Are there any GTX 260 Tri-SLI Benchmarks?

kman79

Senior member
Sep 14, 2004
366
0
0
Going to be upgrading from my current rig, to an i7 build. I don't upgrade much, maybe once every two to three years.

I've decided on an SLI setup, and I like what I see with GTX 280 in SLI, but I was wondering if going with GTX 260 Tri-SLI setup be better than GTX 280 in SLI. This link here: http://www.guru3d.com/article/...e-performance-review/1 is the most comprehensive SLI benchmark I've been able to find, but they seemed to have left out the GTX-260 for tri-sli benchmarks,

I can spend 700.00 on a GTX-260 Tri-SLI setup

or

I can spend 870.00 on a GTX-280 SLI setup

The GTX-260 in Tri-SLI setup is cheaper, I can see the financial gain in that, but will it perform better than a GTX-280 SLI setup?

If anyone has any benchmarks or information to share with me with regards to running GTX-260 in Tri-SLI I would really appreciate it, thank you.
 

Hauk

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2001
2,808
0
0
I considered the same scenario but decided on a two card solution. Tri-Sli is scaling better now, especially on i7, but a two card solution will kick serious ass and scales better overall.

Other factors include PCI-E bandwidth, power, case space, sound card limitations, etc. Without the NF200 chipset, you'll be 16x 8x 8x limited. I chose the Rampage II Extreme for several reasons, a big one was 16x 16x 1x, which is a configurable bios option. I'm using the third PCI-E slot at 1x for my sound card. You'll have to select a mobo carefully if you want better than included sound; with most initial x58 mobo offerings, pci/pci-e slot placement was an afterthought.

I decided to grab two 260 216's and may step-up to 55nm 280's if price/performance looks good. I'll be posting pics and benchmarks later today of my build. In short, I recommend two cards.
 

Hauk

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2001
2,808
0
0
Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Look at this review: http://www.firingsquad.com/har..._gtx_260_black_review/

Then buy three of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150330

Now since those gtx260's perform the same as a gtx280, three of them in tri-sli will surely beat sli-ed gtx280's. If you could buy 4 of them and send me one, I'd be very gratefull :p

Those are nice cards! Free shipping this weekend too. I grabbed the evga's when they were on sale with free shipping. Have them clocked to 650/1401/2120. XFX has the mem clocked pretty high, but that high on mem oc isn't needed.

 

Hauk

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2001
2,808
0
0
Originally posted by: SteelSix
Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Look at this review: http://www.firingsquad.com/har..._gtx_260_black_review/

Then buy three of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150330

Now since those gtx260's perform the same as a gtx280, three of them in tri-sli will surely beat sli-ed gtx280's. If you could buy 4 of them and send me one, I'd be very gratefull :p

Those are nice cards! Free shipping this weekend too. I grabbed the evga's when they were on sale with free shipping. Have them clocked to 650/1401/2120. XFX has the mem clocked pretty high, but that high on mem oc isn't needed.

This works for now.. :)

Inside

Stealth mode

Through the door

no AA = 102.78avg 138.07max 87.92min

2x AA = 97.72avg 126.14max 81.96min

4x AA = 80.59avg 107.17max 67.09min

AI disabled. i7 920 @ 3.66, 260+ SLI @ 650/1401/2120. I'll post details later. One thing does jump out, the TRUE fan config. I had to mount on top due to interference with door fan. It's pulling not pushing. Does good though, 38c idle and 50ish load @1.27v

Just realized I quoted myself.. :confused: :laugh:




 

kman79

Senior member
Sep 14, 2004
366
0
0
My 2407 support 1920X1200, so I would like to run native if possible.

I appreciate the replies and the links. I am partial to EVGA, so I'll be looking at their superclocked video cards, if they clock as high as the XFX, it should be on par with the benchmarks I saw.

SteelSix: Those results look promising, thanks for posting them

Hmm....i may save a few bucks on this build after all, thanks again for the help
 

Hauk

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2001
2,808
0
0
Yea I'm loyal to EVGA, except for that brief encounter with a 4870 X2.

I've never had an EVGA vanilla card that wouldn't clock as high as their superclocks. And their Precision software makes it easier than ever. It was designed by Unwinder, the Rivatuner guy.

Whether you wait for 55nm or buy now, you're covered. And whether you buy two or three, you get big performance on x58. Damn now I'm tempted to grab a third. Look at these prices sir... you want some:

EVGA 260

EVGA 260+
 

Tempered81

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2007
6,374
1
81
I'd take the 260 tri-sli, or the 216 tri-sli setup.

3 gtx280's is expensive - unless it's no problem for you to afford.
 

nitromullet

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2004
9,031
36
91
Honestly, I'd take the two GTX 260s, and call it a day... You won't be hurting.

IMO, the best way to approach this is to save a bit now, still have a wicked fast rig, but leave yourself some cash to upgrade the video cards more frequently than every 3yrs. Your cash spent will be about the same, but you'll have a much better rig for the second half of your 3yr upgrade cycle.
 

Extelleron

Diamond Member
Dec 26, 2005
3,127
0
71
Originally posted by: nitromullet
Honestly, I'd take the two GTX 260s, and call it a day... You won't be hurting.

IMO, the best way to approach this is to save a bit now, still have a wicked fast rig, but leave yourself some cash to upgrade the video cards more frequently than every 3yrs. Your cash spent will be about the same, but you'll have a much better rig for the second half of your 3yr upgrade cycle.

I agree with this. There is no reason for Tri-SLI at this point unless you are looking for the ultimate benchmark scores or you are playing at 2560x1600.

I'm looking to get GTX 260-216 SLI for my Core i7 build, won't cost me much using eBay cashback. Unless of course live cashback goes up for BF...... then Tri-SLI is a possibility. :D

I think it's clear to say that X58 / Core i7 have completely changed the game as far as SLI is concerned...a few months ago the idea of Tri-SLI was unfathomable as it provided little performance gain and required you to go for a 780i/790i board. Now you can get great scaling with SLI / Tri-SLI on an Intel platform and some seriously powerful GPUs for good prices. nVidia was very smart allowing X58 boards to run SLI; GTX 260-216 SLI is now a competitor to the HD 4870 X2 for anyone going Core i7, and nVidia wins that battle most of time.

Of course with Tri-SLI especially you have to consider PSU as well..... say hello to $200+ PSU for 3-way SLI. A 1000W PSU is minimum in that case, especially with OCed, power sucking Core i7! :Q