Get a high end GPU or wait till later?

[j5tar]

Should I buy a high end GPU such as GTX280 or will till later when Windows7 is released + DirectX 11??? I don't know much about DX so what disadvantages would I have if I buy a high end GPU right now as opposed to later???

I was thinking of getting a dual GTX 280 SLI but maybe I should get a single 9800GTX for now (or perhaps a 260GTX??? I would want everything maxed out of Starcraft II and World of Warcraft at least 60FPS). I need some opinions, thanks!!

[He Is Legend]

I would just get whatever you would prefer, I'm not sure of the difference between DX10 and DX11 but I'm sure it wont be much different than 10 considering 10 wasn't that much of a difference from 9.

Anyway, go for what you could afford. if you got the 280 single or sli, you'd be set on games for a hot minute.

[Grimmy]

First of all, what's your budget? If money isn't an option, but didn't want to buy 2 cards, I'd got with a GTX 295. It's a dual card, and the latest n greatest out. Just got done readying how it out performed ATI's equilivent to the same, I think the 4870x2 (not totally sure on that number).

If you get a single card, I'd look a little bit higher then the GTX 280, for the newer cards run a little bit cooler. I can't recall right off hand, but I think they have a GTX 285, and maybe a 290 out. I'd definately look into that. www.evga.com That will give you all your answers that you need.

As for DX11, there isn't anything out for it. Heck is there anything out for DX10 yet? Windows 7 is too far away to even consider. If you waited for win7, there will be way better cards out by then, I wouldn't even buy anything till you got a confired release date.

Anyhow, single card, go higher then the 280, it runs cooler and a little bit faster. SLI isn't worth it unless you got a high resoultion or the money to waste on it.

[j5tar]

For your GTX 295 (dual card) does it work like SLI??? For instance, the dual function works only for games that support it right?? Otherwise, it would use only one out of the two GPUs in the GTX 295???

[j5tar]

Also, would a 1000W power supply be sufficient enough for 2 GTX 295s'???? Or would I need at least 1200W??

[JIMINATOR]

1000W is plenty (assuming the proper sli connectors), but please, don't waste your money on a second card. the only possible game that would see any benefit from 2 cards is farcry 2 at resolutions for which you need a $5000 monitor. For everything else a single one of those cards is overpowered. not only that, cards, just like everything else are already dropping in price. todays deal is not going to be taken away, tomorrows deal is just going to be better. the day your single card is too weak you will be able to buy a card that is twice as strong for half the price you would have spent buying the second card. not only that, the technology will be up to date. sli was a good theory when cards were underpowered, now it is just a money maker for nvidia. and believe me, that second card will not make your penis grow longer. unless your girlfriend is a geek. believe me, I have checked my pants after every upgrade and it does not help...

[Gun Element]

Also, would a 1000W power supply be sufficient enough for 2 GTX 295s'???? Or would I need at least 1200W??

The dual cards dont work as SLi. Its just 1 card with 2 GPU's working together and act like a single unit. Its a pretty nice idea, getting more out of 2 equivalent cards that are in SLi.

Their is the 285 and 295. 295 is pretty much the highest end card you can have. Anything 280 and above is pretty much a waste of money.

What size monitor are you getting (or have)? Anything above 1680x1050 would be best suited for your new card (preferably higher the better) meaning... test shows 4870 runs WORSE on lower resolutions because it wasnt made to run on crappy small monitors. I still find that interesting.

I run 1 4870, runs great, fantastic on my 1920x1200 monitor and its not even the highest end card out there. Runs every game maxed out 60+ fps (exxcept crysis which gets around 25). One thing to to mention as well, I'm not getting the full power my card can give because my cpu and especially my ram is obselete to its ability. I could probably gain an extra 10 or more frames if I upgraded my rigs hardware. WOW? My friend plays that game on his 6600GT and gets 50 frames. haha

Power supply... well if you really absolutely want to SLi, and I say that its absolutely pointless at this point to do so, then I would go a little above 1000 watt. These cards are power hungry. I know for a fact that 1 4870X2 takes 280 watts alone, and I think the 295 takes a little bit more than that. So 600 watts for the 2 cards and 400 watts for the everything else? yea it'll work, but its nice knowing you dont ever have to worry about watt power if you say get a 1200 watt for 50$ more?

[JIMINATOR]

well, just remember, 600 watts is the same as a refrigerator running in your room... the bigger power supplies are actually more energy efficient, but all that hardware will make an impact on your monthly power bill. It is not like a 5-cent nightlight.... :)

[Slay]

1000 watts is plenty, 700 is plenty for todays cards. if you have like five HDD's, Two Video cards, Six fans you're 1000 W PS would still be fine.

[j5tar]

The dual cards dont work as SLi. Its just 1 card with 2 GPU's working together and act like a single unit. Its a pretty nice idea, getting more out of 2 equivalent cards that are in SLi.

Their is the 285 and 295. 295 is pretty much the highest end card you can have. Anything 280 and above is pretty much a waste of money.

What size monitor are you getting (or have)? Anything above 1680x1050 would be best suited for your new card (preferably higher the better) meaning... test shows 4870 runs WORSE on lower resolutions because it wasnt made to run on crappy small monitors. I still find that interesting.

I run 1 4870, runs great, fantastic on my 1920x1200 monitor and its not even the highest end card out there. Runs every game maxed out 60+ fps (exxcept crysis which gets around 25). One thing to to mention as well, I'm not getting the full power my card can give because my cpu and especially my ram is obselete to its ability. I could probably gain an extra 10 or more frames if I upgraded my rigs hardware. WOW? My friend plays that game on his 6600GT and gets 50 frames. haha

Power supply... well if you really absolutely want to SLi, and I say that its absolutely pointless at this point to do so, then I would go a little above 1000 watt. These cards are power hungry. I know for a fact that 1 4870X2 takes 280 watts alone, and I think the 295 takes a little bit more than that. So 600 watts for the 2 cards and 400 watts for the everything else? yea it'll work, but its nice knowing you dont ever have to worry about watt power if you say get a 1200 watt for 50$ more?

The thing I don't get is that when I look up on google, people hooking up 2 GTX 295's together are called Quad SLI. So wouldn't one GTX295 (2GPU) be in SLI because I know that each GPU inside the GTX 295 is equivalent to one GTX200??? Meaning, it won't run as fast as a other cards such as a single GTX 280 for certain games that don't support SLI??? I am stuck between getting one GTX 295 or getting 2 GTX 280 or 285s. I'm really noob at this :confused:

[Grimmy]

SLI can be disabled. When I put in my second card, I had to reinstall another driver (same one, just had to do it twice, one for each card) and I went into the nVidia control panel, and had to enable SLI. I would think it would be the same for a dual card.

Yes, 2 GTX 295s would be considered quad SLI, cause you'd have pretty much 4 vid cards (2 on each physical card, times 2=4). I wouldn't waste the money on quad sli. Nothing supports it, as far as games.

I'd also suggest not getting the 280's. Get the newer cards, they run cooler then the 280's. Mine run pretty warm, and you have to have good case ventilation to allow those cards to breathe.

[j5tar]

I might get 2 GTX285 but then they don't have much significant speed boost over the GTX280s Superclocked (was going to get those) besides the temperature you've mentioned. Do you think this case is good enough for SLI + futureproof??? What are the size differences between a mid and a full tower (what are the dimensions of them typically in inches -height, length, width)??? http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX14869(ME).aspx (there's a cheaper place but prices in Canada are usually higher) It has 2 fans in the front, 1 in the back, and one on the very top and the reviews are really good. Can you recommend anything? I don't really care about noise as long as it doesn't sound like a vacuum cleaner but keep everything cool.