[Tinker]

Well amost got a pair of 4870's for xfire but with the projected price reductions from NVidia , choices got tougher.


$600 for xfire 4870's or $1000 for SLI GTX280''s...

http://channel.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=14206


prob will stick with Nvidia since almost all my mobo's have NVidia SLI chipsets...dont need to resurrect my P5B Deluxe to run xfire.


Add: well maybe none of the above for now...just stick it out with the SLI 8800GTX's until there is a game I cannot run comes out (STALKER: CLEAR SKY ???)

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/38247/135/

 

[JosephJEHancock]

The two 8800GT cards you have will keep you sweet until either the GTX280s are at better prices, or until the August release of the 4870X2, which is now rumoured to have 2GB of DDR5 VRAM. 1GB per GPU!

 

[Tinker]



Quote:
Originally Posted by JosephJEHancock /forum/post/14228076


The two 8800GT cards you have will keep you sweet until either the GTX280s are at better prices, or until the August release of the 4870X2, which is now rumoured to have 2GB of DDR5 VRAM. 1GB per GPU!

Thats SLI'd 8800GTX's not 8800GT's...

Maybe just one GTX280 for now

.

 

[JosephJEHancock]

Begging your pardon, I must have poop on the brain.

One GTX280 would be excellent, and another in the future.

 

[GoodToGo1]

Throwing in vote for the 4870 GX2...

 

[WaveyD4vey]

4870X2...i dont know how people can deny this card will reign supreme...yes it hasnt been benched yet but even if it only performs as good as two 4870's in crossfire it will absolutely destroy the 280...the 4870X2 is rumored to perform 15% better than 2 4870s in crossfire...theyve got the info on overclock.net....im to lazy and tired to link it...sorry


to top it off nvidia has nothing on the horizon that will challenge this card as it seems like a 280 GX2 isnt quite possible due to the massive amount of heat and huge size of the GPU right now

 

[Troubleshooter]

Yeah when I saw that dual 4870 card, I put my credit card down and decided to wait and see what comes of it next month. Good to see Nvidia get a bit of a black eye for a change. Works out best for us consumers when they're brawling

-Trouble

 

[Trebuken]

Dual or Triple 9800GTX' look like a really good option....

 

[SOWK]

I too have SLI 8800 GTX's


The 2 8800 GTX's are much faster then 1 280GTX...


Why not wait until the 280's are about $300.00 before spending that kind of money again.


If you are not using greater then 1920X1200 4XAA / 16AF, your SLI GTX's are way better then 1 280 GTX, you would need 2 in SLI for any performance benefit. Plus you would only get about $350 or less for your 8800GTX's.


9800GTX's are only $200.00 now.

 

[Tinker]



Quote:
Originally Posted by SOWK /forum/post/14238265


I too have SLI 8800 GTX's


The 2 8800 GTX's are much faster then 1 280GTX...


Why not wait until the 280's are about $300.00 before spending that kind of money again.


If you are not using greater then 1920X1200 4XAA / 16AF, your SLI GTX's are way better then 1 280 GTX, you would need 2 in SLI for any performance benefit. Plus you would only get about $350 or less for your 8800GTX's.


9800GTX's are only $200.00 now.

I run at 2560x1600 for almost all games...

The 280's are my only upgrade option since almost all my mobo's are NVidia chipset SLI mobo's. Dont want to have to pull out the P5B Deluxe to do Xfire if I dont have too. Prob will wait for the fall for the supposed die shrink of the 200 series cards (lower prices????) or unless I can not play STALKER: Clear Sky at 2560x1600 with max settings or even 1920x1200 with all the eye candie turn on with my current setup

.

 

[SOWK]

Tinker... The GTX 280's in SLI would be your only upgrade option anyhow.


The 256bit Memory bus of the ATI 4870, will kick in at 2560x1600, and not allow you to get the performance you want. (Might benchmark higher then your 8800GTX sli at 2560 X 1600, but it will not feel as smooth, AKA micro studder while playing)


The 384bit Memory bus of the 8800 GTX SLI's setup you have is better for that particular resolution.


&


The 512bit memory bus of the GTX 280 is the best of the bunch, but you still need SLI to see better performance then your current SLI setup.

 

[LordTyler]



Quote:
Originally Posted by SOWK /forum/post/14242341


Tinker... The GTX 280's in SLI would be your only upgrade option anyhow.


The 256bit Memory bus of the ATI 4870, will kick in at 2560x1600, and not allow you to get the performance you want. (Might benchmark higher then your 8800GTX sli at 2560 X 1600, but it will not feel as smooth, AKA micro studder while playing)


The 384bit Memory bus of the 8800 GTX SLI's setup you have is better for that particular resolution.


&


The 512bit memory bus of the GTX 280 is the best of the bunch, but you still need SLI to see better performance then your current SLI setup.

Dont forget that the 4870 uses GDDR5 so the effective bandwith is nearly the same.

 

[SOWK]

What I am really interested in is seeing how powerful the ATI 4870X2 (single Card/2 GPU) will be.


IF 40% greater performance then my 8800GTX SLI, then I may get that card if price is right. (~$450)

 

[Tinker]



Quote:
Originally Posted by SOWK /forum/post/14243262


What I am really interested in is seeing how powerful the ATI 4870X2 (single Card/2 GPU) will be.


IF 40% greater performance then my 8800GTX SLI, then I may get that card if price is right. (~$450)

Projected price for the 4870X2 is $499.99...

I know about the men bandwith issues with the 512 on the older Nvidia cards since I also have a pair of 8800GTS 512 in SLI amd they just dont work as well as the 8800GTX's at 2560x1600. So I am selling the 8800GTS off. Also a pair of 9600GT's in SLI, Both of these SLI pairs are currently inside HTPC's...way over kill but I had the spares and they where just collecting dust. After I get rid of the 8800GTS's I will prob only use one 9600GT in each of my main HTPCs. Still using a couple of 8600GTS's in two other HTPCs...been uisng NVidia for all my builds since I switched from the ATI 800 series cards (still have a X800XT PE inside a server) and still using a old "classic" ATI 9700pro (which originally replaced NVidia 4200/4800 cards for builds) for the internet and e-mail system. I also had a pair of 8800GTS 640 in SLI that I sold off to get the 8800GTX's. Guess I am/been a NVidia fan for a while without even realizing it...1st personal SLI system was a pair of 6800GT's or was that 6800ULTRA's????? and a few 6600GTs for client builds...then the a bunch of 7 series SLI setups both personal and client builds...all so long ago it seems...

.

 

[Tinker]



Quote:
Originally Posted by LordTyler /forum/post/14242969


Dont forget that the 4870 uses GDDR5 so the effective bandwith is nearly the same.

But the various benchies at various sites shows that SLI 280's really out performs Xfire 4780's. But thats coming at a very high cost of ownership

. Now just have to wait for NVidia to drop the price on the 280's. NVidia stocks are taking a bash will their chip failure issue and lower projected earnings. Now can they get the 280's to the $400 range from the now lowered price of $500 (from orig $600) to be more competative with the 4870x2 or Xfire 4870's

.

 

[Tinker]

FYI: As remoured die shrinks from NVidia coming in late summer or fall

http://techreport.com/discussions.x/15081

 

[Twylight]

Do you run SLI now? Its a bit of pain in the ass and makes your box burn lava out the back.


My room warms up enough from the rack of crap - I just run with a single 8800 gtx right now and its fine.


I would do 8800GT (not x) in SLI and see if you like to put up with it before dropping 1k on sli 9800 gx2, etc

 

[Tinker]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Twylight /forum/post/14252551


Do you run SLI now? Its a bit of pain in the ass and makes your box burn lava out the back.


My room warms up enough from the rack of crap - I just run with a single 8800 gtx right now and its fine.


I would do 8800GT (not x) in SLI and see if you like to put up with it before dropping 1k on sli 9800 gx2, etc

yes, see prev posts....

 

[Tinker]

Wow prices are coming down for both the ATI 4000 series and NVidia 280's. Temped to get a 280 for $430 after $20MIR or a 4870 for $285 after $20MIR. I can get a 4850 for $170 (AMIR) . Alot of the vid cards from various manufacturers are down in price this week, esp after both AMD/ATI and Nvidia stocks took a bashing (along with INTEL stock).


keep repeating to myself...wait for the fall after the NVidia die shrink and cost reductions...

. But those prices are getting very close to being almost affordable...

 

[DrCrawn]

I bought a 4870 reference for 299...got it yesterday...nice stuff. Like other users reports, mine maxes out the overdrive utility, so these cards do overclock nicely with plenty of overhead.


If you drive 1080p or higher, I think the GTX280 for

From the benchmarks I've seen, the one card I would not get is the GTX260. In most cases the 4870 is faster (other than GRAW). Might as well step up to the 280 IMO or just save the cash and go 4870.