Quote:
Originally Posted by UltimateBMW
The simple answer is yes. 2 cards in SLI does not provide a significant benefit over using only 1 card. Actually, you probably won't notice a difference at all unless you are running a larger monitor. Or unless you are jut obsessed with overclocking and running stuff at the max. Which since you haven't upgraded cards since buying 2 8500's, I would venture a guess that that isn't the case.
There are some GREAT cards out that are relatively cheap. A quick rundown of it all is..
8800GT: This card is probably the best performance per dollar on the market. It is getting a bit older now with the 9 series cards and the new GT200 chipset cards. But you will be able to run everything that is out right now comfortable with a 8800, and they are probably dirt cheap right now.
9 series: Don't buy a 9 series card. They are basically a rebadged 8 series card that has been bumped up in price. There may be a few extra transistors but not enough to really warrant the price increase. The only real benefit the 9 series cards have is the ability for tri-SLI, with the exception of the 9600. A 9800GTX is the same card as a 8800GTS but with tri-SLI.
If you want to buy the latest technology, and don't mind spending a bit more. You need to get a GT200 series card. They are fantastic and dropping in price because of the shocking performance of the new ATI cards. Nvidia didn't expect ATI to come out with a card that could rival their lower end GT200 cards for cheaper, but they did and so Nvidia is dropping prices to stay competitive. The ATI cards aren't bad. In fact they are actually pretty good, and they are great for the money. But I'm a nvidia guy myself. I like their drivers better and I also think they are more compatible with more applications. I'm sure someone else will post later that is more biased towards ATI.
To summarize, don't buy a 9 series Nvidia card. Get either a 8800GT or ATI Radeon HD 4850 if you want to spend under $200. If you want to spend 300, get a Nvidia GTX260. If you want to go all out, the top of the line GTX280 is around $450 -$500 depending on what brand you buy.
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Good advice. Thanks.
One question: How do you know which 8800GT card to buy ??
I just went to Frys.com and saw 9 different cards, from different manufacturers:
1) BFG GeForce 8800GT OC Video Card (512MB DDR3, PCI-E 2.0, DX10, Open GL 2.0) $179.99 after $20 rebate.
2) PNY GeForce 8800GT 512MB PCI-Express Video Card $189.99.
3) PNY 8800GTS PCI-E Video Card (512MB, PCI-E 2.0) $229.99
4) XFX 8800GT Video Card (512MB, PCI-E 2.0) $139.99 after $30 rebate.
5) EVGA 8800GTS Video Card (512MB, PCI-E 2.0) $219.99 after $30 rebate.
6) XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog XXX 512MB PCI-Express Video Card $159.99 after $40 rebate.
7) BFG 8800GTS OC Video Card (512MB, PCI-E 2.0) $229.98 after $50 rebate.
8) EVGA Geforce 8800GT Video Card (1GB, PCI-Express) $274.99 after $25 rebate.
9) EVGA GeForce 8800GT Video Card (512MB DDR3, PCI-E 2.0, DX10, OpenGL 2.0) $179.99