Should I sell my 2 GPU's and buy a better card?

[ctguy1955]

CPU: Core i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz
Speed : 2.81GHz

Motherboard: ASUS P6T DELUXE V2

Memory: 12 gigs of Corsair CM3X2G1600C9 2GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600

Video Cards: 2 NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT (2x 112 SM4.0 1.4GHz, 2x 1GB DDR3 2x900MHz, PCIe 2.00 x16)

Hard drives: WDC WD740ADFD-00NLR5 (74.4GB, SATA150, 3.5", 10000rpm, NCQ, 16MB Cache) : 69GB
WDC WD7500AADS-00L5B1 (750.2GB, SATA300, 3.5", NCQ, 32MB Cache) : 699GB

dvd:HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GH20LP20 (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)
Optiarc DVD RW AD-7170A (ATA66, DVD+-RW, CD-RW, 2MB Cache)

Monitor Acer X223W 1680 x 1050 Max 59 hrz

Case: Antec nine hundred two

X-fi XtremeGamer sound card

Zalman 9900 LCD CPU cooler

Corsair TX850W Power Supply

Cyberpoint 850 AVR LED UPS

*************************************************************************************

My system runs games like MW2 and Arma2 and Left for Dead just fine, but not at the best resolutions. I dont know if I should get a better monitor that can run higher then 1680 x 1050, for one that is 120 htz with higher rez?

Should I get one 300 dollar high end card, and add another down the road, or are my 2 evga 9800gt's just fine for now and I should be happy? I feel like for the money I put into this thing, I could have made better decisions and had a better system.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Mike

 

[rolli59]

I would not do it unless going to HD5850/70

 

[ctguy1955]

Hi Rolli59, I was just looking at my 9800 stats. 600 mhz GPU clock speed and 1800mhz mem clock speed. The both of them in sli mode cost about 300 bucks. So if I were to sell them at a loss, and buy one Geforce GTX275 for now, and then add a second one down the road.....Im only going up 33 mhz in gpu clock speed and 468 for the mem clock speed.......Would I really see the difference for the money?

I will look into the HD5850, unless its a 500 dollar card now... Thanks!!!

 

[rolli59]

The two 9800gt are performing on level with GTX275. Putting them up on the used market will give maybe $150 for both. So do the calculation.

 

[Mousemonkey]

The 275 has more than twice the core count of two 9800's, that's what makes the difference not the clock or memory speed.

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, keep the 9800GTs unless you can find an HD5850/70. Any other single card upgrade wont actually be an upgrade and will cost you money.

 

[ctguy1955]

Thanks for help so far guys......I appreciate your advice.

 

[OvrClkr]

I don't see why you cannot max out your games with dual 9800's. If you are not going to buy a new monitor anytime soon don't invest in a GPU, those 2 cards will play almost anything at 1680x1050 (high settings and xAA)..

Before investing in a GPU you should be looking at a new bigger LCD with a higher resolution.

 

[ctguy1955]

I don't see why you cannot max out your games with dual 9800's. If you are not going to buy a new monitor anytime soon don't invest in a GPU, those 2 cards will play almost anything at 1680x1050 (high settings and xAA)..

Before investing in a GPU you should be looking at a new bigger LCD with a higher resolution.

Ive heard complaints about monitors larger then 22 23 inches..... I had mentioned the option of buying a better monitor with higher res and 120htz instead of 60htz and 2ms timing like the Samsung Syncmaster 2233RZ 22" 3D Gaming LCD Monitor.



MOUSEMONKEY WROTE:
The 275 has more than twice the core count of two 9800's, that's what makes the difference not the clock or memory speed.

So if I sold my two cards and bought one now.......and then in 5-6 months bought another one in SLI mode (oh, the 275 is prolly a ati product...I only do Nvidia products) then I would see a big improvement.

So do I do the monitor or the card....eventually both......


And the help keeps coming....Thank you so much.

 

[Mousemonkey]

A GTX275 is most definitely an Nvidia product and may be difficult to get in 5 to 6 months.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

I have a single 4870 and I play L4D maxed out at 1920x1080 on a 23inch monitor with 60 refresh rate. Two 9800GTs are better than a single 4870, so I don't see how you can't max out that game.

Modern Warfare 2 system requirements are fairly lenient. You can play it at almost maxed settings with a single 9800GT.

You might have some trouble with ARMA2, but not with the other games. Do you have the latest drivers for the 9800GTs and did you compare your benchmarks?

 

[jyjjy]

Two GTX 275s are going to cost you about $500...
If you really must buy something new and you refuse to consider an ATI card(which is a mistake) then at least wait until the new NVidia cards come out in a few months so you can buy something that actually makes some sense.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Two GTX 275s are going to cost you about $500...
If you really must buy something new and you refuse to consider an ATI card(which is a mistake) then at least wait until the new NVidia cards come out in a few months so you can buy something that actually makes some sense.

You really can't handle the fact that not everybody wants an ATi card can you?

 

[OvrClkr]

Look, there is no need for a 120hz monitor, you can get a decent 60hz 24" for around 200-250$ depending on brand. At 1680x1050 you don't need anything more powerfull than what you have at the moment. Yes you will have get more frames with a more powerfull GPU but many don't understand that more frames does not mean BETTER. After 40/50 frames the human eye cannot tell the difference, so what you need is a setup that can maintain 60FPS capped by vsync with the lowest FPS drop rate possible. I personally would go with a bigger monitor and worry about the GPU's later on....

 

[jyjjy]

You really can't handle the fact that not everybody wants an ATi card can you?

I'm not biased, except maybe to be biased against bias. I actually own an Nvidia card that I'm happy with it and if it made sense I'd buy another. However almost no Nvidia cards make sense at the moment in terms of price, performance and features(outside of perhaps a GTS 250 now because the HD4850 has gone up in price.) Blind allegiance to a name on a box is dumb. Period.

 

[Mousemonkey]

I'm not biased, except maybe to be biased against bias. I actually own an Nvidia card that I'm happy with it and if it made sense I'd buy another. However almost no Nvidia cards make sense at the moment in terms of price, performance and features(outside of perhaps a GTS 250 now because the HD4850 has gone up in price.) Blind allegiance to a name on a box is dumb. Period.

It's about respecting personal choices and if the OP has stated that they only wish to use brand A or B then who are you to insult them or their choice?

 

[OvrClkr]

I personally do not fall for the DX11, eyefinity crap. I like the low power consumption and pricing that the 5XXX series HAD at launch (to me that is what counts). At this point the only 5XXX series that I can recommend is the 5750 and the 5770. Later on when both the 5XXX series and the 3XX series become mainstream THEN i will have a diffrent opionion. Right now if you can get a last-gen Nvidia/ATI card at a GOOD price then I say go for it, don't fall for the "your card ain't future proof" bullshi*....I still use XP to this date DX9c and my games look wonderfull. If the OP decides to get a better GPU setup then what he has right now then let it be. The brand does not matter, what matters is the pricing of the GPU and the fact that it will play his games at the desired settings.

 

[jyjjy]

It's about respecting personal choices and if the OP has stated that they only wish to use brand A or B then who are you to insult them or their choice?

All I said is it's a mistake to avoid ATI cards, and right now it really is IMO. I don't see how that's an insult and I also presented the best option if he wants to stick with Nvidia(wait a few months for the new cards.) People come here for advice from people who know what they are talking about. Just going along with someone and not recommending the best current option in terms of price, performance, features, power efficiency, ect. would be bad advice I think.

 

[jay_l_a]

It's about respecting personal choices and if the OP has stated that they only wish to use brand A or B then who are you to insult them or their choice?

..but he isn't making personal choices. He's on a message board asking for advice on a new GPU.

If you are limited by existing hardware, those are valid criteria. If you have a budget, again, valid criteria. Even not liking a particular manufacturer could be valid if tainted by previous experience.

But to say 'I don't do ATI' or 'I don't do nVidia' without qualifying the statement seems a little blinkered. The OP has already sliced off 50% of the market without tangible reason.

 

[Mousemonkey]

..but he isn't making personal choices. He's on a message board asking for advice on a new GPU.

If you are limited by existing hardware, those are valid criteria. If you have a budget, again, valid criteria. Even not liking a particular manufacturer could be valid if tainted by previous experience.

But to say 'I don't do ATI' or 'I don't do nVidia' without qualifying the statement seems a little blinkered. The OP has already sliced off 50% of the market without tangible reason.

You don't see personal choice as a tangible reason?

 

[jay_l_a]

You don't see personal choice as a tangible reason?

In some arenas I do, but to ask a question on a message board about the best upgrade option for a GPU, and discount probably half the market (and at this point the company with the fastest single and multi-gpu cards) seems (as I said) blinkered.

 

[Mousemonkey]

In some arenas I do, but to ask a question on a message board about the best upgrade option for a GPU, and discount probably half the market (and at this point the company with the fastest single and multi-gpu cards) seems (as I said) blinkered.

We'll have to agree to disagree then, because if I were in the market for new cards right now (and I'm not) I too would not be interested in ATi's offerings due to 'personal choices' made quite some time ago.

 

[ctguy1955]

I have many quirks, as an individual. I only like mustard on a hotdog, but never on a hamburg. I love ketchup on a hamburg, but never on a hotdog. I can go with Ford or Chevy, but never anything else. Asus MB's are the only ones ive ever owned.

Ive owned ATI products in the past, and find I prefer nvidia much more so. I dont feel I need to express any specifics of the reasoning behind those feelings. When I bought my P6T I also wanted to get asus 9800gt's, but I could not get two at the time. I wanted sli and even though I knew you could run different manufacturers cards, I chose not to do so.

I have now OC'ed my MB to 3.0 ghz and have done a 6% oc of my two GPU's. I will eventually up it to 3.6 and do a 10% GPU OC, and I was told I will see a difference.

I thank all you kind people for your opinions and help and I guess I will just stick with what I have for now and wait, but I felt that the 150 that I spent on each card would just go down in price more as time goes by, and that to sell them now I would get more for them, as they have not been used for too long (hours).

Have a wonderful Holiday season and I hope Santa brings you something really great!!!!!

Mike

 

[ctguy1955]

Well its been a while, but Im back again. I just got a deal on a Acer GD235hz monitor with the Nvidia 3d wireless kit for under 300 bucks, and I have to say that Im blown away by how my FPS games look in 3D. I tried to OC my system again, and started to have some problems with not knowing what to do. I have searched around the web for OC'ing advice for my 920 and just am having a hard time with all of the settings. I bought a minimac to use for a recording studio for guitar and singing and did not touch my pc for months on end. Now that Im playing the BF3 Beta, Im all excited about PC's once again.

I saw one of my 9800gt cards on craigslist selling for 25 bucks...........Hows that for a kick in the pants as mine are only 2 years old and I paid 300 for the pair. I have been looking at the Evga Geforce 580 gtx, but for now, because Im out of work, all I can do is dream. I think if I can OC my system again, to around 3.2 - 3.8 then I can play BF3 at higher settings. Having a 120hz monitor in non 3d mode should help refresh rate at least, compared to playing on my old viewsonic vg2728wm. Screen may be a little smaller, but I sure do love the 3d !!!!

I was wondering if I put the viewsonic vg2728wm in the middle and the Acer GD235 on the right and then my old acer X223w
on the left, would I be able to do the surround three screen gaming ??????? That would be kewl !!!!

I appreciate the help given here, as Im so out of the loop with PC and new things these days. Everything changes so fast and
I just have to try to make do with what I have and improve things until I can afford to buy newer upgrades.

Thanks Everyone !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey