graphics card question - nvidia

[kratz]

hi folks, got a 7800gtx in a dell xps 600

craving more graphics power so was going to pick up another cheap 7800gtx and SLi it but i plugged my riginto my 42" hitachi HD plasma and couldnt get 1920x1080 out of the dvi ports

i know the 7900gt does hdtv output so do i just scrap the 7800gtx and get the 7900gt?

also would i get much benefit from running 2 7900gts?

im only really playing bf2 and a couple of other games, and my monitor is a samsung syncmaster 740b

thanks

 

[raven_87]

SLI = Pointless for that rig.

 

[sirheck]

if you havent got the other 78gtx then dont
just use your single card
it will work fine on bf2 and bf2142 as they use pretty much the same
graphics engine

in bf2 sli doesnt make a diff.

i have <had> 68gts in sli and could not get them to work
on my 32inch hdtv but one 68gt does

that is with dvi

 

[rahul_cracker]

hey these dell people dont supply good motherboards and running two 7900 's is a big waste of money and bangwidth plus the cooling required for those monster graphic cards at least for me (I run a single 5700 LE),the second point is the mobo wont provide the required capability or the bandwidth to enjoy fully those cards .

 

[BrockSampson]

I am not trying to bash raven or anything, but just telling the guy its pointless doesnt help him. Give him some advice, explanations or suggestions. With that said I did some quick research using google on your specific situation. I came across this website article:

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=32139

I am going to specificly quote some frame rates they got for BF2 using the 7900GT:

Low quality
Single 7900GT @ 2048 X 1536 FPS: 41.55
SLI 7900GT @ 2048 X 1536 FPS: 69.17

High quality
Single 7900GT @ 2048 X 1536 FPS: 44.78
SLI 7900GT @ 2048 X 1536 FPS: 73.12

In my opinion those numbers tell me that playing battlefield 2 with SLI 7900GTs is far from pointless. That is a huge framerate jump and anything around 60fps in my opinion is beautiful at that resolution.

If you were to play at the lower resolution of 1024 x 768 your really not going to benefit from SLI (and maybe lose a little frame rate it seems) but from what you told us is that you going 1980 x 1080 if that is the case im going to have to go against what everyone else is saying and tell you that SLI WILL make the difference and I actually have numbers that show it. But again I only have one source for these numbers and I am not going to take the time to search the internet... and I may be wrong, but atleast I provided you with more information then the others.

Conclusion:
7800GTX is a badass card, if you want the SLI 7900GTs your going to notice a difference at high resolutions and high quality, I only have evidence to back that up. Until someone can come up with a good reason to believe those numbers are wrong, or that I am mistaken about something, I see no reason to not get the two 7900GTs and play BF2 in all its glory! Now if it was me I would be happy with the 7800GTX and try to maybe OC it a bit or just wait to do a whole computer upgrade when DX10 cards and vista become available. Either way good luck with your decision and hopefully the people on these forums can come up with more then a half-assed answer for you and provide you with good advice!

 

[sirheck]

i have run bf2 with one card and 2 cards and didnt notice
any diff

even with sli and a hdtv at a native resolution of 1920x180
well it<bf2> says it doesnt even support that resolution

 

[bigsby]

Another thing to point out is the fact that plasma can't do 1080 x 1920, only 720 x 1280. You'll need an LCD or DLP tv to use 1080P resolutions. Also remember that BF2 doesn't go widescreen (although I wish it did)

Don't get SLI, it's kind of useless in your rig, as well as bf2. your 7800gtx is fine for now, unless you really want to strive for the best, which you'll want to get a 7900gtx, but your 7800 is still very much so adequate.

 

[sirheck]

ahh good point i forgot you are correct bf2 doesnt do a lot of highend graphics. including widescreen.

it was designed for best overall gameplay

dont know about bf2142.
it will use the same engine but slightly updated

 

[engrpiman]

hi,

I have a 7900gt and a samsing 740b. i run duel displays off my 7900 and i am still able to play all games just fine.

so i would save your money and wait until DX10 cards come out becasue it's not worth the upgrade at this time

but it was worth it from my 6600

piman

 

[raven_87]

@ Brock

I understand...no offense taken, I was in a rush though.
Figured somebody (such as yourself) would come in to clarify.

 

[4745454b]

Until someone can come up with a good reason to believe those numbers are wrong

Sounds like a challange, and I love challanges. First, the Inquirer isn't known for its articles. There are plenty of other websites I would look to for SLI info. Toms and Anandtech come to mind. I did see something very weird with what you posted.

Low quality
Single 7900GT @ 2048 X 1536 FPS: 41.55
SLI 7900GT @ 2048 X 1536 FPS: 69.17

High quality
Single 7900GT @ 2048 X 1536 FPS: 44.78
SLI 7900GT @ 2048 X 1536 FPS: 73.12

Are these backwards??? Since when does moving from Low quality to high quality INCREASE frame rates???

You would have to be an idiot to claim that SLI doesn't increase framerates. 2 working together will simply out perform one. This is a given. Is SLI the best option? Lets look at toms interactive charts, 7800GTX SLI vs 7900GT

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html?modelx=33&model1=522&model2=521&chart=219

The SLI rig is one frame faster then the 7900GT. If you look at the other games, the SLI rig is either faster by 28%+ (Oblivion) or hardly at all. (Half life 2, among others.) Lets check cost now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130047
Newegg has no new 7800GTX cards, only these. Counting shipping, your looking at just over $300.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130049 This is a 7900GT for just over $210, a $90 savings.

I'm not saying the 7900GT is the better deal, but it comes very close. Consider that for less then the cost of another 7800GTX you could have a single card that performs almost as well in games is wonderful. It will use less power then the two 7800GTXs, and will put out less heat. Throw in the money you get ebaying the old 7800GTX, and the money saved from not having to buy a new powersupply, and this could be the way to go. (unless you want the faster option, no matter what.)

 

[aaargh_again]

1. ALL DVI cables are not the same and if i am reading this right you took a monitor cable and tried it HD media requires a different DVI cable
2. try http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5413 this should sort out your resolutions