One gtx295 or Two gtx285's?

[Racko]

So im building a new i7 system and I’ve been going back and forth on what video card to get and I wanted to see what you guys think. Now I know the 295 is defiantly the better card but should I just buy one of those and call it good? or should I just do two 285's and go with that in tell its time to upgrade? Because with the way they are putting out cards now days by the time im ready to get a second 295 there will be many other cards that are better then it.

thanks for the input ahead of time

[perkam]

That's a HUGE delta right there dude. GTX285 SLI destroys a single 295.

Perkam

[trinsic]

At the end of the day the 285's would be easier to sell when the time comes.

[Arkangyl]

Well, a few things:

- SLI GTX 285 is MUCH MUCH faster than GTX 295 single
- new cards are due out around / after December 2009
- most games today run fine at 1920x1200 with just a single GTX 285 (hell, I have a GTX 260 216sp and I can run everything just fine with an overclock!!!!)

Are you watercooling?
What size is your screen?
What's your budget?

In general though, GTX 285 SLI > GTX 295

[Ming@s]

single 295

:up:

[Anemone]

Might consider ONE 285 and see if you "need" the extra speed. If not, save $$ for the DX11 cards coming at the end of the year...

[ChinStrap]

what games are you going to be playing?

i play COD series - i found that 285 SLi > single 295 @ 1920x1200 (owned both)

[methimpikehoses]

Of course 2 285's will kill a 295.

[Racko]

Well, a few things:

- SLI GTX 285 is MUCH MUCH faster than GTX 295 single
- new cards are due out around / after December 2009
- most games today run fine at 1920x1200 with just a single GTX 285 (hell, I have a GTX 260 216sp and I can run everything just fine with an overclock!!!!)

Are you watercooling?
What size is your screen?
What's your budget?

In general though, GTX 285 SLI > GTX 295

No watercooling. Screens gonna be 24" and the budget is about $3000 but that includes the new monitor keyboard and mouse.

[Racko]

what games are you going to be playing?

i play COD series - i found that 285 SLi > single 295 @ 1920x1200 (owned both)

Im gonna be playing crysis, farcry 2, warhammer, cod modern warfare 2 (when that comes out) and im hoping it lasts a while so that i can play many of the new mmo's that are to come.

[EagleRock]

GTX285 SLI destroys a single 295.

:yepp::yepp:

[DeathTyrant]

For convenience of making space for just one graphics card, the GTX 295.
For the greatest performance, the GTX 285. < My choice.

[Arkangyl]

Honestly I think a single GTX 285 will be your best bet. Maybe spend some money to improve the cooling (dunno what's out there for air cooling) and overclock it some?

If you have the money though, get SLI, it's just so pimp to look at :-P (besides, this is XtremeSystems, not EffiectSystems)

[Anemone]

Single 285 let's you "scale up" so that if you run into something it can't play, then get a second one (and prices fall in the meantime). Otherwise the money is saved and you can feel less guilty looking at the prices of the DX11 cards when they come in Q4'ish. I'm not saying DX11 will be some night and day difference, but frequently the fervor over "new" stuff goes on around here and folks get the hankering to buy new stuff even if their current stuff is only 6 months old.

Hence why I think a single 285 for now buys you some time to consider if you need more now, or want the new cards when they come.

[railmeat]

first off roacko,what power supply do u have?im using a coolermaster 1250 for my single 295 gtx here mon.680 watt min is needed just so u know for single 295....



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
single 295 vs dual 285,s

simplicity,single 295 for $500,less power needed,less heat in case,more space.

complexity-dual 285,s at $800,more power needed,more heat in case,less space,plus sli is buggy at times..

need more power?add another mere $200 and completely DESTROY the 285,s...with quad sli 2x295,s...choice is pretty simple here....295 ftw man.pretty sure 2x295,s will beat tri 285,s?but thats $1,200 there and hella power needed,tons of heat,and NO space left even for a xfi card...pointless.


my 295 evga red edition will be here monday the 4th....can,t wait!any gamer can EASILY slide by with a single 295.



tho newegg is selling recertified EVGA gtx 280,s for $250!!!!not bad i must admit but again u get a cramped sli setup(not into it).

Recertified: EVGA 01G-P3-1280-RX GeForce GTX 280 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130427&Tpk=gtx%20280
$269.99

Promo Code: -$20.00

Grand Total: $249.99

promo code EMCLRPL47

they have OVER 100 of these cards IN STOCK

dual sli 280,s = $500/tri = $750...thats a decent value i think.food for thought.

[LedHed]

I think people need to define the term "kill"....

A few things to consider, the GTX 295 is literally 2x GTX 275 inside of one card. The GTX 275 and 285 are less than 8% different in most applications @1920x1200 by most popular reviews:


http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3539&p=20


http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/radeonhd4890_040209033751/18712.png

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/radeonhd4890_040209033751/18715.png

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/radeonhd4890_040209033751/18718.png

http://images.anandtech.com/graphs/radeonhd4890_040209033751/18721.png


You can see in the benches that the GTX 285 only pulls a maximum of 9% increase in one app over the GTX 275 @1920x1200, the rest are closer to 3-5%.


Now consider the fact that both the GTX 295 and SLI GTX 285's are using the same SLI technology to link the two GPUs. This means that a single card comparison between the GTX 275 vs GTX 285 will give you a very good idea of how a GTX 295 will perform against SLI GTX 285's.


If it was me I would get the GTX 295 for a few reasons; less heat, less power consumption, less space, and better price vs performance ratio. If you want the very best then yes go SLI 285's, but the minimal difference between the GTX 285 and the GTX 295 just does not merit the price increase.

I would have considered going SLI 280, but my Crossfire board limited me to a dual GPU solution if I wanted SLI.

[lee143]

Railmeat, I'm just wondering where you got the information that you need 680W minimum to run one GTX295? If so, then are you saying that you need minimum 1000W+ to run GTX295 SLI?

[Mr. K6]

Railmeat, I'm just wondering where you got the information that you need 680W minimum to run one GTX295? If so, then are you saying that you need minimum 1000W+ to run GTX295 SLI?
That's NVIDIA's specs I believe, as I've heard it multiple times. My system runs fine with plenty of room to spare on my HX620W though.

[Racko]

first off roacko,what power supply do u have?im using a coolermaster 1250 for my single 295 gtx here mon.680 watt min is needed just so u know for single 295....



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
single 295 vs dual 285,s

simplicity,single 295 for $500,less power needed,less heat in case,more space.

complexity-dual 285,s at $800,more power needed,more heat in case,less space,plus sli is buggy at times..

need more power?add another mere $200 and completely DESTROY the 285,s...with quad sli 2x295,s...choice is pretty simple here....295 ftw man.pretty sure 2x295,s will beat tri 285,s?but thats $1,200 there and hella power needed,tons of heat,and NO space left even for a xfi card...pointless.


my 295 evga red edition will be here monday the 4th....can,t wait!any gamer can EASILY slide by with a single 295.



tho newegg is selling recertified EVGA gtx 280,s for $250!!!!not bad i must admit but again u get a cramped sli setup(not into it).

Recertified: EVGA 01G-P3-1280-RX GeForce GTX 280 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130427&Tpk=gtx%20280
$269.99

Promo Code: -$20.00

Grand Total: $249.99

promo code EMCLRPL47

they have OVER 100 of these cards IN STOCK

dual sli 280,s = $500/tri = $750...thats a decent value i think.food for thought.

im gonna be using a corsair hx 1000

[ReverendMaynard]

Let's see some 8 or 16xAA 16xAF 1900x1200 data and see where the 275 comes compared to the 285's :)

[ANuB1S]

In My opinion it's better to BUY GTX 295 :) 'Cause, later if you're going to upgrade your System, You'll be able to have BEST Video CONFIGURATION :)

2X GTX 295 VS 3X GTX 285 Of Course 2 X GTX 295 WINS : )

[Racko]

Let's see some 8 or 16xAA 16xAF 1900x1200 data and see where the 275 comes compared to the 285's :)

Are you happy with ur 2 gtx285s?


In My opinion it's better to BUY GTX 295 :) 'Cause, later if you're going to upgrade your System, You'll be able to have BEST Video CONFIGURATION :)

2X GTX 295 VS 3X GTX 285 Of Course 2 X GTX 295 WINS : )

That's what I was thinking

[ANuB1S]

That's what I was thinking

:up:

[perkam]

single 295 vs dual 285,s

simplicity,single 295 for $500,less power needed,less heat in case,more space.

complexity-dual 285,s at $800,more power needed,more heat in case,less space,plus sli is buggy at times..Not so fast.

The average GTX 285 costs $340, bringing the total of two GTX 285s to $680, not very far from the $500 you spend on a single GTX 295.

Perkam

[SNiiPE_DoGG]

4890cf.... $430 ... 0.6% < 285 SLI

[perkam]

4890cf.... $430 ... 0.6% < 285 SLINvidia users have their preferences and ATI users have theirs, even if it is more expensive.

Perkam

[Anemone]

Not positive but I think it's easier to shut down and work on a single core with 2x 285 vs 1x 295. That's for when you have SLI troubles...

It might also be easier to sell the 285's individually.

Dunno know where I'll land on this debate. This choice is going on in my mind too.

[LedHed]

Anemone all you have to do is turn off Multi-GPU mode in NVIDIA CP, it's not any harder, it's actually the exact same thing you'd do with 2x 285.

[Anemone]

k that makes the choice harder LOL :)

[prava]

I would rather go for a GTX295 (or GTX275 SLI, but dunno what prizes you've got in comparison to a GTX295). The GTX285 is a NO-NO this days, being it so expensive for what you get, I would never ever buy one. Period. If you compare GTX275 vs GTX285, the prize difference is above 30%, and if you check the performance difference...well, you know, not worth it in any case.

[alphadog009]

to put it simply 1 gtx 295 = 2 gtx 275

285>280>275>260>250

Therefore....

2x 285 > 2x 275
simplified.....
2x285 > 1x 295......

easy as math.....:)

but to go out on a limb.... 3x 280's????????

[railmeat]

In My opinion it's better to BUY GTX 295 :) 'Cause, later if you're going to upgrade your System, You'll be able to have BEST Video CONFIGURATION :)

2X GTX 295 VS 3X GTX 285 Of Course 2 X GTX 295 WINS : )


+1 agree %100