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Whats the point in top end graphics cards?

Muel said:
I love it that the most demanding game (that I know of) is still Crysis. 4 years old.

My single 5830 did struggle slightly for one or two games at 1920x1200, so I got another one.
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5830 in xfire is a beefy setup and will see you good for a couple more years to come
 
same question:

What's the point with multi-GPU setups?

i simply don't understand those epeen people, especially when new games doesn't work. (eg. Crysis 2, AC:Brotherhood)


there's a right graphics card for the right resolution. buying 580 for 1680x is simply stupid, while only buying a 560 for 30inch is equally stupid.

i went from 24 to 2560x 27inch, and 5870 to 580. if i hadn't moved to 27inch, i would not have spent any money on graphics cards.
 
^ = facepalm

You've just answered the question.
You upgraded your GPU for the higher resolution.

And that means... People will have to upgrade their GPU/s for even higher resolution :D
 
postmanfw said:
Multigpu= more performance for less money :)
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*When (if) it works, when the game supports it, when you spend more on motherboard and power supply.

single GPU: click on game EXE to play.
multi GPU: search internet for solutions, and after a few hours of tweaking, only 170% performance of the 200% price paid over single card.

looks great in benchmarks, sure. but we all know how useful are benchmarks :rolleyes:
 
For sure a single 5870 cant max crysis and maintain 60 fps.

Theres a few ball breaker games out now that can make a 5870 struggle even on a 24 inch screen but if you have a 30 inch or run 3 screens then those ball breaker games will bring a 5870 to its knees.

I used to run a 5970 + 5870 in trifire and then gave my brother the 5870 and i did notice the drop in performance enough to make me but another 5870 the week after.

Now using a 6990 on h20 for same kind of speed but with silence.

Check out the fps here see what 3 screens does to top end cards and imagine what frame rate the 5870 ect would get

http://www.guru3d.com/article/triple-monitor-gaming-on-geforce-gtx-590-and-radeon-6990/9
 
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neilw said:
I've just upgared my grapics card from a 4850 to a 5850 which most people would consider a mid-range card.

I've only tested afew games with it. FarCry2 on make it doesn't drop below 80FPS and Battlefield BC2 also on max doesn't drop below 50fps.

Are there any games out there that this card will stuggle with this card, considering monitor refresh rate is 60hz.

My point is if the £120 5850 will handel everything thats out there at the mo at this speed, whats the point in paying £250+ for a top end card.
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Because a £120 5850 won't handle a lot of modern games at 2560x1600, Or at eyefinity resolutions, or with high resolution and 3d enabled, or maxed out in DX11 with loads of AA e.t.c e.t.c

It is very easy to see why someone would want a 580 GTX over a 5850 if they are gaming at 1080P or above:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/295?vs=305
 
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wuyanxu said:
*When (if) it works, when the game supports it, when you spend more on motherboard and power supply.

single GPU: click on game EXE to play.
multi GPU: search internet for solutions, and after a few hours of tweaking, only 170% performance of the 200% price paid over single card.

looks great in benchmarks, sure. but we all know how useful are benchmarks :rolleyes:
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I guess some people are happy to settle for just 'good enough' where as others push for the best. No shame in either viewpoint.

I put together a watercooled 480SLI setup pretty much a year ago (paying £450 for each card :eek: ) and I cannot recall one moment where I regretted going for the dual GPU solution. I know I have played games on my setup where no single card would have given me 60fps (proper 30" 1600p, none of this 1440p peasant cop out :p ), and am just starting to see titles that cannot hit 60fps when I set everything to shinyshiny. If I had gone for a single GPU solution, I would have had to severely compromise on either the look or the resolution of the games I play.

Lastly, I will pick up on your 170% performance, for 200% of the price remark. Your sig states you have a 580. That doesn't exactly compare well on a cost/performance ratio to pretty much any other card out there.
 
I've just baught a GTX 460, been playing crysis today on very high at 1680x1050, everything seems to be running smooth, don't have a high AA set though, but still, it's always above 40fps which is fine in my opinion.
 
Just because a 5850 runs a old game at good fps doesnt mean that card is all you need.

Run some newer harder games on high res screens then run those games on 3 high res screens and a 5850 will be into single figure frame rates.

Also when you buy a nice card you want it to still play games well in 2 or 3 years times because whats fast enough now will son be slow tomorrow so if you buy cheap mid range card that's hardly good enough to run current games right now it will soon become a liability and hold back good gaming and 2 years down the line wont even run top titles but a top card purchase will still run top titles at decent standards 3 years on so paying extra for the better card is worth while.
 
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layte said:
Lastly, I will pick up on your 170% performance, for 200% of the price remark. Your sig states you have a 580. That doesn't exactly compare well on a cost/performance ratio to pretty much any other card out there.
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Quite... 100% price for 100%-170% performance is a winner in my books if you compare a 580 to 2x6950's

And Crysis 2 is really the only recent game I've seen that has totally broken xfire support. Some games just scale badly and get improved via patches or drivers over time.
 
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6970 scaling is a lot better than 170% methinks :)

Edit : and when you compare it to the cost of a 580 for performance/£ then its a def winner :)
 
postmanfw said:
6970 scaling is a lot better than 170% methinks :)

Edit : and when you compare it to the cost of a 580 for performance/£ then its a def winner :)
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Depends if you want a dual card setup.

Personally I don't and much prefer the consistent and hassle free performance of a high end single card.
 
The Asgard said:
Depends if you want a dual card setup.

Personally I don't and much prefer the consistent and hassle free performance of a high end single card.
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But just like the OP's comment it all depends on the res.

Running a Eyefinity rig and even 2x6970's aint enough a lot of the time.
Obviously depends on the game too.
 
Arn't most cards "top end" at some point in their life? It just depends whether you buy on release or some time after when a newer card comes out. The reason for buying the card is the same in the end.
There may be some epeen about it, but its no different to driving a 4x4 instead of a fiesta, or smoking and drinking every night, everything is a waste of money to someone, so let people spend as they wish.
I spent about £300 on my 280GTX which was pretty much top the range when I bought it, but I've not had to spend any money upgrading for over 2 years now, and it still plays everything I need it to at 1080p and decent fps. I could have ended up upgrading 2 or 3 times using lesser cards in that time frame, but as it is, I still think I will be using this card in 6 months time(so long as it holds together, had to strip it and clean it and re-paste it to get it working again).
 
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