sixstring
join:2002-09-16
Pasadena, CA
| 4850 xfire, 9800GTX OC SLI or 9800 GX2 (600mhz)?
Right now i have a budget of around $400 for my graphics card(s). I recently sold my old 2x 8800GTS 640s in SLI, and i'm looking for a faster and more future-proof setup.
With the recent onslaught of performance Radeons at bargain basement prices, i'm kind of leaning toward crossfire.
According to a comparo a pair of 4850s is just a few frames shy from 2x 4870s in crossfire. 2x 4850s can be had for just a bit over $300 bucks right now, and the performance is up to par, if not better, than a pair of overclocked 9800 GTXes, and much better than a single GTX260/280. The downside is ATI has bad drivers.. in some cases crossfire actually slows performance.
Another problem is that i'd have to replace my 680i SLI motherboard (and i really don't want to) with a decent crossfire motherboard, and that would shave off a good portion of my budget.
I can:
1) Try to get a decent intel xfire board on the cheap and get a pair of 4850s, but it may gimp my C2D overclock.
2) 2x 9800 GTX OC in SLI
3) 1x 9800 GX2, and maybe go quad in the future.
4) 2x 8800GTS (G92) in SLI (and save some money)
5) Wait for the 9800GTX+, or a huge price drop on the GTX series.
What to do? 
I know i'll be able to benefit from DX10.1 if i go with the radeon, what can the new GTX260/280 offer? |
|
eX_NihiLo
Here's Your Something For Nothing
Premium
join:2003-08-05
Louisville, CO | Unless you are playing games above 1920x1200 resolution, I'd get a single 4870 or GTX260 for ~$300 until your next system upgrade next year. 4870x2s will probably be under $300 by then or you could go for the GT3xx series. |
|
sixstring
join:2002-09-16
Pasadena, CA
1 edit | im playing most all games @ 1920x1200 native.
By the way, would i need four 6 pin power connectors from my PSU if i want to SLI 2x 9800 GTXes? |
|
eX_NihiLo
Here's Your Something For Nothing
Premium
join:2003-08-05
Louisville, CO | reply to sixstring
Why did you get rid of the 8800GTS SLI setup? |
|
sixstring
join:2002-09-16
Pasadena, CA | i wanted to upgrade to the G92 chip before the 4850s came out.. also the GTXes run a tad cooler than the 640mb versions. |
|
IllIlIlllIll
EliteData
Premium
join:2003-07-06
Lindenhurst, NY | are you willingto part with the 680i if you do change to a x-fire board ?
if so, would you mind selling me the board ? |
|
m8trix
join:2003-12-24
Phoenix, AZ | reply to sixstring
i say go with the 9800GX2 or the 4870 X2(when it comes out) which will give you SLi like performance and you wouldnt have to worry about your mobo or having a huge psu |
|
asdfdfdfdfdfdf
@Level3.net
| reply to sixstring
"1) Try to get a decent intel xfire board on the cheap and get a pair of 4850s, but it may gimp my C2D overclock."
See no point in spending money changing platform since you are already set up for sli.
"2) 2x 9800 GTX OC in SLI
3) 1x 9800 GX2, and maybe go quad in the future."
If you get something like the evga gx2, which can be had for $350-400. The price spread among these cards is large right now and buying the more expensive cards doesn't make sense. This would be more sensible, at these prices, than dual gtx cards.
"4) 2x 8800GTS (G92) in SLI (and save some money)"
I don't see the point in going from what you had to this and money clearly isn't an issue for you.
"5) Wait for the 9800GTX+, or a huge price drop on the GTX series."
The gtx+ cards aren't really worth the premium and it isn't going to give results that vary much from your gx2 gtx sli question above. |
|
sixstring
join:2002-09-16
Pasadena, CA
| hmm, so the GX2 is looking pretty good.. i'm looking at a GX2 but the default clock is a little slow @ 600mhz.
any recommendations on GX2 cards?
quick question about physX.. does nvidia plan to code drivers to implement physX processing on their GPUs? Or is it going to be a separate processing unit, like something extra on future nvidia cards? |
|
sixstring
join:2002-09-16
Pasadena, CA
1 edit | reply to sixstring
also i was thinking, maybe i should wait until the 4870x2s come out to see which one has better performance. It may drive the current 9800GX2 prices down too. Any word on the release date?
EDIT: found a preview
»enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.h···aWFzdA==
Do you think the 800 stream processors and GDDR5 is going to have significant advantages over the nvidia GTX280 series once they get the kinks out of the drivers? |
|
DusterAZ
Silencer
join:2002-03-10
Surprise, AZ
| reply to sixstring
Yeah, just wait for the 4870X2, it has very good performance and supposedly doesn't have the microstuttering issue that some people get with crossfire/SLI. I currently have a 4850 and the drivers are rock solid. I came from a 8800 and just did an uninstall of the Nvidia drivers and then put the ATI drivers on ... no issues with any games so far (COD4, Assassin's Creed, Crysis, DoD Source). If you care about AA then ATI gives you it for free almost.
--
"Guess what? I got a fever! And the only prescription... is more cowbell!" - Christopher Walken |
|
sixstring
join:2002-09-16
Pasadena, CA
| reply to IllIlIlllIll
said by IllIlIlllIll  :are you willingto part with the 680i if you do change to a x-fire board ? if so, would you mind selling me the board ? if i decide to change to a xfire board, i'll sell my 680i. |
|
Somnambul33t
L33t.
Premium
join:2002-12-05
Mullica Hill, NJ
clubs:
 ·Comcast
| reply to sixstring
this GTX 280 is $450: »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···14130365 or »www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe···celebros
ZZF has other brands for same $: »search.zipzoomfly.com/?Key=gtx+2···&x=0&y=0
just buy a 4870 or GTX260 unless you want to wait for the 4870x2. i wouldnt change mobos just to change cards unless youre willing to drop $200+ for a better board (assuming you have the CPU maxed out). a single 4870 is at least as fast as SLI 640s.
--
Somnambulator - t3h 5133pw41k3r
SEyE TF2 Server
~Choosy moms choose Jif~ |
|
eX_NihiLo
Here's Your Something For Nothing
Premium
join:2003-08-05
Louisville, CO
| reply to sixstring
said by sixstring :i wanted to upgrade to the G92 chip before the 4850s came out.. also the GTXes run a tad cooler than the 640mb versions. I'd have just kept the SLI setup for a few more months.
If you can afford to wait until the 4870x2 comes out in August it will drop the price of the GTX280 below $400. Or just get a GTX260 now and overclock. |
|
sixstring
join:2002-09-16
Pasadena, CA
| said by eX_NihiLo :I'd have just kept the SLI setup for a few more months. in a few months, the 640s won't be worth much considering the 4850s are such great performers - i paid $550 for one of the 8800GTS and $300 for the other one, so i wanted to get some money back for my next upgrade while they're still worth something.. Nvidia's pricing was (and still is) out of line without any competition. I'm glad AMD/ATI stepped up to the plate this time. |
|
sixstring
join:2002-09-16
Pasadena, CA
| reply to Somnambul33t
said by Somnambul33t :a single 4870 is at least as fast as SLI 640s. a 4850 is already pretty close to my old SLI performance @ low res. I picked up a 4850 on a *cough*30 day loan*cough* from a local store to check out the performance on these new GPUs.. and i must say i'm impressed. This is basically the best bang for the buck card out right now. If you have a crossfire board and a 24" LCD, this is even a better deal.
i'm most likely going to go with the 4780x2 on my old SLI board. |
|
sixstring
join:2002-09-16
Pasadena, CA
1 edit | reply to Somnambul33t
said by Somnambul33t :just buy a 4870 or GTX260 after much thinking, i think i'm leaning towards a single GTX 260 over a 4870x2/9800GX2. There are several advantages including power consumption and temperature.. i think the 260 also has a lot of headroom for OCing.
Anyone have a link to a direct comparison chart between a single GTX 260 vs. a 9800GX2/9800GTX SLI? I want to see which is faster in 1920x1200. |
|
Somnambul33t
L33t.
Premium
join:2002-12-05
Mullica Hill, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast
| said by sixstring :said by Somnambul33t :just buy a 4870 or GTX260 after much thinking, i think i'm leaning towards a single GTX 260 over a 4870x2/9800GX2. There are several advantages including power consumption and temperature.. i think the 260 also has a lot of headroom for OCing. Anyone have a link to a direct comparison chart between a single GTX 260 vs. a 9800GX2/9800GTX SLI? I want to see which is faster in 1920x1200. »enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.h···aWFzdA==
looks like GTX260 is about the same as the 9800GX2/9800GTX SLI. it's better than both in many tests and equal in some.
other sites show the GX2 outperforming even the GTX280 by a good degree so im not entirely sure what to believe. |
|
Juke Box
Free From Marketing
Premium
join:2001-01-29
Bar & Grill
·Comcast
| reply to sixstring
I just picked up a MSI 4870 OC edition and it rocks. Sure it was a few dollars more than the others at Newegg, but the darn thing is... Can we say David Essex - Rock On? It does, I can assure you of that.
»global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func···_no=1509
--
If you are having half as much fun as I am, then I must be having twice the fun than you are. Do The Math! |
|
sixstring
join:2002-09-16
Pasadena, CA | reply to sixstring
i ordered an oc'd GTX 260 last night from the egg.. when the price drops a bit more i'm planning to put a second one in there.
Since i have an SLI mobo i thought i'd stick with Nvidia - though going ATI was very, well, extremely tempting. |
|
