GeForce GTS 250 SLI question

[zherlthsh]

I am getting ready to buy parts for my new computer but before i buy a graphics card i wanted to ask about an SLI ready graphic card ( GeForce GTS 250). I am new to SLI so first:

1) should i buy a different non SLI card if i am not using duel monitors or duel graphic cards (since i only intend to use one graphic card).
2) is it possible to run an SLI card in a non SLI mode to make it compatible with no SLI motherboards/power supplies(if that is possible)
3) do you HAVE to have an SLI supported motherboard/sli ready power supply if you do not intend to use it for duel monitors/duel graphic cards or in SLI mode (if you can turn it off).

The main reason i chose this card is it was the cheapest while being high end and also ranked high up in the passmarks. Like i said though i do not intend to use duel monitors or graphic cards, so should i go ahead and buy this card or should i get a different one thats non crossfire/non SLI but with the ability to play games such as Aion in at least mid-high quality.

I will be using a ASUS M4A785-M AMD 785G MB w/ X4 9850 CPU (i have made sure all of the other parts are compatible with the motherboard itself, im just not sure about the graphics card) 4-8GB DDR2 ram, and possibly either a 700w or 850w power supply (i have a couple bookmarked) depending how demanding the graphic card is. 22'in monitor, i currently have to play on 800x600, i CAN go into 1024x900 but i have really bad frame rates. about 2-5 in populated areas and 20-30fps where there are no other players. (the play resolution and fps are on my current laptop not the new desktop i am getting parts for.)

The main thing i am concerned about is that it is compatible with the motherboard and power supply (since some are SLI certified and some are not) and that would change the outcome of which power supply i buy.

 

[Deleted member 362816]

I would go with gts 450 over 250 dx11 better scaling and sli

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187120&cm_re=gts_450-_-14-187-120-_-Product

 

[Guest]

You don't have to use SLI if the card supports it, you can use the card as if it's any normal graphics card with out an SLI motherboard. You don't need to put it into SLI mode, SLI is completely optional.

You don't need an SLI certified Power Supply to run it if you are not using SLI
You don't need an SLI compatible motherboard if you will use the card alone
You don't need to buy a non-SLI card if you are not using dual monitors/graphics cards.

SLI is just a feature, you can use if you want to boost your performance even on a single monitor.

ALL new cards are SLI ready. SLI is simply the ability to use two of the card at the same time in the same computer, double the power. You can have 2-way SLI or 3-way SLI, which is simply the number of graphics cards whom's "power" you wish to combine.

People usually buy an SLI ready card and an SLI ready Motherboard and power supply to run the card alone without SLI so that in the future if they get the money to buy another card they can upgrade to SLI.

an SLI ready motherboard is simply one that has two or more PCI-E x16 2.0 slots so that you can put in more than one graphics card. People usually get them when they don't even have two graphics cards. It just gives you the ability to upgrade in the future.

an SLI certified power supply, is simply a high quality power supply that has a high wattage and amperage and is certified by NVIDIA that it will be able to handle the amount of power required by two or more graphics cards, most people get them even if they don't have SLI

An SLI power supply is an ordinary power supply but high quality and a certificate by NVIDIA assuring that it can handle two or more cards.
An SLI motherboard is an ordinary motherboard but with extra PCI-E x16 slots for more graphics cards
An SLI ready card is an ordinary card with the ability to be used in pairs with another card to improve performance, possibly double the performance.

 

[Guest]

BTW the GTS 250 is not a very good card, go for another more powerful card.

 

[zherlthsh]

Best answer selected by Zherlthsh.

 

[zherlthsh]

You don't have to use SLI if the card supports it, you can use the card as if it's any normal graphics card with out an SLI motherboard. You don't need to put it into SLI mode, SLI is completely optional.

You don't need an SLI certified Power Supply to run it if you are not using SLI
You don't need an SLI compatible motherboard if you will use the card alone
You don't need to buy a non-SLI card if you are not using dual monitors/graphics cards.

SLI is just a feature, you can use if you want to boost your performance even on a single monitor.

ALL new cards are SLI ready. SLI is simply the ability to use two of the card at the same time in the same computer, double the power. You can have 2-way SLI or 3-way SLI, which is simply the number of graphics cards whom's "power" you wish to combine.

People usually buy an SLI ready card and an SLI ready Motherboard and power supply to run the card alone without SLI so that in the future if they get the money to buy another card they can upgrade to SLI.

an SLI ready motherboard is simply one that has two or more PCI-E x16 2.0 slots so that you can put in more than one graphics card. People usually get them when they don't even have two graphics cards. It just gives you the ability to upgrade in the future.

an SLI certified power supply, is simply a high quality power supply that has a high wattage and amperage and is certified by NVIDIA that it will be able to handle the amount of power required by two or more graphics cards, most people get them even if they don't have SLI

An SLI power supply is an ordinary power supply but high quality and a certificate by NVIDIA assuring that it can handle two or more cards.
An SLI motherboard is an ordinary motherboard but with extra PCI-E x16 slots for more graphics cards
An SLI ready card is an ordinary card with the ability to be used in pairs with another card to improve performance, possibly double the performance.

Thanks that helps a lot and saves me money to not have to buy an SLI certified power supply.

As to your other answer basically when i look at graphics card i look at the price compared to multiple passmarks it gets compared to other high end graphic cards. I'm not looking for a SUPER high end card, basically one thats $100 bucks or less and can AT LEAST play mid-randed game settings on a resolution of 900x600 (which doesnt bother me as long as i dont have to have the settings all the way down to play at that resolution or a 1024x900 resolution with mid or very close to mid or better settings.

I have been looking on new egg, tiger direct and a few other sites. The GeForce GTS 250 Core was rated 1,069, with the GeForce 9650M GT(300 rating lowest) and the eForce GTX 580 (3,778 being highest) of top end benchmarked cards.. the GTX 580 being about $500. The GeForce GTS 250 is $99.

I also took a moment to look up the marks between the 450 and the 250, the 450 is 21 notches higher in rating than the 250 for a couple more bucks, i will consider it.

 

[Guest]

Then the card will be fine if you're not maxing.

 

[Guest]

It could get 720p on medium in most games; you wont have to set that low!

 

[dalauder]

You could also consider Radeon cards. I mention that because you only mentioned GeForce cards and their Passmark scores. Passmark is not accurate for Radeon cards. For those you have to look at reviews, but here's a basic hierarchy list. The Radeons are denoted by an HD prefix and the GeForces will contain a GT or something similar. Note that the dual GPU HD 5970 is at the top:
HD 5970>GTX 580>HD 6970>GTX 570=GTX 480>HD 5870>HD 6950>GTX 470>HD 6870>HD 5850>GTX 460 1GB=HD 5830>GTX 460 768MB>>GTX 260>HD 5770>GTS 450>HD 5750=GTS 250

Note: The NVidia cards do perform better in NVidia-The Way It's Meant to be Played titles. I have ommited cards from the Radeon 4000 series and GeForce 9000 series and earlier. Depending on the title, just about any card could jump ahead or fall behind an adjacent card in this ranking.

I just realized that I got this idea from Tom's Graphics Card Hierarchy chart, which I should have simply linked.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey