Replacement options - need advice

[cimtaurus]

Ok, so I just finished a nice new i7 build but kept my old pair of 8800GT's in order to save a few bucks.

Now I have the opportunity to upgrade those 8800's but I only have about $200 to put toward a replacement card.

I was considering the EVGA GTX 275 or the Saphire 4890 .

The board I have supports both SLI and Crossfire, so a second card upgrade later would be possible with either choice. My intention is to upgrade again with a second card by the end of the year.

I don't have a preference between nVidia or ATI, I just want to know which of these two cards is going to be the best choice based on the following:

- Performance
- Upgrade scalability (SLI/Crossfire)
- Gaming Support (Drivers)

Keep in mind I am not asking which chip manufacturer makes the better card, I am only interested in the comparison of these two cards OR any similarly priced card with compatible performance and support.

 

[blackhawk1928]

well...to recommend you a card, I need to
-know your system specs (detailed)
-Know what games you plan or do play
-know what resolution you play at

-These things, I must know to recommend you the best card

 

[cimtaurus]

Sure thing, here is the machine I just built:

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
ASRock X58 Deluxe LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS750QBL 750W ATX12V / EPS12V
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
2 X MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
(i should make this my sig)

I mostly play MMO's, specifically Everquest2, but I also enjoy some FPS like Left 4 Dead and Fallout 3.
I play on a 24" monitor at max res (1900x1200)

Thanks for the help.

 

[blackhawk1928]

Hmm...So assuming you play 1920x1200 I would recommend personally getting a single GPU as it is more reliable and stable. For that resolution and based on your games I think a GTX275 would do that job

 

[Amg]

i too game on a 24inch screen, it depends if you like to play with AA and AF.

personalty I would get HD4890 as here in the uk at least tehy are alot cheaper than the GTX275 and can bite a GTX285 if overclocked

 

[coozie7]

+1 GTX275.

 

[Mousemonkey]

If you get the right GTX275 it will be faster than the HD4890.

 

[Amg]

so much for branded makes no differences

 

[blackhawk1928]

If you want that extra AA and AF enabled on the more consuming games then get a factory overclocked GTX275 or just get GTX280.