Which of these upgrades would you choose?

Revivalist

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Joined

Mar 27, 2005

Location

Fresno, CA

• May 1, 2008

• #1

Hey guys . . . . I was hoping to get some advise on changing video cards. . . .

I currently have two 8800GTS 640 cards in SLI and I want to switch to something that will only take up 2 PCI slots instead of 4. Here are the options I see that would work . . .

SLI Options
• Two 8800GT SLI: $420-$480
• Two 9600 GT SLI: $300-$450

Single Card Options
• One 8800GTS (G92): $250
• One 8800GT Ultra: $550
• One 8800GTX: $410
• One 9800GTX: $300-$350
• One 9800GX2: $550

Of these choices, which would you say will give the best performance? One of the major questions I have is whether one 9800GX2 would beat two 8800GT cards in SLI? . . .

If you have links to any reviews or comparisons, that would be great! Thanks.

 

ChinStrap

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Joined

Sep 17, 2006

Location

Cedar Rapids, IA

• May 1, 2008

• #2

one 9800GX2.

do you game? if so - what games do you play?

great review: Guru3d

 

OP

Revivalist

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Joined

Mar 27, 2005

Location

Fresno, CA

• May 1, 2008

• Thread Starter
• #3

ChinStrap said:

one 9800GX2.

do you game? if so - what games do you play?

great review: Guru3d

Click to expand...

I game on occasion and definitely like to bench. Games I play aren't that graphically intensive (I play some old stuff like BF2, Far Cry, etc.) . . . But I like to have the capability of running a more demanding game if I want to . . .

Thanks for the link to that review . . . It looks like the 9800GX2 beats even two 8800GTXs in SLI. Wow! . . .

The only thing is that I'm pretty sure that my CPU will totally bottleneck it. . . . I think it even bottlenecks my two 8800GTS cards in SLI. Maybe I should just sell one 8800GTS and run the other for now . . .

 

OP

Revivalist

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Joined

Mar 27, 2005

Location

Fresno, CA

• May 1, 2008

• Thread Starter
• #4

Ok, I think I made a decision. I'm planning to go with a single 8800GT. I think anything more will probably just be bottlenecked anyways.

Later when I upgrade to a better platform I can always pick up another one and go SLI.

 

ratbuddy

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Joined

Aug 24, 2007

• May 1, 2008

• #5

If that LCD is 1680x1050, you don't have to worry about bottlenecking much. The prices you listed were kinda high, though. Should be more like 8800GT SLI = $320, 9600GT SLI = $240, 8800GTX $300, 8800GTS-512 $210, and 9800GX2 $520 or less, those prices are just what you can get the cards for right now....

 

jason4207

Senior Member

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Joined

Nov 26, 2005

Location

Concord, NC

• May 1, 2008

• #6

If one of your main goals is benching I would just sell one of those cards, and start saving up for a new rig.

Then sell the other one, and get new gfx card(s) for your new rig.

 

Shiggity

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Joined

Dec 16, 2007

Location

Chicago, IL

• May 1, 2008

• #7

Nothing, I'd wait til mid summer at least. Nvidia's new shtuff is coming out around then + price drops then also.

ATI's new stuff is also coming out soon (4000 series)

OR you could get the 9800GX2 and plan to step it up later.