GTX 260 SLi advice

[han_solo]

Hi there, bit of a newbie here so please bear with me

I've been lurking around and have been trying to read up as much as i can but i can't really seem to get the answers specific to my needs so here goes...

I've got an i7 rig at stock with intentions to OC to about 4gz (air only). 6GB low latency OCZ (cas timings are v. low around 7's) at stock 1333mhz.

Mobo is DFI lanparty x58 jr. Be quiet dark power pro 1200w

All housed in mini p180 (best case i've ever owned.. absolutely love it )

Currently using a 7300GT I know, but it runs Command and Conquer Generals at max settings!!


So my 'problem' is... do i break the bank and get myself a GTX 295 or get 2 value GTX 260's?? Bearing in mind, I'm only using my LCD tv @ 1920 x 1080 max.

Would i be able to run Crysis Warhead at this res with 1 card or do i need two cards in SLi? Or maybe 2 of these won't cut the mustard?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks

 

[ian|Squared²]

id get a gtx 285
remember using any of the gtx series cards will be a huge performance jump from your 7300gt.
Don't over estimate what you will need what ever you do, do your research and you could save some cash.
Looks like a great build, decent case!

 

[han_solo]

thanks mate

So you're saying it's better to get one GTX 285 than 2 x GTX 260's??

Is a GTX 285 that much more powerful? (compared with sli'ing 2 260s).

 

[widdyst]

SLI GTX260's are definitely more powerful than a gtx285 take a look at this and read it through its an excellent comparison and partly the reason I ended up with the cards I currently have.

http://forums.slizone.com/index.php?showtopic=23084

Your system is much better suited than mine to get the best out of a sli setup too as your processor wont bottleneck you at all which I feel mine does at times. Dont get me wrong if you buy a 285 I dont think you will be dissapointed particularly if you sli that in the future. BUT in my opinion if you want the fastest solution right now for your £300 you wont go wrong with sli 260's

 

[LoadsaMoney]

What about a 4870 x2, around same performance as the 295, but a helluva lot cheaper, and a lot faster than the 285, but around same price as it.

 

[han_solo]

SLI GTX260's are definitely more powerful than a gtx285 take a look at this and read it through its an excellent comparison and partly the reason I ended up with the cards I currently have.

http://forums.slizone.com/index.php?showtopic=23084

Your system is much better suited than mine to get the best out of a sli setup too as your processor wont bottleneck you at all which I feel mine does at times. Dont get me wrong if you buy a 285 I dont think you will be dissapointed particularly if you sli that in the future. BUT in my opinion if you want the fastest solution right now for your £300 you wont go wrong with sli 260's

Hey thanks for that! Will defo read up on that link till the very end!

 

[han_solo]

What about a 4870 x2, around same performance as the 295, but a helluva lot cheaper, and a lot faster than the 285, but around same price as it.

You know what? That's not even crossed my mind!

Gotta say though, i've been slightly put off by an 'incident recently where i borrowed my friend's 3850... and to my surprise it didn't even match the resolution of my telly (underscan problem).

Thinking about it now... it may have been a driver issue in that I did download the latest cat drivers but i didn't remove the existing nvidia ones.

In fact, most people go for ati cards because of their slick approach to delivering both video and audio via hdmi... and most of these people have HTPC setups... but i've not heard about underscan/overscan problems...

must be the fact that i had nvidia drivers on my machine still right? hmm... in that case i must have a look at the 4870 x2!!