I'm a noob looking to upgrade...

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l2uff

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I currently have a dual monitor setup... and use my computer for work (writing & editing), some graphic design & gaming. I am looking to SLI so I can use 3 monitors for gaming. My current specs are

MSI x58 Platinum
i7 920 @2.67 LGA1366
16GB DDR3
MSI GeForce GTX 260 896MB
650w PSU


I am on a budget so I cannot go crazy... I am hoping to get by on spending like 400$ but I know if I need to upgrade a lot then I will have to spend more.

1) Does my processor and/or motherboard need to be upgraded?
2) What about going with 2x GTX 550 TI?
2b) Is my PSU going to be OK w/these cards (the newegg recommended PSU tool says 631 consumed, which is OK but I am still a bit worried its not enough)?


Or is there a better route that you guys would go? If it gets too pricey I'll have to wait until next year and then I'd probably just upgrade the whole system.
 
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purple stain
I would suggest going for a 6950 or 6970.That is the most powerful card you can get without going over budget and still be able to use 3 monitors.When you get more money you can upgrade to a bigger PSU and get another 6950 or 6970 for crossfire.

I would think with a 6970 running Eyefinity it's possible you could play Skyrim and MW3 on medium to high settings.Skyrim would be more demanding so don't expect a whole lot of performance settings from it.MW3 on the other hand does seem doable.

This bordline your budget but it's well worth it,imo.It's got a hefty factory O.C. and the heatsink is one of the best.

MSI 6970

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127581
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l2uff

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i looked into 560ti sli, but I think that's out of my price range right now. It would require a PSU upgrade (newegg says 785w recommended) so that's another 115$ on top of $270 per card. I definitely cannot spend that much.
 
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purple stain

purple stain

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Do you plan to use 3 monitors for gaming or for work? Nvidia surround?

The i7 920 is still a powerful processor and will be for some time.You don't have to upgrade that as of now.But I would suggest O.C.ing if you can.

What is the make/model of your 650 watt PSU?

If your just using the 3 displays outside of Surround or Eyefinity then I would suggest going with a 6950 or 6970 as you can do 3 monitors with a single card.If you are planning to use Surround or Eyefinity it will cost you a lot of money for a dual GPU setup to maintain good fps since the resolution is so big.

What games are you looking to play?
 
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inzone

inzone

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EVGA 02G-P3-1569-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win (Fermi) 2GB 512-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card $519.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130737

This is a dual 560Ti gpu video card that will run in SLI as a sibgle card solution and it requires a 700w psu with 50a on a 12v rail so if your 650w psu has a 50a 12v rail you can use your psu and only have to buy the video card . Then you should overclock your cpu so it is not a bottleneck and you will be good to go.
 
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l2uff

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Games.. the dual setup works perfectly for what I need it to do for work.




I believe it's an Antec, but I am not sure which model.. the sticker is facing the wrong way so it would require me to shutdown & take out the PSU to get the model -- I can update later when I get a chance if it's that important.



Yea that's what I was expecting... I think SLI 2x 550TI 2GB is about as much as I can afford unless I want to wait until next year... but I don't want to upgrade and the performance lacks. I don't need to play everything on Ultra, but if I am going to fork out money, I want it to be a significant upgrade and last for a while.





Right now I am playing Skyrim & SWTOR... going to pick up MW3 soon.
 
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purple stain

purple stain

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I would suggest going for a 6950 or 6970.That is the most powerful card you can get without going over budget and still be able to use 3 monitors.When you get more money you can upgrade to a bigger PSU and get another 6950 or 6970 for crossfire.

I would think with a 6970 running Eyefinity it's possible you could play Skyrim and MW3 on medium to high settings.Skyrim would be more demanding so don't expect a whole lot of performance settings from it.MW3 on the other hand does seem doable.

This bordline your budget but it's well worth it,imo.It's got a hefty factory O.C. and the heatsink is one of the best.

MSI 6970

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127581
 
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l2uff

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Shouldn't I just go 2 x 560ti 1GB at $210 each & a PSU a little over 100... if I was going up to 520? I feel like the 2in1 slot is overpaying to save space... and doesn't increase performance any more than SLI 2x 560ti. If I end up spending this much, might as well fork over the few extra bucks to get the PSU upgrade as well.

Unless I am missing something?
 
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l2uff

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Yes I have been pricing the 560ti as the 2GB version which puts the price out of my range.


I think the 6970 looks like the way to go, but I have no experience with their cards and know very little about them... I didn't know which models could handle 3 monitors w/only 1 card.
 
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purple stain

purple stain

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I believe every AMD card from the 6670 and up supports Eyefinity.

In the end if you choose to get another 6970 for crossfire it will be a lot more powerful than a GTX560ti SLI.
And for reference I was looking at some benchmarks and it seems that a GTX550ti SLI is about equal in performance to a single 6970.
 
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gmcizzle

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If you are running a 3 monitor gaming setup, you don't want to get anything less than a 6950 2gb or 560 ti 2gb. That extra VRAM under high resolutions is very much needed. I would also suggest going with a single 6950 2gb now, which will provide somewhat decent frames with 3 monitors, and getting a second 6950 later to get good frames. Getting anything less than these cards is not a good idea for your setup.
 
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