What about these in SLI?

[Compnewbie01]

I will be upgrading my computer soon because it is that time again. My main concern as of now is what I will do for graphics as it will be a gaming machine. I currently have a ATI X1800 and want to upgrade for the next generation of games such as Crysis, TF2, Portal, etc. I want to know how I can get the best value while also getting a good increase over my current X1800. I saw this for $90 after rebate and wondered how two in SLI would perform. I have not touched into SLI before, but I am very interested in it if it makes sense for me. My budget for a graphics card will be around $300, but less is always better. I have an Antec NeoPower 430W PSU but will upgrade if needed.

Also, when is the BEST time to upgrade computer parts? Do prices generally fall in the summer or anything like that because I did notice that RAM has been dirt cheap lately.

 

[Compnewbie01]

I also need to add that I will be playing in 1920X1200 resolution with most of the sliders turned up (hopefully).

 

[aka1nas]

Are you asking if you should get another X1800 card or was there a link that you forgot to post?

If the former, then:

1) SLI is for Nvidia cards, ATI cards do Crossfire

2) Due to #1, you would need a Crossfire supporting mobo, i.e. an ATI or some Intel chipsets

3) For an X1800, you can't just grab another of the same model, you would have to get an overpriced and hard-to-find X1800 Mastercard.

4) There is no way that you can run any SLI/Crossfire setup worth owning on a 430watt PSU.

5) Unless you buy the top end model or two of graphics card, it always a better deal to go with the single faster card over SLI/Crossfire. Low-end cards with weak memory bandwith generally don't scale efficiently at higher resolutions or with AA compared to high-end models. So, even though your raw performance might theoretically double with SLI, you might not get very good results when you start to crank up settings if you use lower-end cards.

 

[Compnewbie01]

Oh crap I completely forgot to link what I was talking about. The cards in question for SLI are two of these http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130062

Sorry for the confusion. Anyway I do not want another X1800 for Crossfire. I plan on selling it once I upgrade to get a little cash back from it. I want to know what will give me the best value for the next 1-2 years of gaming as far as good graphics. If SLI is out of the question then I will probably lean to the new 8800GTS/GTX series. I want to keep my spending cap at $300 but will go over if it is worth it. My upgrade will be a total overhaul too with mobo, CPU, RAM, video card, and possibly PSU if needed. I need to be able to use my 2407WFP in the next generation of games the way it was meant to be used.

 

[aka1nas]

Ok, gotcha.

Don't bother with SLI.

Get a 8800GTS. If you actually want to play games with AA at that resolution, then get a GTS 640 or don't bother at all. The 320MB version will crap out at 1920x1200 with AA enabled. Anything lower than an 8800GTS is going to be pretty craptacular if you play games at the panel's native res.

 

[Noema]

Agree with aka1nas.

Don't bother with SLI on mid-range cards. Two 7600GTs will probably be barely faster than a single 7900GTX. And considering a 8800GTS 640MB is almost as fast as SLI'ed 7900GTX, well, you get the picture.

 

[Compnewbie01]

Ok so ditching the SLI idea. I will probably go with the 8800GTS 640MB. I NEED 1920X1200 resolution. I have no problem scaling the sliders a little but would appreciate getting some AA in there. Will this be powerful enough for upcoming games? What CPU/motherboard should I be looking at? I don't know Intel-based chips well as my current computer has AMD. I'm hearing that Intel is the current way to go though. Lastly, should I buy now or will the card drop in price in 3 months or anything like that?

 

[tank171]

BUY NOW!1!1!

No seriously, you might as well just buy it, because in 3 months or whatever when the prices drop, there will be something bigger and better and you will wanna wait for the prices to drop, and then there will be something else.. So just go and buy it.

 

[Compnewbie01]

I know EXACTLY how that goes. I feel that way everytime. My only problem now is that I may not get another computer game until fall or later. I just want to know if the 8800GTS will be like 50+ dollars cheaper by then or something.

 

[effee]

buy at christmas. best value then

 

[Dazed and Confused]

640mb 8800GTS $326 after $30 MIR

 

[Compnewbie01]

That is exactly the card I was looking at. Seems like a good deal.