9800gtx+ Triple SLI vs GTX 295?

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rennocneb

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 24, 2007
Messages
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Have a question which of these solutions should be faster. On paper its a toss up. The 3 9800s only have 384sp but they are clocked enough higher to makeup the difference vs the 480 in the gtx 295. The 295 has more ROPS but again they run enough slower that i think its even or maybe slightly in favor of the 9800's. Memory obviously leans towards the gtx 295. But raw shader and ROP Power seems in the 9800's favor? Also what about 1gb 9800's?
 
rennocneb said:
Have a question which of these solutions should be faster. On paper its a toss up. The 3 9800s only have 384sp but they are clocked enough higher to makeup the difference vs the 480 in the gtx 295. The 295 has more ROPS but again they run enough slower that i think its even or maybe slightly in favor of the 9800's. Memory obviously leans towards the gtx 295. But raw shader and ROP Power seems in the 9800's favor? Also what about 1gb 9800's?
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what resolution are you at? the 512mb frame buffer will also be a factor here
 
i game at 1920x1200 and its not cheaper when you already own one 9800gtx+ that i am currently using for physx. I can buy two more for 300 bucks versus 500 for the gtc 295. The 295 which i currently have in the system btw, runs insanely hot imho and squeals like a pig under load, which isnt that comforting to me.
 
rennocneb said:
i game at 1920x1200 and its not cheaper when you already own one 9800gtx+ that i am currently using for physx. I can buy two more for 300 bucks versus 500 for the gtc 295. The 295 which i currently have in the system btw, runs insanely hot imho and squeals like a pig under load, which isnt that comforting to me.
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I am going to say the GTX295, at 2.3mp the frame buffer makes a difference and I don't think the higher clocks are going to make up the difference when you take in account the better architecture of the GT200 chips. The GTX295 is going to be hard to beat at 2.3mp. if you were at 4mp I would tell you to dump both and go with a 4870X2. another option for you is you can pick up a 4850X2 for 300 dollars and sell off your old card. and if your GTX295 is squealing like that I would send it back as I have been told that its not that loud (not confirmed myself)
 
Multi GPU shows most benefit at high resolutions. 256bit and only 512mb, which is all mirrored, are too crippled for high resolution gameplay. Considering a single 280 is better than a 9800GX2 in gameplay, i think the choice is obvious...the GTX295 should be much better.
 
Ok ill say that it probably is. I am ready to jump to the ATI bandwagon i just hate to lose physx support in some games which i use my 9800gtx for. The 4870x2 might be a bit slower in some games but in others that 1gb per core sure helps. Also it seems so much better engineered than the gtx 295. Honestly the gtx 295 is an obvious oh s**t what can we do to keep up card. The power circuitry is obviously not right if they squeal at all whether it be loud or quiet and i can hear mine over all the fans in an antec 1200 set on high. so its fairly loud.
 
Will you be storing your computer in another room? My 9800gtx is loud as hell under load, if there were 3 of them in there I dont think it would be bearable.
 
I guess my concern is why is it squealing under load. Normally when electronics do this its not a good sign for long term life. Is there anything else around the corner worth waiting for? and the number 1 game im playing at the moment is GTA IV which i realize isnt super graphics intensive, but id still like to play it very smooth. I have some experience with the GTX 285's they dont seem to squeal but not sure 1 is enough umph, but a pair in SLI would mean going to a cheaper processor on my build. Not sure its worth it to go to Phenom II instead. But honestly Phenom and Core I7 are fairly close in gaming i beleive? and your normally video board limited which might give the nod to a Phenom running GTX 285 SLI vs a GTX 295 and Core I7?
 
hd 4890 is slated for an april release.

It is supposed to compete with the gtx 285, but if they release a 4890x2 then that'd be nice. This should also mean price drops around that time, making nvidia gt200 series SLi more attractive. Maybe a GTX 285 SLi would work for you.
 
yea i have been looking at that. If the 295 didnt sound like it was dying it seems ok. The 285 sli is definately faster though. The question is is it worth ditching core i7 and getting a phenom II 940 for it? I considered the intel core 2 quads but the boards to get sli are just as high. I even considered an all amd platform Phenom II, 790 chipset, 4870x2 but i hate to give up physx support.

So would you go Core i7 920 with gtx 295

or Phenom II 940 with gtx 285 sli?
 
Archmage said:
hd 4890 is slated for an april release.

It is supposed to compete with the gtx 285, but if they release a 4890x2 then that'd be nice. This should also mean price drops around that time, making nvidia gt200 series SLi more attractive. Maybe a GTX 285 SLi would work for you.
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Links? (no fud please)
 
rennocneb said:
yea i have been looking at that. If the 295 didnt sound like it was dying it seems ok. The 285 sli is definately faster though. The question is is it worth ditching core i7 and getting a phenom II 940 for it? I considered the intel core 2 quads but the boards to get sli are just as high. I even considered an all amd platform Phenom II, 790 chipset, 4870x2 but i hate to give up physx support.

So would you go Core i7 920 with gtx 295

or Phenom II 940 with gtx 285 sli?
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not if you already have it. and if you have i7 you should have SLI as well. bang for the buck the phenom II and the core two are going to be better gaming systems (same performance for less money) but if you already an X58 board you can run crossfire or sli as is. really I would sell the 9800GTX and the GTX298 and drop in a couple of GTX280/285, there really isn't anything that they are not going to max out, even if you don't have a dedicated physx card. and you could also run quad fire if you had a mind.

And I have to ask, what do you use physx for? that you need a nivdia card?
 
PLay UT3 a lot and im really into mirrors edge at the moment. It also would seem that more and more games are being released that will be taking advantage of the physx now that its much more widely supported.
 
so your saying 2 x 285's with them doing graphics and physx makes more sense than a 295 with 9800 doing physx? one last question with a pair of 285's in multi-gpu mode can i still run 3 monitors when not gaming? i do a bit of web editing and content creation where this is nearly a must.
 
rennocneb said:
PLay UT3 a lot and im really into mirrors edge at the moment. It also would seem that more and more games are being released that will be taking advantage of the physx now that its much more widely supported.
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I'm running a 295, and love it. It's probably the perfect card for ME too. Balancing the PhysX with SLI works great. I've never had the game drop below sync at max settings (4xAA) at 1920x1200. I've had it on 8x, and it works great, but every once in a while, I'll notice it drop down to the next VSync divisible number of frames for a couple of seconds. It's not terribly loud, (it's quieter than my 280s were,) and it's a lot cooler. (way cooler than running 2 or 3 other cards)

I would agree that the squealing sound is not good. In my experience that's usually power-related components, and a prelude to deadness.

Anyway, I'd go for the 295.

A pair of 285s (as someone else mentioned,) is a nice option too, but would be more noise and power. (not sure about heat, probably very slightly higher) I know my pair of 280s ran pretty hot comparatively.
 
rennocneb said:
so your saying 2 x 285's with them doing graphics and physx makes more sense than a 295 with 9800 doing physx? one last question with a pair of 285's in multi-gpu mode can i still run 3 monitors when not gaming? i do a bit of web editing and content creation where this is nearly a must.
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That would be my preference, you have all the power you need for a 2.3mp monitor with SLI. but if your card is working its hard to recommend you do anything really, your worried about the noise you can always send it in for RMA. but look at it this way, a single GTX285 would handle those games maxed out or should. two of them is almost overkill even with physx. and cost about as much.

yes you can run 3 monitors, just not in sli mode if recollection serves.
 
rennocneb said:
I guess my concern is why is it squealing under load. Normally when electronics do this its not a good sign for long term life. Is there anything else around the corner worth waiting for? and the number 1 game im playing at the moment is GTA IV which i realize isnt super graphics intensive, but id still like to play it very smooth. I have some experience with the GTX 285's they dont seem to squeal but not sure 1 is enough umph, but a pair in SLI would mean going to a cheaper processor on my build. Not sure its worth it to go to Phenom II instead. But honestly Phenom and Core I7 are fairly close in gaming i beleive? and your normally video board limited which might give the nod to a Phenom running GTX 285 SLI vs a GTX 295 and Core I7?
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The squealing sound is nothing to worry about. It's an issue of the components your video card seller sources for things such as capacitors. There are higher quality components (I believe pesozic [sp?]) that will mask this sound but the noise itself will not affect the lifespan of the product. All PWM-amplified electronics will produce noise provided there is enough power, and not enough sound dampening.

You look into the insides of any modern TV and you'll see the power transformer is held down by layers and layers of heavy duty dampening material, tape, acoustic foam, etc to dampen the sound. Your manufacturer just decided its not worth the few dollars/card to make an effort please your ears.
 
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