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Graphics Card Upgrade: SLI GTX 460 1GB (256 Bit) --> ?

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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May 29, 2013 7:32:04 AM

Hello,

First I will start with my current specs:


  • Intel i7 930 (2.9 GHz)
  • 2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB (256 Bit) in SLI
  • Corsair HX750 Gold Certified Modular Power Supply (750W)
  • 12 GB Corsair DDR3 RAM [6 x 2GB Modules] (XMP 1600 Profile)
  • Gigabyte GS-X58A-UD3R Motherboard
  • Antec 900 Case (ver. 1.0) [With 1 additional 120mm fan on the side window for additional GPU cooling]
  • ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX CPU Air Cooler (with Arctic Silver TIM)
  • 1 TB Samsung Spinpoint & 2 TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
  • 1 96GB Kingston SSDNow V+100 SSD
  • LG Blu-ray Burner
  • 25" 1920x1080 I-INC Monitor


  • I am thinking about moving to a triple monitor 5760x1080 setup or a single 2560x1440 monitor (costs about the same); I have not yet decided which way I am going to go yet, because I have never personally used either setup and the one large monitor sounds great, but so does the immersion of a surround setup (Not sure how I would like the Bezels though). The one thing I do think is that I will probably need to upgrade my GPU setup to accommodate the higher resolutions.

    I use my computer for gaming and web browsing mostly. The games I like to play are Borderlands 2, Final Fantasy XIV 2.0 (Beta) and other FPS games like Battlefield and the like occasionally. I do not really do any video transcoding or GPGPU stuff where I need excellent compute performance from my GPU(s).

    I was thinking about going with some SLI GTX 650 TI BOOST 2GB cards since I can spend ~ $250 (on a great sale) - $300. According the the Best Graphics Card for the Money hierarchy chart, anything less than 3 tiers above your current GPU could end up being a side grade, and the GTX 650 TI BOOST 2GB just makes the cut at three tiers above.

    I have always been an NVIDIA guy and I have never had a problem; I could be persuaded to go the AMD route, but I am a little hesitant on the recent stuff I have read about the FCAT & Micro-stutter analysis and their less than superb driver support.

    I am hoping to get the community's opinion on what a good upgrade path for my system would be. I also am interested if anyone has an opinion on gaming in 5760 surround or 2560x1440.

    Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

    ~ Daveys93
  • More about : graphics card upgrade sli gtx 460 1gb 256 bit

    May 29, 2013 8:58:16 AM

    daveys93 said:
    Hello,

    First I will start with my current specs:


    • Intel i7 930 (2.9 GHz)
    • 2 x Gigabyte GTX 460 1GB (256 Bit) in SLI
    • Corsair HX750 Gold Certified Modular Power Supply (750W)
    • 12 GB Corsair DDR3 RAM [6 x 2GB Modules] (XMP 1600 Profile)
    • Gigabyte GS-X58A-UD3R Motherboard
    • Antec 900 Case (ver. 1.0) [With 1 additional 120mm fan on the side window for additional GPU cooling]
    • ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX CPU Air Cooler (with Arctic Silver TIM)
    • 1 TB Samsung Spinpoint & 2 TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
    • 1 96GB Kingston SSDNow V+100 SSD
    • LG Blu-ray Burner
    • 25" 1920x1080 I-INC Monitor


  • I am thinking about moving to a triple monitor 5760x1080 setup or a single 2560x1440 monitor (costs about the same); I have not yet decided which way I am going to go yet, because I have never personally used either setup and the one large monitor sounds great, but so does the immersion of a surround setup (Not sure how I would like the Bezels though). The one thing I do think is that I will probably need to upgrade my GPU setup to accommodate the higher resolutions.

    I use my computer for gaming and web browsing mostly. The games I like to play are Borderlands 2, Final Fantasy XIV 2.0 (Beta) and other FPS games like Battlefield and the like occasionally. I do not really do any video transcoding or GPGPU stuff where I need excellent compute performance from my GPU(s).

    I was thinking about going with some SLI GTX 650 TI BOOST 2GB cards since I can spend ~ $250 (on a great sale) - $300. According the the Best Graphics Card for the Money hierarchy chart, anything less than 3 tiers above your current GPU could end up being a side grade, and the GTX 650 TI BOOST 2GB just makes the cut at three tiers above.

    I have always been an NVIDIA guy and I have never had a problem; I could be persuaded to go the AMD route, but I am a little hesitant on the recent stuff I have read about the FCAT & Micro-stutter analysis and their less than superb driver support.

    I am hoping to get the community's opinion on what a good upgrade path for my system would be. I also am interested if anyone has an opinion on gaming in 5760 surround or 2560x1440.

    Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to hearing what everyone has to say.

    ~ Daveys93


  • Rather than a Dual Card setup, if you're looking to the future I would always start with a single card. You can pick up a good example of the GTX660Ti for $300, which would be a better place to start:
    (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...)

    If you can wait, I would seriously recommend waiting for the GTX7xx series to be fully released. Even if you can't find a card in that series to suit your needs, it'll have a big effect on the prices of the GTX6xx cards out at the moment. Going straight to dual 650's isn't a great idea, it limit's you to what you can do in the future.

    Hope this helps!
    May 29, 2013 6:07:44 PM

    Anybody else have an opinion?
    Related resources
    !