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sli 8800GTS 512 upgrade to 280 GTX OR NOT ???

widdyst

widdyst

widdyst

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Hi all in light of the current 280 pricing could somebody please advise me what to do here , I must be honest and say that overall I have been well happy with my setup since built BUT I am now finding my 8800's dont really like DX10 titles . I only really have crysis, crysis warhead and farcry 2, DX10 games but do find my cards struggling with any AA and AF when running in DX10. Could I expect a solid improvment by switching to a single 280GTX ?
 
Since 8800GTS SLi is basically the same as a 9800GX2, which is about as fast as a GTX 280 in most games, I'd say no. Save your cash and go for an HD4870X2 or GTX295.
 
so you guys are sayin yes ??? what i want it to do is hold my current frame rates that i get with my sli setup but with added AA and AF
 
I'm currently having the same dilemma with the GTS 512's.

I don't really notice the lack of AA @ 19x12 24" and without the AA performance is very similar looking at a raft of benchmarks over the last few months.

The GTX does pull ahead when higher levels of AA are required but it will depend on the res you game at.

I also have a 8800GT on a 26" @ 1280x720 (HDTV)... not that looks awful without AA ....

Hmm... need to decide soon but seems like a £100 upgrade for not a lot extra....

I'm thinking the £100 will be better put to a new premium GPU later in the year.

AD
 
Given you can get a 280 now for £218, id go for it.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=56&subid=1176

The GTS's may be as fast when SLi works in games, but that will be with little or no AA/AF, lower res's etc..., as you only have 512mb Ram and a 256bit bus.

Also in games that are not SLI'd, the 280 will crush the GTS's, as in non SLI'd games you will only be running a single GTS, which is a lot slower.
 
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LoadsaMoney said:
Given you can get a 280 now for £218, id go for it.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=56&subid=1176

The GTS's may be as fast when SLi works in games, but that will be with little or no AA/AF, lower res's etc..., as you only have 512mb Ram and a 256bit bus.

Also in games that are not SLI'd, the 280 will crush the GTS's, as in non SLI'd games you will only be running a single GTS, which is a lot slower.
Click to expand...

Well I got one to try it.... too much of a bargain to miss the oppertunity.

Have to say I'm disappointed so far.

With a 3.0Ghz Quad the GTS SLI got 51fps in Crysis @ 16x10 DX10, The 280 can manage 42.

With an OC to 3.6Ghz and a tweak on the SLI cards 60fps DX9 16x10 wheras GtX can't crack 50fps.

More than that though... the 280 seems to lack fluidity in Crysis... though can best 15000 in 3dm06

In L4D it holds a steady 60fps with vsync and AA on max, though so did the SLI.

If I don't find a little more performance in the next couple of days then it will be sold on.....

AD
 
The games you listed out are very hard games on video cards. Even with the upgrade they still wont play all that good once you crank up the AA/AF & play the game in high screen res.
 
muppetkiller said:
The games you listed out are very hard games on video cards. Even with the upgrade they still wont play all that good once you crank up the AA/AF & play the game in high screen res.
Click to expand...

Well surely thats the point ... the OP asked if he should 'upgrade' from 8800 GTS SLI to a GTX280.... I was swayed by the price and did exactly that.... Driving to the shop yesterday.

Results so far in demanding games show the GTX to be slower unless I turn up AA to the point that the GTS's run out of memory.

Apart from Crysis I game at 19 x 12, Crysis is a notch lower as it get a little jittery in places.

Most benchmarks these days are either bias and pick the games, resolutions and settings to maximise or minimise a difference between cards. Add to that there is virtually no data on modern G80/G92 SLI other than the 9800GX2 which crops up in the odd benchmark it's hard to make an informed decision.

I'll be playing a little more today and by tomorrow either the GTS's or the GTX will be in MM

AD
 
For the money it cost you I'd personally sell the GTS cards and perhaps buy another 280 down the line. Otherwise your simply stuck in an SLI setup again which is starting to age now.
 
Decto thanks for the reply man , I dithered too long and missed out on the 280's at that low price. But from what your saying there I didnt really miss out ......did I ? I must admit the reason I dithered so long was that I couldnt find conclusive proof anywhere that a 280 would have been a definite 'upgrade' I think the comment regarding 'aging setup' is valid though but I can see myself picking up 2 second hand 280's in 6 months or so for probably around a similar price to a new one now, So I guess I'll be sli 8800 gts for a while longer and try not to worry too much about AA and AF
 
I just came from SLI 8800GTX to the single GTX280

From what ive seen so far the GTX 8800s were a few FPS faster than the single 280 in stuff where SLI works, but its the other way round in Stalker Clear Sky where SLI didnt work, as i get about 20 FPS more with the 280 than with the 8800s

But theres other reasons i opted to change to a single card, heat and power consumption being the 2 main ones.

Given that i got over a £150 for the pair of GTX's ( and some speakers :p ) the 280 only really cost me about £90
 
Difficult one, but I'd still say no. The 280GTX doesn't seem that appealing to me, there really haven't been dramatically impressive cards since the original launch of the 8 series in my opinion.
 
To help me decide which to keep I've been busy benchmarking Crysis full game.
Seems the latest drivers have taken the edge off the 8800 performance, either that or I need a nice clean install.

Anyway after all the work I thought I'd share.

The decision is now as difficult as ever ... :rolleyes:

System spec

Asus P5N-D
Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz or 3.6Ghz
4GB (2x2) Kingston 1066Mhz 6-5-5-15
280GTX or SLI 8800 GTS 512
Vista 32

Both cards at stock though the 8800 does have a slight factory OC from 650 to 675Mhz.

My thoughts .... not an upgrade, but an alternative.

 
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