Add SLI 9800 GTX or upgrade

[jlfirehawk]

My system sits as follows Q9400 8gm 1333 ram, two intel 80 gb ssd raid 0 boot drive and 2 velociraptors raid 0 second drive set and 1tb raid 0 3rd drive set for space on a EVGA 790i board. Would I be better off since microcenter has matching cards to upgrade to either 2x or 3x sli with the same 9800 GTX board for 129 a piece or go to a 5xxxx or wait. I have been debating dropping this board since I have the right memory to upgrade to a i7 and new board at some point as well. I am just not sure where to head to as far as video with all the changes I know I will not be dropping 500 + on a video card when the new nvidia boards come out though.

 

[lifeblood]

It is my understanding that SLI has more bugs than single card solutions, but somebody with SLI is a better source of info on that than I.

I hope nVidia comes out with some new mid-range cards soon. Like you, I have no intention on dropping $500 on a new high-end video card.

 

[kashwashwa]

My system sits as follows Q9400 8gm 1333 ram, two intel 80 gb ssd raid 0 boot drive and 2 velociraptors raid 0 second drive set and 1tb raid 0 3rd drive set for space on a EVGA 790i board. Would I be better off since microcenter has matching cards to upgrade to either 2x or 3x sli with the same 9800 GTX board for 129 a piece or go to a 5xxxx or wait. I have been debating dropping this board since I have the right memory to upgrade to a i7 and new board at some point as well. I am just not sure where to head to as far as video with all the changes I know I will not be dropping 500 + on a video card when the new nvidia boards come out though.

I'm wondering the exact same thing... I have a 9800GTX, and want more speed.

Primarily in Flight Sim X, GTA IV, Crysis, ARMA 2 and Bad Company 2. I think GTA & FSX are more CPU bound, but I imagine a better GPU would make a difference.

 

[Borealis7]

you have twin SSDs as a boot drive and you keep a 9800GTX as your VGA card?? dude! drop it like its hot and get yourself a 5970!

 

[jtisgeek]

You will see a lot more from a video upgrade than you would a I7 game wise.

Now on what you do video wise I think your better off selling the 9800gtx and picking up a 5850 or even 2 5770's. Or hold out for the nvidia cards to get cheaper.

 

[Insomniator]

I've seen used 9800GTX's as low as 60 or 70 dollars on these boards which would be worth it but I don't think I'd buy a new one for 130+tax just for SLI.

These are 512MB cards right? Depending on the resolution thats a pretty limiting factor because even if the two gtx's have the power to increase the detail... they won't have the memory for it..

 

[jlfirehawk]

I am running two new Dell 27" IPS panel lcds U2711 which are running 2560x1440, so I try and run mostly business apps but game every now and then.

 

[shaynoa]

this weekend im getting a Sapphire ATI 5970 to replace 2 nvidia GTX9800+ 1gb RAM so i can run trainz sim 2010 with a very big map as it is lagging

MOBO XFX x58i 3 way sli or ati, CPU I7 930 2.8 MHZ 1366, RAM coirsar 12gig DDR3 1600, ANTEC 1200 case, PSU 1500 watt Silverstone, 24 in lcd skreen asus , 7 hardrives ,1 dvd burner

 

[happy medium]

Tough it out a little till April and see if any price drops happen.
Sell the 9800 gtx and buy the best card you can afford. 5850/gtx470

 

[tviceman]

Tough it out a little till April and see if any price drops happen.
Sell the 9800 gtx and buy the best card you can afford. 5850/gtx470

I think this is the best advice.

 

[vj8usa]

Yep, not worth it to go SLI. At that resolution, lack of VRAM will choke you (assuming it's a 512MB 9800GTX).

 

[jlfirehawk]

Thanks everyone I think the wait it out is probably the best thing to do right now given the certain flux in that ati is the only one with a good product right now and I am not doing anything to warrant a change right this moment besides the upgrade itch.

 

[Headfoot]

If its a 512mb version then dump it. If its a 1gb version and if you can find another 1gb version used for $60, do that until the prices drop on 4xx or 58xx near the end of the summer then move into those.

 

[jlfirehawk]

I was at Microcenter and had been watching and finally today they got some 5870's in (3 of them one visiontek and 2 diamond) I wasnt sure if the brand mattered so I picked up a Visionteck 5870 I was suprised to see that this thing was still a 1/4 of inch longer than my 9800gtx. Im playing with the settings so far but thing runs a lot quieter than my 9800 did as well. For 399 for their 5870s I didnt think it was too bad.

 

[Attic]

Thats the same choice I would have made. The 5870 is a solid fit for your setup and a monsterous upgrade from the 9800. Nice to hear it's quieter as well.