Single Video Solution

[MacAttack]

I am currently using a borrowed video adapter in my new rig. I do not have to replace it any time soon (3-4 months down the road). I am trying to determine the best video solution to begin planning for. I have an Asus P5W DH Deluxe mobo. I can go with a 2 card Crossfire solution or go with a high single solution. I am not sure what the best route is.

Issues I have read about:
1. 30A needed on the 12V line for an X1950XTX - I have a Seasonic HT550W PSU. There are 4 individual lines with 18A on each. Not sure how to get that to work for a 30A draw. I believe it would be from multiple connections from the 4-pin 12V connectors. ***Sorry, new to these high end graphics cards.
2. New nVidia coming out shortly may lower prices on ATI cards to make Crossfire a very viable solution
3. New nVidia card may be better as a single card than a Crossfire solution.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[mancunian]

One high end card.

Reasons? Less hassle, no 2 x gain, lower PSU requirements (yours can power the highest end cards).

/thread

 

[brikis98]

you need to let us know more about your current system:

1. CPU
2. RAM
3. What monitor you have (specifically: what resolution you game at)
4. What games you play
5. How much you want to spend (sounds like money isn't an issue, but it's worth checking)

if your PSU is the Seasonic S12 (HT550W doesn't ring any bells, but the S12 is the 550W from seasonic), it can handle whatever graphics card solution you need. the four +12V lines don't necessarily add up directly (it's not 4x18A=72A on the +12V line), but they do add up to well over 30A for sure.

 

[MacAttack]

Sorry, I should have posted the rig. Money is a factor, but if $100 more prvides much better performance, then it is worth waiting an extra month or so (Tax Return and Bonus time). However, since I don't need a vid card immediately, I can save up over the next several months.

1. C2D E6300
2. 2x1GB PC6400 memory
3. Asus P5W DH Deluxe
4. Seasonic S12 550W (80) PSU
5. Monitor details:
DCLCD by Sceptre DCL9A+ Black 19" 8ms LCD Monitor - Retail

Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 700:1
Display Colors: 16.7 Million
Display Type: SXGA
Horizontal Refresh Rate: 24-80 kHz
Maximum Resolution: 1280x1024
Panel: TFT LCD
Recommended Resolution: 1280x1024
Vertical Refresh Rate: 50-75 Hz
Viewing Angle: 170°(H) / 170°(V)

I just started palying Oblivion and the graphics in that game are incredible. I currently have an Nvidia Quadro FX1500. I will be putting an FX3500 in this week. These are loaner cards. I will have the FX3500 until about the end of the year.

My plans are to eventually move this system to a Media Center and build a new one later on. This will be sometime late next year. So, I will need HD-out to hook up to my 55" LCD.

 

[brikis98]

1280x1024 does not warrant a crossfire setup... you'd only want dual video cards if you were gaming at 1600x1200 or above. plus, dual video cards are a hassle: more energy consumed, more heat produced, more driver and compatability issues and so on. get a powerful single card solution and that should be plenty. the only question there is whether you should wait for the directX10 series of cards, which is hard to answer: we dont' know how fast they'll be, we don't know how long till games require that kind of power (and use the new dx10 shaders), we don't know what they'll cost and it's uncertain how long you'd have to wait.

btw, i really hope you're OCing that system to really get your money's worth from the C2D E6300...

 

[MacAttack]

Thx for the info. I will probably go with one of the current cards out there. X1900XTX or GeForce 7900 series. I probably will not spend over $300. I prefer staying under that when it comes down to it.

As for OC'ing. The answer is not at this time. I only have temporary memory. I have to replace it with something better. The memory I did have was not compatible. I had 2x2GB PC5400 ECC memory for a workstation. If I can sell those, then I am set. If not, then I am limited. I am going to buy 2x1GB PC6400 (4-4-4-12) soon. Once I have all my own parts, I will begin OC'ing. I do have to get a better processor HSF before I do that as well.