One $600 monster card or 2 mid-range cards?

[dusty5678]

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a (or some) new gpu. I recently got rid of my to 6870's in crossfire, because I wasn't getting the performance I like. I was only getting about 35-40 FPS in Skyrim on High. On ultra, I was getting 25-35. These numbers don't cut it for me. I also noticed that one of the 6870's was running much hotter than the other, so I just decided to get rid of them. I'm looking to spend $500-600 on new card(s), but I want to know if it's better for me to buy one great AMD/ATI card, or two decent nvidia cards. I'm not really fond of CCC, but if that's the best route, I'll make do. As of right now, I run two 22" led's at 1920X1080 (3840x1080). In two weeks, I will be running three of them at 1080p. Eyefinity is obviously the more "refined" of the two competitor options, but I feel that Nvidia Surround could possibly catch up to eyefinity at some point soon. I have been looking at GTX 570's (SLI) or GTX 560ti 448's (SLI), as well as some random Radeon's. I seem to be confusing myself, and am looking for some help deciding/opinions.

My specs are as follows:

i5 2500k @ 4.2
Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3
Corsair Enthusiast 750w
60 SSD Boot Drive
2x 1tb WD Caviar (one black/one green)
CM Hyper 212 EVO
8GB G.Skill Ripjaws at stock speed
7 case fans
CM HAF 912

Thank you for any help you can provide!

 

[Guest]

GTX680! I used to have 5850's crossfired and im done with multi gpu setup. Sad thing is Xfire only works in full screen mode. I used to have 3 screens and currently running two screen. I need to mouse over so I only play in Full Windows mode.

Also get the best single card you can afford IMHO. and upgrade later. But u will need a better power supply if you SLI.

Or just go all nuts and get the GTX690.

Most people will tell you to get the GTX670 which is also best bang for buck for top end video card. =)

Edit: GTX5XX is older technology. You want the GTX6XX series

 

[dusty5678]

I ran 2 HD 6870's in crossfire with this psu. Why would I need a new psu for sli?

 

[Enroach]

Drving myself nuts as well, near as I can tell from all the research I've done your PSU should be adequate for 7850's or 7870's in xfire, for multiple displays from what I've read the multi card option seems better at this point. I'm still trying to decide what will work the best years from now on a single 1080p monitor setup the 670 is my gut instinct but the 7970's new price and overhead seems attractive. If you're going to go with a monster (or a mini monster 670) unless your case has great airflow I'd recommend a card that exhausts out the back. Hope your search is going better than mine

 

[Guest]

If you go with the GTX680 single card and SLI later. I would get a higher PS. 750watt is min. for 2 GTX680's.

"GeForce GTX 680 - On your average system the card requires you to have a 550 Watt power supply unit.
GeForce GTX 680 SLI - On your average system the cards require you to have a 750 Watt power supply unit as minimum.

There are many good PSUs out there, please do have a look at our many PSU reviews as we have loads of recommended PSUs for you to check out in there. What would happen if your PSU can't cope with the load:

bad 3D performance
crashing games
spontaneous reset or imminent shutdown of the PC
freezing during gameplay
PSU overload can cause it to break down"

I personally like to have more then needed. But thats just me. I would get at least a 850w.

Source: http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-680-sli-review/4

But again, most people will advise you to get the GTX670 =)

670 Power consumption specs:

Here is Guru3D's power supply recommendation:

"GeForce GTX 670 - On your average system the card requires you to have a 500~550 Watt power supply unit.
GeForce GTX 670 2x SLI - On your average system the cards require you to have a 700 Watt power supply unit as minimum.
GeForce GTX 670 3x SLI - On your average system the cards require you to have a 850 Watt power supply unit as minimum."

Source: http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-670-2-and-3way-sli-review/4

I would still get one monster card and get the GTX680 even thought most people would not. Its all personal perference. If your playing demanding and future games a SLI is a must to maint decent FPS in tri montior setup. If you only play on 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 one card will last you a while.



Happy Hunting!