SLI between GT220/___?/Upgrading GT 220, 125 pounds (~$200) budget

quetzalkoatl

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Nov 16, 2012
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Hi, I'm upgrading my GT220, and I have a budget of approximately 125 quid.

I would like a new card to run WoW at higher settings. I currently run it at 1680x1050 on "good" settings with no anti-aliasing. I would like to run it at "ultra" settings with anti-aliasing, if possible. I don't really play any other games, I've just never been able to run it as well as I would like. I ran GPU-Z while playing and saw my GPU at max usage, but the memory usage only 0.4/1GB, but I don't know the significance of this. My CPU would be around 20-40%.

My other system specs are intel Q6600 quad core cpu, 4GB of 1066MHz RAM, and an ASUS P5n32-e SLI mobo. I have a 400W PSU supply as well, which seems fine for my GT220 and everything else (I also have a Radeon X300 in there as well for a second monitor, the reason is wow seems to run better when the second monitor is running off a second card).

I only wish to purchase an Nvidia card as well, which leads me to my next question: is it possible to link the GT220 and a higher end card with SLI together? Or something like that?

A big plus for a quiet card as well, or at least something with a fan that makes a nice, low frequency hummm instead of the high frequency whirrrrr, but this is a minor point.

I'm in the UK, I have no preferred retailer, but it would nice to pick it up at PC world this weekend!

Thanks for any help!
 
I do NOT think you would be well advised to try sli for multiple reasons.

1. sli with low end cards can produce microstuttering, an anoying effect.
Read about it here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

2. Assuming two disparate cards will work at all, they must operate at the lowest common denominator of specs.

I suggest you sell the other cards and buy the strongest card your budget and psu will support.
For Nvidia, a GTX650 is about as strong as a 400w psu will support.
For AMD, it is a 7750, or possibly a 7770.

With a decent graphics card, adding a second non gaming monitor should not have any meaningful impact on performance.
The newer 28nm based cards(GTX6xx and 7xxx) take less power and will be quieter.
 

quetzalkoatl

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Nov 16, 2012
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I won't buy from newegg, they don't deliver to the UK. I'm hoping to get it ASAP really!

Is there a big difference between GTX 650/650Ti?
 

quetzalkoatl

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Nov 16, 2012
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Ah okay, thanks. Maybe I'll go for the 650 Ti then? I guess the last question is which brand to choose from? There's ASUS, MSI, EVGA.... it's hard to figure out what's the difference between all those except for the price?
 

_kardon_

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Sep 19, 2012
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There are 3 types of cards:
1) completely built by Nvidia, all that ASUS, MSI, EVGA.... do is slap their stickers on them, put them in their own boxes and put their warranty on them. (also may change voltages and clock speeds)

2)Same as above except ASUS, MSI, EVGA.... put their own custom cooler on it and overclock it.

3)ASUS, MSI, EVGA.... build/modify the pcb to further change the card usually further change the power management on the card to increase clock speeds even further.

With those three things in mind I'm not sure if anyone has built a custom pcb for the 650ti. So most likely you are looking at option one and two. Option 1 are usually cheaper but are louder and hotter. Option 2 you usually pay a little more and get a better cooler/higher clocked card. Also look at the card's warranty when you pick one out since different companies will offer different warranties.
 

bjaminnyc

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Jun 17, 2011
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I think the previous posters have suggested nice cards for your budget. However, you may be limited by your power supply. Even if you have a high quality supply a 650ti draws 280 watts & if I remember correctly your processor under load is over 100 watts.

http://www.techspot.com/review/583-nvidia-geforce-gtx-650-ti/page13.html

Therefore, you may need to consider a power supply purchase as well or go with a vid card that's a bit less power hungry. Possibly the HD7770
 

quetzalkoatl

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Nov 16, 2012
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Okay, thanks so much for the info, very helpful. Would the GTX 650 (non Ti) draw a bit less power? If not, could you recommend a substitute Nvidia card? Hoping not to have to buy a new PSU as well... it will start adding up!
 


Total cobblers! :pfff:
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-650ti/specifications
 


Here is a handy list of psu requirements for graphics cards.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

If your psu is a quality unit, and has a 6 pin aux pci-e power connector, they a GTX650, or possibly even a GTX650ti should work.
Exactly what brand/model psu do you have?

Look for the amps available on the +12v rails since that is the better metric than wattage.
 

quetzalkoatl

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Nov 16, 2012
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Thanks again everyone for all the help. I think I will got for GTX 650 Ti.

I do have one last concern though-- my motherboard has a PCIEx16 v1.1 slot (as far as I know). Would having a 1.1 slot versus a 3.0 slot be a -significant- performance decrease such that I should just buy a weaker card so the slot isn't the bottleneck?

Thanks!