4870x2, 2x 4870, or something else?

[FunkStar]

"Today is the day that we can lift up a big chunk of mystery that you guys have heard about in the rumor channel for a while now. It's the GeForce GTX 295. As usual, the rumors were pretty accurate. The GeForce GTX 295 will be an all new dual-GPU graphics card from NVIDIA based on the 55nm GeForce GTX 200 derivatives."
quoted from: http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-295-preview/

Was just looking up some reviews, and instantly found that it was a dual GPU card as well. It outperforms the x2 though, i'll give you that, but it's not single gpu


edit: if theres anymore people with opinions / experiences feel free to share

haven't made up my mind yet

[Yo-Yo Freak]

if you want bang for your buck, get 2x 4870's.

if one of your cards ever dies, hopefully they won't but still, you still have another card to play off of until you can replace the dead one. with the dual GPU cards, if they die well then your dead in the water so to speak, you can't play (unless you have some spare high end or decent card lying around, and not many people do) until you can replace it. IMHO 2x single GPU will always be better then dual GPU for exactly that reason. Period. as for performance, 2x 4870's is just as good as a 4870x2, don't even consider the GTX 295, its overpriced atm and it is also new which means that its going to have some flaws. if you read some more reviews on the GTX 295 you will also find that it isn't any better than the 4870x2, its just new and over priced. definatly not an option if you want bang for your buck.

oh and make sure if you get the 2x 4870's you get 1G cards.

hope this helps some. ^_^

~YYF

[pinotnoir]

You want the best bang for the buck get this... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102809 $299.99. It's a ATI 4850x2 2gig ram card with 4 DVI's. So you can run 4 monitiors if you wanted. Toms hardware said its the best for the money in the dec video card article. It beats nvidia 280's and almost does the same as a 4870x2. Its the same chip but ddr3 ram and a slower clock than a 4870x2.

[jag989]

You want the best bang for the buck get this... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102809 $299.99. It's a ATI 4850x2 2gig ram card with 4 DVI's. So you can run 4 monitiors if you wanted. Toms hardware said its the best for the money in the dec video card article. It beats nvidia 280's and almost does the same as a 4870x2. Its the same chip but ddr3 ram and a slower clock than a 4870x2.

You could run 4x monitors but you would still have the same software limitations on the 'extra' 2 DVI ports. You would also have more trouble disabling the internal crossfire on the card which can sometimes provide trouble when running multiple monitors and 3D apps.

The card is without a doubt a fantastic buy for general purposes, however, for multiboxing I would still go with one or more individual cards.

[pinotnoir]

You want the best bang for the buck get this... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102809 $299.99. It's a ATI 4850x2 2gig ram card with 4 DVI's. So you can run 4 monitiors if you wanted. Toms hardware said its the best for the money in the dec video card article. It beats nvidia 280's and almost does the same as a 4870x2. Its the same chip but ddr3 ram and a slower clock than a 4870x2.

You could run 4x monitors but you would still have the same software limitations on the 'extra' 2 DVI ports. You would also have more trouble disabling the internal crossfire on the card which can sometimes provide trouble when running multiple monitors and 3D apps.

The card is without a doubt a fantastic buy for general purposes, however, for multiboxing I would still go with one or more individual cards.

My vista 64 could run 4 dvi just fine. And turning crossfire on and off is simple as clicking the button in the ati control center.

[FunkStar]

What do you guys think about this one:

(2x )XFX GTX260 Black Edition (Retail, HDTV, 2x DVI)


The review I've read puts it above the 4870 in 95% of the cases (its a gtx260 'improved' version). Anyone has this card? Or experience/thoughts about it?

You can find specifications here:
http://www.alternate.be/html/product...wTechData=true

though the site is in dutch, speficiations should be clear

[pinotnoir]

Read this it can help.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/best-g...w-31483-5.html

Best graphics cards for the money Jan 09.

They have that 4850x2 listed in the $330+ area but if you get it from newegg its $299 on special right now. So for the money its a win win. Or you can spend almost the same and get a 260 thats slower.

[Ualaa]

I'm happy with the 4870 X2, which was the best card on the market at the time of my purchase.

Essentially, one card vs two cards in SLI/Crossfire...
A single card costs more, but is more powerful then either of the two cards. A single card allows you a second (also) more powerful card down the road for an upgrade if you choose to go that route.
Two cards allow more monitors if you want to use them, will cost less then one single stronger card, and if your card does go... your system can still run, rather then be out of commission.

Pretty much decide which factors are most important to you.
These were the factors I considered, but everyone has their own opinion.