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8800GT SLi vs 4850/4870

zytok

zytok

zytok

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Have a bit of money burning a hole and was wondering whether to buy an extra GT to go SLi or whether to try to get £70 for the GT and put it towards a 4850/4870. I have an nForce chipset but my PSU is a 400W jobby that comes with the Antec Sonata V2. Not sure if it's gonna but the mustard on an SLi rig which would mean I would need to replace the PSU as well. There is a Hyper 580W modular on MM that looks like it should be ok.
Is the SLi-rig gonna outperform the 4850/4870 at 1280x1024 with 4xMSAA/8xAF on recent titles? My mobo is an Asus P5Ne-SLi.
 
8800GT SLI should outperform the 4870 although bear in mind that on that mobo the PCI-E lanes drop to 8x in SLI mode. Just looked at a few benchmarks comparing it with 680i mobos and it doesn't seem to impact it much at all though.

I'd have doubts over whether the PSU could handle it but as long as you are prepared to potentially replace it, this could be the best way forward.
 
Yeah, I persoanlly think that another 8800GT will be best (if your favourite games support it obviousl), HOWEVER, it's whether your PSU can handle it... not so sure myself... certaily not overclocked though...

Take a look at Teaktown review of 4870's, they have 8800GT in SLI to compare to and it makes interesting reading...

Cheers Pug
 
OMG!!! are the benchies on Anandtech accurate?!?! I thought that SLi was a big joke and you were lucky to get 30-40% more FPS, the article on there suggests between 50-100%+ more!!!:eek:
 
Yeah, what, back in the 6-series? SLi and Crossfire have come a long way since then - in games that are supported at least.
 
I would go for HD4870.

8800GT SLI shouldnt be more faster than max 10-20% in only some cases, in some it will loose.

On the other hand, for this low resolution, why do you even upgrading anything ? 8800GT can handle ANYTHING on this res, and thats maxed out with 8AA 16AF, not 8AF 4AA.
 
you'd be surprised. I have issues with quite a few titles not running silky smooth (60fps) at 1280x1024 with 4xAA. Was eyeing up the 4850 originally as that seems to give a 30-40% improvement especially where AA is used. Never really considered another GT as I thought everyone said it was crap. Would need to upgrade my PSU as well though so might just stick with the 4850 for now.
 
I'd recommend you go 4800s this time around, they offer a nice speed boost, and have a pretty small impact when you enable AA and AF, in crossfire, they fly.

I've just bought 2 4850s myself, they'll arrive tomorrow :D.
 
i wouldnt upgrade yet. let the money in your pocket burn longer and multiply, then buy a new mobo, psu and 2 ati cards. that is a lot of money tho.
 
HangTime said:
I'd have doubts over whether the PSU could handle it but as long as you are prepared to potentially replace it, this could be the best way forward.
Click to expand...

You can't be serious?

8800GT SLI uses less than a 2900XT it uses slightly more than a GTX. I ran a 2900XT in a Hiper 580W for 6 months without issue.

5jz2u9.png
 
ok, thanks for the advice chaps but I've decided to save some money and just to get the one 4850 for now. I've got a buyer for mt GT so the upgrades only costing me £30. If I bought a second GT, It'd cost me £90 for the card and £60 for a new psu. Will consider buying a new xfire mobo and a second 4850 later.
 
Greebo said:
And don't forget when the 9800GTX drops to £117 in two weeks, the 8800GT ought to be about £80. ;)
Click to expand...

Infact I'd be tempted to go 2x9800GTX's if I'd waited this long... however, he already has a 8800GT so that's a stupid idea...

here's a question Greebo... if you already had an Sli Mobo... and was looking for a GPU right now and was going to spend what... say £240 quid... what would YOU go for?

Cheers Pug ;)
 
pugheaven said:
Infact I'd be tempted to go 2x9800GTX's if I'd waited this long... however, he already has a 8800GT so that's a stupid idea...

here's a question Greebo... if you already had an Sli Mobo... and was looking for a GPU right now and was going to spend what... say £240 quid... what would YOU go for?

Cheers Pug ;)
Click to expand...

Depends on what my first card was. ;)

If I had a 8800GT I think I would buy another for £80 in two weeks time and save £160.

Possibly I might consider flogging the 8800GT now for £90 (I know there are some mad people on the fleabay), wait two weeks and then buy two 9800GTX cards for under £240 less the £90 (or whatever) for your GT.

Maybe if your budget is £240 you might use the money from the sale of the 8800GT to buy two 9800GTX+ cards instead (would still be under budget)

Depends if I could be bothered with the hassle of selling my card and waiting two weeks without a gaming pc.

One thing for sure, two 8800GT's are no slouch but two 9800GTX in SLI will match two 4850 in xfire in most things and two 9800GTX+ in SLI would come close to two 4870's in crossfire as well.

Saves the hassle of buying a new mobo.
 
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