Upgrade questions...

[NoPeace]

I'm looking to upgrade my system soon. I have dual 8800GTXs at the moment and need some more power to run at current and up coming games on my 1080p display at max settings w/ 4xAA/16xAF.

So what I currently have is a qx6800, 2x Segate 7200.10 drives, Liang D5 pump, EVGA 680i, and a PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer.

The question is mostly down to will my PSU be able to handle two GTX 280s? I've read reviews showing that 750-800w is enough and I've seen others showing that you need at least 1000w.

Now if that PSU isn't strong enough for dual GTX 280s then what would be a good board x38/x48 to run dual 4870s on? Preferable one that supports DDR2 as I don't want to spend an extra $500 for 8gb of DDR3 with such low performance gains over the DDR2 sticks I currently have.

Also, please don't say to just get 2x 4870 because they will be better price:performance. Assuming that I can get a DDR2 board for them they will cost about the same if not more then a pair of GTX 280s.

Also does anyone know if the HDMI audio output of the 4870s is any good or not?

NoPeace - out

[zanzabar]

the hdmi audio on the 3870 is great so i would assume that the 4870 would also, and 2 4870 is the same or better than 2 280gtx in most games since the 4870 scale 10-15% better so they are even (with a 333mhz fsb, 400mhz ati wins)


i would personal focus on getting a better MB with an x48 and a 4870x2, and when u get to ocing the ati cards scale with 333mhz fsb to 10-15% better than the 280 but with a 400-450mhz fsb then it can scale 25-30% better and get to 10% faster overall (cysis and WIC excluded)

if u wanted to stay NV then u will have to get a 790i and u will need to use the multiplier over FSB for 24/7 use, and 2 280 cards and a 1KW psu

i would get
4870X2
dfi x48LT
2x 2x2gb mushkin 1066mhz 996619
and keep your psu

that would allow u to get a pci or pci-e audio card have the best PWM system and power on the board, and the scalability of quadfire since u seam to have expencive parts it would seam viable for u

*i am biased against the NV NB/SB chipset, just putting it out there*

[NoPeace]

the hdmi audio on the 3870 is great so i would assume that the 4870 would also, and 2 4870 is the same or better than 2 280gtx in most games since the 4870 scale 10-15% better so they are even (with a 333mhz fsb, 400mhz ati wins)


i would personal focus on getting a better MB with an x48 and a 4870x2, and when u get to ocing the ati cards scale with 333mhz fsb to 10-15% better than the 280 but with a 400-450mhz fsb then it can scale 25-30% better and get to 10% faster overall (cysis and WIC excluded)

if u wanted to stay NV then u will have to get a 790i and u will need to use the multiplier over FSB for 24/7 use, and 2 280 cards and a 1KW psu

i would get
4870X2
dfi x48LT
2x 2x2gb mushkin 1066mhz 996619
and keep your psu

that would allow u to get a pci or pci-e audio card have the best PWM system and power on the board, and the scalability of quadfire since u seam to have expencive parts it would seam viable for u

Aye, thanks for the reply. Since the audio output of those cards is good and the NV route will need a mobo + PSU upgrade, I might just consider getting them. I've only stuck with NV because CFx1900s sucked balls and the 2900XT came out a month after I got my 8800s. I've been flip flopping between them for years.


*i am biased against the NV NB/SB chipset, just putting it out there*

I'm actually the opposite. I've never had a single problem with any board with NV chipsets. Where as I've had quite a few problems with Intel ones. That's one reason why I hesitate getting a CF setup again. The MSI 975x V2 was a total horror show.

NoPeace - out

[zanzabar]

i have change to go against recommending that ram, its not what mushkin has a rep putting it as its just powerchips R bin nothing special so i would go gskill 1066 non PI or 1100mhz+ PI