A second 8800GTX or 260?

J

john8msu

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Dec 9, 2003
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See my system specs in signature. Main application for the near future is just World of Warcraft. With the new expansion, I'm not running at quite the FPS I would like to.

Should I upgrade to a single, newer card like the 260 or go SLI? I can't seem to find a good deal on an 8800GTX anywhere. Is it okay to run a 9800GTX with an 8800GTX?

Thanks.
 
You cannot run a 9800GTX in SLI with an 8800GTX, since they use different GPUs. Since you can't seem to find another 8800GTX either, it would seem that your best option is a new card.
 
Your monitor, I think you mean Dell 2405W? Should just sell the 8800GTX card and grab a GTX 260 (216)
 
I would go with SLI since it would be cheaper and the only game that you really play is WoW. I don't think you can find a new 8800GTX anymore, although I think people are selling their old 8800gtx for relatively cheap. I remember seeing some go for ~$80-100 in the F/S section.
 
well from all the stuff ive read the 260 is a really nice card and is a good upgrade from the 8800 series cards, even the gtx. its faster, cooler and quieter. im sure you could recoup some of your money by selling off that 8800gtx. i have an 8800gt and im planning on picking up a 260 in the next month or so unless something else better for the buck pops up.
 
I am in the process of this upgrade, as we speak.. On release day, I purchased an 8800GTS 640mb card. Skip ahead a few years now, I purchased my XFX GTX 260 (216) BLACK EDITION video card. It should be quite a substantial boost in performance..
 
Yeah...dumping the 8800gtx sounds like the best bet. Looks like I should be able to score $100-$125 for the old card. With the deals going on now I can get into the new one for about $100 out of pocket. Not bad.
 
john8msu said:
Yeah...dumping the 8800gtx sounds like the best bet. Looks like I should be able to score $100-$125 for the old card. With the deals going on now I can get into the new one for about $100 out of pocket. Not bad.
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if you can find a used 8800GTX for cheap its not a bad option. but outside of that (I sold mine for 150) sell the card and buy an "old" GTX260, or they have a great deal on a 4870 1gb for 220 AR. Another options is that if your willing to use cash back you can get a GTX280 for under 300. A lot of nice deals right now if you look in the hot deals forum
 
So I jumped on a decent deal and bought a GTX 260 core 216 a few days ago. :D

I did it without thinking too much though. I have an older mobo, EVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard (link). Doesn't mention any support of PCI Express 2.0. Can I still run it on that board? Will there be a decrease in performance?
 
john8msu said:
So I jumped on a decent deal and bought a GTX 260 core 216 a few days ago. :D

I did it without thinking too much though. I have an older mobo, EVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard (link). Doesn't mention any support of PCI Express 2.0. Can I still run it on that board? Will there be a decrease in performance?
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Its backwards compatible. Your 680i will suffice.
 
So what's the point/difference with the 2.0 cards out there now if the mobo doesn't have to support it?
 
john8msu said:
So what's the point/difference with the 2.0 cards out there now if the mobo doesn't have to support it?
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Because for boards that do support it, they have double the bandwidth available than they would have in a 1.0 or 1.1 slot. It's not a big deal now, but in the future as cards require more bandwidth, there will be a performance hit from running them on non-2.0 boards.
 
Okay that makes sense. So basically the GTX 260 isn't going to be pushing the bandwidth limit of the 1.0 bus.

I take it the same is true for SLI? Two different slots = two different buses I assume. So I wouldn't be gimped if I picked up a second card at some point....right?
 
john8msu said:
I take it the same is true for SLI? Two different slots = two different buses I assume. So I wouldn't be gimped if I picked up a second card at some point....right?
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Right. Each of your PCI-E slots has 16 lanes, which is plenty for these cards even at 1.0 bandwidth.
 
I was in your shoes last summer (have an 8800 GTX). I'm really glad I chose a factory OC'd GTX 260. Performance is great and I don't have to mess with SLI.
 
Same here on the 8800GTX upgrade. It's a very confusing time at the moment for upgrades. the 260 will end up being my choice (2 of them I think) that is unless the 280 come way down in price in a month (doubtful)

I have the same 680i motherbaord as well. It is still a solid board. Still in debate whether to get an i7 or just pop a quad core + 260(s) on to this board.


Like I said above, it's still all a gray area. choosing an upgrade never used to be this difficult. Might be because only get to upgrde every 18 months now instead of every 8. :(
 
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