Which card to buy?

[shamus8888]

Hello everyone!

I am having a slight dilemma here.

I have an Asus Rampage Formula and as far as I know it only supported Crossfire.
Now, I really don't know what option would I go for. These are what I have in mind:

1) 9800GX2 x1
2) 8800GTX x2
3) ATI Radeon 3870x2

Which do you think is the best option? I have been an Nvidia man all the while so I don't know anything about ATI. Any advice?

 

[Jax Omen]

If you've got the kind of money that would be considering any of those options, wait until the Radeon 4870 releases (supposed to be within a month) and buy two and crossfire them.

You have an X48 board, IIRC, and X48 does not support SLI, only crossfire.

 

[shamus8888]

Originally posted by: Jax Omen
If you've got the kind of money that would be considering any of those options, wait until the Radeon 4870 releases (supposed to be within a month) and buy two and crossfire them.

You have an X48 board, IIRC, and X48 does not support SLI, only crossfire.

ah i forgot about the X48 part

Been looking at GX2 single but to be honest, I don't think it is worth it as I only use a 22" monitor. Been saving up for sometimes now and wish to update my GPU. I am currently using my mates 9600GT. It's alright although I'm itching to try Xfire. Its just that ATI has been getting a lot of negative vibes lately and I am not sure if I should invest in it.

So I am in limbo... a single good Nvidia card or Xfire? :S

Ah by the way, my budget is around the price of a single GX2 at the moment. Give or take couple of £s.

 

[Bateluer]

Just hold off for a month or so, its too close to the new cards to upgrade just yet.

 

[Jax Omen]

Yeah, sounds like you should be the first guy on the block with 4870 crossfire.

Or, if you think that any multi-gpu solution is going to be wasted on your monitor (honestly, outside of Crysis right now, it will be), just get a single 8800GTS 512 and call it a day. ~$200US (dunno what that is in £s) for a card that can run every game that isn't Crysis in 1920x1200 at or near max settings.

 

[shamus8888]

Yeah, that sounds like a good advice. I think I will hold my horses and see what next month have to offer. To be honest, I tried my mates 24" LCD monitor and I got a headache after few minutes of CoD4. I guess big isn't always better

As for the 8800GTS 512, how does it compare to the more recent 9600GT?
I actually had a 8800GTS 512 a while back but I sold it off. I was struggling with CoD4 at maxed out settings. I get an average or 18-25 (lowest) fps but now with 9600GT I am getting 30-35.

Don't know whats the difference except for the size with 9600gt being smaller. All the hype and marketing really confuses me sometimes :<

 

[Jax Omen]

8800GTS 512 has twice the shaders, slightly higher clocks all around. And a dual-slot cooling solution.

If you were getting lower framerates with an 8800GTS 512 than a 9600GT then something was wrong with the GTS. Plain and simple.

 

[shamus8888]

Originally posted by: Jax Omen
8800GTS 512 has twice the shaders, slightly higher clocks all around. And a dual-slot cooling solution.

If you were getting lower framerates with an 8800GTS 512 than a 9600GT then something was wrong with the GTS. Plain and simple.

meh should't have sold my 8800GTS then

That aside, is there any card that is one step up from the 8800GTS? I am also considering 8800Ultras , GTs etc. But a few mates of mine says they were outdated and will be replaced fairly soon.

 

[Jax Omen]

the next step up from the 8800GTS is probably going to wind up as the Radeon 4870, assuming performance falls remotely in line with specifications.

the 8800GTX is mostly a parallel jump (more memory bandwidth/capacity, but unless you're at super-high res it doesn't matter), GT is somewhat slower, 9800GTX is almost identical.

 

[shamus8888]

Originally posted by: Jax Omen
the next step up from the 8800GTS is probably going to wind up as the Radeon 4870, assuming performance falls remotely in line with specifications.

the 8800GTX is mostly a parallel jump (more memory bandwidth/capacity, but unless you're at super-high res it doesn't matter), GT is somewhat slower, 9800GTX is almost identical.

Ah I see. Thanks for clearing things up! I guess I will just wait and see what happens. Now I know why my mate is so kind to lend me his 9600GT

 

[krnmastersgt]

Why not wait till June~July when G200 is due to come out? Not like they're stressed for time considering how long they've been working on the damn architecture.

 

[shamus8888]

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
Why not wait till June~July when G200 is due to come out? Not like they're stressed for time considering how long they've been working on the damn architecture.

G200? What is that? Sorry I am a bit noobish

 

[krnmastersgt]

The real next-gen gpu line from Nvidia, 9 Series used the g92 core like the 8800 GT did, thus making the 9 series (save the 9600 GT) look like crap. Apparently they've been working on this since the release of the 8 Series which was almost 2 years ago?

 

[shamus8888]

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
The real next-gen gpu line from Nvidia, 9 Series used the g92 core like the 8800 GT did, thus making the 9 series (save the 9600 GT) look like crap. Apparently they've been working on this since the release of the 8 Series which was almost 2 years ago?

ah I see. Ok so I am waiting anxiously for the possible 4870 Xfire or the new G200s Roll on summer baby!

 

[krnmastersgt]

Originally posted by: shamus8888

Originally posted by: krnmastersgt
The real next-gen gpu line from Nvidia, 9 Series used the g92 core like the 8800 GT did, thus making the 9 series (save the 9600 GT) look like crap. Apparently they've been working on this since the release of the 8 Series which was almost 2 years ago?

ah I see. Ok so I am waiting anxiously for the possible 4870 Xfire or the new G200s Roll on summer baby!

You and about a quarter of the forum users, including myself