Just don't know what to do...

[ConfusedUK]

I've got a budget of £500/£600 for a graphics card for my system.

What should I do? I would wait for the next gen but I'm honestly not all that bothered; there will always be something new around the corner.

I have 2 23" monitors at 1920x1080. P8Z68-V PRO motherboard, i5 2500K, 850w PSU.

It seems my current options would be to SLI 560s, single 570, single 580.

590 is out of budget, but I have seen 6990s floating around for less then £600.

I just have no general idea of what is best in terms of price/performance, driver/SLI/CF issues etc etc.

I ain't even sure if my mobo has enough room ha! If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd be really grateful.

 

[flippant]

I recently picked up the 3gb version of the 580 and I've been really pleased with it.

No messing with SLI, and easier on the PSU than 2 cards.

I to use 2 23 inch monitors at 1920x1080 for 3D Studio, AutoCAD and a bit of gaming, I find the extra vram keeps my max viewports nice and fluid, and of course Battlefield 3 looks nice maxed out (only on one monitor of course)

Like you say, you can always wait for the next big thing, I find the best bet is to buy for what you need, when you need it, or you'll always be waiting.

 

[[WU-TANG]GZA]

I think CF/SLI whilst they do have some issues, I think it is overplayed more than the reality. Plenty of people on here have and have had CF or SLi for a few generations of GPUs now without problems.

I would say best bang for buck is still 6950CF which would come in at around £400-£480 depending which 6950 u get. I think I wud get either (if you have room and a good enough PSU ofc)

2 of these:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-274-SP

And hope you get 2 that unlock at a flick of a switch to a 6970

or

2 of these:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-086-GI&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

Some will talk about VRAM etc but I think it's inconclusive atm and 1.3gb should be enough but if it does concern you with the new titles like BF3 etc then go for the 6950s.

Both options are less than £600 and the 6950CF option cud be 6970CF which is basically a 6990 for £480 ! STEAL !

I think I would go for the 6950CF bcos the cooler is really good and it's cheaper than the 570s.

Either way £600 gfx problem is a nice problem to have Enjoy

 

[idiocious]

As above, I'd suggest Crossfire 6950 as the price for the performance and Crossfire scaling is really good. The TOXIC 6950 comes pre-overclocked and has the possibility of unlocking extra shaders although they give only a very small gain so if you get cards that don't unlock then don't feel left out! The TOXIC is also one of the 'This Week Only' deals so you can make a small saving buying them now.