8800GT 512 vs 1GB

[MangoSalsa]

Oh, and I havnt looked into any other card other than Nvidia/sli...but ATI/crossfire is fine too

 

[gurusan]

At that resolution you don't need a dual card setup. A single 4850 is more than enough, a single 4870 is perfect.

 

[MangoSalsa]

So its all about getting the right card for the right resolution?....in that case, if I dont need 2 cards, and want to run all my games on highest settings without frying anything, then I have about 500 for 1 card...suggestions?

 

[gurusan]

if you really want to you can spend that much, but it's not necessary.

you can get a 4870 for almost 1/3 of the price of a GTX 280, and stay it's only about 10% slower...it even beats it much of the time. Also people have been reaching overclocks to about 840-870 on the 4870 which will put it far ahead of the GTX 280 for a fraction of the price.

I game at 1680x1050 myself and use a 4850, even at stock it's plenty sufficient for max details and 16xAF + 8xAA. If you want to spend some more then the 4870 is a nice step up for not too much more cash.

 

[MangoSalsa]

.....ok...I really thought I was set with SLI....its too late to rethink my build though, seeing as all I need are video card/s now. Ill look into the 4870's. thanks a bunch!

 

[gurusan]

well which mobo do you have?

 

[MangoSalsa]

EVGA 780i

 

[gurusan]

well you can't run crossfire on that, only SLI.

But like I said, you should stick with a single card setup. It's less hassle as 2 cards don't always function properly together, not to mention twice the power required and twice the heat output.

There are going to be some superclocked 4870s out soon, you might want to wait for those as they will be relatively inexpensive compared to the GTX 280 and should be far faster.

 

[MangoSalsa]

what do you suggest that I get now for my board? I mean, its still going to take me like....2 pay checks to get a card.

 

[gurusan]

if you haven't already bought a board then I suggest something with the x38/x48 chipset like The Asus P5E or DFI X38 DK