Time to upgrade

[xizorgetspeed]

Hey Guys,

Alright here's my current set up. Gaming rig btw.

2 x 8800 GT 512 SLI EVGA
Q6600, Quad Core, 2.4
Asus P5N-SLI
750W power
500GB drive
8GB RAM (4 x 2GB Dimms)
blue leds (they add +10 horsepower)

So... really, I'm thinking of upgrading video card at this point. Not sure if I want to do a complete upgrade.

So... I almost bought a gtx 295. but I can't get my hands on it.

I'm looking at the basic 285gb 1GB cards from evga. I will buy 1 at this point not 2...

I know nvidia released the fermi cards and they are around the corner... (really I have no idea when they are coming out...)

so I'm kind of stuck.

Will I notice a performance gain from going from SLI 8800GT to single GTX285?

Is my cpu gonna bottleneck it?

should I wait for the fermi cards and hope that I somehow get my hands around them.

My budget is around $500 ish.

I know there is the AMD option and right now better bang for your buck, but I own nvidia 3D vision, and so I am kinda stuck with them...

What do I want? I want to be able to play todays games max settings 1920x1080, without a hiccup 50+ frames.

quick, the money is burning a hole in my pocket...

 

[JofaMang]

If you are intent on Nvidia, and willing to drop some good cash, waiting for the DX11 cards is not a bad idea. Sli 8800GTs is still a very potent setup, and spending money on a 285 might be a mostly sideways upgrade at 1920x1080, and may not give you the satisfaction you are looking for in an upgrade.

 

[Derbixrace]

well if i were you i would buy an cooler master 212+ cpu cooler and overclock the processor to at least 3.2 and then i would buy at least an 5850 graphics card from ati. that already should show some increase in performance

 

[shadow187]

Jofa, wat? 8800GT in SLI is VERY, VERY capable. In fact, you won't gain much increase from a GTX285. Maybe ~17%. If I were you, I'd just wait. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5870,2422-14.html

Compare those charts, as well as the charts to other games, and the HD5870 is a good card throughout. I understand you can't Crossfire on that board, but it just might be worth your while for an ATI card.

 

[JofaMang]

Jofa, wat? 8800GT in SLI is VERY, VERY capable. In fact, you won't gain much increase from a GTX285. Maybe ~17%.

That's exactly what I said, lol.

 

[shadow187]

Whoa, wat? I must not have had my eyesight working, :U.

 

[xizorgetspeed]

so how much better is the 5850. Perhaps buy that, give up 3D for a few months, resell when gtx 480 is released (which is when?)

what do you guys think... how much money extra would be spent?

 

[shadow187]

Why would you give up 3D?

Ah, just read your 3D vision.

If you can, sell the 3D vision kit for some cash. You might be able to afford an HD5870, which is completely awesome. Also, nVid's new cards are the GF100's.

 

[xizorgetspeed]

sell my 3d vison kit??? blashphemy!

the gf100s is the code name or whatever of the chip... first batch of cards will be the gtx 480 and 470...

rumours say mid march but who knows....

 

[shadow187]

Not that they'll be cheap, or if sources are true, much better.

 

[may1]

if your budget is $500, wait. That is more than enough to buy a GPU.

 

[xizorgetspeed]

may1, you mean enough to by a 480, right?

yah that's what i'm gonna do...

 

[shadow187]

$$500 is enough for 2x HD5770 ($300), a Crossfire Intel MOBO ($140) and a a good PSU ($60).

 

[xizorgetspeed]

Best answer selected by XizorGetspeed.