GTX 295 Graphics Card

[Lydya]

Hello,

I share a computer with my brother. We enjoy to play games. I think of buying a new graphics card for Christmas. For the moment we have:

2 x eVGA Geforce 8800 Ultra 768MB
1 x Asus P5N-T Deluxe 780i SLI Motherboard


These maybe will be replaced because for moment PC is damaged and shop must replace damaged parts.

Well I am wondering if for Chistmas i should buy:

EVGA E-GEFORCE GTX 295 CO-OP Hydro 600MHZ 1792MB 2.106GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP Video Card

Because my brother says that to have two Nvidia graphics card as SLi is not so good because of drivers. Is better to have one card only.

Do you think this card is more powerful than two 8800 Ultra cards?

Also would I also have to buy him a new motherboard? And a new Power Supply (For moment we have OCZ 1010W Game Extreme Power Supply.

Thank you

 

[EXT64]

Unfortunately, a GTX295 is two cards in SLI! It is just packaged in one convienient card so you don't need an SLI board. If you want the fastest single chip card, you will have to look to ATI (5870).

 

[paperfox]

Id recommend getting a 5870, its cheaper and has the same performance. If you do go with the 295 that 1010 watt PSU will be enough. Yes the 295 will kill two 8800s, think of the 295 as two 275s only in the space of one.

 

[hellraiser06]

Get a 5870 instead. Same performance, cheaper, latest technology (DX11 and all), and a single card (so no SLI issues)

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Best you read THG's December round up for an objective point of view.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-310-5970,2491-6.html

Despite ATI's new Radeon HD 5970 taking its place as the fastest graphics card on the planet, Nvidia's GeForce GTX 295 (with SLI-on-a-board) remains an extremely powerful graphics card. Essentially two conjoined GeForce GTX 275s, the GeForce GTX 295 offers very notable gains over a single Radeon HD 5870 in the great majority of game titles, although the Radeon will use far less power doing so. The GeForce GTX 295 does have an advantage in that it it still quite easy to find and purchase. Moreover, ATI's release has forced prices on these cards down by a significant chunk.

Of course if you have an extra $160, the 5970 is faster.

 

[megamanx00]

Two 8800 Ultras are plenty powerful. If you want a single GPU card that is faster than your two Ultras running in SLI then you need to go with ATIs 5870. Of course, you can't crossfire two 5870s with an SLI board so the downside is you'd be stuck with just one card. Since you have an SLI board though you may as well go with one GTX 295 now. Even though it's basically two GTX 275s in SLI, it will still be an upgrade over your two 8800 Ultras. Next year you can then decide if there is enough of a reason to upgrade to a DX11 card, or just add another 295 (which will probably be hard to find by then ).

 

[Lydya]

Thanking you for responses!

Unfortunately, a GTX295 is two cards in SLI! It is just packaged in one convienient card so you don't need an SLI board. If you want the fastest single chip card, you will have to look to ATI (5870).

I did not know this. Maybe is not so good. But do you agree is better not to have SLI? Is better to have single chip card? My brother will say SLI is not achieving a maximum effort (Sorry for my English) from both video cards because of the drivers.

Id recommend getting a 5870, its cheaper and has the same performance. If you do go with the 295 that 1010 watt PSU will be enough. Yes the 295 will kill two 8800s, think of the 295 as two 275s only in the space of one.

Get a 5870 instead. Same performance, cheaper, latest technology (DX11 and all), and a single card (so no SLI issues)

We did not know about Direct X 11. We would like a card for best settings for many years. GTX 295 is not DX11?

GTX 295 is OBSOLETE. Get the 5970 if you want the BEST

We do not use Radeon card before. It would mean also a new motherboard? I am looking at 5970 Sapphire. Is same price as GTX 295. Is Sapphire a good manufacturer for video card? Look:

Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 OC Edition 735MHZ 2GB 4.04GHZ GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI Mini Displaypot Video Card

Is a recommendation?

Best you read THG's December round up for an objective point of view.

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 491-6.html

Despite ATI's new Radeon HD 5970 taking its place as the fastest graphics card on the planet, Nvidia's GeForce GTX 295 (with SLI-on-a-board) remains an extremely powerful graphics card. Essentially two conjoined GeForce GTX 275s, the GeForce GTX 295 offers very notable gains over a single Radeon HD 5870 in the great majority of game titles, although the Radeon will use far less power doing so. The GeForce GTX 295 does have an advantage in that it it still quite easy to find and purchase. Moreover, ATI's release has forced prices on these cards down by a significant chunk.

Of course if you have an extra $160, the 5970 is faster.

I do not understand I am sorry. But article says GTX 295 is performing better than 5970. But you think 5970 is better? Maybe I do not understand so well

We are interesting in Radeon card. Is because Nvidia drivers causes us problems in some games of "Steam". But he has also accused our power supply and sound card for this.

Two 8800 Ultras are plenty powerful. If you want a single GPU card that is faster than your two Ultras running in SLI then you need to go with ATIs 5870. Of course, you can't crossfire two 5870s with an SLI board so the downside is you'd be stuck with just one card. Since you have an SLI board though you may as well go with one GTX 295 now. Even though it's basically two GTX 275s in SLI, it will still be an upgrade over your two 8800 Ultras. Next year you can then decide if there is enough of a reason to upgrade to a DX11 card, or just add another 295 (which will probably be hard to find by then ).

I heard for Geforce is SLi and for Radeon is Crossfire before. Do you think Radeon drivers is more powerful than Nvidia drivers for support of two video cards? But 5870 is not a crossfire supporting video card?

I do not know much about video cards is only my for my brothers Christmas. It looks as everyone recommend Radeon. Is this because of power of cards only? Do you think Radeon drivers are better and more trustful (I mean no crashes with games) than Nvidia drivers?

 

[EXT64]

In new games, SLI and Crossfire do much better than they did in the past. They are not bug free though and do put a higher load on the CPU, but they are much more consistent then they once were.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I do not understand I am sorry. But article says GTX 295 is performing better than 5970. But you think 5970 is better? Maybe I do not understand so well

The article said that a 295 performs significantly better than a 5870 not a 5970.

The 5970 beats the 295 ..... the 295 beats the 5870

Again, best thing you could do is read this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-310-5970,2491.html

It gives the "best cards to buy" in various price ranges.

DX10 cards win 13 of the categories
DX11 cards win 2 of the categories

The audience that this forum attracts are enthusiasts, the kind of people who upgrade their boxes frequently. My 18 year old son buys new graphics cards every 2 years (w/ money he earns) .... for him DX10/DX11 didn't mean beans as by the time it starts to matter, he'll be onto a new card.

If your budgetary situation or priorities don't put you in that category, and you will keep the card longer, I'd recommend a DX11 card. Here's a summary of the artilce referenced:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-310-5970,2491.html

Here's the "winners" from THG's latest (December) GFX Roundup
Best Graphics Cards For The Money: December '09


$50 - HD 4650
$65 - HD 4670 / 9600 GSO
$85 - 9600 GT
$95 - 9600 GT / HD 4830
$110 - GTS 250 512 MB
$120 - GTS 250 1 GB
$155 - HD 5770 / GTX 260
$200 - HD 4890
$240 - 2 x GTS 250
$310 - No winner (HD 5850 Honorable Mention)
$330 - 2 x GTX 260 / 2 x HD 5770
$400 - 2 x HD 4890
$410 - No winner (HD 5870 Honorable Mention)
$465 - No winner (GTX 295 Honorable Mention)
$625 - No winner (HD 5970 Honorable Mention)

Again, with 13 "winners" being DX10 and 2 winners being DX11, the THG author(s) seem to believe that DX11 is not a big thing just yet. BUT, they do say several times in the article that it **IS** a consideration to move you to a 5xxx if you are going to be hanging onto the card for a while longer than the "average THG Joe"

 

[1st duke of marlborough]

You will not need a new motherboard, but since it is not a crossfire board, you will not be able to use two ATI cards in a crossfire configuration, your board only supports this function with 2 Nvidia cards in an SLI configuration.

Go with the 5970, and yes Sapphire is an excellent brand. ATI's drivers aren't historically as reliable as Nvidia's, but the card is substantially more powerful and advanced than the 295. If you are looking for a good Christmas upgrade, that would be the best you could do.

 

[Lydya]

Helo all

I have ordered a Sapphire Radeon 5970 for my brother. I hope he will like it! Is a good advise in this thread. Thanking you all

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

Helo all

I have ordered a Sapphire Radeon 5970 for my brother. I hope he will like it! Is a good advise in this thread. Thanking you all

What a lucky brother! :lol:
My sister used to buy me gifts from the dollar store...

 

[roofus]

good luck with the ATI card on that nForce board. some of these well intended advisers should have taken notice. you may run into some problems.

 

[EXT64]

Why? I have used ATI cards on nForce boards with no issues. Are there some boards/cards that do?

 

[roofus]

there certainly are EXT. some i have had issues with DLL conflicts, some wont accept certain CPU multipliers in a given configuration, some appear everything wnet smooth and wont do anything stable. not saying this is always the case but given that the potential is there, i avoid it when possible.
on that note, if someone is willing to spend that kind of money on a video card then 140 -150 for a nice P45 board is a great investment. i had this one for a while and loved it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

 

[EXT64]

Thanks for the heads up.