Upgrading my GTX 285's to...which card?

[rmmil978]

Greetings! I'm running 2 GTX 285's in SLI and I've gotten the upgrade bug. Wanting DX11. No, I don't really NEED a new card, but that's why they call us "enthusiasts", right?

My only real issue with my current setup is micro-stuttering due to SLI, and the temp's (also due to SLI). My case has good airflow with a fan right on the cards, but it'll hit over 80 C in very demanding games. So, I was thinking moving to a one card setup and adding a second in crossfire / sli someday when I get the upgrade bug, again.

But which card? I am not biased towards ATI or Nvidia, have had good and bad experiences with both. Not going with a 5850 because it's too close to a 285 performance-wise. Should I go a GTX 470 because it'll run cooler than a 480, especially in a SLI setup? A 5870 because it seems to be the best dollar vs. performance gains? Or go for the monster that is the GTX 480? Also, considering I will go with 2 cards eventually, should I go with the 470 / 480 because they seem to scale so wonderfully in SLI? And do a pair of 470's / 480's scale better than 5870's in crossfire? Anyone have some real-life experience with these who can give me their opinions? Thanks!

 

[jryan388]

I vote 480... anything else would be a real step down performance-wise.

 

[Lmeow]

Two GTX 285s in SLI would perform like HD 5850 CrossFireX, a bit slower I suppose, but the only real upgrade would be either the GTX 480 or HD 5970. If your micro-stuttering is that bad, then I suppose you might see an improvement with an HD 5870 or GTX 470.

 

[Tamz_msc]

2 GTX 470s in SLI would be perfect.Though the 470s run hot, it should not be a problem.

 

[jonpaul37]

Greetings! I'm running 2 GTX 285's in SLI and I've gotten the upgrade bug. Wanting DX11. No, I don't really NEED a new card, but that's why they call us "enthusiasts", right?

My only real issue with my current setup is micro-stuttering due to SLI, and the temp's (also due to SLI). My case has good airflow with a fan right on the cards, but it'll hit over 80 C in very demanding games. So, I was thinking moving to a one card setup and adding a second in crossfire / sli someday when I get the upgrade bug, again.

But which card? I am not biased towards ATI or Nvidia, have had good and bad experiences with both. Not going with a 5850 because it's too close to a 285 performance-wise. Should I go a GTX 470 because it'll run cooler than a 480, especially in a SLI setup? A 5870 because it seems to be the best dollar vs. performance gains? Or go for the monster that is the GTX 480? Also, considering I will go with 2 cards eventually, should I go with the 470 / 480 because they seem to scale so wonderfully in SLI? And do a pair of 470's / 480's scale better than 5870's in crossfire? Anyone have some real-life experience with these who can give me their opinions? Thanks!

Hitting over 80c on any video card is actually pretty average, so the fact that you are hitting those temps in SLI, consider yourself lucky, there is nothing to worry about there...

Consider this, if you get a GTX 480, you will hit 80c all the time and possibly upside of the upper 90's in demanding games...

 

[wa1]

2x GTX 480 would be great, Well, if you don't mind about the heat and noise...

 

[soldnickel]

Yeah, 2 GTX 480's gets my vote and I never hit about 79 degrees on the most demanding games...

But I do have them space out on a x3 sli board, make sure you have the cpu and psu power to push these babies

 

[shadow187]

I'd get an HD5970/5870 crossfire if you really need an upgrade. An HD5850 crossfire will run much much cooler, consume half the power, and offer more performance than your 285s.

 

[metalweenis]

Sometimes the best upgrade is not to upgrade at all !

There is literally no card(s) that will enhance your gaming experience for a reasonable price at the moment. If you go down the road of a dual 470/480's, 5850/5870's you will just be putting yourself in a bigger hole, in my opinion.

ATI is surely to release the 6xxx series shortly and that will be a 'true' upgrade for your money. There is no game that even a single GTX285 cannot run well right now.

I have dual 4870's and was thinking about doing what you're thinking of doing and now realize that it is just a dead end.

 

[rolli59]

A single GTX 480 would not be an upgrade. A single HD5970 would barely be an upgrade. That leaves SLI or Crossfire setups of the high end cards as the only real upgrade option.

 

[weehamish]

Indeed, the GTX 285 runs all games at max atm for me on 1920x1200, maybe not crysis but hey that game is ancient and crap when you have done it once.

Really it depends on your CPU when you have a decent card like the GTX 285, im bottlenecked with a Q9450 at 3.4, an i7 would be nice but i HATE installing CPUs with the thermal paste and *** i always think i never spread it good enough haha.

Also id probly need a new mobo :\

So in short dnt bother wasting your money on a new GPU, if you want better fps try a new CPU

 

[OvrClkr]

I agree, as far as "raw" performance goes he would actually be downgrading if he were to buy a single GTX 480. He would have more or less the same temps with a single 480 also. The only difference would be the DX11, i dont think DX11 is worth 500$ ATM considering his current setup.

 

[spentshells]

well i'm afraid you still have a premium setup you will just have to wait.

or spend a ton of cash

 

[mooman]

yeah its probably a better idea to wait for the 6xxx series,, otherwise its just a waste of money, and also hope that nvidia comes out with something else as well.

 

[chedderslam1976]

ATI is surely to release the 6xxx series shortly and that will be a 'true' upgrade for your money.

Really? Like when? I have a 5770 and am bidding on a second on ebay right now. I was holding out for a 5890, but the 6 series is coming out? I haven't heard a thing about that.

 

[rmmil978]

Best answer selected by rmmil978.

 

[rmmil978]

I agree, as far as "raw" performance goes he would actually be downgrading if he were to buy a single GTX 480. He would have more or less the same temps with a single 480 also. The only difference would be the DX11, i dont think DX11 is worth 500$ ATM considering his current setup.

Thank you for returning me to my sanity. I was planning on Ebay'ing the GTX 285's I currently have and either going with a GTX 480 or Radeon 5870, but I'd only get about $400 for the pair, if I'm fairly lucky. That means breaking even with 1 5870 or spending another $80-100 and getting a 480...and then spending ANOTHER $400-500 to go SLI / Crossfire. Would I see a boost with that setup? For sure! But then if 3-6 months from now the GTX 485 or Radeon 6xxx series is released, I'd feel like a total idiot. Plus any "upgrade" I'd see now would be purely benchmarking, no "real game" increases.

So, I guess I'll bide my time and wait for the 485 / 6xxx series. My GTX 285's will sell for even less by then, but maybe I'll end with a card that truly shows me some performance increases, without even having to add a 2nd one to see it.

 

[OvrClkr]

Thank you for returning me to my sanity. I was planning on Ebay'ing the GTX 285's I currently have and either going with a GTX 480 or Radeon 5870, but I'd only get about $400 for the pair, if I'm fairly lucky. That means breaking even with 1 5870 or spending another $80-100 and getting a 480...and then spending ANOTHER $400-500 to go SLI / Crossfire. Would I see a boost with that setup? For sure! But then if 3-6 months from now the GTX 485 or Radeon 6xxx series is released, I'd feel like a total idiot. Plus any "upgrade" I'd see now would be purely benchmarking, no "real game" increases.

So, I guess I'll bide my time and wait for the 485 / 6xxx series. My GTX 285's will sell for even less by then, but maybe I'll end with a card that truly shows me some performance increases, without even having to add a 2nd one to see it.

Exactly..

Wait till the 6xxx and whatever NV will have by that time and you will have a better upgrade path saving you $$ in the long
run. The 285's will not lose their retail "used" value for months to come so don't worry about that. Ebay has used 285's that are still selling for 250.00/275.00$

your cards still PWN [:mousemonkey:4]

 

[spentshells]

Exactly..

Wait till the 6xxx and whatever NV will have by that time and you will have a better upgrade path saving you $$ in the long
run. The 285's will not lose their retail "used" value for months to come so don't worry about that. Ebay has used 285's that are still selling for 250.00/275.00$

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv199/OvrClkr/gtx285_SLI.png

your cards still PWN [:mousemonkey:4]

I forgot about that chart.. wow to say the least

 

[Guest]

Thank you for returning me to my sanity. I was planning on Ebay'ing the GTX 285's I currently have and either going with a GTX 480 or Radeon 5870, but I'd only get about $400 for the pair, if I'm fairly lucky. That means breaking even with 1 5870 or spending another $80-100 and getting a 480...and then spending ANOTHER $400-500 to go SLI / Crossfire. Would I see a boost with that setup? For sure! But then if 3-6 months from now the GTX 485 or Radeon 6xxx series is released, I'd feel like a total idiot. Plus any "upgrade" I'd see now would be purely benchmarking, no "real game" increases.

So, I guess I'll bide my time and wait for the 485 / 6xxx series. My GTX 285's will sell for even less by then, but maybe I'll end with a card that truly shows me some performance increases, without even having to add a 2nd one to see it.

You may see ~15-20% gain with the 485. Ive been looking into this as well and with the newer accelero cooler you can overclock and gain more. I cant wait for the full fermi.