Odd GTX295 question

[Icarus768]

I am currently looking to upgrade my machine. I just won a EVGA 780i Board in a COD4 tournement. I have a 680I right now with a gtx280 and a q6000 running on XP 32. My question is that I have heard GTX295 won't work with XP, and it also has problems with a the Q6600?

 

[sefit]

First of all con congratulation...to the topic are you planning to sell your GTX 280 and buy GTX 295 instead? …not good, get second GTX 280 and sli it, better than one GTX 295. XP 32bit can use only 3 GB RAM, therefore having 4GB you can not exploit your potential (get Vista 64bit), but XP 32bit is definitively working with GTX 295 (or vice versa). Q6600 is still good enough, buy some good CPU cooler like Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and ready to go up to 3.4 (maybe 3.6 if you are lucky). SLI mobos are not best for oc but 780i/790i is exception, good overclocker indeed. Core i7 would give better results but suck q6600, 780i and DDR2 and invest 600 USD at least for some lousy 10% (in many games neither that) performance boost…not good idea.

 

[Icarus768]

Thanks for the info. I was planning on stepping up my 280 to the 295. Since I run everything EVGA and they have an amazing step up program. Should I sell the 780i? Is it that much of a performance increase over the 680i? I know it has tri SLI and solid state caps, but other than that?

 

[scrumhalf]

The problem is that the GTX 295 has 1792 MB video memory, which is going to cut into XP's addressable limit of 4GB quite significantly, leaving you with a likely max of 2GB for system memory. I can't say that I've heard of any issues with the Q6600, but I haven't looked.

 

[rescawen]

q6600 will be bottle necking the GTX 295 its not OCed to 3.2 GHZ or more and for COD4 getting that videocard is a waste of money. Id get better mouse and keyboard etc. Id say stick with GTX280 and buy a 24 inch monitor if you don't have one and buy lazer mamba mouse to kik ass

 

[Icarus768]

I do have a 24 inch monitor

my specs are

680i
q6600
zalman 9700
120 gb raptor
500 gb WD
gtx 280
HT Omega claro soundcard
logitech z5500 6.1
benq 24 inch monitor
razor copperhead mouse
saitek keyboard
cooler master stacker
4gb patriot Ram


COD isn't the only thing I play. all FPS's, oblivion, fallout, many more

 

[sefit]

You have solid system. Did you already oced your q6600? If yes how much. It depends on chip too but generally 680i is bad overclocker. You need to go up to 3.2 at least (more is better) to rid of bottleneck. Maybe to use potential of your new mobo, step up for GTX 285. It should be much cheaper (don’t know, in EU any step up program available ) and then SLI it with second GTX 285 later on. That’s better than GTX295. Generally SLI GTX 295 is not good, quad SLI might be troublemaking decision.

 

[Spitfire7]

I would keep your 780i because if you look at the 680i specs I believe the Q6600 is the highest Quad you can go on your 680i board. I went with the 780i and a Q9550 and it was a good choice and it overclocks very nicely. Also, I dont think the 680i can do tri-SLI. I would definitely swap out your 680i for the 780i. Also I would look at benchmarks between the 280 and 285. If I were you I would sell the 680i board and put that money into your new step up card. Its almost like a free upgrade. I would also look into the 285 FTW if they have one yet. That would be the highest performing one and you would definitely notice a difference between your 280. Good luck.

 

[techgeek]

To clear up a few facts (as I have as close a setup as you need to compare).

1. The 295 GTX works just fine with Windows XP 32 bit.
2. It works just fine with my Q6600 @ 3.2GHz.
3. The amount of memory that shows up in Windows with respect to 4GB on a 32 bit OS, is variable depending on the motherboard. For me Windows reports having 3GB, not 2GB as someone posted. As an aside, I am also running Windows 7 beta 64 bit. It isn't totally bullet proof yet. I have had some gaming issues, though I expected this. I just found out that nVidia released specific beta drivers for Windows 7 today (March 3rd), so I will be giving those a try.

I don't really have any useful suggestion on your motherboard dilemma, as I don't like any nVidia chipsets (thank God that nVidia finally licensed SLI on Intel chipsets (X58)), so I personally wouldn't keep either, I would go with a P45 or X48. nVidia chipsets are notoriously hot and buggy (especially their SATA drivers).

 

[Icarus768]

I also have the option of registering my new 780i and stepping up to the EVGA X58 board, and then just pay the difference. Then pay for the i7 920 and ddr3. Sell my 680 and use that for the gtx295.....