Gtx 260 sli still worth buying?

[zoenphlux]

Hey guys i'm planning on doing a new build after bulldozer comes out. I happen to be on ebay looking at what i want to use and notice that i can get 2 gtx 260s for 100 or less. Is that worth the money? I looked at charts and it seems to be a great deal compared to the prices on cards in similar performance.

I plan on buying higher end cpu and wait on video for now since i cant buy what i want all at once. I would rather do that and upgrade video within a year over buying mid level across the board and having to upgrade sooner. I have a 4830 and wanted to know if 2 260s in sli will hold me over another year or more until i decide to upgrade video. I am a casual gamer. I know it is older cards but I was hoping that wouldnt matter with 2 on newer games.

I will only have around 600 for the upgrade (per wife..at least i get to do something!)and I was wanting one of the 8 core amds coming out. I know just getting the basics will hit 600 easy without video is why i am asking this.

thanks for any comments.

 

[wiinippongamer]

You mean $100 for both of them or $100 each, 896mb or 1792 mb cards?

2 gtx260's for $100 NEW is a pretty good deal, though it will use more power than faster modern cards and you won't be able to run games in DX11 mode, alot of the newer games support DX11 now, and it's not like there's a huge difference in using DX11 over DX10 on those games, it'll take several more years till they drop DX9 and DX10 support ( there's not a single DX11 exclusive game yet), so I think it's worth it if you can get em at $100 for both, performance will be similar to a 5870 or 6950

 

[vilenjan]

The only problem is that the 260GTX cards are big and power hungry. If you SLI them you will get performance about on par with a 560ti GTX, but the power consumption of a 580GTX. From a price/performance stand point, its a good buy, but make sure you got a beafy PSU (4 PCI-e connectors required).

 

[zoenphlux]

I have a Corsair TX750W psu. I am currently running a q6600 at stock. yes 100 for both, but used, not new. I missed a chance to get 2 bfg maxcore 260s for 115 shipped used.

 

[zoenphlux]

I wont be building the rest of the system tell around nov./dec. should i just wait and see what I can get for 100-150 sli/xfire then? would it be better to spend that much on best card you can get 100-150 and just buy another one later? Other then video i really didnt want to upgrade anything else for 4-5 years.

 

[nforce4max]

To be honest if I had the chance of buying those cards I wouldn't hesitate. The older cards are made much better than the mid and low end fermi cards. It is going to be very difficult to get any ting that is more powerful than that for the price. A gtx 460 at stock with around 5% give or take depending on the game of a gtx 280 and two gtx 260 should easily blow away a single gtx 460 and maybe a single 560. However power becomes a big problem, you will be drawing between 200 to 375w in sli when both cards are under full load. Heat is a concern but IF you have done sli before you should already know how to cope with this problem.

 

[wiinippongamer]

You could also get a good cheap cooler like this : http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1306360768&sr=8-1 + http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-BladeMaster-Silent-R4-BMBS-20PK-R0/dp/B0030DL37I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=industrial&qid=1306361268&sr=8-1 and OC the Sh*t outta your q6600 ( 3ghz is easily achieveable), it's still a pretty capable CPU by today's standarts, and scales very well overclocked. Alongside a couple of used GTX260's for about $140 total, that'd be a very nice upgrade and should get you going for another couple years at least, and then when you feel the need upgrade the whole system.

 

[jitpublisher]

Spending money on old outdated equipment is not a smart move IMHO, even if the price does seem well worth what you are getting. Remember, no matter how cheap you get them, they are still 2 old outdated cards. I think this is not a wise thing to do.
PS if you are gaming, which I assume is the case since you are looking at SLI, more than a quad core CPU is pointless.
Wait until you are ready to build before you buy. Buying PC equipment ahead of build time is never a wise move. Technology and prices change too fast.

 

[nforce4max]

Spending money on old outdated equipment is not a smart move IMHO, even if the price does seem well worth what you are getting. Remember, no matter how cheap you get them, they are still 2 old outdated cards. I think this is not a wise thing to do.
PS if you are gaming, which I assume is the case since you are looking at SLI, more than a quad core CPU is pointless.
Wait until you are ready to build before you buy. Buying PC equipment ahead of build time is never a wise move. Technology and prices change too fast.

OK dude can you buy any thing on par with a single gtx 470 for $100 or less? $100 barely buys a gts 450 let along a single gtx 260. Old or not but this time performance speaks louder than dollars.

 

[zoenphlux]

I have an antec 900 case and The mobo i got is an xfx 680i and it will NOT oc at all stable, i have adjusted everything possible and read every forum i can and found out this board SUCKS at o/c quad cores. I bought a zalman cooler and the antec case and had every intention of O/C to carry me another couple years, but i cant hit a stable Overclock to save my life. Dont matter the voltage, i've tried everything up to about 1.5. i killed the dell board i had and upgrade to that xfx board last dec. off ebay for like 40 buks used. I should have gotton a p45 board, but oh well. I also do photoshop and similar things and that is why i want the 8 core. I am trying to future proof myself also, cause altho i know a quad core is as good as you can use right now, in another 2 years 6 cores should be standard on new games and another year or 2 and maybe 8. I just am not into upgrading every other year. You spend more money doing that and always have just mid grade stuff. I do agree with you on buying all at once, but in 5 months i dont see enought changes to warrent the price of two 260s. prices do drop, but not that drasticly that fast. a single card to compare is easily twice as much and that is used. anyway, Thank you all for you replys.