best dual video card setup at this moment is???

[dalearyous]

aight can we set aside sentimental value and look at the dual video card lineup. i have read everywhere from tomshardware to here looking for the best dual video card setup. also, rule out money being factor for now. im about to build new computer which will prolly have x2 4800 with 2 gigs of ram etc... and a pair of video cards. what would you recommend i go with, ati or nvidia?

ive boughten mostly ati products and i can't complain. i have read reviews about crossfire and sli and it seems that they both are almost the same performance wise. but i might be wrong.

what would u build?

 

[Mrvile]

Well, ATI's current dual X1800XT 512 is probably the most powerful period, but it requires a Crossfire card and good luck finding one of those. I'd probably go with dual 7800GTX's because it's much more convenient, and if you ever needed to you could sell one of them as a normal video card.

 

[dalearyous]

yeah i saw that i couldnt' find crossfire card for that one anywhere. the only thing that bugs me is that the x1800xt 512 non crossfire is bit cheaper than the 7800gtx. i guess i could buy one x1800xt 512 and hound the sites until i find crossfire one.

only other complaint for ati is the actual software/drivers. ive always gone with omega drivers for ati cards because they seem to usually perform much better. and from reading, software is what makes or breaks the dual video card setup so i lean more towards nvidia.

 

[Skott]

I'd choose the 7800GTXs as well. Easier to find. Even if the x1800XT 512 is more powerful nVidia wont let it stay that way for long. The leapfrogging between the two companies is about to begin again I'm guessing.

 

[TheRyuu]

7800GTX 512's in SLI is probably the fastest thing you can get (if you can find that).
THEN comes the X1800's in Crossfire <-I wouldn't even buy them anyway, even if they are technically second
THEN comes Regular 7800GTX's in SLI
THEN comes 7800GT's in SLI <-which I have, performs the same as my freinds GTX SLI setup if he dosn't OC. If he does then he take a very small lead.
(But mine were $300 cheaper for same performance!!!)

 

[Munky]

Do you mean the best setup possible, the best setup available, or the best setup for the money? The officially fastest cards are the 512mb gtx's, but good luck finding those for sale anywhere. The fastest you can actually buy are the dual x1800xt's, but the supply of crossfire boards is somewhat limited. The best setup pricewise is the dual 7800gt's. The gt is not much slower than a 256mb gtx, but each one costs $150 less, so the gtx is not worth the extra money.

 

[dalearyous]

thanks for posts guys. im going to sit back and wait a bit hopefully cards will become more available. my tax return won't come for few more weeks so i got some time. im pretty much going to go with x1800xts if they become available, otherwise 7800gtx. either way im sure they will exceed my expectations

 

[theMan]

dude, just wait a month for the new cards to come out. a single one of those will blow sli'd gtx's out of the water. also, the availability wont go up, it will go down since the new cards are coming. the gtx512 will probably never reapear.

 

[darXoul]

Originally posted by: wizboy11
THEN comes 7800GT's in SLI <-which I have, performs the same as my freinds GTX SLI setup if he dosn't OC. If he does then he take a very small lead.

What's your opinion about the noise they generate? Bearable?

 

[dalearyous]

yeah but the "just wait a month" is always applicable.

 

[CP5670]

Originally posted by: darXoul

Originally posted by: wizboy11
THEN comes 7800GT's in SLI <-which I have, performs the same as my freinds GTX SLI setup if he dosn't OC. If he does then he take a very small lead.

What's your opinion about the noise they generate? Bearable?

I'm not sure about the reference GT fans since the cards I have use GTX fans/heatsinks, but I keep the cards at a reduced 33% fan speed at all times and can barely hear them over the CPU fan at that level. At the stock 40-something speed they are considerably more audible, although it's more of an air rushing noise than a motor whine.

 

[beggerking]

Originally posted by: dalearyous
aight can we set aside sentimental value and look at the dual video card lineup. i have read everywhere from tomshardware to here looking for the best dual video card setup. also, rule out money being factor for now. im about to build new computer which will prolly have x2 4800 with 2 gigs of ram etc... and a pair of video cards. what would you recommend i go with, ati or nvidia?

ive boughten mostly ati products and i can't complain. i have read reviews about crossfire and sli and it seems that they both are almost the same performance wise. but i might be wrong.

what would u build?

Dual 7800 GTX 512mb Sli IS THE FASTEST setup you can get now(if money is not a problem). X1800XT CrossFire is the 2nd fastest.

but I would get SLI because it is more stable.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: beggerking

Originally posted by: dalearyous
aight can we set aside sentimental value and look at the dual video card lineup. i have read everywhere from tomshardware to here looking for the best dual video card setup. also, rule out money being factor for now. im about to build new computer which will prolly have x2 4800 with 2 gigs of ram etc... and a pair of video cards. what would you recommend i go with, ati or nvidia?

ive boughten mostly ati products and i can't complain. i have read reviews about crossfire and sli and it seems that they both are almost the same performance wise. but i might be wrong.

what would u build?

Dual 7800 GTX 512mb Sli IS THE FASTEST setup you can get now(if money is not a problem). X1800XT CrossFire is the 2nd fastest.

but I would get SLI because it is more stable.

That might be the problem, even with $2000 to blow lying around.

 

[beggerking]

Originally posted by: munky

Originally posted by: beggerking

Originally posted by: dalearyous
aight can we set aside sentimental value and look at the dual video card lineup. i have read everywhere from tomshardware to here looking for the best dual video card setup. also, rule out money being factor for now. im about to build new computer which will prolly have x2 4800 with 2 gigs of ram etc... and a pair of video cards. what would you recommend i go with, ati or nvidia?

ive boughten mostly ati products and i can't complain. i have read reviews about crossfire and sli and it seems that they both are almost the same performance wise. but i might be wrong.

what would u build?

Dual 7800 GTX 512mb Sli IS THE FASTEST setup you can get now(if money is not a problem). X1800XT CrossFire is the 2nd fastest.

but I would get SLI because it is more stable.

That might be the problem, even with $2000 to blow lying around.

They actually do have them at ebay, but its about $900 per card. so its gonna be a $2000 setup. but it will be the fastest money can buy. It will also be alot more stable than any crossfire setup. Crossfire is not yet mature enough to receive any recommandation as a dual GPU setup.

I would recommand 7800 GT SLI though.

 

[phantom404]

Get EVGAs 7800GTX KOS. Excellent Performance and plus EVGAs excellent warrenty along with their step up program. Will be easy to upgrade later on.