Computer experts: graphic cards?

[vene-nemesis]

I recently had a power surge that burnt my MB so im thinking into getting a new pc.

But i dont know if i should get a nvidia gtx 275 896mb or 2 1gb 9800gt runing on sli.

Any thoughts?

 

[Nappa]

Are you getting a Quad-Core or Dual-Core?

 

[vene-nemesis]

Not sure yet, i like both the q9550 2.83ghz and the e8500 3.16ghz, i favor the quad because its just 20€ more expensive.

 

[Nappa]

Well, with this we need to know: Mobo, Power Supply, CPU, RAM, HDD.

 

[vene-nemesis]

mobo:either:
Asus Maximus II Formula Socket 775
Asus Striker II NSE nForce 790i Socket 775

Power:
I dont know how much ill need but will get the proper one.

HDD:
SATA 2 7200rpm hitachi but dont know the model.

Ram:
2gb 800

Both ram and HDD are recycled from my actual corpse.

 

[Nappa]

Well the one card would be slightly faster at playing games. Whereas the 2 cards will be a little better with say doing multiple less graphic-intense things. Either way you will need a powerful power supply as both of these choices use a bit of power.

 

[vene-nemesis]

500 or 650W?

 

[Nappa]

500 or 650W?

Well, 650 is recommended though more always gives room for improvements and say room for power fluctuations.

Also the Asus Maximus II Formula Socket 775 would be a better choice, better northbridge.

 

[vene-nemesis]

Thx a lot dude!

 

[Chunk-O-Funk]

Where SLI really shines is in a system that has a large monitor. 24"+ or you run games at high resolutions.

SLI can handle large resolutions with ease. If you are running a 20" monitor or smaller you will not notice much if any difference in picture quality, but you may get slightly better frame rates. You also have to take into fact that not every game uses SLI.

I believe the common consensus is if you are running normal resolutions one good video card is better than running two mid-grade cards in SLI.

Here's a good SLI, FAQ over at Tom's hardware
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/245454-33-crossfire-faqs

 

[vene-nemesis]

I was planing on getting a 24", didnt know that,didnt know that sli had to be suported by the game either... i thought it was an individual process.

 

[Thunderscreech]

You need an NVida 9800 GT. 2 of them.

 

[Chunk-O-Funk]

I was planing on getting a 24", didnt know that,didnt know that sli had to be suported by the game either... i thought it was an individual process.

It is. I probably should have said "games that are optimized" for SLI.

It's been a while since my last computer build so I'll bet that statement is less important today. I would think any game that is GPU intensive will be optimized for SLI.

When I was trying to make the same decision about SLI there were some games that was tested in the same computer. Once with a single card, and then with a second card in SLI and the result was only a gain of a few FPS. That was close to two years ago, though.

 

[vene-nemesis]

I usually play internet multiplayer, mostly team based shooters, maybe that few FPS increase you mention might look silly but when you are facing 32 players shooting in pure madness is the FPS decrease rate what i consider crucial.

 

[Chunk-O-Funk]

I'm no pro with this stuff, but I believe you are half right.

With online games your FPS is mostly effected by the speed of your connection so the card doesn't have a whole lot to with that, but one slight advantage is the rendering will be quicker, which means your maps may load quicker meaning you will be first on the map.

Read that somewhere and may be misquoting. I'm fairly certain game performance is mostly affected by the connection and lag time. Most cards can keep up with that. The only online FPS shooter game that I consistently came in first place was a game I hosted. No lag time. First on the map. Usually I get my butt handed to me by somebody and wind up in the middle somewhere. Sometimes in the upper ten to five if I'm online with like skilled players. There's always one guy that likes to kill the noobs, though.

 

[DigMe]

I've always preferred to go one more powerful card over two lower power cards in SLI.

bc

 

[daystcity]

I run 1 260 and get 90+ fps. All the time. Go with just one and consider some good cooling, not that big of an issue, but with killer fans my 260 gets about 68 C while playing, I like to play it safe. I don't see a need for sli at all, at a certain point IMO it just doesn't matter anymore, you can only see like 30, so if it drops to like 40 which has only happened playing with 50 people in a free for all, who really cares? Have fun with your new comp!

 

[Ziltoid]

I can play crysis on high with a 9600GSO that costed me bout 70 bucks....
yap...im a party pooper

 

[daystcity]

Exactly ziltoid, spend your money on other things, once you get to a certain point you're just showing off!

 

[vene-nemesis]

I run 1 260 and get 90+ fps. All the time. Go with just one and consider some good cooling, not that big of an issue, but with killer fans my 260 gets about 68 C while playing, I like to play it safe. I don't see a need for sli at all, at a certain point IMO it just doesn't matter anymore, you can only see like 30, so if it drops to like 40 which has only happened playing with 50 people in a free for all, who really cares? Have fun with your new comp!

The FPS thing in the gamers world is like wood effect on tone for us bassplayers.

There are lots of theories, but facts for me are: when i used to be a huge CS player, that meant playing 2-5 hours a day, i did noticed a huge difference in the game behavior from 30 fps to 65 fps, but from 65 to 100 i could barely feel any change. Im not saying i was able to actually "see" the extra frames but there was something that for me felt better with higher FPS rate.