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GFX Card Update Advice Pls

Franksi

Franksi

Franksi

Associate
Joined
8 Jul 2009
Posts
317
Hi all,

I'm currently running a BFG 8800GTS OC on my system:

Asus P5N-D (yes i know its poor!)
4GB Corsair Dominator 8500
Q6600 2.4 OC to 3.1

Which of these would be the best upgrade option for me?

1. Buy a new GTX 275 and use existing 8800GTS for PhysX
2. Buy a pair of GTX 260 to run in SLI
3. Wait for the new series of cards as the 8800 GTS "isn't that bad"

My budget is aroud £250 to 300

EDIT: currently using a Dell 24" Monitor @ 1900x1200 (ish)
 
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the 8800gts isnt that bad mate, i know as thats what i went from to a 295. But im not saying goto a 295, maybe a 285 which is what im thinking of getting to put in my friends system.
 
If you need better performance now, buy a GTX260 or a HD4890, neither will bankrupt you, both will be around twice your current performance.

Then think about a DX11 card in ~6-9 months time.
 
Why not the 285?? Its around £230 and the fastest single core card around at the mo!!
I have a 280 and been using it flawlessly for a year @ 1680*1050 :D
 
wow lots of fast replies! thanks guys.

Any specific 285s to avoid or give preference to?

Oh and if i got a 285 would it be worth using the 8800 for PhysX still?
 
I dont use a 285, I have the slightly lesser 280 OC by BFG and it happly pwns virtually anything I throw at it and has done for a year now :D

The 285 is on average 10-15% 'faster' than a 280, and the prices are comin down which is always good.

Brand wise, most brands are good but I opted (and have done for a while) for the BFG as they offer a 10yr warranty, slightly OC cards and great customer service, but as I say, most brands are good and it comes down to what you want from a card (though I would recommend at least 2 years warranty unless you change cards that often lol).
 
Jonny Manc said:
Why not the 285?? Its around £230 and the fastest single core card around at the mo!!
I have a 280 and been using it flawlessly for a year @ 1680*1050 :D
Click to expand...

Because the cheapest 285 is nearly twice the price of the cheapest 260, and the performance increase is less than 20%.

Also both of them will be out of date within 6 months with the arrival of DX11 cards.

If you've got money to spend, by all means buy the best, if you haven't, be canny.
 
HazardO said:
Because the cheapest 285 is nearly twice the price of the cheapest 260, and the performance increase is less than 20%.

Also both of them will be out of date within 6 months with the arrival of DX11 cards.

If you've got money to spend, by all means buy the best, if you haven't, be canny.
Click to expand...

Thats the reason i offered up 260s in SLI as a possibility - would they outperform a single 285?
 
I would suggest getting 2x GTX 260 in sli if u plan on keeping the system for a while. if ur gonna upgrade to DX11 cards on release (towards the end of this yr beginnning of 2010 for the high end cards) then i'd get a single GTX 260 at £120 or HD 4890 at £140.

No point in the 285 as both these cards perform almost on a par with it (the 4890 better in some cases) at a fraction of the cost.

Edit: 260 sli will outperform 285 and even 295 in some cases.
 
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Franksi said:
Thats the reason i offered up 260s in SLI as a possibility - would they outperform a single 285?
Click to expand...

Yes, significantly. However the OP should consider 2 options, buy a cheap stopgap, and wait for a DX11 card, or buy the best he can afford now. My suggestion was cheap and wait, your's is buy the best now. Both are valid suggestions, it comes down to how much money the OP has, and whether they would feel they had wasted their cash by spending it all now on DX10 cards.
 
this is basically a stop-gap until i can afford to build an i7 (or its equivalent) in 18-24 months time. I'll be buying a bigger PSU (Coolermaster RealPower 850w) and a new case at the same time and the new mobo, RAM, cooler and Drives will go in the new case later on when i can afford them. I'd then change the Gfx card again after that.

So i guess i'm after a solution for next 18 months to 2 years... SLi 260's sounds a cost effective compromise?
 
Franksi said:
this is basically a stop-gap until i can afford to build an i7 (or its equivalent) in 18-24 months time. I'll be buying a bigger PSU (Coolermaster RealPower 850w) and a new case at the same time and the new mobo, RAM, cooler and Drives will go in the new case later on when i can afford them. I'd then change the Gfx card again after that.

So i guess i'm after a solution for next 18 months to 2 years... SLi 260's sounds a cost effective compromise?
Click to expand...

If you can afford 2 GPUs now and an upgrade in 18 months then yes, they will be great, but you'll need an SLI capable motherboard, and a reasonably beefy PSU (Say 750 watt).

Edit: looks like your motherboard will support SLI, except one card will be limited to 8 lanes. how's your PSU?
 
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HazardO said:
Because the cheapest 285 is nearly twice the price of the cheapest 260, and the performance increase is less than 20%.
Click to expand...

'Can be as little as 20%' is more appropriate, but can also be bigger depending on game. I never discounted the 260, just wondered why no one had suggested the 285.

On Sli:
  • Higher power consumption - does the OP have a strong enough PSU
  • Performance can be negligable dependant on drivers and games

I have to agree that the 4890 is a good option, but after problems I had with a 4870, and subsequent issues a mate had, ATI driver support is sucky.
The 275 is a decent option, but again, the price for the decent brands aint too far away for the 285 so.......
 
buying a new Coolermaster 850w PSU at same time mate so PSU will be covered.

Can you linky to where is says one card will be limited to 8 lanes please?
 
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