$550 limit

[oooen1gmaooo]

I want to play my games on three monitors at 1920x1080 each (so 5760x1080 all together)
The game I want to play recommends a GTX 460 for lower res (Final Fantasy XIV)... but I want to play at 5760x1080p
These are my choices, will any of these be enough for smooth frame rates?

x2 1GB GTX 460 $230
x2 2GB GTX 460 $260
any advice would be much appreciated, if you mention any ATI cards you have to factor in the cost of a Display port adapter.

 

[jyjjy]

For 3 screens I would recommend bumping up your budget slightly and getting two GTX 470s instead;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121372
Two of those would be $580 before rebate and $540 after.

 

[oooen1gmaooo]

the only difference I see is the processor cores from 336 to 448 and from 256bit to 320bit, is it worth the extra $60?

 

[Cannibalsnail]

No. The Palit sonic platinum is almost on par with the 470.
Get 2x GTX 460 Sonic platinum

 

[oooen1gmaooo]

i figured the 2gb 460's would be better than 1GB 470's

 

[jyjjy]

The Palit card just has a factory OC so that is irrelevant if you are going to OC on your own(should should, it is easy and very effective on these cards.) Furthermore the Palit GTX 460s have a cooler that us getting very poor reviews both for noise and effectiveness.

the only difference I see is the processor cores from 336 to 448 and from 256bit to 320bit, is it worth the extra $60?

"Only" isn't the word I would use for 112 more shaders. That is a 33% increase in processing power which will make a very large difference with such a high resolution setup, much more so than the extra memory 768mb of memory especially considering the wider memory bus on the GTX 470.

 

[jyjjy]

i figured the 2gb 460's would be better than 1GB 470's

Nope, it wouldn't even be particularly close. Also the GTX 470 has 1280mb of ram not 1gb.

 

[JohnnyChrist]

No. The Palit sonic platinum is almost on par with the 470.
Get 2x GTX 460 Sonic platinum

...but it has incredibly bad stock cooling.

If you're going to go with a 460, go with the MSI Cyclone and overclock it yourself.

i figured the 2gb 460's would be better than 1GB 470's

There is only a noticeable gain from the extra memory at higher resolutions, but with 1gb you've already got enough, so I'd say stick with the 1gb to save money, IMO.

 

[oooen1gmaooo]

I am playing at high res 5760x1080 so w/ that in mind what would you go with???

 

[JohnnyChrist]

I am playing at high res 5760x1080 so w/ that in mind what would you go with???

Tough to say. Personally, I'd be conservative and get the 2 gig, just in case.

 

[jyjjy]

Yes, of the GTX 460s the 2gb cards will help with your setup but if you can stretch the budget slightly and have a power supply that can handle them the GTX 470s will definitely give you the best performance.

 

[oooen1gmaooo]

ive got a 850w psu, i think im gonna go w/ a GTX 470 now and then 1-3 months from now get a second 470.

The only problem I have w/ the dual 470's is the heat, i hear they run hot. I am going to OC my i5-750 to 4ghz w/ a V6 Cooler Master, so are the 470's gonna increase my case temp's too high that I can't oc my cpu as much as I want to?

BTW i am getting the Antec 300 case, which comes w/ 4 fans (With the option of adding a fan near the GPU's) 2 intakes (Front), and 2 exhaust's (Rear and top)

 

[jyjjy]

On a case with good air flow like that I don't think it should be that big of an issue. Certainly shouldn't limit your OC on the CPU anyway.
BTW I believe that case only actually comes with a back and top fan. It does have 3 other spots but you have to add the fans yourself. Once you do so though I don't think you will have to worry that much about temperatures even with multiple GTX 470s.
One of the nice thing about those cards is they OC a ton. The 460s OC a large amount as well but the GTX 470 has it beat slightly in that area.

 

[oooen1gmaooo]

Great I will prob OC them a lil bit, here's a link to the case so you can take a look


Jus now noticed its and Antec 300 Illusion

 

[jyjjy]

Alright, looks like the difference between the two is the 300 Illusion has the front fans pre-installed and the 300 does not. That and the Illusion has the blue LEDs.

 

[oooen1gmaooo]

I like the blue LEDs, matches my keyboard