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3 260's or 2 280's?

geordie56

geordie56

geordie56

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452
Hi could anyone please give me some advice on which would be better for my setup as i game over 3 screens at 5040x1050. Would tri sli with a 3rd 260 br better or sli with 2 280's? Heres the specs>>

http://www.bfgtech.com/bfgegtx260mc896h2oce.aspx

http://www.bfgtech.com/bfgrgtx2801024h2ocwe.aspx

Thanks in advance guys.
Ps the links are ok arent they as they are technical data not competitors?




EVGA 790I SLI F T W DIGITAL M/B / Q6850 EXTREME CPU / X2 BFG 260GTX MAXCORE H2O/OC / 4GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-16000 2000MHz Platinum (9-9-9-28) Dual Channel kit / X2 SAMSUNG 1TB SPINPOINTS / BITSPOWER MOSFET AND NORTH-SOUTHBRIDGE BLOCKS ON EHEIM PUMP WITH 5/8" HOSE AND AQUACOMPUTER 360 RAD / D-TEK FUSION 2 WITH QUAD CORE INSERT ON CPU WITH THERMOCHILL 360 RAD/ LAING DDC 1T (18W) XSPC TOP / TFC 360 RAD AND LAING DDC 1T (18W) XSPC TOP 3/4" TYGON HOSE ON GPUS / ALL CONTROLLED VIA AQUAERO+AQUASTREAM/ TH2GO ON X3 SAMSUNG T260HD'S
 
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-core-216,2120.html

might be helpful. it suggests that two GTX 280s out perform three GTX260 216s at the higher resolutions. whether that difference is enough to sell your existing two cards and waterblocks is up to you...

edit: the 260s perform better with AA on, it would seem, but you can read the review for yourself and see what games and settings you would like to compare.
 
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Thanks a lot for your help guys ill have a look i just dont know what to do at the minute. I want the best i can make of this at the minute whether it be get another 280 or another 260 im unsure has anyone or is anyone using this configuration? And at these resolutions? Yes the whole system is w/c.
 
geordie56 said:
Thanks a lot for your help guys ill have a look i just dont know what to do at the minute. I want the best i can make of this at the minute whether it be get another 280 or another 260 im unsure has anyone or is anyone using this configuration? And at these resolutions? Yes the whole system is w/c.
Click to expand...

Well read that review, it has that config, it only goes up to 1920X1200, but you can see the trend in each of the graphs which will let you know which will perform better at your res.
 
Well, I would go for the 280's. They have 1GB of ram each as opposed to 896MB. Not much of a difference, but a difference all the same. BUT, with two 280's, you have an extra slot left over so later on, if you ever find you need more oomph, you can simply slot in another 280. It seems that tri-sli-260s and sli-280s are about the same, win some lose some, so it comes down to price and whether you will upgrade in the future.
 
Hmmm some deciding to do after reading that review! do i buy another 280 or a 260 from the review link ive read theres not a lot of difference so im not to sure. Theres also the psu matter aswell i have 1000w at the min but would have to upgrade that to for 6 pcie's as i only have 4.
 
geordie56 said:
Hmmm some deciding to do after reading that review! do i buy another 280 or a 260 from the review link ive read theres not a lot of difference so im not to sure. Theres also the psu matter aswell i have 1000w at the min but would have to upgrade that to for 6 pcie's as i only have 4.
Click to expand...

Well if getting three 260's means a PSU upgrade then I'd go for the 280's. Maybe it doesn't perform quite as well, but it works out much cheaper.
 
Personally I'd go with the GTX280-SLI. Less heat production, less power consumption, less space taken up in your case, better economies of scale (especially in games which don't support SLI properly). Also as mentioned you're getting the option of adding a 3rd card at a later date.

Maybe consider GTX275-SLI as well as they perform very close to GTX280 level but are cheaper.
 
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