Get 2nd gtx480, 2 gtx 580s, or new rig altogether

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randomhandle

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Dec 17, 2011
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I'm somewhat of a newb enthusiast and I would like some advice on upgrading my videocard

Hurricane Azza 2000 (got this rig from cyberpower)
Came with an Asetek lclc probably 120 nm
Not sure of PSU model (came from cyberpower) but it's 800 watts
Gigabyte x58a-ud3r
i7 960 (just recently learned how to overclock, currently running at 3.8)
GeForce GTX 480
Corsair CM3x2g16009nx total of 12 gigabytes
windows 7 home premium
if anything else needs to be on here let me know

My goal is to get a 30 inch monitor and run games at 2560x1600 at highest settings

Before i get the monitor i want to make sure that my pc is beefy enough for the highest settings, and obviously my current setup is not going to cut it. So I was wondering if I get a 2nd 480 will that be enough for what I want? And if so, how long will it be before I need to get a new rig? Will the 2nd 480 just end up being a waste of money?

Should I just go for 2 580s? I really want a 580 in my system but if 2 480s will cut it I'm willing to save the money of course. will my system even suupport 2 580s?

Should I just give this rig to my wife and just get a new sandy bridge rig? or should i wait for ivy bridge? how much longer will the i7 960 be relevant for?

another question i have is about air coolers. my lclc kind of sucks and i was thinking about getting the prolimatech armageddon so i can get higher clock speeds. what are your opinions about the prolimatech?

how do you cool gpus?

lol, sorry about the rapid fire questions, but i will appreciate any responses. thanks in advance
 

monsta

Splendid
Stick to you current rig and just overclock what you can.
Its not really worth going up one generation unless you have bought a lower end card.
The 480 is a great card and will perform well , I would wait for the new generation of cards that are coming out so you can have a good jump in performance.
 

randomhandle

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Dec 17, 2011
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18,510
Thanks for the replies

So, I'll be getting a second 480, @recon do you know if my motherboard can support a second 480 AND that cooler you gave me the link too? Will I need 2 of those coolers for both gpus?
 

randomhandle

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Dec 17, 2011
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18,510
Should run great at that res.
Good luck ;)

thanks recon

Can i just ask 2 more questions?

i realize now that finding a new 480 will not be easy, what do you think the chances of me finding one are? (without paying 900 dollars. i see some ridiculous prices out there, why? just cause it's discontinued?)

i have an evga version of the 480 with 1.5 gb, how similar does the second card have to be to run sli?

why doesn't the test button work on evga precision (ok that's 3 questions and yours probably is not evga so you might not know what i'm talking about)

thanks again, you've been very helpful
 

randomhandle

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Dec 17, 2011
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18,510
sorry, you've been so helpful that i got lazy. i googled my questions and as i understand it i can mix and match different manufacturers as long as the memory is the same. i went ahead and bought the galaxy.

i hope you don't mind if i have some questions about setting up the sli when i receive the card.
 
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