GPU Dilemma (2 Viewers)

[Gibbatron]

Hey guys. Been ages since i posted here :S

Im gonna get a new PC pretty soon as this one is old and running the windows 7 RC, which i cant trust much anymore. Ive turned the date back but im dreading the day whn the whole thing will prolly just shut down and refuse to boot. Also its over 3 years old.

The problem is i cant decide what graphics card to get. Ive decided to go one of the new Nvidia ones,and ive got a bit of money to spare.

At this stage i figure ive got three options: Grab a GTX480, probably EVGA; get two GTX470's or wait until the GTX485 is released.

Im aware of the fact that the radeon cards are currently cheaper, but im planning for future upgrades, and the Nvidia cards have insane SLI scaling. Plus the GTX480 just looks damn cool.

Opinions?

 

[iRuler]

radeon for the win imo, unless you wanna keep it for about 3-4 years, if that then get 485.

 

[ohexploitable]

Go ATI imo, the GTX 480 is like 5% faster than the HD 5870 but uses 50% more power...

 

[Gibbatron]

LOL yeh and runs way hotter, but im also considering the scaling of the cards here. 2 GTX480s completely smashes the 5970 in most situations. On average the scaling of two GTX480s is about 80% over just one. That is extremely good, and can only get better with better drivers.

 

[ohexploitable]

Wait for like GTX 495?

 

[Gibbatron]

Wait for like GTX 495?

I dont think they're going to make one due to heat issues Would be insane if they did.

 

[iRuler]

5970 x 2

 

[iRuler]

well he wants power lol

idk, 2x 5850's seem decent to me.

 

[Gibbatron]

3DVision lol. Now that would be cool across a 3 screen setup

 

[spyborg]

Considering most games can run on max with an old 8800gt, the majority of high end video cards these days are just overkill.

 

[hscishard]

Considering most games can run on max with an old 8800gt, the majority of high end video cards these days are just overkill.

You srs? That means my 4850 can run everything on max?

Doubt it.

 

[Gibbatron]

I'm not ruling out any options here. I'm considering all of the available cards. I certainly don't disagree that the radeon cards are awesome. I must say, two GTX470's looks pretty sweet though. If not that then possibly a 5870 or two.

 

[abbeyroad]

m8 the GTX480 and 475 are power hogs and run like a fricking furnace with a number of CUDA cores disabled. it's like the G80 all over again. I suggest you hold off upgrading till Nvidia fixes the die yield issues and roll out the full range of 400s which will take full advantage of the Fermi architecture, then make your decision to either upgrade to fermi or ATI's Northern Islands which are supposed to come out late this year/early 2011.

 

[Bacilli]

What sort of games do you play? Personally if I was a Sims players, for the record I am not, I'd go a 5750. If maybe you're interested in Conviction or Mafia II, or any game which is intensive on the video card I'd be more inclined to go with an ATi... why? Because like you say, the Nvidia's are new and still in review...

ATi 5870 would be fine up until Christmas... Current drivers are stable, DX11, 850/1.2 Stnd clock speeds, GDDR5, 256bit... it aint bad... and it'll handle most games up until prolly early 2011 when Battlefield 3 is released. And even then, you prolly get away with playing that too with shadows at medium and HBAO off, 4x on both opts AA etc depending on resolution ofcourse

 

[ohexploitable]

Battlefield 3

Sauce.

 

[Bacilli]

No zorse, just hope.

 

[SnowFox]

Sauce.

E3 Press Release-Battlefield 3

 

[Gibbatron]

Ok ive decided to go with the 5870s. One XFX 5870 to be exact as i cant afford two atm.

What do you think of this system:

Intel Core i7 930
EVGA X58 SLI LE
6GB 1600MHz Corsair Dominator GT DDR3 Triple Channel RAM
XFX Radeon 5870
Enermax 85+ 1050W PSU
Samsung 2949HS 23.6" Monitor

And a couple of HDDs, optical drive, G15 and Coolermaster Sentinel mouse

Total cost approx $3000 (including OS)

 

[ohexploitable]

From Whirlpool:

CPU: Intel Core i7 930 $348
Mobo: Gigabyte X58A-UD3R $249
RAM: G.Skill-NQ 6GB DDR3-1600 $205
SSD: G.Skill Falcon II 64GB SSD $232
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $105
GPU: 2GB ATI Radeon HD5970 $899
Case: Coolermaster Storm Sniper Black Edition $215
PSU: Seasonic X-750 $235
ODD: Sony-NEC Optiarc AD-7240S $35
CPU HSF: Corsair Hydro Series H50 $122

Total: $2645

$400 left over for monitor, KB+mouse and OS.

 

[Aeriff]

From Whirlpool:

CPU: Intel Core i7 930 $348
Mobo: Gigabyte X58A-UD3R $249
RAM: G.Skill-NQ 6GB DDR3-1600 $205
SSD: G.Skill Falcon II 64GB SSD $232
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $105
GPU: 2GB ATI Radeon HD5970 $899
Case: Coolermaster Storm Sniper Black Edition $215
PSU: Seasonic X-750 $235
ODD: Sony-NEC Optiarc AD-7240S $35
CPU HSF: Corsair Hydro Series H50 $122

Total: $2645

$400 left over for monitor, KB+mouse and OS.

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