275 280 or hd 4870 x2

[madmike1982]

hi all

i have read lots of reviews / benches

however i am stuck at a decision

either 275 / 280 / hd 4870 x2

i have never had an ati card so not sure , also the power comsumption worries me slightly

i can get these cards all around the same price (the 4870x2 is on offer)

what do you guys think ?

my set up will b

i7 920
haf 932
12gb ram
gigabyte extreme

thanks in advance

 

[gkay09]

Well the 4870X2 is the powerful of the lot...but you might face some crossfire problems though...and would generate comparatively more heat as there are 2 4870 chip on it...
GTX 280/GTX 275 have pretty much the same performance...
Well can you give the resolution that you would play at...

 

[madmike1982]

hi thanks a lot

the rig is not primarily for gaming , its is for 3ds max renderings , photoshop, after effects stuff , however i will play the occasional game of crysis,
COD 4 / COD WOW or GTA4 , i have a 360 so not so fussed about the best of the best

prob run games at 1680 x 1050 (i have a 24" monitor at mo)

 

[gkay09]

Ohh... then get the cheapest of the lot...
I feel the best would be the GTX 275 as it consumes less power than the rest of the cards and is very powerful for your needs...
The 4870X2 would have heat and crossfire issues and GTX280 is not as efficient as the GTX 275...

But actually for that resolution, even a GTX 260(Core 216) could play those games at high settings and as you have pointed out that it is not primarily for gaming, you can choose the GTX 260 instead of those above cards and save money...
You can always add one more GTX 260 later when you feel the need...

 

[madmike1982]

thanks gkay

very helpful (as always on this site !)

one more q

if i do decide to add a 2nd 260 , what if any problems will arise with the sli ?

i will be gettin a 1000w enermax psu , will this cover the power requirements etc

 

[gkay09]

The GTX 260 SLI scale very well on the X58 chipsets...So that shouldn't be much of a problem...
And you wont need 1000W for any of the above cards...
A very good quality 750W PSU like Corsair 750TX would be suffice for setups upto GTX 285 SLI...
A 1000W PSU is only required if you want to run 2 4870X2 in quad-crossfire...

 

[madmike1982]

right i see !

so (last one i promise) which of all the branded 260 (inno 3d palit bfg etc ) shall i buy
i get confused with all these special editions etc

thanks again

 

[gkay09]

These are the brands in the order of their reputation and quality...
EVGA, XFX > ASUS, Gigabyte, BFG > inno 3d, palit...

 

[gkay09]

Well you can post as many questions as you want there are many people like me who would certainly help you if they can...