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Dilema

C

ColonCowboy

Junior Member
So, new poster obviously but I need some real help...no fanboi, just fact.

I've upgraded everything except the vid cards but with Diablo 3 looming, Modern Warefare 2, Wolfenstein I'm thinking I have to make the move soon.

Here's the skinny:

Motherboard: EVGA x58 (bought for sli or crossfire support, thinking expandablility)
CPU: Core i7 920 OC -> 3.2
RAM: 6GB ddr3 1066 dominator
HDD: blah blah blah, lots (thinking SSD but not until it's better, may get a veloci for when win7 comes out Oct 22)

Here's the issue:
Vid cards: 2 x 8800GTX 768 in SLI

The tech is obviously about 3 gens old but would I be any farther ahead with the likes of a single GTX 260/275 or a 4890?

All the benchmarks I see for comparison only show a single 8800 GTX against all of these newer heavy hitters, no benchies for older SLI's vs new gen cards. Since it's known that 2 vid cards don't mean double performance I'm a little stuck.

Any information that you fine folks may have will help make up my mind on the upgrade path. (ie. is there any previous 8800GTX SLI users here that have upgraded?)

Thanks a ton!

CC
 
Realistically speaking, you're only about 1 generation behind (each of those 8800s is pretty close to a GTS250's level of performance). I'd probably just wait until a game came out where you wanted more performance - if your current setup can handle everything you play, why bother upgrading? Odds are your 8800s will handle all 3 of the games you listed, though only time will tell. Though I guess you could reduce power consumption, not to mention the resale value of your 8800s will definitely decrease.

What resolution do you play at? What's your budget? My first recommendation would be a 4890, since they seem to be cheaper than the 275s. Two of 'em in Crossfire if your budget allows for it (though that might be overkill depending on your resolution and the games you play).
 
Hey,

Thanks for the response.

I play at 1920 and I think a key driver for me is not necessarily power consumption but heat in the box (closely related obviously). These ovens run at 75C idle and can hit close to 100C on a good gaming session. I have never had hangs or freezes or any issues for that matter and maybe the apps I'm using aren't reporting properly but that seems high to me even if it's 10 % off.

The budget's not a big issue really and I think I can get 2 4890's for the price I paid for one of these beasts (bought them both when they first came out ~$750 each).

You make a smart point, why bother upgrading until the games come out and I see what's going to happen. Sometimes my brain just tells me it's time to upgrade...something...much to my wife's dismay 🙂

Thanks for the post.

CC
 
I would also recommend waiting for the next gen jump on the win7/dx11 train and get a solid performance boost (at the price point) to boot.
 
I just dug up the old receipt and I bought these cards in December 2006. That's almost 3 years old 😱

I think it might be time after all. NCIX has the Asus 4890 for around $250.

I assume that's a pretty good card and I can get two for the same price as a 295 GTX.
 
Rule of thumb I follow is to never buy the hardware before the software comes out. The next gen cards will be out before those games you listed show up and you will be kicking yourself for not waiting when they do since you're not really hurting for performance right now.
 
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