To Crossfire, or GTX

[Thanatos421]

OK, here's the deal. I'm building a new PC based on the X38 chipset which, out of the box, doesn't support SLI.

SOOOO...

Give me some pros and cons regarding:

2 HD 2900 Pro (Flashed to XT) in CrossFire
1 8800 GTX (most likely OC'd)

On a side note, is it *possible* to get 2 8800 GTs working together in some sort of hacked SLI on this chipset? If so, will there be a performance hit, and is it worth it to attempt?

Thanks!

 

[Thanatos421]

For reference, build spec:
Asus Maximus Formula
4 Gig Crucial Ballistix DDR2 1066
E6550 w/Thermalright 120 Ultra X & Scythe S-Flex (Penryn Quad in January)
PCPnP Silencer 750 Crossfire Edition (This really depends on gfx configuration for obvious reasons)
Vista 64 Ultimate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824116079
Will be monitor, so please take that into consideration for the gfx debate.

Will be a gaming machine first and foremost, but with that monitor, I may sell my 37" 1080i set and be happy with 24

 

[nightscope]

Have you considered the new 8800 GT?

 

[itotallybelieveyou]

if it wasn't for vista i say get the 2 2900 but for vista get the gtx

 

[Thanatos421]

Have you considered the new 8800 GT?

If I could run SLI on that motherboard, I wouldn't be posting here and would have 2 GTs on the way to my house

I chose the single GTX because even tho it will be significantly more expensive, it is the single card performance king right now and should handle the load well on its own.

I just know that the 2900s are going to be a much better choice for HD and larger resolutions on the new monitor.




"if it wasn't for vista i say get the 2 2900 but for vista get the gtx" - Please elaborate
The whole point of this upgrade is to have a temporary DX10 capable machine until Penryn comes out to make it a GREAT DX10 machine So Vista is a necessary evil (no hacked XP DX10 thank you)

 

[Thanatos421]

Hmmm....OR (heh) should I only spring for one of the 2900s for now and await what AMD might pull out of their hat for a new CrossFire solution (as this board supports the new "CrossFireX" setup (I'm pretty clueless as to what features that includes, but I'll do my reasearch later)

OR

Get a single 8800 GT (which would actually use PCIe 2.0) and wait for next gen CrossFire

I'm torn!! I know the NVidia cards will pump out the frames, but the AMD solution would mean much better HD quality and CrossFire would help for larger resolutions. *cry*

If only X38 would support SLI....

 

[Thanatos421]

OK, all this got me so worked up, I looked up next gen Nvidia chipsets and found..

http://en.hardspell.com/doc/showcont.asp?news_id=1601

Looks like I may be waiting til Nov 12th at least. If they are stable boards, then my problems are solved, 3 8800 GTs it is!!