2x 8800ultra in sli or 1 gtx 285/295

[r3xx3r]

Hey guys, im new here. my friend has an 8800ultra. he is considering buying another 8800ultra or 1 gtx 285 or 295. what would give him better performance in games.

The rest of his computer:

Intel core 2 quad q6600
4gb ddr2 800
850watt psu
asus striker extreme mobo
24' monitor with dvi cable (he also wants a gfx card with an hdmi port on it, no need for an adapter)


Thanks in advance for the help

 

[invisik]

How much is another 8800 ultra costing him?

 

[OvrClkr]

tell him to get another 8800 ultra.... as far as what he will save vs. the performance he will get with a 285/295 it would be stupid not to get another 8800 and Sli....

Look what 8800 GT's in SLi can do to a single 280.....

http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3334&p=11

none the less dual 8800 ultra's in Sli......

 

[invisik]

tell him to get another 8800 ultra.... as far as what he will save vs. the performance he will get with a 285/295 it would be stupid not to get another 8800 and Sli....

Look what 8800 GT's in SLi can do to a single 280.....

http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3334&p=11

none the less dual 8800 ultra's in Sli......

Your being ignorant now. It depends on how much his getting the card for. Stores such as bestbuy are selling the card well over 300$. Even on ebay they range from 150-350$. Lets say you get the cards for 175$ its better to just sell your current 8800ultra and put the all your money on gtx260/gtx275. If you can get a cheap 8800ultra by all means get it. But anything above 150$ would be a waste.

 

[redgarl]

He will need to buy another one at 150$ on ebay... probably used. A GTX275 will probably be a wiser choice especially if he sells the 8800 ultra he already possesses.

 

[r3xx3r]

ok, he definitely isn't gonna sell the 8800, cause if u does get a 285 or 295 he will be putting the 8800 into the other computer he has in his room. plus, ovrclkr, i was talking about the 285 and 295, not the 280, he doesnt want the 275, he wants the 285 or 295 (probably the 295), because he wants to have it last as long as possible.

 

[invisik]

^ exactly.

I had a 9800gx2 oc which is similar to 8800 utlra sli; after upgrade to a pair of gtx260 sli i noticed a huge gain.

 

[OvrClkr]

You can get a 8800 Ultra for 150.00$ NEW.....

That is exactly why I stated it would be better to SLI and not spend 375.00$+ in the first place... am I wrong here???

 

[OvrClkr]

^ exactly.

I had a 9800gx2 oc which is similar to 8800 utlra sli; after upgrade to a pair of gtx260 sli i noticed a huge gain.

what huge gain did you notice? I have benched a single 9800GX2 and dual 260's (216) and the performance increase was about 15%... nothing earth-shattering....maybe it was my setup? CPU?

IDK but i have seen dual 8800 GT's obliterate a single GTX 280 and that is the reason I say SLI.... thats all...

 

[r3xx3r]

ovrclkr, where can i get a new 8800ultra in the us, ive been looking and its hard to find one.

 

[OvrClkr]

here you go.....

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=8800+Ultra&_sacat=See-All-Categories

heck, you can get one for 99.99 if you end the auction at that price-point....

 

[OvrClkr]

yea my bad... didnt know ALL of those cards on E-Bay were used cards..... what a rip-off.... I would not pay more than 99.99$ for a used ultra unless it had double lifetime warranty..... last time I pulled up the ultras there were a couple of new un-opened ones....

 

[invisik]

At 1920x1080 with max settings (16x aa/af) the gtx260 sli ran much faster. Crysis and farcray 2 got a great boost of about 25% increase in fps.

 

[OvrClkr]

nice.... I guess the CPU/MOBO and RAM were a great factor in those tests.....

 

[invisik]

Forgot to mention since getting an 8800 ultra would be a bad deal. I would just wait for a few more weeks, since ati next gen cards are coming out and nvidia doesn't have a respond to any dx11 cards there going to cut prices to compete. No proof backing this up but im sure this will happen.

 

[dodonga]

If he wants a 295 cause it will last him a long time, just tell him to get another 8800 and save the rest of the money till the dx 11 cards come out, then he can spend it wisley.

 

[invisik]

If he wants a 295 cause it will last him a long time, just tell him to get another 8800 and save the rest of the money till the dx 11 cards come out, then he can spend it wisley.

The only problem is another 8800 ultra will cost him and arm and a leg for such old tech. Sure if he can find it for cheap by all means go for it.

 

[OvrClkr]

yea I agree... and those peeps on e-bay are crazy... did you see that brand new 8800 ultra with a "Buy Now" price tag of almost 400.00$$$$

That is just ridiculous.....

 

[redgarl]

A 295 is a real waste of money. The new DX11 cards are around the corner and 2 GTX260 will probably match a single GTX295.

 

[dodonga]

Well if you look around ebay you can find quite a few used ones at around $50.

 

[invisik]

yup my gtx260 sli 192sp (volt mod) holds its own against a gtx295. they cost me 500$ and now are selling under 150 =/

 

[invisik]

^ Where did you find it for 50$?

Here is one for 40$ buy now! (btw it doesnt work)

http://cgi.ebay.com/NVidia-8800-Ultra-768MB-2-DVI-PCI-e-x16-Video-AS-IS-C_W0QQitemZ370245957308QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCC_Video_TV_Cards?hash=item563460f6bc&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[dodonga]

^ Theres that one, and this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/eVGA-NVIDIA-GeForce-8800-ULTRA-768-MB_W0QQitemZ260470177053QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCC_Video_TV_Cards?hash=item3ca53b7d1d&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

I said 50 cause i was including an estimate shipping cost.

 

[invisik]

Haha its on a bid system. You realize theres other people that want to buy the card and i promise it wont be sold for 50$. If you look at the avg price its gonna hit 120+

Oh ya if you havent noticed the one i posted doesnt work.

 

[brendano257]

^ Where did you find it for 50$?

Here is one for 40$ buy now! (btw it doesnt work)

http://cgi.ebay.com/NVidia-8800-Ultra-768MB-2-DVI-PCI-e-x16-Video-AS-IS-C_W0QQitemZ370245957308QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCC_Video_TV_Cards?hash=item563460f6bc&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

FAIL. He tried booting without a heatsink? LOL.

Personally, I think a GTX260/275 will suit him fine. I noticed a slight up after going from 8800GT SLI to a single GTX260 216. I would get the GTX275 if he wants an edge over 8800 Ultra SLI though. Looks as if a 275 will only cost him~60$ over an Ultra anyway.