Just bought a gtx 480... need advice.

[Rakewell]

I'm swapping out my gtx 280s in SLI for this beast, a EVGA superclocked gtx 480, with the intention of eventually adding a second card for SLI.

I have two questions:

1.) Will I notice much difference in performance between the two setups? Googling has brought me varied benchmarks and results.

2.) In games with Physx, will I notice much of a difference if I use one of the old 280s?

Anyone had/have this setup, and can advise?

Cheers mates.

 

[happy medium]

I believe a gtx 480 is about 20 percent slower then gtx 280's in sli.
You probrobly won't actually see a difference unless your benchmarking.

Adding a gtx 280 for physx will improve your framerates 20/30 percent depending on the game.

I suggest you download the Mafia 2 demo and try it for yourself.

 

[ramj70]

I have a 480 and I when I play Batman AA with the physx settings set to high it will cause the game to slow down some.

 

[Grooveriding]

I'm swapping out my gtx 280s in SLI for this beast, a EVGA superclocked gtx 480, with the intention of eventually adding a second card for SLI.

I have two questions:

1.) Will I notice much difference in performance between the two setups? Googling has brought me varied benchmarks and results.

2.) In games with Physx, will I notice much of a difference if I use one of the old 280s?

Anyone had/have this setup, and can advise?

Cheers mates.

I had 285 SLI, I did not go directly to 480 SLI though, went from the 285s to 5870s then 480s.

Two 480s is definitely a good chunk faster than two 285s. I can't speak to the comparison of a single 480 to two 280s, in some situations it will be as fast, in others it will be slower.

If you use the 280 for physx it will make two games perform better, batman aa and mafia 2.

A dedicated physx card is generally a waste of money, but seeing as you already own them, might as well. Your best bet might be to sell both of them or use them in another machine and just get the second 480

That said, 480 SLI is basically overkill for resolutions up to 1920x1200, if you plan to use them for 2560x1600 or with 3 monitors, then it is worthwhile.

 

[Rakewell]

I had 285 SLI, I did not go directly to 480 SLI though, went from the 285s to 5870s then 480s.

Two 480s is definitely a good chunk faster than two 285s. I can't speak to the comparison of a single 480 to two 280s, in some situations it will be as fast, in others it will be slower.

If you use the 280 for physx it will make two games perform better, batman aa and mafia 2.

A dedicated physx card is generally a waste of money, but seeing as you already own them, might as well. Your best bet might be to sell both of them or use them in another machine and just get the second 480

That said, 480 SLI is basically overkill for resolutions up to 1920x1200, if you plan to use them for 2560x1600 or with 3 monitors, then it is worthwhile.

Hmmm.... my resolution is 1920x1200... You think two would be overkill?

 

[Grooveriding]

Hmmm.... my resolution is 1920x1200... You think two would be overkill?

I do, I'm sure some people would have different opinions though. You can create situations at 1920x1200 where it won't be enough. If you turn on the AA high enough, use super-sampling.

Try with a single 480, play as per normal, if you find a situation or setting where you find it's not enough, then get another.

I would test the waters first though, make sure you feel you need a second one. Seeing as you are coming from 280 SLI, you may very well want a second. Did you find 280 SLI didn't have enough power at times ? If so, you'll probably want another one. Enjoy!

 

[Rakewell]

I do, I'm sure some people would have different opinions though. You can create situations at 1920x1200 where it won't be enough. If you turn on the AA high enough, use super-sampling.

Try with a single 480, play as per normal, if you find a situation or setting where you find it's not enough, then get another.

I would test the waters first though, make sure you feel you need a second one. Seeing as you are coming from 280 SLI, you may very well want a second. Did you find 280 SLI didn't have enough power at times ? If so, you'll probably want another one. Enjoy!

Lately, it seems, there's been some slowdown here and there in new games, and a fresh install hasn't helped.

(I'm running 920 @3.6 + 6 GB RAM + 120gb Super Talent SSD + Win 7)

Thanks for your help mate. :thumbsup:

 

[borisvodofsky]

I had 285 SLI, I did not go directly to 480 SLI though, went from the 285s to 5870s then 480s.

Two 480s is definitely a good chunk faster than two 285s. I can't speak to the comparison of a single 480 to two 280s, in some situations it will be as fast, in others it will be slower.

If you use the 280 for physx it will make two games perform better, batman aa and mafia 2.

A dedicated physx card is generally a waste of money, but seeing as you already own them, might as well. Your best bet might be to sell both of them or use them in another machine and just get the second 480

That said, 480 SLI is basically overkill for resolutions up to 1920x1200, if you plan to use them for 2560x1600 or with 3 monitors, then it is worthwhile.

LOL, do you own a 30" monitor? I only have 1, and gtx480 is a joke.. at that resolution, you get 45 dips all over the place. SLI is only slightly better, but introduces numerous other problems..

30" gamers have yet to get a card that can DO IT... I suppose if you count Crossfire Ares.. but that's just a crazy waste of money..

 

[MJinZ]

I'm swapping out my gtx 280s in SLI for this beast, a EVGA superclocked gtx 480, with the intention of eventually adding a second card for SLI.

I have two questions:

1.) Will I notice much difference in performance between the two setups? Googling has brought me varied benchmarks and results.

2.) In games with Physx, will I notice much of a difference if I use one of the old 280s?

Anyone had/have this setup, and can advise?

Cheers mates.

2) No

1) Yes

 

[Rakewell]

2) No

1) Yes

Sorry to be anal,

But do you mean this:

1.) Will I notice much difference in performance between the two setups? Googling has brought me varied benchmarks and results. YES

2.) In games with Physx, will I notice much of a difference if I use one of the old 280s? NO

or this?

1.) Will I notice much difference in performance between the two setups? Googling has brought me varied benchmarks and results. NO

2.) In games with Physx, will I notice much of a difference if I use one of the old 280s? YES

 

[Grooveriding]

LOL, do you own a 30" monitor? I only have 1, and gtx480 is a joke.. at that resolution, you get 45 dips all over the place. SLI is only slightly better, but introduces numerous other problems..

30" gamers have yet to get a card that can DO IT... I suppose if you count Crossfire Ares.. but that's just a crazy waste of money..

I play on a 30" monitor, and use 480 SLI, I can play every game at its highest settings with AA. Like I said, 480 SLI is generally only worth it for high resolutions.

What's so funny ?

 

[MJinZ]

1.) Will I notice much difference in performance between the two setups? Googling has brought me varied benchmarks and results. NO

2.) In games with Physx, will I notice much of a difference if I use one of the old 280s? YES

^^
I meant

1) No

2) Yes

I don't know why I wrote them backwards lol.

 

[Rakewell]

^^
I meant

1) No

2) Yes

I don't know why I wrote them backwards lol.

LOL

Got it. Thanks.

So, if you were in my shoes with a new gtx 480 and had two 280s spare, would you sell them to put towards another 480, or use one for physx?

 

[MJinZ]

LOL

Got it. Thanks.

So, if you were in my shoes with a new gtx 480 and had two 280s spare, would you sell them to put towards another 480, or use one for physx?

PhysX is useless unless you run a game with hardware PhysX.

You should sell both and get another 480 and it would still probably run better PhysX in SLI.