Need help upgrading video

K

kingdingleling

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Joined
Jul 19, 2007
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279
Right now I have two MSI 9800 GT Overclock edition video cards in SLI. With 112 core processors each, both having 512 Gb ddr3 and both being 256 bit. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to replace them both with an EVGA 280 GTX superclocked video card and maybe add another later. With the 280 sporting 240 core processors, 1gb of ddr3, and being 512 bit. Should I not bother or wait until I upgrade the PSU (700 watt OCZ fatality edition 3 months old) so that I can support 2 280's in SLI.

P.S. Also still having trouble with playing COD 5 in Windows 7 RC 7100 build. Thread in tech help.
 
Bit more information would be needed to make an informed recommendation. How much ram your computer has, what OS you run, what CPU you use, what games you play and what your current PSU is.

One of the main issues that can arise is if you have a weak link it will become a huge bottleneck. For example if your processor is lacking, an upgraded video card will have little to no effect.

Anyways post some spec's and we'll be able to help ya :P
 
I would say wait for Nvidias 300 series which will be 40nm and bring DirectX11 support. The two 8800GT's should hold up just fine for now. When you do upgrade you can keep one of those 8800GT's to use as a dedicated Physx card until you get a second of whatever you upgrade to(Or if you have 3 PCIe x16 slots you can even use it after you throw the second card in).

But yeah, as Kaine said we need to know a little bit more about your system before we can make our best recommendations.
 
Specs are as follows:

Phenom II X4 940
4 gigs ddr2 OCZ Reaper
150 gig VelociRaptor HD
701 watt OCZ Fatality Edition PSU
ASRock WiFi AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 780a 3 Way SLI ATX Motherboard
Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional PCI-E soundcard
Windows 7 RC 7100 build

I play Crysis, Rome, Far Cry 2, COD 4 and if I ever get COD 5 working, DODS and CSS, etc.
 
Why would you want to replace 2 9800gt's OC'ed? I mean one standard clocked runs all my games perfectly fine on max gfx cap frames. But good choice with SLi-ing those 9800's, single slot, powerful, and cheap. But one 280 gtx? I don't know about that. I think It would be dumb to upgrade your 9800's. I think you would get just about 15-20 frames more if you did that upgrade. I don't think it's worth the money.
 
Well with new video cards coming out the old lose value. So if I were to upgrade to the 280 gtx and sell the two 9800's then I would get a better value out of them and later on get a second 280 gtx to put in SLI but my question is if the 280 could put out the same fps before I get another for SLI which could be much later down the road seeing how I'm building another computer for my gf so I can shoot her in the head in CSS and DODS.
 
You won't get any better or worse fps that is noticeable while you are playing. You might get 250 compared to 200, or the other way around, but nothing that you would be able to tell just by playing the game.

You will get the BEST value of any card by waiting until it costs $150 in the first place. Buying anything over $150-250 is never a good value because it comes down in price so quickly. If you have to have bleeding edge, go for it. If you are concerned at all with performance per price, 100% hold off.
 
I say if you have the money... go for it king. If you don't stay with your 9800's. They run all your source engine games perfectly fine. No need for an upgrade. And if you're going to build a PC for a chick, don't give her a monster rig, get her something nice that could run all source engine games. Like a 9800gt.
 
To best honest I would seriously wait for DirectX 11 cards and benchmarks because that is going to be what you want to look at. Benchmarks and the price. Just don't go for one or the other.

Also @FreakingHell ATi was the first maker in 40nm and Dxlevel 11, for this time being they are in the lead :]

Also I am not a fanboy for either, just a fanboy of price+performence
 
She is no getting anything close to mine but she is getting a nice budget gaming rig.

Specs:
AMD Athlon X2 7850 Black Edition Kuma 2.8GHz
Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 1066
XFX Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3
MSI K9A2 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
Linkworld 32104-68WU+P07 Black/ Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
 
saifallofjmr said:
Also @FreakingHell ATi was the first maker in 40nm and Dxlevel 11, for this time being they are in the lead :]
Click to expand...

First to 40nm, yes. But there are no DX11 cards yet. But ATi will be first to that to. But nvidia 300's will also have both of those features.
 
Yeah and the 300's will be about $400+ and there are no games that support dx 11. But I'm curious I do love the bleeding edge of technology even if it's no necessary.
 
Rykon I might check it out but I'm not worried about heat. I have a Zalman 9700 lying around. Her rig is only going to cost me $417 including shipping from newegg
 
Yeah just wait for the DX11 cards since they are coming real soon.
I'd stay away from the overclocked cards as you would save money and you could EASILY OC the card yourself.
 
Not so much for the heat, but just the overall less power. Saves money, saves the earth, blah blah. Also, I haven't read up, but they might OC better than the 2.8 KUMA. Or maybe the 2.8 OC's better. Either way, worth a look into.
 
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