SLI 9800GT, or get new DX11 card?

[rjkucia]

I'm thinking of upgrading my graphics sometime soon, so I was wondering, would I get better performance from upgrading my current (9800gt) card to SLI, or just buying a new card? (note-I currently dont have an SLI ready mobo, but don't factor that in because I'll be upgrading that before I upgrade my graphics) My resolution is 1680x1050, if that helps any.

 

[rolli59]

A single more powerful card is usually a better (more problem free) solution than SLI/Crossfire of 2 less powerful cards.

 

[rjkucia]

Alright, but which would give me better performance for the money?

 

[spentshells]

buy a new card hopefully better than 5770 or 260GTX they are upgrades but not as far you will want to go

 

[rjkucia]

But the 5770 and 260gtx are also a lot more expensive; I can get a 9800gt for under $100 at some places.

 

[rolli59]

But the 5770 and 260gtx are also a lot more expensive; I can get a 9800gt for under $100 at some places.

If you figure in the cost of the new motherboard (unless you are doing a full upgrade MB, CPU and etc) would make the 9800GT more expensive.

 

[rjkucia]

If you figure in the cost of the new motherboard (unless you are doing a full upgrade MB, CPU and etc) would make the 9800GT more expensive.

I'm upgrading my motherboard and cpu anyways, so I'm not going to take that into account right now.

 

[rolli59]

If your power supply is up to the task of running 2x9800GT in SLI versus a single HD5770 then you get a little more performance for the money in games that support SLI.

 

[rjkucia]

I checked a PSU calculator, and it seems that my 500 watt PSU is more than enough for the task. This brings me to my second question - when I purchase a motherboard, how will I know if it supports SLI? To my knowledge, only those with Nvidia or new Intel chipsets do, but I don't know which ones. Also, is Crossfire supported on all of these platforms (in case I decide just to get a new ATI card)?

 

[rjkucia]

Best answer selected by rjkucia.