Not sure which GPU(s) to get..

[ombadboy]

Hello there,

my 1st post here, and ive got a question for you gurus around..

I've read the sticky about SLi vs CrossFire, but am still not quite sure which way to head, and what specific cards I should aim for.

Am building a new rig with a Core i7 920 which means new mobo and new RAM..

I still havent decided which motherboard am going for, but probably one that is able to run Quad Crossfire/Tri-SLI.

The problem am facing though, am not quite sure which cards to aim for.

I was thinking of 2x ATI Radeon 4870 for first, but then I was wondering whether 3 SLI (lets say 3 Nvidia 250) would be a better choice. The price for the 2 is quite similar, so am wondering which is the best choice.

Or if any other card combination is better around that price range.

Also am looking into the fact that the ATI cards support DX10.1 whereas the NVidia ones support DX10 only, and am pretty sure that the DX10 will go popular once W7 is out and XP starts to fade away

Thanks alot for your contribution

 

[coozie7]

Please tell us the resoloution of monitor you are using or going to use, this will have a major impact on the sort of card/s that are suitable.

 

[ombadboy]

hmmm.. at the moment am only using 1280x1024 (if i recall correctly my monitor back home) but am considering buying a better res monitor as well, since its getting a bit old and am also probably hooking it up to full HD 1080p LCD TV in the near future.

 

[ombadboy]

help? please? drowning here

someone around must be able to help a newbie out

 

[invisik]

Both sli/cf have there own problems. In my opinion I would just get a simple sli or cf board (2gpu's). At that resolution sli gtx260 or ati 4870 should be plenty. Just go with the cheaper setup.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Are there any cheap i7 Xfire/SLi boards out yet? It seems every SLI board costs $300!?!?

 

[jzsang]

Three thoughts from my tired mind...

1 - Another vote for no CF/SLI. Too many issues (ex - heat, drivers, space, power supply / motherboard requirements).

2 - The whole ATI has DX 10.1, while Nvidia has Physx and CUDA debate is boring. If you think that one is better than the other, then go for it.

3 - I'm thinking HD 4890 or GTX 285.

 

[EXT64]

I second getting the best single GPU you can buy. If you like, get a MB that can do crossfire/SLI and add another down the road, but start with one first. You probably will be happy with it until the next gen are out, and the new tech/power they bring will be better than 2 SLI/crossfire of the old gen.

 

[gkay09]

^+1 A single powerful card is far better than the CF and SLI setup...
SLI and crossfire have driver issues...when new games release, both AMD and Nvidia have to rework their drivers so that the CF and sli work well with those games...but it is not the case with a single card...

And you can get a i7 Xfire/SLi board for about $240...

 

[croc]

Hello there,

my 1st post here, and ive got a question for you gurus around..

I've read the sticky about SLi vs CrossFire, but am still not quite sure which way to head, and what specific cards I should aim for.

Am building a new rig with a Core i7 920 which means new mobo and new RAM..

I still havent decided which motherboard am going for, but probably one that is able to run Quad Crossfire/Tri-SLI.

The problem am facing though, am not quite sure which cards to aim for.

I was thinking of 2x ATI Radeon 4870 for first, but then I was wondering whether 3 SLI (lets say 3 Nvidia 250) would be a better choice. The price for the 2 is quite similar, so am wondering which is the best choice.

Or if any other card combination is better around that price range.

Also am looking into the fact that the ATI cards support DX10.1 whereas the NVidia ones support DX10 only, and am pretty sure that the DX10 will go popular once W7 is out and XP starts to fade away

Thanks alot for your contribution

Monitor(s)? Resolution?

Here's a link from Anandtech, doesn't have all of the latest GPU's, but I'd consider it a good start: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3517

 

[ombadboy]

mmm.. tnx for your contribution

i'll probably go for a single card then, which costs about 2x 4870, instead of those 2..

croc, ive stated in the 3rd post about monitor/resolution..

hmmm.. at the moment am only using 1280x1024 (if i recall correctly my monitor back home) but am considering buying a better res monitor as well, since its getting a bit old and am also probably hooking it up to full HD 1080p LCD TV in the near future.

 

[gkay09]

^+1 for the GTX 275/ HD4890...

 

[Helloworld_98]

If your an overclocker then get a 4890 because the GTX 285, and most nvidia cards don't respond much to higher clocks.

 

[ombadboy]

actually i will considering overclocking every possible component on this rig, CPU, RAM, GPU..

the GTX285 i think is out of consideration, so now am thinking between the 4890 and the GTX275, leaning more towards the 4890.

putting aside driver issues, i found the 4770x2 benchmark results (posted today on toms) very impressive.. although as you guys stated crossfire/sli is good as no good..

btw does SLi/CrossFire help in rendering in 3DS Max, etc?

 

[Helloworld_98]

I doubt it.

 

[ombadboy]

decided to go for the 4890...

any brand you would recommend?

I love ASUS.. but would you guys recommend any other brand?

 

[EXT64]

Are there any non-reference boards out? If not, Asus is a fine choice. Some people have preferences for one over the other, but if their special coolers aren't out yet they are all about the same.

 

[ombadboy]

non-reference?

ive seen a PowerColor OC version of the 4890, with a ?custom? cooler.. not sure about that..

http://www.overclock3d.net/news.php?/gpu_displays/powercolor_ups_ante_with_overclocked_radeon_hd_4890/1

 

[bonanzaguy]

Sapphire is releasing their non-reference cards this week.

 

[ombadboy]

ye thats the one i was talking about.. i thought they called it OC though..

u reckon i should go for that one? or even wait for the saphire one? prices should be approximately the same as the current 4890 released i guess too right?