Best mid price ranged SLI cards?
- Thread starter Ollie1132
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Caporegime
No point in going SLI with two £250 cards, might as well just get a GTX 680 and be done with it.
Also, the graphics card forum is that way --->
Also, the graphics card forum is that way --->
Soldato
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Pitcairn 7850/7870. Equivalent to 6950/6970, or 560ti/570, with better thermals, power consumption, noise.
Soldato
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And yes, I'd agree. Get a 680 if you gonna that kind of money. Single card is a lot less problematic.
Associate
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2 x GTX 560 Tis may be about right for that price range. Easily overclocked. Very good performance in SLI and yes 2-way SLI (or more) will outperform a single card of the same type but this largely depends on the games you play.
Soldato
Potenially, though they can be problems. Increased heat and power draw. The setup is can tricky. I have also heard that some games don't mix well with SLI.
If you have that budget you'd be better off getting a GTX 680.
Oh I see. Well Im still figuring out exactly what Im putting into my next rig.. So far Im only certain of the case, CPU cooler and RAM. Since Im waiting on the Ivy Bridge processor release to decide upon the motherboard and processor obviously. But thanks I guess Ill just go with a 680 instead of messing with SLI then.
2x 560 ti
will give you more performance then a 580 or a 680
but you could always buy a 680 and then get another one later on down the road
1 thing though since i went sli my cards get a lot more hotter etc and you will need sufficiant cooling
will give you more performance then a 580 or a 680
but you could always buy a 680 and then get another one later on down the road
1 thing though since i went sli my cards get a lot more hotter etc and you will need sufficiant cooling
Soldato
I would personally go with a single card setup. Yes, SLI/Xfire offer great performance but as people have eluded to above it can sometimes be problematic. If your not aware, there will be some nice price drops on the high end AMD cards very soon, probably this weekend. I would personally go with a 7950 (should be around £300) if you game at 1080 or 1200. In a year or two, pick up a second one and go Crossfire.
Soldato
Always buy the best single card you can afford. Far better plan than faffing around with SLI. I'd only really recommend SLI if money is no object and you can get 2x the best card on the market.
just my preference really 
Associate
Personally I don't know what all this 'SLI is problematic' thing is all about. I've SLI two GTX580s back in Feb and have had ZERO problems (and i've never SLI or Xfire anything in my life, I was a complete noob just wanting to see what the fuss is all about).
Fitting and installing them was as easy as fitting and install anything else you have in your case.
Both cards were picked up fine first time, NVIDIA driver found both cards first time, no error messages, no HEAT problems at all while playing BF3 on full Ultra preset (bout 70c top card 62c bottom, 55% fan speed, V-Sync on), even overclocked both of them no sweat, and EVERY game I have thrown at it have worked first time (and they run QUICK)
I can't comment on xfire as i've never done it, bit I say SLI FTW, if you want to go SLI then I highly recommend it (just make sure you have a case with good air flow)
Fitting and installing them was as easy as fitting and install anything else you have in your case.
Both cards were picked up fine first time, NVIDIA driver found both cards first time, no error messages, no HEAT problems at all while playing BF3 on full Ultra preset (bout 70c top card 62c bottom, 55% fan speed, V-Sync on), even overclocked both of them no sweat, and EVERY game I have thrown at it have worked first time (and they run QUICK)
I can't comment on xfire as i've never done it, bit I say SLI FTW, if you want to go SLI then I highly recommend it (just make sure you have a case with good air flow)
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Soldato
Maybe you haven't had problems, but people have. Also, an SLI setup will be more effective on some games than others. In fact, SLI doesn't even work on some games. Far better off with a top end single card that will perform well across the board. No point in SLI mid range cards at all.
Given a choice of 2x 560's or 1x 680, I know which I'd choose. Two mid range old tech cards? Or a state of the art cutting edge card? No brainer really.
You may get the odd game that will perform better with the 560's but overall the 680 will win out with more consistent performance, less power usage, less heat, less noise, and more features. And if you really want to, you always have the option of adding another one later.
Given a choice of 2x 560's or 1x 680, I know which I'd choose. Two mid range old tech cards? Or a state of the art cutting edge card? No brainer really.
You may get the odd game that will perform better with the 560's but overall the 680 will win out with more consistent performance, less power usage, less heat, less noise, and more features. And if you really want to, you always have the option of adding another one later.
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Associate
well im not saying that problems won't occur, of course they can. But at the moment this thread is suggesting that you will ONLY have problems with SLI, im saying that chances are you won't and it's worth going for it.
And again I know SLI doesn't work on some games, NVIDIA website lists all games that support SLI so maybe check there first.
If OP wants to SLI mid-range cards then my 2 pence worth is to do it.
And again I know SLI doesn't work on some games, NVIDIA website lists all games that support SLI so maybe check there first.
If OP wants to SLI mid-range cards then my 2 pence worth is to do it.
Soldato
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I'd get a 7850 / 7870, single. Note that your VRAM doesn't double with SLI / XFire. All in all, I would get a 2GB single card.
Soldato