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GTX 470 in SLI or just one GTX 480?

madindehead

madindehead

madindehead

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Currently trying to decide, on what would be best for my gaming experience.

I game at 1680x1050 resolution, and my current graphics (GTX 275 AMP!) is having problems running games such a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Clear Sky and Call or Pripyat at full graphics. I also bought Metro 2033 in the Steam sale, and I understand it is pretty graphics intensive.

I like to play my games at the maximum possible settings, I like them to look good, but also play well. So I need something with good graphics performance. Two GTX 480s in SLI is outside my budget, and I understand they would get pretty hot anyway.

However, two GTX 470s in SLI seem to be quite common. From what I have seen, they scale very well, and are able to handle most games at full settings. Given the cost of two GTX 470s is only around £80 more than a 480, is it worth it?

I would hope to overclock the cards slightly, and I already have an idea for a custom cooling solution in my mind (hopefully one that doesn't tale up 3 slots).

Basically, I want the opinions of people who own GTX 470s in SLI, and see what they think about this. Sorry for the long winded post, I just want to make sure I buy the right think, and I get something that should last a reasonable time (given that an insanely GPU intense game like Metro 2033 and Crysis only comes along every so often and isn't the norm).

Thanks :)
 
The cheapest GeForce 470 (5 years warranty) being sold at OcUK is roughly £245 (delivered).

The cheapest GeForce 480 (3 years warranty) I could find costs around £370.

Two 470s would cost you about £490. The cost difference is £120.

I'd get a single GeForce 470 and if not happy with the performance - add another one in the future. There are other cards coming up in few months, it's good to make justified purchases. Also the resolution you game at is... low. Low enough to be happy with GeForce 470, that's for sure.
 
Sure, the resolution I game at is low, but I want to make sure, if I upgrade my monitor, I can game at 1920x1200. Only game at 1680x1050 because that's what I'm limited to :p

Like I said, I like to play at max graphics, so I need the power :p

That sounds like a good plan however, to get one 470 for now, and add one. I will wait a few weeks between (as I also need to upgrade my PSU to handle them :p)
 
I'd go for the two GTX470s with a caveat. I'm currently running one for 1680x1050, and Metro 2033 is playable at Very High settings, DX11, Tessellation off, and AA set to AAA.

Basically, I'd only get another if you're going to play in 3D, as all games are playable on highest settings with one at 1680x1050 (unless you really have to have the absolute highest, tessellation et al).
 
Mr Krugga said:
The cheapest GeForce 470 (5 years warranty) being sold at OcUK is roughly £245 (delivered).

The cheapest GeForce 480 (3 years warranty) I could find costs around £370.

Two 470s would cost you about £490. The cost difference is £120.

I'd get a single GeForce 470 and if not happy with the performance - add another one in the future. There are other cards coming up in few months, it's good to make justified purchases. Also the resolution you game at is... low. Low enough to be happy with GeForce 470, that's for sure.
Click to expand...

I would do this
 
Marvin said:
I'd go for the two GTX470s with a caveat. I'm currently running one for 1680x1050, and Metro 2033 is playable at Very High settings, DX11, Tessellation off, and AA set to AAA.

Basically, I'd only get another if you're going to play in 3D, as all games are playable on highest settings with one at 1680x1050 (unless you really have to have the absolute highest, tessellation et al).
Click to expand...

Have you been happy with the performance of your GTX 470 then? Sadly for me, I do really want the best I can get in terms of looks and performance.

NathWraith said:
High end single card > Multiple Slower Cards
Click to expand...

I thought that too, but from what I have read, the combined performance of two 470s is better than one 480. That's from the reviews I have seen. Having said that, I don't know exactly if there are any major known issues with SLI on the 470s.
 
I'm very happy with my GTX470. I'll only add another if I feel that I can't play the latest games (though the Zotac at £235 is tempting).
 
Two GTX470s are roughly on par with a 5970 in terms of speed. Seeing as 5970s are about 445 quid at the moment, why not get one of those?
 
Mojo said:
Two GTX470s are roughly on par with a 5970 in terms of speed. Seeing as 5970s are about 445 quid at the moment, why not get one of those?
Click to expand...

True. I've not really used ATI cards much to be honest. Also, I plan on probably buying one 470, then selling my 275, then buying a second 470 (I also need to update my PSU, rock on the Corsair AX series to release :D)
 
Interesting. I'm not planning on buying until middle of September anyway, but as I'm not busy right now, thought I would do all my planning now, and get my ideas together.

I am still tempted by those 470s though, slap on some custom cooling and see if I can clock them a bit. Performance wise, they seem very similar to the 5970. Just heard of people having problems with the big ATI cards. Not that it doesn't happen with Nvidia either of course, just the way technology goes.
 
The gtx400 series is indeed a great performing bit of kit, whether you go for 470 sli or just one to start off with, or even a 480, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Adding custom cooling would be a smart move, especially if you went for a 480.
 
My aim is probably to start with one 470, see where it takes me, and then possibly take another in SLI. The scaling seems good, and I feel it will last me a while. Being able to run Metro 2033 with pretty much full graphics is my aim, but a game like that doesn't come along very often, so hoping my setup can last a few years now. If I had SLI'd my 275, I guess it would have lasted longer than it has really.

The rest of my system will last a while, so I need my graphics to be powerful enough to last a few years also :)

But as you can tell, I really don't know yet...
 
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