GTX 295 or two ATI 4890's? or wait?

[Sekkai]

I am buying parts to build a computer, and I am having a hell of a time deciding on video cards.

I hear the GTX 295 is beastly, but I also hear that it's overpriced when I can SLI two 4980's and get something superior to the 295, but then I also hear the 5000 series is coming out soon.

What are your guys' thoughts on all this?

I am really anxious to buy my parts (off Newegg), but am I better off waiting until the 5000 series comes out and then just buying two of those in SLI?

 

[CurseTheSky]

At this point, wait. It's only a few weeks away, and even if the HD 5000 series or GT 300 isn't all it was hyped up to be, it should drop the prices on current hardware. If you weren't looking at top-end cards, I'd say just grab whatever you can find now.

Two 4890s would most likely be the better performer, but keep in mind the heat and power consumption. Unless you're trying to play Crysis maxed at 1920x1200 or game on a 30" monitor (2560x1600), you probably don't need either of those cards. What are the rest of the specs of your system?

 

[Spikesoldier]

wait until 5870 launches and get gtx295 performance for less without having to worry about cf scaling.

 

[thilanliyan]

Definitely wait.

 

[Sekkai]

Current list (updated):

Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1
LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model GH22LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM
$25.99


1
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$99.99

2
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM
$189.98
($94.99 each)


1
EDIMAX EW-7728In 32bit PCI Wireless 802.11n Draft 2.0 PCI Card - Retail
$34.99

1

EVGA 017-P3-1295-AR CO-OP Edition GeForce GTX 295 1792MB 896 (448 x 2)-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported ... - Retail
$499.99

1
Nvidia Gift - Batman: Arkham Asylum - Retail
$0.00

1
Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE ... - Retail
$99.99

1
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D - Retail
$179.99

1
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$259.99

1
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
$279.99

1
CPU Mag Gift - 6 free issues of CPU Magazine - OEM
$0.00

1
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM
$109.99

1
COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
$54.99

Subtotal: $1,835.88

 

[Sekkai]

I am basically trying to build myself an uber machine, and this includes having uber video cards/speed/gaming ability.

 

[Tempered81]

Just wait, in about a month you're gonna want two 5870's. When their performance is unveiled you might be upset you just bought 4890's/gtx295.

 

[Sekkai]

Do you think it'll be okay to buy everything else now?

 

[faxon]

Originally posted by: Spikesoldier
wait until 5870 launches and get gtx295 performance for less without having to worry about cf scaling.

what im planning. if the 1600SP 900MHZ core 384bit GDDR5 1GHZ memory bus on a 40nm core with 1GB or 2GB frame buffer starting @ $350 is true, im probably going to get one at launch to replace my 9800GTX. i would otherwise be looking at 4870 Vapor-X crossfire @ $300 + tax and shipping from newegg anyway, so i figure i can wait another month

ed: as for buying everything else now, i say wait again. with the announcement of lucid hydra chips on at least MSI p55 based motherboards, we will see dual x16 boards with what's supposed to be 100% scaling between multi card multi GPU solutions, assuming everything works out. if it doesnt, you can still get a p55 board with an NF200 chip and save $150 on ram and motherboard, plus you will have a faster (@ stock and probably overclocking) cpu in the i7 860. lynnfield and AMD Evergreen are supposed to launch within a week or 2 of each other, so i say wait it out. also, you are going to want to order a different cooler than the coolermaster V8. their Hyper Z600R outperforms it for less money, as does the xigmatek dark knight. i would recommend ordering your cooler from a site besides newegg (since they dont carry thermalright or prolimatech coolers) and get yourself a prolimatech megahalems or a thermalright ultra 120 extreme. of course, if you dont plan on overclocking, you will be just fine with a xigmatek S-1283 + an LGA1366 or LGA 1156 mounting bracket for it, which should still be cheaper than the dark knight in the long run, and a lot quieter. no reason to spend extra on a cooler beyond something to keep the cpu from getting toasty lol

 

[Sekkai]

I am a total noob and didn't understand a lot of what you mean with respect to the mobo. Are you saying there are going to be new mobos around the time of the 5000-series release better than the mobo I am currently looking at?

And yes I was planning on a Promimatech cooler

 

[arkcom]

Originally posted by: faxonif it doesnt, you can still get a p55 board with an NF200 chip and save $150 on ram and motherboard, plus you will have a faster (@ stock and probably overclocking) cpu in the i7 860.

Ram will be the same price. (per gb)

You can get a GA-EX58-UD3R For $125 after bing cb. or ECS X58B-A2 for $122

lynnfield cpus will not be much if any less than the i7 920 for $199 at microcenter.


No savings at all with waiting.


edit: op - Superbiiz also has the GA-EX58-UD4P for $168 shipped after 20% bing cb.

 

[Tempered81]

Originally posted by: arkcom

You can get a GA-EX58-UD3R For $125 after bing cb.

... the i7 920 for $199 at microcenter.

Those both sound like excellent choices.

 

[Dkcode]

If your not using a 30" 2560x1600 monitor then don't bother with SLI or Crossfire.

I have a GTX 295 and its only fast when SLI works properly. Even then some games such as Fallout 3 suffer terribly from microstuttering and crashes in FPS to the low 20's. Some games work well such as CoD 5 and Source engine games and some games do not use SLI at all. Out of all the games i play on a regular basis, a GTX 295 is not really worth the money. Hell games that don't use SLI actually run WORSE than my single GTX 280 did, but this is to be expected.

Unfortunately i have been cursed by this 30" monitor. 2560x1600 on the desktop is something that one cannot step away from once one has it. Soon as a single card comes along that can trump the GTX 295 then you can expect to see mine on Ebay.

If you must have multi GPU then do it properly. Buy a decent PSU and drop in 2 of the fastest single cards you can buy. That way, worse case scenario, you have the fastest single GPU performance you can get.

 

[Sekkai]

I am a bit confused. I thought these cards were uber -- why are you experiencing problems? Is the monitor too big for the card to max out fully?

I plan on getting an 750W power supply from Antec. However, I am still unsure what I should get in terms of GPU.

 

[KingstonU]

There is no point on buying parts of a computer now, then wait a few weeks to get the video card. Order them all when the 5870 is released in the coming weeks.

 

[Sekkai]

Also what are the differences between the various mobos? I have googled a bit but not found too definitive an answer. There's the UD3R and the UD4P etc... how do I know which one I'd want?

According to various reviews, it seems like the UD4P is a solid choice because it has more DIMM slots, but that's all I can really find.

After Dkcode's post, I am a bit concerned. I am hoping there are only issues because of the huge monitor? I'd only be looking at something around 24".

 

[rick475]

Wait.

and SLI or crossfire is just a waste of money, unless you have a 30 inches monitor. I prefer to buy 1 video card and upgrade 3 years later, plus with physx you don't have to get 2 identical video card... so buy a powerful card now for 275$ and buy a more powerful one in 2 years for 200$. That should do the trick especially if physx gains in popularity.

 

[Sekkai]

Should I just go ahead with the single GTX 295 then if CF is a waste with the other cards?

What kind of power supply unit would be necessary if I chose to CF two cards? Is 750W enough?

 

[Dkcode]

No the single 295 relies on SLI to work as it has two GPU's. Each GPU has the power of somewhere near the GTX 275. So in games that do not support SLI or Crossfire only 1 GPU is working therefore you only get the performance of a GTX 275.

SLI relies heavily on software for it to work efficiently, both depending on drivers and support from developers. If the software is lacking then so is the hardware. When a new game is released, nVidia/ATI have to release a profile for the game in the drivers for SLI/Crossfire to work. Also the developer has to code in support for it as well. This means two things:

You have to wait for an updated driver to be released so you can get maximum performance out of your new game.
You have to depend on the developer to code in support for multi GPU.

This causes the following problems:

You might be waiting a couple of months for a driver update before you can max out your new game, or you have to dabble with beta drivers and expect some instability and bugs that beta drivers bring.
The game might never have SLI/Crossfire support coded into it, however this is rare in this day and age.

In games where SLI does work you pretty much double your performance and its what you expect from such an expensive card. However support is not really as good as it should be for the money you pay and i don't believe the GTX 295 is best solution for raw power. If i was going to do this again i would have purchased a 1000 watt PSU and 2 single GTX 285's. That way when SLI is working i get performance BETTER than the single 295 and in games that do not support SLI is still have the brute force of the single 285 working away as opposed to one the GTX 295's single GPU's working at 275 speeds.

Personally i don't think having a multi GPU set up is worth the money and hassle. As i said before if you have a monitor that runs at 1920x1200 or less then there is no reason to even consider having a multi GPU set up as a single GTX 285 can handle most games at 1920x1200 perfectly fine.

To answer your question; yes a 750W should be good for a 4890 dual set up. However i would wait and just purchase a single 5870 when it comes out next month.

 

[MODEL3]

Don't bother to buy a 295GTX (although it is a single card, it use SLI tech)
Also don't buy 2 4890 (crossfire tech)
Wait 1 month for ATI PR event!
See the reviews, and buy what you like!
If you don't want to wait, buy a 4890 (standard or better a overclocked ver) or a GTX275 (if you can find it at a similar price)

If you want to build the pc yourself, i guess you are familiar with PC gaming & tech, it is not exactly like console gaming!
Especially in the SLI/Crossfire setups!
(I mean the different configurations/settings/perf issues can cause so much trouble (depending on the person's taste) than it can lead to spent more time in other things than to enjoy a game!
But it depends from the person, some guys enjoy the process to experiment with configurations/settings!

Buy a single card at first and when you feel more confindent/accustomed to the PC tech upgrade to SLI/Crossfire, if you need more power!

 

[RussianSensation]

Socket 1156 is coming out September 6th or 8th (i can't remember which of these dates)

Core i7 with Turbo Boost

 

[Sekkai]

How will a single 5000+ series model compare to a 295?

 

[Dkcode]

No one knows but from rumoured specs we are expecting performance of 4870 X2 or a bit quicker.

If that turns out to be true then it will be snapping at the ankles of a GTX 295 (when the 295 is working at optimum performance of course). This would be a better choice over the single 295 as performance will be consistent throughout all games.

If you must have the 295 then its not really a bad card, if you get the single PCB version it runs cooler and is fairly quiet. But if i didn't have such a big monitor i would have sold the card by now and gone back to a single card.

 

[Sekkai]

I don't "need" the 295, but what I want is an insanely uber video card that will tear apart everything I throw at it.

If a single 5000-series card (sorry I keep forgetting what it's called) will trump a 275 or even a dual 4890, then I would go for that.

However, you would advise against dual 4890's?

 

[SlowSpyder]

Originally posted by: Dkcode
If your not using a 30" 2560x1600 monitor then don't bother with SLI or Crossfire.

I have a GTX 295 and its only fast when SLI works properly. Even then some games such as Fallout 3 suffer terribly from microstuttering and crashes in FPS to the low 20's. Some games work well such as CoD 5 and Source engine games and some games do not use SLI at all. Out of all the games i play on a regular basis, a GTX 295 is not really worth the money. Hell games that don't use SLI actually run WORSE than my single GTX 280 did, but this is to be expected.

Unfortunately i have been cursed by this 30" monitor. 2560x1600 on the desktop is something that one cannot step away from once one has it. Soon as a single card comes along that can trump the GTX 295 then you can expect to see mine on Ebay.

If you must have multi GPU then do it properly. Buy a decent PSU and drop in 2 of the fastest single cards you can buy. That way, worse case scenario, you have the fastest single GPU performance you can get.

I wish I had your 'curse'. My 26" isn't bad, but 30" is like the Ferrari of monitor sizes. The good news is single GPU cards are right around the corner that have DX11 support and will probably offer performance on par (guessing) with your GTX295.