Gtx275's sli to gtx 295 to gtx470 to gtx 480

ChrisLandin · 27 Mar 2010 at 19:32

Hi all. Right for kick off i post because i dont have the time right now to trawl the net. I currently have 2 275's in sli and i understand the performance is comparable to the gtx 295. How much better are the new gtx cards? Apart from dx11 whats the standout improvement? I ask as i was contemplating getting a 295 to run with a single card solution to free up some pci slots on my board! Or going for one of the new cards?

Mr Krugga · 27 Mar 2010 at 19:35

You should ask yourself IF they are any better.

ChrisLandin · 27 Mar 2010 at 19:44

Thanks for that constructive reply!!! Im after a serious reply please. Rroff are you reading?

pastymuncher · 27 Mar 2010 at 19:56

In a lot of games the 480 is simlar to the 295 in performance. The 295 also beats it in some situations as well. Going by this you will see little benefit in changing. The new cards are very power hungry and very hot running with a ridiculously noisey cooler.

ChrisLandin · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:09

Cheers pasty. I will stop with what i have for now then until i upgrade next year to the new tech of the time

Mr. May · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:12

by looking at the reviews sli 275gtx's are about the same as a 480 gtx or a little bit less and there faster than the 295 gtx because all the 295 is made of is two underclocked 275's so is there any reason to swap i would say no

iam a big enthusiast and would love a change to some off the new dx11 cards but all the nvidia options are pointless to power hungery too toud too hot and the only way you would get an improvment is going for a crossfire set up either 5850 or 5870 or a 5970 which is 500+ minimum and second hand the 275's are only worth 150 each

hope this helps

Rroff · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:13

A lot hangs on if you can get a good price for the 275s.

Performance wise, if you ignore DX11 and don't plan on running at ultra high resolutions like 2560x a GTX275 SLI setup will match or in many cases beat both the 5870 and GTX480 by a small margin.

However if you can get a good price for the cards you have now, the difference you'd be paying would be for DX11 features, better future compatibility, better resale value in future, doesn't need good multi GPU support to get the performance and even the GTX480 with its power and heat "issues" would run cooler and use less power than 2x 200 series cards.

Andrew Moore · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:16

Im in a similar boat and have decided on the 5970 route. Cant be doing with swapping out dual 295s for dual 480s as ill see no benefit for a £500+ investment over what I could sell my 2x 295s for. Still... flogging the 295s as we speak in a bid to net a pair of 5970s.

Andy

Mr. May · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:23

2x 5970's would be mega for eyeinfinity but nvidia will be releasing NV surround in a month which is compatable with all nv family from the 9*** gen and is free download with the nforce drives but you need sli to run it and support 3 screens

nWovance · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:24

where can i get a secondhand 5850 or two

Rroff · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:25

I do have to agree that the 5970 looks like the best "upgrade" route unless you want to stick with nVidia - at ~12% higher price you get a good 30% higher performance overall than a single GTX480.

ChrisLandin · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:29

cheers for the replies fellas. Most helpfull. Shame my board only supports sli otherwise i could have looked at crossfiring some 5870's

Mr. May · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:30

very true Rroff i would love one and it would be great iam holding my hopes out on NV surround and then possible NV 3D surround but thats mega expensize and power hungery

Mr. May · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:33

have you thought off upgrading to i7 as i saw a big improvment when running sli with the 275's from my q6600 ?

Rroff · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:35

Unfortunatly not much going for nVidia on the SLI front... GTX470 SLI would be very competitive against the 5970 on performance... but atleast £120 more expensive.

Rroff · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:36

Mr. May said:
have you thought off upgrading to i7 as i saw a big improvment when running sli with the 275's from my q6600 ?

Q9550 @ 3.6+gig is more than adequate for getting the best out of 200 series cards in SLI.

Mr. May · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:39

i know i was just thinking stick with te 275's till things settle down in price or the next gen cards and see how nv surround works on the 275's as i think there pritty powerfull for all modern games there isnt much they struggle with

ChrisLandin · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:55

Yea i think the 275's will stay for now and i will just upgrade next year. To be fair they play games fine on my 24 inch. One question though i have a 50 inch plasma in my front room, shes an old girl at 3 now but will they be powerfull enough to work on that?

Rroff · 27 Mar 2010 at 20:57

50" Plasma will only be 720p or 1080p so if your cards can push a 24" TFT fine the plasma will be no hassle.

Mr. May · 27 Mar 2010 at 21:00

ive got a lg 1080p 50 inch and it runs all games smooth as silk even crysis just wanna see if it can cope with ultra wide screen res some how i doubt it