One GTX 480 vs. 2 GTX 460 in SLI mode.
This is a frequented Google topic and Youtube video extravaganza. We've probably all read the benchmarks over and over again. There's no question that 2 460's in SLI defeat the GTX 480 in every which way: performance, power consumption, noise level, and sometimes even price. I haven't fully decided, yet, which one i want, however, as I keep hearing the argument for "future-proofing."
I was committed on two different occasions to purchase 2 460's until a few people here, and at various other locations on the interwebs, swore I had to get the GTX 480 so that I could buy another one down the road to better future-proof my system for the next generation of DX11 games. My problem with this argument is the fact that it MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE!!! For one, all of the current games run better on 2 GTX 460's in SLI than on the GTX 480. So I'm set for the current crop of high-end games. Furthermore, the next generation of games - meaning ones that will be troublesome for the current crop of GPU's - are about 18 months (or more) away. By that time, there will be a new generation of graphics cards, thus rendering the Nvidia 400 series (and the ATI 5000 series) obsolete anyway.
In other words, upgrading with a 2nd GTX 480 later is a completely wasted prospect when the next line of graphics cards will likely blow that configuration away at the same price point. By the time I have the money to upgrade my graphics solution(s), I will likely buy all new.
As an aside: if I had the money, I'd get two GTX 480's now; but I don't, so I can't.
By the time there are games that will completely chew through a configuration of 2 GTX 460's in SLI, they will chew through the 480's as well and there will be better, more cost-effective graphics options available from both Nvidia and ATI.
So, if YOU are going to buy a GTX 480, that's fine. They are a powerhouse, they gain on the 460 SLI setup at extreme resolutions, and they look freaking cool. If you are going to buy it for "future-proofing," then it's my opinion (based on research) that you are wasting your efforts and your money. Again, by the time you've saved up again to upgrade your configuration, there will be newer, better options at that price point.
-The Doog
This is a frequented Google topic and Youtube video extravaganza. We've probably all read the benchmarks over and over again. There's no question that 2 460's in SLI defeat the GTX 480 in every which way: performance, power consumption, noise level, and sometimes even price. I haven't fully decided, yet, which one i want, however, as I keep hearing the argument for "future-proofing."
I was committed on two different occasions to purchase 2 460's until a few people here, and at various other locations on the interwebs, swore I had to get the GTX 480 so that I could buy another one down the road to better future-proof my system for the next generation of DX11 games. My problem with this argument is the fact that it MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE!!! For one, all of the current games run better on 2 GTX 460's in SLI than on the GTX 480. So I'm set for the current crop of high-end games. Furthermore, the next generation of games - meaning ones that will be troublesome for the current crop of GPU's - are about 18 months (or more) away. By that time, there will be a new generation of graphics cards, thus rendering the Nvidia 400 series (and the ATI 5000 series) obsolete anyway.
In other words, upgrading with a 2nd GTX 480 later is a completely wasted prospect when the next line of graphics cards will likely blow that configuration away at the same price point. By the time I have the money to upgrade my graphics solution(s), I will likely buy all new.
As an aside: if I had the money, I'd get two GTX 480's now; but I don't, so I can't.
By the time there are games that will completely chew through a configuration of 2 GTX 460's in SLI, they will chew through the 480's as well and there will be better, more cost-effective graphics options available from both Nvidia and ATI.
So, if YOU are going to buy a GTX 480, that's fine. They are a powerhouse, they gain on the 460 SLI setup at extreme resolutions, and they look freaking cool. If you are going to buy it for "future-proofing," then it's my opinion (based on research) that you are wasting your efforts and your money. Again, by the time you've saved up again to upgrade your configuration, there will be newer, better options at that price point.
-The Doog