Replacing GTX275 with concerns over slot spacing

[en9gda]

My self-built machine is just over 3 years old and I'm looking to replace the GPU. I'd originally purchased a Palit GTX275 with the intention of buying a second card after approximately a year (and after I'd established I could actually get my new build to work) to run in parallel. During the build it became apparent that my motherboard slot spacing was probably not going to be sufficient for 2 Palit GTX275s. So I've ticked along for the last couple of years with no real problems. I feel the GTX 275 is now becoming the bottleneck so I've been contemplating getting the XFX HD7950 3gb. Obviously I'm a little concerned my current case/setup won't have the space.

Any help would be appreciated.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within 1 month.
BUDGET RANGE: Upto £250, but target £200
USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (FSX, BF, Shipsim, X-Plane), Surfing, Work - aiming for 1920x1080
CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: Palit GTX 275 with 650W Be Quiet Dark Power PRO BN073
OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: i7-920, GA-EX58-UD3R (rev. 1.6), 6GB, Stock cooling
CASE: Antec 900 II
LOCATION: UK BASED, often use scan.co.uk
PARTS PREFERENCES: Considering XFX HD 7950
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe - I've tried it in the past
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe - but slot spacing = biggest concern.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Could I get a cheap GTX275 and somehow fit it onto the GA-EX58

All help appreciated.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... the PassMark on your card is 1238 and is DirectX10... the PassMark for the HD 7950 is 4438... I think I would not consider getting another GTX 275 for any added performance here.

 

[siddharthmukul007]

instead of going for 2 gtx275 in sli....go for the hd7950.

it is way ahead of even 2 gtx275 s in sli

all the best

 

[bucknutty]

That case is pretty big you should be able to run 2 cards no problem.
I ran 2 GTX470s on an older Nvidia board that had them stacked. The cooler of the top card was only about 5mm away from the PCB of the lower card. The cards ran fine that way for over 2 years. The top card ran a little hotter but it never over heated. In fact I am still using those cards with my new i7. Now there is an extra slot for the top card to breath a little better.

In short a second card will work just fine, however a newer gpu is almost always better. More power and compatibility and lower electrical use.

Keep in mind SLI is cool but it only works if Nvidia makes an SLI profile for the game your playing.