Which graphics package is the better deal?

[jpacelli]

I'm building a new PC and plan on getting the following

Thermal Take Xaser III (Currently have and will keep this case)
Asus A8n-SLI Deluxe
AMD X2 4400
2Gb memory
Dual DVD burners
2 SATA 3gb Hard Drives
Samsung 214T monitor

Now I'm trying to decide on a graphics card. I know I'll need a new PSU and I've found some combo deals listed below with graphics cards. Which of these would be the better deal?

Two (2) eVGA GeForce 6800 GS 256MB PCI Express SLI Video Cards and an Ultra X-Finity 500 Watt SLI-Ready Power Supply

XFX GeForce 7800 GT 256MB PCIe Video Card with Call Of Duty 2 PC Game & an Ultra 600 Watt X-Finit Power Supply

Two (2) XFX GeForce 7800 GT 256MB PCIe Video Cards with Call Of Duty 2 PC Game & an Ultra 600 Watt X-Finit Power Supply

Two (2) eVGA GeForce 7800 GT CO 256MB PCIe Video Cards with an Ultra X-Finity 600 Watt Power Supply

Two (2) eVGA GeForce 7800 GT 256MB PCIe SLI Video Card with an Ultra X-Finity 600 Watt Power Supply

 

[Piuc2020]

I would buy a X1900XT and a kickass 150$ PSU with that kind of money, a single X1900XT will be more or less like SLI 7800GTs and you don't have to deal with any of the complications SLI brings, besides, you can always crossfire the card later not to mention you'll get a much better PSU for 150$ than that Ultra X-Finity.

 

[TecHNooB]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
I would buy a X1900XT and a kickass 150$ PSU with that kind of money, a single X1900XT will be more or less like SLI 7800GTs and you don't have to deal with any of the complications SLI brings, besides, you can always crossfire the card later not to mention you'll get a much better PSU for 150$ than that Ultra X-Finity.

He's right. X1900XT or X1900XTX. Technically they are overcharging you for those 7800GTs. You could get the eVGAs + COD2 + Ultra X-Infinity for $601. 300+300+0+1.

 

[KeepItRed]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
I would buy a X1900XT and a kickass 150$ PSU with that kind of money, a single X1900XT will be more or less like SLI 7800GTs and you don't have to deal with any of the complications SLI brings, besides, you can always crossfire the card later not to mention you'll get a much better PSU for 150$ than that Ultra X-Finity.

 

[jpacelli]

If I went with the X1900XT would I need a different MB.

 

[TecHNooB]

Only if you want to crossfire that sucker.

 

[jpacelli]

So is crossfirig the same as SLI?

 

[sandorski]

Be sure to RAID those awesome 3gb SATA drives!!!!

 

[VERTIGGO]

just make sure its RAID 0. Nowadays, a pc needs at least 6GB of storage.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

i think he meant 3gb/s aka sata 2

 

[Steelski]

you dont need a new motherboard to run one 1900 card.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
I would buy a X1900XT and a kickass 150$ PSU with that kind of money, a single X1900XT will be more or less like SLI 7800GTs and you don't have to deal with any of the complications SLI brings, besides, you can always crossfire the card later not to mention you'll get a much better PSU for 150$ than that Ultra X-Finity.

while your right with the x1900 suggestion, theres nothing complicated about SLI. and i like how you see SLI as complicated yet are able to reccomend crossfire without such comment, crossfire is the same if not more complicated.

put them in, attach the bridge, install the drivers, reboot hey presto done. its no different than running 1 graphics card. if you cant do that then you should get a dell

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: jpacelli
So is crossfirig the same as SLI?

Crossfire is ATI's answer to SLI. both are multi-GPU solutions. SLI has been round alot longer and is thus more refined. ATI's effort has come on very well since its miss fire with the X800 series, but i regard SLI to be the more elegant of the two.

 

[Piuc2020]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
I would buy a X1900XT and a kickass 150$ PSU with that kind of money, a single X1900XT will be more or less like SLI 7800GTs and you don't have to deal with any of the complications SLI brings, besides, you can always crossfire the card later not to mention you'll get a much better PSU for 150$ than that Ultra X-Finity.

while your right with the x1900 suggestion, theres nothing complicated about SLI. and i like how you see SLI as complicated yet are able to reccomend crossfire without such comment, crossfire is the same if not more complicated.

put them in, attach the bridge, install the drivers, reboot hey presto done. its no different than running 1 graphics card. if you cant do that then you should get a dell

Well, by complications I meant higher watt consume, higher temperatures inside the case and poor air flow, noise issues and then there is SLI incompatibility with some games, however you look at it, a single card solution is definitely more attractive than an SLI setup. About the crossfire thing, I said you could always Crossfire that card down the road and gain performance (despite having to deal with Crossfire's complications) whether you have to send your 7800GTs to the can should you need more performance. If I was talking about a 7800GTX 512 vs 7800GT SLI, I would have given an exact same recommendation "You can always SLI it down the road". You do understand what I'm trying to tell you, don't you?

 

[akugami]

Wait another month, see how the new G71 (from all appearances to be called the 7900GTX) performs and then compare it to the X1900XT. Take whichever is the best. This beast should last you 2 years and up easily if you're not concerned about always having the best possible. And from your rig, it seems like that's the case.

Crossfire is essentially the same as SLI in that it uses two graphics cards to share the load and perform better than a single graphics card. Crossfire requires a motherboard using an ATI chipset much like SLI requires an nVidia chipset.

Are you adverse to a little overclocking? It'd make much more sense to buy an Opteron 165 and overclocking it than to buy the Athlon X2 4400. You can get equivalent performance with only a little bit of overclocking, and the Opteron 165 retail even has a very nice heatsink with heatpipes.

Consider a widescreen LCD. All new games will feature widescreen support and it's great.

 

[AzNPinkTuv]

4th one wins at life

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
I would buy a X1900XT and a kickass 150$ PSU with that kind of money, a single X1900XT will be more or less like SLI 7800GTs and you don't have to deal with any of the complications SLI brings, besides, you can always crossfire the card later not to mention you'll get a much better PSU for 150$ than that Ultra X-Finity.

while your right with the x1900 suggestion, theres nothing complicated about SLI. and i like how you see SLI as complicated yet are able to reccomend crossfire without such comment, crossfire is the same if not more complicated.

put them in, attach the bridge, install the drivers, reboot hey presto done. its no different than running 1 graphics card. if you cant do that then you should get a dell

Well, by complications I meant higher watt consume, higher temperatures inside the case and poor air flow, noise issues and then there is SLI incompatibility with some games, however you look at it, a single card solution is definitely more attractive than an SLI setup. About the crossfire thing, I said you could always Crossfire that card down the road and gain performance (despite having to deal with Crossfire's complications) whether you have to send your 7800GTs to the can should you need more performance. If I was talking about a 7800GTX 512 vs 7800GT SLI, I would have given an exact same recommendation "You can always SLI it down the road". You do understand what I'm trying to tell you, don't you?

of course i agree with you that the single card is best.....less heat, more room for other stuff (SLI takes up a good chunk of my space) and yes ill agree theres a few odd problems in a handful of games. as for noise and poor airflow ive not experienced any of that....infact my SLI set up is much quieter than my previous set up of a 6800GT.

i cant comment on noise from a single XTX though so i wont, its difficult to gauge from different reviews, some say its quiet, others cant tolerate it so i dont know

and yeah i understand you now