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Does the GX2 still cut it?

ChrissyT88

ChrissyT88

ChrissyT88

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Joined
9 Mar 2008
Posts
1,039
Hi

Id just like to point out that i am not all that up to date when it comes to gfx cards, other than ATI have the best card and the 4870 is possibly the card to buy! I recently upgraded to a 24" screen, and to be honest the 8800GT that i have doesnt quite cut it at such a high res. I am not a serious gamer, but i would like to play the new stalker game + Far Cry 2 at decent settings, so it looks like a graphics card upgrade is on the horizon.

I am also quite interested in Folding@Home, and have been running the GPU client for a while. For this reason, i would like to stick with a nVidia setup, and the 9800GX2 gives the most points for F@H by a long way. What im not sure on is how the GX2 will cut it with games? I do play quite a few games that are not all that GPU intensive, so is it possible to only use 'half' of the GX2 for gaming by disabling SLI? The alternative solution is to have two cards - probably a GTX2** of some sort and an 8800GS to maximise F@H output and be good for gaming. This would have the added advantage of being a good physX combination (i think??), but would be a little more pricy. Is the future of physX looking rosy (ie is it worth doing this over the GX2 route)?

Thanks, any help would be appreciated.
 
well if u will not mind microstutering and that some games not support sli and that those games will run like on single 8800gt. and some endless problems. and dumping heat in your case.


good point is if you live in the north pole and it is really cold and your cooker is broken u can do this :

:D
 
The 9800GX2 is an excellent card will beat a 280GTX in most situations until you try very high resolutions - theres very very few games that don't support SLI now and even those that don't you can often create a profile with nHancer and it will work fine...

"microstutter" seems to be the latest thing to complain about if you want some kinda "hardware guru status" in reality its very rarely an issue. The only really outstanding issue with SLI right now is the lack of multi-monitor support when in SLI mode but this should be sorted very soon with the 180 series drivers which are due out sometime between Nov 08 and Feb 09.

Aslong as your PSU is upto it and you have a case with decent airflow it would be a decent upgrade.
 
Thanks everyone. I presume a 620w corsair would be enough to power the GX2? Im not 100% sure if i will get one - im pretty bored at the moment, so am tempted to buy things! I have a Lian-Li pc17 - a bit like the antec 900/300 with 2 fans on the mesh front, + 2 exhaust fans. I presume temps wont get out of hand with this setup?
 
psychas said:
didnt see you have 8800gt smart upgrade for you would be 4870/50 but for gx2 epic fail
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Not following your logic here... 4850 is faster but not faster enough over a 8800GT to be worth spending the money on and the GX2 is going to be quite a bit faster than a single 4870 in most situations.
 
the gx2 seems subjective in most games
to be honest if you had the option of a GTX280 then that would be your best investment at the moment

dont bother with a second gpu for physx and multi gpu cards are still a long way off being perfect to justify the hype imo
 
psychas said:
well if u will not mind microstutering and that some games not support sli and that those games will run like on single 8800gt. and some endless problems. and dumping heat in your case.


good point is if you live in the north pole and it is really cold and your cooker is broken u can do this :

:D
Click to expand...

Do you actually have a GX2? No? Shut up then.

It really irritates me when people bash products they don't know anything about. I can confidently state that the GX2 runs all the triple A titles fine, as I've had one since April. It's a good card and a worthy alternative to the GTX 280. The 280 actually runs just as hot...in fact, several retailers have had issues with their system configurations; the 280 overheating and making their systems unstable.
 
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reflux said:
Do you actually have a GX2? No? Shut up then.

It really irritates me when people bash products they don't know anything about. I can confidently state that the GX2 runs all the triple A titles fine, as I've had one since April :)
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Absolutely - getting tired of all the people trotting out the same old mis-information about SLI/multi-GPU cards that might have been true 2 years ago but is long ago out-dated and its obvious they have never actually used SLI.
 
yeah it will be fine, dont get a 4850 lol it barely an upgrade.

Microstuter... wtf? No one barely mentioned this when these cards were out until one day some guy made a topic about it now it gets mentioned at every turn. No one notice it that much before, if u look for a problem you are sure to find it.
 
Upgrading to a 4870/50 is not an option - they do not cut it when it comes to F@H (which, to be honest, is what my gpu spends most of its time doing). This is why i was looking at thr GX2 - if i want to run a game all out or play a new game at high res, i can use both cores. If not (or for older games), i can use one half of the card by disabling SLI (at least i think i can) and leave the other folding, or i can keep both cores folding when not gaming.

Thanks everyone for your input. If i see one cheap (and can free up some funds!) i may try and get hold of one.
 
Quad SLI is a waste of money in most situations - theres the odd specific instance where it gives good gains but mostly its just a waste.
 
Xiler said:
Microstuter... wtf? No one barely mentioned this when these cards were out until one day some guy made a topic about it now it gets mentioned at every turn. No one notice it that much before, if u look for a problem you are sure to find it.
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Exactly - "microstutter" is there but its very rare you will actually notice it - even people who are hardcore/pro fps duellers don't. There are cases where it becomes more of an issue - especially if you pair up unmatched cards in a multi GPU situation. I think part of the reason its been pushed to the top is that its somewhat the achilles heel for crossfireX and they've tried to obfusicate by tarring SLI with the brush too.
 
Rroff said:
Absolutely - getting tired of all the people trotting out the same old mis-information about SLI/multi-GPU cards that might have been true 2 years ago but is long ago out-dated and its obvious they have never actually used SLI.
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Me too, they're just posting stuff they read elsewhere, micro stuttering ? lol

If you experience that it's because you have the frame rendering mode set wrong & its easily fixed instantly
never had that problem or any other come to that, as for dumping heat into the case, well yes they do but it's not a problem unless you have woefully bad airflow in your case as is usual with complaints from GX2 owners.
Right now I am idling at 48c, playing crysis on high spec I reach 68c.

GX2 was a must have just a few months ago & by Xmas it will be the 4870X2 getting the 'don't buy one of these ' from the' I don't own one experts', rolf
 
reflux said:
Do you actually have a GX2? No? Shut up then.

It really irritates me when people bash products they don't know anything about. I can confidently state that the GX2 runs all the triple A titles fine, as I've had one since April. It's a good card and a worthy alternative to the GTX 280. The 280 actually runs just as hot...in fact, several retailers have had issues with their system configurations; the 280 overheating and making their systems unstable.
Click to expand...

i bet you cook breakfast on it every day :D
 
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