POLL - What is your "No Limits" GPU platform?

[Hauk]

So using conventional hardware available now, what is your ultimate GPU platform? If other please explain. Post if u like.. tell us what you'd build if there were no limits..

For fun only, no trainwrecks please.

Edit: Added 4890 X2 4MB Quadfire and GTX 275 1792MB Tri-SLI (pending releases)

 

[Tempered81]

285 tri sli for me.

edit: 4890x2 4gb quadfire wasn't available as an option when i voted.

 

[happy medium]

NO brainer tri sli 285gtx's

 

[TC91]

Dual GTX285s for me, need room for other pci/pci-e cards too.

 

[lopri]

Single GTX 285 or single HD 4890. (2GB variants for hig-res, if they ever show up)

This comes from someone who's gone through 4 generations of SLI (6800, 7800, 7900, 8800)
There are situations where one can actually appreciate SLI, but those are exceptions rather than norms, IMO.

Jared: You mentioned in the other thread that SLI is different in X58 - Can you give a little more detail on that? X58 and NF200 are very similar in nature (PCIe switch) and X58 is pretty buggy in its current state. New stepping (.pdf) X58 is just released to board manufacturers along with new BIOS codes. By no means I'm saying NF200 is any better, but when it comes strictly to PCIe performance, the two shouldn't be too different. (Though I could imagine NF200 consuming more CPU cycles than X58) In general, I think SLI performance is largely dependent on drivers more than anything else.

It is possible that IMC-quickpath subsystem shows its strength under multi-GPU scenario, but according to the benchmarks I've seen so far gaming isn't where Nehalem stretches its legs as long as it does in other areas. And you also said CrossFire is no different on X58 than on X48/P45?

So it got me curious if SLI experience is really better on X58, and if so why/how. Actual user experiences often differ from reviews, and that's why I'm asking.

 

[n7]

No microstuttering, multi-display issues, broken scaling, worse minimum fps, or other multi-GPU crap for me thanx.

I'd echo lopri & say GTX 285 or possibly 4890.

So in short, as i already have a GTX 280...there's nothing i'd presently upgrade to.

 

[Andrew1990]

Tri Sli 285s would be nice, but my single 285 plays anything I throw at it and my board only supports 2 wat SLI.

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: n7
No microstuttering, multi-display issues, broken scaling, worse minimum fps, or other multi-GPU crap for me thanx.

I'd echo lopri & say GTX 285 or possibly 4890.

So in short, as i already have a GTX 280...there's nothing i'd presently upgrade to.

I think sli scaling has come a long way.
Tri 285's seem to scale ok with the right cpu?

http://www.guru3d.com/article/...85-review--3way-sli/12

Minimum fps seem fine too?

http://www.tweaktown.com/artic...sli_tested/index6.html

 

[soccerballtux]

Yeah but I mean...when 4850s are $100 and 4890's are $183....there's just no competition...

 

[happy medium]

He did say NO LIMITS?

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: happy medium
He did say NO LIMITS?

Indeed he did.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

can 4890s not be quad?

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
can 4890s not be quad?

I don't see why not.
Why wouldn't they?

 

[Tempered81]

lopri: afaik x58 sli boards have the nf200 chip on them for sli. Its just that from looking at benches, two card and three card sli perform better on i7/x58 than they do on c2q/790i even though both are using nf200 processor. but single card comparisons are evenly matched between the two..

 

[Munky]

A 4890 is plenty for 1920x1200. A single 4870X2 is more than enough. The extra display lag would be enough reason for me NOT to get tri-SLI, nevermind the less-than-impressive scaling, even in a no limits situation.

 

[aka1nas]

Originally posted by: jaredpace
lopri: afaik x58 sli boards have the nf200 chip on them for sli. Its just that from looking at benches, two card and three card sli perform better on i7/x58 than they do on c2q/790i even though both are using nf200 processor. but single card comparisons are evenly matched between the two..

Only the board models that support Tri-SLI need the NF200 chip. The X58 boards with regular x16/x16 SLI don't have the chip.

The scaling advantage on x58 seems to be because high-end SLI platforms appear to be highly CPU or memory bandwidth limited on the 780i/790i platforms.

 

[MrK6]

Voted GTX 285 Tri-SLI . With no (financial) limits, the full 1GB of memory and great overclocking ability of the cards seals the deal for me.

 

[OCGuy]

Id go with the 295s just to mess around with quad-SLI :thumbsup:

 

[Wreckage]

A pair of 295s.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: Wreckage
A pair of 295s.

wouldn't that ALWAYS perform worse than 3x 285?

Anyways, even if i was a billionere i wouldnt just waste money on tri or sli or quad... but if you do have an unlimited budget that someone else is paying... than why settle for either?

I would get one ultimate SLI and one ultimate Xfire, both with a dedicated physX card.. that way games that run faster on AMD get xfire adn those that are faster on nvidia get sli.

anyways this thread sounds like potential flamebait, or an innocent but bad taste post.

 

[Hauk]

Originally posted by: taltamir

Originally posted by: Wreckage
A pair of 295s.

wouldn't that ALWAYS perform worse than 3x 285?

Anyways, even if i was a billionere i wouldnt just waste money on tri or sli or quad... but if you do have an unlimited budget that someone else is paying... than why settle for either?

I would get one ultimate SLI and one ultimate Xfire, both with a dedicated physX card.. that way games that run faster on AMD get xfire adn those that are faster on nvidia get sli.

anyways this thread sounds like potential flamebait, or an innocent but bad taste post

Hopefully it's neither. Too often we see threads end up as trainwrecks. Was simply thinking, "what if bang for the buck was not part of the formula, what would people choose?"

Granted, the data in the wrong hands could be dangerous. But we're all adults here right?

 

[Tempered81]

I think triple 285's on an EVGA x58 classified with a 4.5ghz i7 965 would take the win.

quad 295, quad x2's might take the lead in a few benches, but overall tri-sli 285s would be the majority winner.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: Hauk

Originally posted by: taltamir

Originally posted by: Wreckage
A pair of 295s.

wouldn't that ALWAYS perform worse than 3x 285?

Anyways, even if i was a billionere i wouldnt just waste money on tri or sli or quad... but if you do have an unlimited budget that someone else is paying... than why settle for either?

I would get one ultimate SLI and one ultimate Xfire, both with a dedicated physX card.. that way games that run faster on AMD get xfire adn those that are faster on nvidia get sli.

anyways this thread sounds like potential flamebait, or an innocent but bad taste post

Hopefully it's neither. Too often we see threads end up as trainwrecks. Was simply thinking, "what if bang for the buck was not part of the formula, what would people choose?"

Granted, the data in the wrong hands could be dangerous. But we're all adults here right?

which is like saying which is better, amd or nvidia
the answer is, at those kind of prices get one set of each, because different games run very differently on each hardware set.

 

[Shmee]

I see noone has mentioned the option of 3 way gtx 275 SLI, the kind with double memory. Is it possible that it might actually do better at super high res with AA, given 1792 MB instead of just 1 GB? Of course a 2 GB version of the 285 would make this a moot point, but for now AFAIK there are just the 1 GB versions.

 

[Hauk]

Yea 1792mb 275 3-way is a good one, I forgot to include it.

2GB 285's or 4890's, who knows..