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Help choosing a card please

Soldato
Joined
15 Nov 2005
Posts
2,955
Location
London
Building a new computer soon, and I thought earlier I was decided on a graphics set up but I think I may be wrong :p

I was planning to get Dual 7950's for Quad SLI and buy a 24" monitor, but i've been reading around and read in some places that you need a minimum resolution of 2600 X 1900 or something like that for it to be effective and any less than that, regular SLI is more effective.

My argument earlier for Quad SLI was that it mean's itl play games for a lot longer than SLI will (in the sense, after 5 years, Quad SLI will still handle games, despite their spec. increase) but buying it now, if it's actually going to be slower than 2 7900 GTX's, is stupid. I do want future proofing (as much as possible) but not at the expense of quality.

Don't bother suggesting a 30" monitor, I can't afford that :p (parents paying for computer, i'm paying for the monitor myself, so yea :p)

So for a 24" monitor, which has an optimum resolution of 1920 X 1200 as far as I can make out, which is better? Dual 7950 or Dual 7900 GTX. I've read the reviews, but just wondering about personal opinion :)

Also, since it's not Quad, would any current motherboard be able to handle Dual 7900 and a conroe chip? Or do I still need to wait for the nforce 590 ?

Thanks
 
In the sense, after 5 years, Quad SLI will still handle games, despite their spec
That isn't true, even if you Quad SLI'd 4x Ti4200 they wouldn't handle todays games (like Oblivion), cos they simply lack the tech to do it. The same will apply to DX 9 cards Quad SLI'd today and games of tomorrow.

would any current motherboard be able to handle Dual 7900
Afaik only one SLI motherboard out at the moment, this one: http://www.asus.com.tw/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=227&model=1280&modelmenu=1 (SE version only)

This: http://www.asus.com.tw/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=331&model=1311&modelmenu=1 shouldn't be too far away.
 
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yep I agree. By the end of next year (2007) then DX10 will very much be the norm.

NONE of todays cards support DX10 and so the amount of life you can expect to get out of them (if you wish to keep up with the latest games) is very short.

The first DX10 compatible cards should be available between now and the end of the year(Nvidia G80 and ATI R600). BUT to use the DX10 capabilities you will also need Windows Vista, as XP has no support for DX10.

DX10 cards will work with XP, but they will not be able to make use of the DX10 features, they will just run like a DX9 card.

Vista isn't out until next year (Jan?) but most people seem to think its only worth considering DX10 once Vista has been out for a few months and more DX10 games are available.

Most people would suggest buying a decent DX9 card just now (like the X1900XT @ £230), and then if you want to spend some serious money on a top graphics setup, doing that in about 6 months time.
 
I really don't wanna wait though. Waiting for a new component is a never ending thing. new and better things will be coming out constantly. The current graphic cards maynot support DX 10, but that doesn't mean games will stop running on DX 9. Plus, Vista will take some time to work out all the bugs and until that's sorted, i'd rather stick with something known. (I'm still on windows 2000 and will be making the move to XP on the new comp :p)

Since this Asus motherboard supoprts SLI and conroe, is it worth getting or worth waiting for the nforce 590 ? I do want max. upgradeability.

The ATI card may be as good as or better tahn 7950, but it'l require the same 30" monitor won't it?

What i wanan know is if there's any point in getting in Dual 7950 with a 24" monitor? or is it better to go with dual 7900 ?
 
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