GTX 470 or GTX 480?

[tie23he]

Custom PC primarily for gaming.

Should I get the GTX 470 or save up for the GTX 480?

CPU is going to be an Intel Core i5-750.

Can you tell me the benefits and recommend one?

 

[OvrClkr]

whats your screen resolution and PSU info?

 

[tie23he]

1920 x 1080

PSU: 750W or 850W Corsair

 

[wa1]

Mobo? SLI support?
If yes, dual GTX 470 would be great...

 

[tie23he]

ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

[OvrClkr]

I would go with the EVGA 470 or wait for the 460's and buy 2 of them if the mobo is SLI.

 

[eqbal321a]

if you have SLI ,it is said that two GTX465 in SLI give up to 90% effeciancy in the second card rather than 50% in most SLI , if it is true then two GTX465 are better than a single GTX480 with the same budget to spend (almost) .but you should research this .

 

[tie23he]

How much of a hassle is it to correctly setup SLI?

I might go for 2 GTX470 over the GTX 480. (Good Idea?)

Also, is my motherboard good with the SLI?

 

[redechelon]

if you have SLI ,it is said that two GTX465 in SLI give up to 90% effeciancy in the second card rather than 50% in most SLI , if it is true then two GTX465 are better than a single GTX480 with the same budget to spend (almost) .but you should research this .

I realize the 2 cards might perform better, but a dual-card setup isn't always wise. You fill your PCI-E slots right away rather than leaving room for later upgrades. Also, it requires more power. All GTX400 Series cards scale with about 90% performance in many games..

What games tie?
I like OvrClkr's suggestions unless you're going to be playing really heavy games at really heavy settings. A 470 is an amazing card, and the 460 is looking very appealing so far. I hope a SLI 460 setup will be a huge bang for the buck.

 

[jonpaul37]

You could also consider the HD5870 if you're not opposed to AMD/ATI, they run cooler, require less power, and falls (performance wise) right between the GTX 480 & GTX 470 and its typically only $40.00 more than the GTX 470... Just suggesting, If not, i would have to agree with OvrClkr and say that the 470 is a great option.

 

[Petey1013]

470 is the best bang for buck solution in nvidias camp right now, but I'd wait til next week to see what the 460s are like

 

[jerreece]

If you're willing/able to spend the money I'd go with the 850W Corsair PSU, and the SLI GTX 470's. That'd be the best performance. Keep in mind, the GTX 470/480's put off a lot of heat. So you'll want good air intake into the PC case to supply them with cool air. So don't skimp on the case/cooling fans.

That being said, unless you're 1920x1080 (MINIMUM) or higher there's not much point in doing SLI with the GTX 470s. So get a good monitor with at least 1080p resolution.

 

[jerreece]

I would go with the EVGA 470 or wait for the 460's and buy 2 of them if the mobo is SLI.

I totally agree with the GTX 470. However, I can't see buying two 460's later on for SLI. If you already have a GTX 470 you might as well just buy a second GTX470 and SLI those.

EDIT: Okay, misread that. Nevermind. Thought you meant to buy a GTX 470 and later buy 460's. Mised the "or" part.

 

[jerreece]

How much of a hassle is it to correctly setup SLI?

I might go for 2 GTX470 over the GTX 480. (Good Idea?)

Also, is my motherboard good with the SLI?

SLI is a piece of cake. Install two cards. Hook up power connectors (2x 6-pin PCI-E connectors on each card) to both. Connect the two cards with an SLI bridge (may come with motherboard or graphics cards). Install latest nVidia drivers from website. Right click on desktop, go into nVidia Control Panel. Enable SLI. Done.

The P55 motherboards 'technically' will lose some performance with SLI due to using an 8x/8x PCI-E platform. But it's a relatively small performance hit.

 

[tie23he]

Ok, one last question.

If I order my EVGA GTX 470 Superclocked from Newegg.com or Tigerdirect.com, will I still get the free high flow bracket?

 

[cygone]

The P55 motherboards 'technically' will lose some performance with SLI due to using an 8x/8x PCI-E platform. But it's a relatively small performance hit.[/quotemsg]

Yeah about 99.8% of a 16x,16x board.

 

[tie23he]

Will overclocking my own cause problems with the warranty?

 

[tie23he]

Will 2 GTX 470 SLI fit in antec 902 or should I get Antec 1200?

 

[jerreece]

Will 2 GTX 470 SLI fit in antec 902 or should I get Antec 1200?

The GTX 470 is actually smaller than a GTX 260. So you should be okay.

Personally, I like large cases as they give me more room to work in. Not to mention you can put more 120mm fans in to create a lot of air flow. But that's a personal thing. I went with the Thermaltake Armor (full tower) cause I like having all the room inside. Plus I liked how it looked.

 

[OvrClkr]

quite a bit smaller..

 

[jerreece]

Here's the upgrade I just made

 

[Petey1013]

If you're going to be buying the GTX 470 I think it's totally worth it to buy the evga GTX 470 Superclocked +

It goes with a backplate and the highflow bracket. Def worth the extra 20 bucks.

 

[OvrClkr]

I would spend the extra 25.00$ for the Lifetime Warranty alone. I purchased the above GB GTX 470 back when it came out from the Egg and it was faulty. Not sure if psycho is talking about the same model though.

Good track record :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130550&cm_re=GTX_470-_-14-130-550-_-Product

Not so good track record :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125320&cm_re=GTX_470-_-14-125-320-_-Product

 

[OvrClkr]

Ovr,

Can't be Gigabyte's fault as they just slap a sticker on it and ship it out. It's a reference so it's all on Nvidia.

Correct but my point is why risk it when it all you have to do is pay 25.00$ more for lifetime?

 

[Petey1013]

EVGA is giving away them free to all EVGA owners. The 470 to get is the Gigabyte as it's 299.99 and 25 dollars cheaper then the EVGA

They're giving the high-flow bracket away, not the backplate. Might as well order one that has both, and is a proven overclocker, for the extra 20 bucks.