Need help deciding on a Crossfire setup

[Woodisjericho]

Greetings,
I have a Gigabyte GA-1975X mobo that I'd like to setup with dual graphics cards. I've done a lot of reading and I would like to know what cards would give me the best results. Right now I'm looking at two Sapphire 2600XT cards (the 2900XT's are 300 a piece right now). Would I benefit stepping up to the 3800 series or am I limited by my boards capabilities? I read that something like the 3870's would be limited in a setup such as mine (and they may not work at all). I'm also looking to upgrade the CPU to the 965 Extreme Edition as well. I'm running XP Pro right now with 2 gigs of ram, I plan to upgrade to Vista 64bit and add another 2 gig's down the road. I'd just like to tweak what I already have without building a whole new system. Thanks in advance.

 

[biostud]

don't get two slow cards for CF, one fast is a way better solution. Get a single HD 4850 and be happy.

 

[Woodisjericho]

Thanks for the advice. So a single fast card is still best for me right now, I thought as much. Now I don't have to worry about the extra heat or if I have a big enough power supply. My only other question is would I be able to throw another 4850 in later for crossfire (if needed)?

 

[Gikaseixas]

what cpu, PSU are you running?

having two new gen cards running on CF mode on that mb might not be the best idea.

 

[dakels]

Why would you get a 965 EE? Wouldn't that cost more then getting a more modern MB and CPU?

I'd also recommend a 4850. Crossfire on your mobo would go to 8x PCIe I think, I'm not sure how much your processor/bus/memory will bottleneck that though. I would think a single 4850 is the best solution, or a 4870 which might start to push the boundaries of your setup.

 

[Woodisjericho]

Right now I'm running a Pentium D940, and an Antec Neo550 PSU. I want to throw in the 965EE because I have a perfectly good system now, and I don't want more junk lying around. The coolers on this board look cool through the case window. It's settled then, I'll just do one 4870 or 4850 and scratch the crossfire.

I only wanted to explore the idea of dual graphics cards but my hardware is limited. It was just something I wanted to do for coolness factor. I only plan on playing Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 when they come out. I have little interest in PC gaming otherwise. Thanks everyone.