Video card recommendation $200-$300

[madoka]

Thanks for the replies so for guys. I very much appreciate it.

- I am currently on a Dell 2709 at 1920x1200 (native resolution)

- I hope to game at the 30" monitor's native resolution (Dell U3011).

- the price range was just a guess. I am willing to spend whatever I need to game on the 30" monitor. However, a major concern is heat. My computer will have to be under my desk and there is little to no ventilation down there. I'm afraid of having two hot video cards next to each other like that. I currently have a 8800 GTS 512 SLI setup and it overheats sometimes. Plus during the summer time, it becomes too hot (both for me and the computer) to game for extended periods of time.

- I would not mind at all switching to ATI if their cards run cooler.

 

[taltamir]

replace your desk to fix your ventilation problem!

 

[mnewsham]

Thanks for the replies so for guys. I very much appreciate it.

- I am currently on a Dell 2709 at 1920x1200 (native resolution)

- I hope to game at the 30" monitor's native resolution (Dell U3011).

- the price range was just a guess. I am willing to spend whatever I need to game on the 30" monitor. However, a major concern is heat. My computer will have to be under my desk and there is little to no ventilation down there. I'm afraid of having two hot video cards next to each other like that. I currently have a 8800 GTS 512 SLI setup and it overheats sometimes. Plus during the summer time, it becomes too hot (both for me and the computer) to game for extended periods of time.

- I would not mind at all switching to ATI if their cards run cooler.

See how the 6990 in the next month or so looks. Should be killer at 2560x1600.

 

[badb0y]

For that resolution, if you like to crank eye candy settings, I would recommend:

6950 CF
GTX 570 SLi
GTX 580 SLi
6970 CF

If you can wait a bit, see the 6990 reviews as it is a crossfire-on-a-board card that is expected to be killer in performance. No word on a GTX 595 leads me to believe it may take some time to come OR nVidia is doing a damn good job of keeping it secret.

 

[3DVagabond]

For that resolution, if you like to crank eye candy settings, I would recommend:

6950 CF
GTX 570 SLi
GTX 580 SLi
6970 CF

If you can wait a bit, see the 6990 reviews as it is a crossfire-on-a-board card that is expected to be killer in performance. No word on a GTX 595 leads me to believe it may take some time to come OR nVidia is doing a damn good job of keeping it secret.

While the 570SLI has plenty of GPU power, I'd be concerned they would lack RAM.

 

[happy medium]

My computer will have to be under my desk and there is little to no ventilation down there. I'm afraid of having two hot video cards next to each other like that.

In that case you might not want to crossfire 2 6950's, they get real hot next to each other in a well ventilated case. Go with a different combo.

 

[madoka]

replace your desk to fix your ventilation problem!

That desk cost me $5000+. So it's not going any where any time soon. 🙂

 

[taltamir]

That desk cost me $5000+. So it's not going any where any time soon. 🙂

You paid 5000$ for a desk that cannot even give you proper air circulation and is damaging your computer via overheating?
Get rid of that overpriced junk and get something good. Or at the very least modify it (some wood, a saw, some nails...)
Or try placing your computer, say, to the side of the desk.
Or move your computer to another desk, this 5000$ can be your writing desk, and the computer can go on a separate computer desk somewhere else in the room / house.

Ok, you know I am now MORE then a little curious, a 5000$ desk is probably some brand name or another, right? Can you give more info, I would like to look it up and see some pictures of it.

 

[madoka]

Or try placing your computer, say, to the side of the desk.
Or move your computer to another desk, this 5000$ can be your writing desk, and the computer can go on a separate computer desk somewhere else in the room / house.

I've got a dozen computers scattered around the house, but this is my main one and really the only one I care about. I work a lot at home, so I figured I'd pimp out the home office.

Ok, you know I am now MORE then a little curious, a 5000$ desk is probably some brand name or another, right? Can you give more info, I would like to look it up and see some pictures of it.

It was a 9 year old custom job and therefore there won't be any pics of it online. It has large hutches all round, built-in lighting, pin-up boards, slide out keyboard, locking cabinetry, several file drawers, etc.

As a consolation, here is a pic of my $2000 chair:

http://www.relaxtheback.com/catalog/product/gallery/id/973/image/3158/

 

[SolMiester]

I've got a dozen computers scattered around the house, but this is my main one and really the only one I care about. I work a lot at home, so I figured I'd pimp out the home office.



It was a 9 year old custom job and therefore there won't be any pics of it online. It has large hutches all round, built-in lighting, pin-up boards, slide out keyboard, locking cabinetry, several file drawers, etc.

As a consolation, here is a pic of my $2000 chair:

http://www.relaxtheback.com/catalog/product/gallery/id/973/image/3158/

LOL, I want to see that desk!...
OT - Will a 580 not do the job?..edit 25x16...maybe not!