossfire. Likewise a 260 will be slower than a 280 and closer to a single 4870, but I am not sure what the performance level becomes when two 260s are put in SLI. Furthermore, would it make more sense to just get a 280 then and wait until I can afford a second for SLI? Basically my options are a single 280, two 260s, or a single 280 with the promise of a second down the road as well as the ATI plan mentioned above.
On a side note, I am also planning on buying an ASUS Striker II Extreme if I go the Nvidia root, but I have been told and read that this mobo is a waste of money. If I am going to get a SLI mobo, what is the best performance for value board out there right now?
Back to the main question ...
So when all is said and done what will be the best setup. It's clear that two 280s in SLI will be the best performing setup with probably the worst value and a single 4870 the best value with the lowest performance of the mentioned configurations, but what about the in betweens? Two 4870s in crossfire? Two 260s in SLI? A single 280? Any links to articles or personal experiences that could help me make up my mind would be invaluable. I have done a lot of research myself, but the specific data I want still seems to be out, namely a trusty review of two 260s in SLI versus these other more widely reviewed setups.
Thank you in advance for the help guys. Again, any links, opinions, or experiences are appreciated.
Thanks
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4870 single 260 280 single sli