So 8800GT SLI Still Best Bang for the Buck?

[cheshirekitty]

I'm building a new PC and waited for the new GPU's to be released. I've read several articles but I liked Anandtech's the best so I'm posting here though I usually hang out at Tom's.

Anyway I can't belive it but it looks to me like 8800GT SLI is still the way to go (has it been 2 years now). Less than half as expensive as the GTX280 and comparable performance.

So my plan now is to finish my build using two 8800 GT's. I play at 1650x1080. My processor will be a Q6600 OC'd to 3.0 or as high as I can get it stable with air cooling.

Anybody wanna convince me I'm making a mistake before I load up my shopping cart?

 

[ther00kie16]

Wait a few more days for 4850 reviews as those are supposed to be $200 and better than 8800gt. Question is how much better.

 

[ashishmishra]

No it is a good decision, look at the 750i SLI instead of 680i 780i 790i, heard its a more stable board.

 

[Extelleron]

If you have an SLI motherboard, then the best deal right now is probably 8800GTS 512MB SLI - you can find 8800GTS 512MB cards for as low as $156 shipped AR: http://fxvideocards.com/ZOTAC-...ideo-Card-p-16280.html

That setup should outperform the GTX 280 in most cases.

If you don't have an SLI motherboard but have a Crossfire motherboard, the best deal will be HD 4850 Crossfire. Buy.com was selling HD 4850's but they were recently taken down. The 4850 & 4870 will be out on June 25th.

If you don't have either an SLI or CF motherboard, then it is probably not worth buying one for either of the above configurations. A P35 board is preferrable to a 750i SLI board and is cheaper. HD 4870 will be coming on June 25th as well and will provide very good single GPU performance for the price.

 

[cheshirekitty]

So how much wattage do I need for this? I was looking at this 550w PSU but that was for a single card solution. Do I need more for SLI?

CORSAIR 550VX 550W $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139004

 

[Sureshot324]

Originally posted by: ther00kie16
Wait a few more days for 4850 reviews as those are supposed to be $200 and better than 8800gt. Question is how much better.

I second this. The 4850s should be out in a week or two, and if they're a lot better than the 8800gt (and most people think the will be) then you will feel pretty bad about investing all that money in an 8800gt SLI setup.

Also, if you go ATI, you can get an intel board instead of an Nvidia SLI board, which is a good thing.