SLI 7900gtx worth it?

[nreo]

hey everyone.

I need your advice! I'm new here but glad to join the anandtech forum. Im in a quest for upgrading my gpu. I want to be able to get the best frame rates within a reasonable budget. My rig is as follows :

amd x2 4200 @ 2.21ghz
2gb ddr2 800mhz corsair xm2 ram
geforce 7900gtx
asus m2n-sli deluxe mobo

Would it be worth it for me to upgrade to 2x 7900gtx? Will I see a better performance in games?

I'm thinking of also upgrading my cpu to a amd x2 5000 black edition or a amd 6000 89 watt edition, but im not sure which one yet ( need advice on that aswell, otherwise i'll post in the cpu forum!)

Thanks

Nreo

 

[aka1nas]

You would be better off getting a single newer card like the 8800GT.

 

[themisfit610]

most likely the case...

SLI is a major pain, and 7 series cards are getting left in the dust with newer games, even in SLI on a GTX.

~MiSfit

 

[Munky]

Get a single 8800gt or better. Not only would it be faster than dual 7900gtx, but also have better image quality and features.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: nreo
hey everyone.

I need your advice! I'm new here but glad to join the anandtech forum. Im in a quest for upgrading my gpu. I want to be able to get the best frame rates within a reasonable budget. My rig is as follows :

amd x2 4200 @ 2.21ghz
2gb ddr2 800mhz corsair xm2 ram
geforce 7900gtx
asus m2n-sli deluxe mobo

Would it be worth it for me to upgrade to 2x 7900gtx? Will I see a better performance in games?

I'm thinking of also upgrading my cpu to a amd x2 5000 black edition or a amd 6000 89 watt edition, but im not sure which one yet ( need advice on that aswell, otherwise i'll post in the cpu forum!)

Thanks

Nreo

Also, the 5000+ black edition costs 20$ less then the 3.0 ghz 6000+... and the 6000 comes with a cooler, while the black edition one requires you to buy a cooler, and you need to buy a cooler that is at least 40$ to be able to OC to 3.0... a FEW people managed to oc higher (3.2ghz)... some only manage to reach 2.8 or so.

Do yourself a favor and just buy a 6000 instead. And a GT instead of the SLI gtx... despite being advertised as such SLI was never, EVER, fit as an upgrade path... the only point of SLI is if you buy a brand new part for extreme gaming today... for example, you can now sli two of the new 8800GT for performance greater then the ultra, allowing you to achive good frame rates at max settings on brand new games like world in conflict and crysis...
If you really have tons of money you can SLI two ultras... but it is not worth the money, under ANY circumstance, to plug a second older card for SLI to upgrade an older system... much better to get a single newer, better, card.

Crysis demo didn't work with SLI at first, now the beta drivers increase the FPS by 25% on dual GT... it should be better then an ultra soon (if not already).

Also, get 2 more GB of ram, you will notice tremendeous improvement in vista... and some games, like CoH will have tremendous FPS improvement on max settings.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Get a single 512MB 8800GT in a few weeks when the price is down, then sell your 7900GTX for $100-150 (it still beats an 8600GTS).

Agreed that the 6000 makes more sense than the 5000 black

Another 2 GB RAM is fairly cheap and won't hurt, but isn't a high priority if you're still running XP instead of Vista.

 

[taltamir]

oh and I almost forgot... absolute max oc on the 2.6 black edition. 3.2.... max oc I have seen on the 6000 windsor? 3.55... And since the black edition comes without a fan it actually costs MORE then the 6000...

 

[nreo]

Thanks guys. Quality advice. Glad I joined.

I'm opting for an amd 6000 then. Theres 2 versions however, one at 89watt and another (cheaper) which doesn't say what the difference is. Is it only power consumption? Which one should I opt for?

I'll wait a bit obviously till the prices are lower, and then i'll sell off my 7900gtx.

Thanks again

Nreo

 

[taltamir]

if it doesn't say then it is the 125 watt version.

AMD now makes identical chips with more expensive materials resulting in lower power consumption... It is really up to as to which you wanna buy.

but a 36 watter difference = 0.864 KWh per 24 hours.
or 315.36 KWh over an entire year of being on 24/7.

@ 12 cents per KWh that is 37$ more for electricity per year....
plus higher cooling costs etc.

I think the TDW stands for some sort of average per day consumption... because a 6000 system goes from 150watt on idle to 250 watt on 100% cpu usage according to anandtech.
So if you are running boinc or folding at home you should pay extra and get the lowest TDP available.

I will definitely wait a month until the phenoms arrive... they are supposed to be able to turn off completely unused cores and greatly reduce power consumption on idle...