Hey looking to upgrade my GPU (some Q's)

[Hohum]

Current Setup:
Intel i7 920
gtx 260
6gb Ram

Lil old so I wanted to upgrade to something I can hang on to for a few yrs. Budget is like $400.

Q's:
1. Should I invest in the cards now or wait till next gen release. Dunno when that is btw since Nvidia is hush hush and AMD is a lil vague.

2. Which cards are best for the money I'ma bout to throw out. I don't care which company I end up going w/ either Nvidia or AMD.

3. Also wouldn't mind entertaining the idea of crossfire/sli if the price is right.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Spjut]

I would wait for Nvidia/AMD to release their new series

GTX 260 may only support DX10, but it's still a decent card

 

[Hohum]

Was thinking that, but I do wanna enjoy Skyrim on my Pc this yr

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Wait for next gen. It'll be here soon

 

[1ManArmY]

I just ordered this last Friday http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...VGA-_-14130595, also grabbed some more memory since it was so cheap

 

[happy medium]

You can grab a used gtx260 for about 60/70$ for some sli action,I'd go that route and hold out till early next year when all the new Gpu's are released.
2 gtx260 's in sli still pack quite a punch. They are about equal to a 5870/gtx570

I see Evga has some 90 day warraty B stock gtx260's for $80.
http://www.evga.com/products/prodlist.asp?switch=20

 

[Spikesoldier]

if you need to buy now, 6950 or 570 are good deals as far as price for performance goes.

another option is what happy suggested, grabbing another 260 for cheap, or to just wait it out completely and patiently wait for the next gen cards.

one of my friends has that exact same setup, i7 920, 6gb ram, and 260 SLI.

if you do go sli 260s, id advise to take note of which version you have (i think there were three different versions of the 260) and match what you currently have if you decide to SLI.

 

[Hohum]

Hrmm think i got the core 216 I believe

 

[bryanW1995]

Before going sli you need to make sure that your cpu will handle it.

Also, what resolution do you use for gaming?

 

[Hohum]

Before going sli you need to make sure that your cpu will handle it.

Also, what resolution do you use for gaming?

Hrmm the i7 920 can't handle SLI?

Resolution depends on game honestly. I play a lot of older games, and prolly the newest game I have is bad company 2. I dunno what it runs at honestly.....its been awhile since i loaded it up.

Problem i've run into is you can't find a gtx 260 core 216 EVGA for a decent price. Its pathetic what the ebay is wanting for it.

 

[bryanW1995]

Sorry, I meant psu, not cpu.

I have a gtx 260 core 216 that I'm not using right now. PM me if you're interested. But before you decide if you want another one we still need to determine if your psu can even handle a 2nd gtx 260.

 

[Hohum]

Sorry, I meant psu, not cpu.

I have a gtx 260 core 216 that I'm not using right now. PM me if you're interested. But before you decide if you want another one we still need to determine if your psu can even handle a 2nd gtx 260.

Was about to post my full specs so here they are:
i7 920

GigaByte GA-EX58-UD4P Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Ultra Durable(TM)3 Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA,Dual GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394a,&7.1Audio

PSU is 800w quad SLI ready

CoolerMaster V8 Gaming CPU Cooling Fan

Default case fans tho (wondering if i should upgrade them)

NVIDIA GeForce GTX260 896MB 16X PCI Express EVGA black + orange one

 

[VirtualLarry]

PSU is 800w quad SLI ready

Yes, but what brand/model? Quality of PSUs varies widely, as does the accuracy of the specs.

 

[Spikesoldier]

Hrmm the i7 920 can't handle SLI?

Resolution depends on game honestly. I play a lot of older games, and prolly the newest game I have is bad company 2. I dunno what it runs at honestly.....its been awhile since i loaded it up.

Problem i've run into is you can't find a gtx 260 core 216 EVGA for a decent price. Its pathetic what the ebay is wanting for it.

if ebay is inflated i would either try the for sale/trade forums here, or maybe just hang onto your money and ride out the single 260 until the next gen cards come out.

i wish i had taken this route last time when the 5xxx series came out, i caved and bought a 4890 maybe six weeks before 5xxx series release.

i could have picked up a 5850 instead for just a little more had i waited, and as a result would have had much better performance.

 

[dma0991]

PSU is 800w quad SLI ready

800W would be barely enough to support a GTX580 dual SLI. Not too sure about a GTX260 quad SLI but I suppose it is unlikely as well. Most probably a dual SLI wouldn't be an issue at all.

 

[bryanW1995]

As stated, however, there are enormous differences between psu's. Those things really are the wild wild west. My HX 520 puts out 40a and is rated at 50c, I've had it running seti 24/7 for 4 years now without a hiccup. For quite a bit of that time it even ran 2 gpu + 4 cpu WU's with a 27-28c ambient. Many supposedly 800watt quad sli psu's would fold under a lesser load, so it's a useful thing to know.

@dma0991: your statement makes no sense without knowing the brand/make/specs of the "800w" psu. A very good 800w psu would have no issues with dual gtx 260's or gtx 580's, while a very bad one might be getting close to its true limit as configured.

 

[Hohum]

XF800S Performance ATX 2.0 Power

I think thats the PSU gonna have to prolly open it tho

 

[happy medium]

XF800S Performance ATX 2.0 Power

I think thats the PSU gonna have to prolly open it tho

I think this is your psu.

If so, it will be fine for 2 gtx260's.

 

[ch33kym0use]

Best time to upgrades about the start of new graphics card series. I'd say get something temporary until then.

 

[Hohum]

Yeah prolly will wait until the new cards come out. Only problem tho is they tend to charge an arm + leg for the cards that you want.

We'll see tho.

 

[-Slacker-]

The hd 6970 and gtx 570 are both about twice as fast as your current card, so that's definitely a good performance boost but, you know ...$300... If you feel comfortable spending that much on a second generation 40nm video card that brought so little improvement over the last gen for that kind of money, then either will do. Get whichever you find cheaper.

Personally, I'd wait.