Nvidia SLI: Choosing a card

seanhallam

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Basically im sick of having only one card in my case and i appreciate the mean look that having 2 graphics cards give. Basically I can do 2 GTX 480s in sli or 2 560s. So good cards for SLI around $400 total?
 
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Yes, 200MHz slower. But you do have double the amount. The core clocks are the same however, and that's more important. I don't think you'd notice a difference either way. 4GB is mild overkill, but then again 2 GTX 670's is also overkill.

If you're getting two such monsters in SLI then 4GB makes sense because it extends the useful lifespan of the cards. The 4GB of VRAM also helps if you want to run crazy amounts of AA or do a multiple monitor setup.
The GTX 670 is not overpriced, it is priced exceptionally well for its performance and for being one of the most high end cards available. It performs about on-par with GTX 560 TI SLI and has a price to fit that and its feature list. Also, if SLI/CFX is what you want, then I'd sugesst getting two Radeon 7850s, not two Nvidia cards right now. Once a card comes out that competes with the Radeon 7850, then I might recommend it (assuming that it competes well and is priced to fit), but the 7850 is a much better card than the 560 TI and in many cases isn't priced too differently.
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150617

Including the MIR and free shipping, this card costs only $200, yet it is faster than the GTX 560 TI, uses much less power, and has 2GB of VRAM capacity, something that is really what I'd consider a minimum for such a setup.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the 7850 also scales much better than the GTX 560 TI, meaning that it is much closer to being twice as fast in a CF configuration than the GTX 560 TI is in an SLI configuration, yet another advantage of the 7850. A Kepler card would share this advantage and so does the VLIW4 cards, the Radeon 6930, 6950, and Radeon 6970.
 

verbalizer

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that card has 1GB big boy...
look again and not so hastily.. :/
 

verbalizer

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if you want SLi and not CF-X then for your price range the GTX 560 Ti I linked is your best bet.
you stated SLi and it's your call but if considering HD Radeon and CF-X then maybe re-think your entire strategy about having dual GPU's..
more driver issues with Radeon and the HD 7850 then there is nVidia and the GTX 560 Ti...
 


The driver issues are a myth at this point. With the Catalyst 12.6 and 12.7 drivers, the Radeon 7000 cards don't have any CFX issues anymore. In fact, these drivers are so good that there was a short time where they were better than Nvidia's latest drivers because Nvidia had the problems for a while, not AMD, but Nvidia has since fixed them.

Also, I think that I'd say that the best deal performance-wise at this price range for SLI would be the GTX 480 right now, not the GTX 560 TI, although it uses a lot of power and generates a lot of heat (though it does undervolt quite well). I'd put the 560 TI as a close second.
 

stant1rm

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The GTX 670 is overpriced?? Do you realize what you just said? The GTX 670 is probably the best deal in enthusiast level parts right now. It can handle both the games you want at 1080P without any of the issues that can be part of an SLI setup (increased heat and power, microstuttering, poor performance scaling).
 

seanhallam

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I just don't see how a Gtx 670 could be better then decent SLI cards. Like I said I want to try out dual graphics configurations, rather then 1 single card. Should i wait for Gtx 650s and 660s?
 

seanhallam

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What about the Gtx 480? I remeber the day they were the best and now they are very cheap? Would it be a good choice if I had the equipment for cooling it? Or is it just too outdated?
 

stant1rm

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seanhallam

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Well right now i have a 500W Corsair Power supply. I can wait for a new video card and get a new power supply as a upgrade or video card. I think i have it down to the 480 or the 670. But card first or wait a little for a new card but get the new psu to have the ability to sli.
 

stant1rm

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The GTX 480 would probably be pushing it on a 500W PSU, whereas the GTX 670 would have not problem. To run 2 GTX 480s, an 750W PSU is the minimum, where you can run 2 GTX 670's comfortably off a 600W. You could actually probably run 2 GTX 670's with your 500W, but it'd cutting it close.
 

stant1rm

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Yes, 200MHz slower. But you do have double the amount. The core clocks are the same however, and that's more important. I don't think you'd notice a difference either way. 4GB is mild overkill, but then again 2 GTX 670's is also overkill.

If you're getting two such monsters in SLI then 4GB makes sense because it extends the useful lifespan of the cards. The 4GB of VRAM also helps if you want to run crazy amounts of AA or do a multiple monitor setup.
 
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