Should I go dual cards or upgrade completely

[ImmortalSoldier]

Hi guys I was wandering if some one could help me out with a couple of questions I have about upgrading my video cards.

There are actually 2 computers I was looking to upgrade. I am not entirely sure if I should go with 2 cards or if I should just upgrade and buy a better card.


Ok here are the specs for my main set up.

Intel 9550
Nvidia GTX 260
4g of ram
EVGA 132-CK-NF78 2

second set up i dont have much info on it since its my brother's

Ati Radeon Hd4650
intel core 9300
and I believe hes got 8gb of ram

We were trying to get geared to be able to play skyrim and battlefield.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[happy medium]

Are they home built systems or Dell, HP, Gateway, ect. ect

 

[tviceman]

I prefer the full on upgrade as opposed to dual card solutions. People here like dual-card solutions, and in some situations they can be great upgrades, but unless you are computer savvy, on top of constantly updating your video card drivers, and are prepared to encounter issues from time-to-time, I recommend avoid SLI / Crossfire solutions.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

I prefer the full on upgrade as opposed to dual card solutions. People here like dual-card solutions, and in some situations they can be great upgrades, but unless you are computer savvy, on top of constantly updating your video card drivers, and are prepared to encounter issues from time-to-time, I recommend avoid SLI / Crossfire solutions.

Agreed. I have had dual card setups off and on since I ran SLI 7800 gt back in the day. They are pretty painless nowadays in comparison, but for the most part they are not worth the money and in the OP's case, swapping out either of those cards is a better choice than going for SLI / Crossfire. Just keep in mind your PSU limitations.

 

[Plimogz]

I second Happy's inquiry regarding the precise nature of these systems (i.e. OEM or home built) and go on to wonder as to the resolutions you'll both be playing at. Of particular interest would be the resolution which the 9300/4650 machine would be playing, and whether the 4650 is a 512MB model or of the 1GB variety.

In the absence of these important details, I'll venture this tentative advice: Pass down the gtx260 to the 9300 system, upgrade the 9550 box to something modern but somewhat value-oriented, say, 460 1GB, 6850, 560, 6870 or even 560 ti. And either sell the 4650 for a few bucks, or keep it as a spare card if the small amount which its sale would bring, and the hassle, isn't worth it.

I'd guess that an un-overclocked 9550 would bottleneck a 6870 or 560 TI pretty badly in more CPU-dependant games, but with BF3 and Skyrim both being unreleased, it's hard to say for sure. That and perhaps you could clock it up a bit

 

[3DVagabond]

I second Happy's inquiry regarding the precise nature of these systems (i.e. OEM or home built) and go on to wonder as to the resolutions you'll both be playing at. Of particular interest would be the resolution which the 9300/4650 machine would be playing, and whether the 4650 is a 512MB model or of the 1GB variety.

In the absence of these important details, I'll venture this tentative advice: Pass down the gtx260 to the 9300 system, upgrade the 9550 box to something modern but somewhat value-oriented, say, 460 1GB, 6850, 560, 6870 or even 560 ti. And either sell the 4650 for a few bucks, or keep it as a spare card if the small amount which its sale would bring, and the hassle, isn't worth it.

I'd guess that an un-overclocked 9550 would bottleneck a 6870 or 560 TI pretty badly in more CPU-dependant games, but with BF3 and Skyrim both being unreleased, it's hard to say for sure. That and perhaps you could clock it up a bit

Looks like excellent advise. :thumbsup:

 

[nenforcer]

I like dual card upgrades if you bought one early in a software / technology cycle i.e. DirectX 10 which is what I did when I bought a 9800 GT in 2007 and then added another in 2008 in SLI.

In your case, since your going from a DirectX 10 card and there is new DirectX 11 cards already out you are better of getting a new generation of card and skipping going the dual card SLI / Crossfire route.

 

[superccs]

Never upgrade until the game comes out. Play with the current specs, then retool if you are dissatisfied with the performance.

This will give you time to scour deals, and for prices to drop in general as new stuff is released.

If you are dying to upgrade now, then you can get a lot of bang/buck from the $170 GPU range. I think the 9550 is a beast and should not be completely dissed, but you can sell it for decent cash, and go i5 or possibly Bulldozer if you wanted.

 

[ImmortalSoldier]

The first one is an HP. And the second one I picked the parts and was built by cyberpower.

Thanks for all the replys.

I am not dying to upgrade just yet. However on the second PC I cant run witcher at all which is our main concern right now.

On the first pc with the nvidia gtx 260 I can run most stuff pretty smoothly still.

I do plan to run both at 1900x1200 resolution. Budget is around $200 per pc. I never had a good experience with ati cards.

Thanks again I guess I will have to wait till the games come out to look a bit further into newer cards.

 

[happy medium]

204$ AR gtx560ti in the first PC.(you might need a power supply)
130$AR gtx460 in the second PC (you might need a power supply)

Thats as high as I would go without overclocking the cpu.
What are the brand and model #'s of the power supplys in the PC's
If you can look at the power supply it will tell you how much power is on the video card line.
You are looking for 12+ figures. it should say 12+ 18, or 12+ 25, something like that.

 

[Plimogz]

Waiting for Skyrim and BF3 would have the added benefit (besides actual benchmarking of those games to know exactly what cards perform best) of possibly giving you a glimpse of what the incoming cards will look like -- AMD at least looks poised to launch some new stuff later this year, perhaps they'll manage to shake up the market a bit as early as this fall.

Personally, I'm hoping for an earlier mid-range 28nm process pipe-cleaner, more so in fact than seeing what top performance the high-end will bring.

On the other hand, if that 4650 can't run games you want to play today, I really don't see why a trickle-down style upgrade across both machines wouldn't be just what the tech ordered. I'm fairly comfortable in approximating that going from the 4650 to the 260 would increase FPS in your brother's system by about 2.5x. Turning unplayable to playable.

You would, as Happy Medium said, need to check the PSU of that computer.

On your side of the upgrade, switching up to a GTX460 1GB (non-SE, of course) would increase FPS from the GTX260 by about 40% (?? -- if somebody reads this and disagrees, please chime in to correct my fast and loose figures ) costing you about 130$AR, but keeping system load power consumption squarely within the same territory as your previous configuration, as evidenced here on Anandtech.

So, summing up, your bro's system gets lifted up into playable framerate territory immediately, even at 1920x1200 high-res, though he may have to spend some scratch for a better PSU, (say 50$ -- maybe 75$, for a really nice unit which will last him well into another, future build) and reimburse you for the GTX260 (prices on FS/FT right here on this site would place the value of your used card at about 65$ FYI) so at worse, factoring a new PSU, that would amount to a 125$-ish upgrade for your bro, (50$ at best with you cutting him a nice deal on your old 260)

And

You would upgrade to a GTX460 1GB, which is arguably the best bang-for-buck card ATM. And which, factoring in the return on your 260, would cost you well under 100$, closer to 75$ in all likelihood, and keep your system power needs within the constraints of your current PSU. In fact, if you look closely at the page I linked earlier, you could move up to a 6850, 560, or 6870 safely.

Which, getting back to your original question, you wouldn't have been able to do by adding in a second 260, assuming that HP box would indeed even have allowed such a move.

Need I say more? 'cuz I'm getting pretty tired of typing, frankly

 

[ImmortalSoldier]

When I got my computer I was going for dual cards but never got around to getting the seconds card.

So I went all out on my psu mine is a Cooler Master 850w, I think I get enough juice for an upgrade.

I will have to get a look at the other computer tomorrow see how the other psu looks.

Sounds like I dont have to blow a hole in my wallet. Gets me more excited that I will still have cash for the games too.

 

[happy medium]

When I got my computer I was going for dual cards but never got around to getting the seconds card.

So I went all out on my psu mine is a Cooler Master 850w, I think I get enough juice for an upgrade.

I will have to get a look at the other computer tomorrow see how the other psu looks.

Sounds like I dont have to blow a hole in my wallet. Gets me more excited that I will still have cash for the games too.

In that case I would throw a gtx560ti 1gb in your rig, and pass down the gtx260 to your bro, as long as his psu can handle it.

A gtx560ti should max your system out @ 1900x1200 unless you can overclock the cpu.

 

[3DVagabond]

The first one is an HP. And the second one I picked the parts and was built by cyberpower.

Thanks for all the replys.

I am not dying to upgrade just yet. However on the second PC I cant run witcher at all which is our main concern right now.

On the first pc with the nvidia gtx 260 I can run most stuff pretty smoothly still.

I do plan to run both at 1900x1200 resolution. Budget is around $200 per pc. I never had a good experience with ati cards.

Thanks again I guess I will have to wait till the games come out to look a bit further into newer cards.

What OS are they running. Only asking because you have Dx10 cards.

 

[timma]

buy GTX 560 GOC for GTX 260 upgrade~

 

[WMD]

Never upgrade until the game comes out. Play with the current specs, then retool if you are dissatisfied with the performance.

This will give you time to scour deals, and for prices to drop in general as new stuff is released.

If you are dying to upgrade now, then you can get a lot of bang/buck from the $170 GPU range. I think the 9550 is a beast and should not be completely dissed, but you can sell it for decent cash, and go i5 or possibly Bulldozer if you wanted.

^^ Second this

 

[SlowSpyder]

Just an FYI, dual card setups typically make the most sense when you are going for performance that no single GPU can match. And at times, if you are going for performance per dollar that no single GPU can match. If what you are after doesn't fall into either of these categories, I would avoid multi-GPU.

 

[ImmortalSoldier]

Just an FYI, dual card setups typically make the most sense when you are going for performance that no single GPU can match. And at times, if you are going for performance per dollar that no single GPU can match. If what you are after doesn't fall into either of these categories, I would avoid multi-GPU.

Yes dual card sound real good but I don't have the cash to blow on a 2 brand new cards. And I was just wandering what 2 gtx 260 would do.

Since I cant find a new one for under 100 bucks didn't seem like the best option but wanted opinions.

Thanks for everyone that posted. Looks like I am gonna hold on for a bit maybe prices can come down a bit, and go for gtx560ti. Just cuz I feel a little more comfortable with Nvidia

 

[munkle]

I wouldn't go dual cards, I would just upgrade to a faster single card. That avoids problems with games that don't work with dual cards and less power and heat.

 

[RussianSensation]

When BF3 comes out, give your brother the GTX260 and buy whatever card is around $180-225 at the time for your rig. Overclock both of those CPUs too!