I'm building a new system and am struggling to decide what graphics card to get. It's going to be a Core i7 system inside a Lian-Li PC-V351. I'm looking at ATI cards because of the Eyefinity feature - I currently have a Dell 3008WFP and plan on getting two 2007FP's to use along with it, so I need something that can support 3 monitors (not including HDMI since that will go to my HDTV). I'd really like to keep this under $200. I'm preparing for a cross country move, so I'm trying to save every dollar possible.
The only gaming I do right now is Starcraft 2. I don't really see myself doing any other PC gaming until Diablo 3 comes out, at which point I will upgrade to make sure I can run the game at the highest settings. For now I'd like a card that will run SC2 at 2560x1600 at Ultra settings. I can live without AA, as it seems as if the extra power needed to enable that will put quite a dent in my wallet.
I will be overclocking whatever card I get to squeeze out as much performance as I can.
The cards I've looked at are the following:
HD 5770 - This is the most budget friendly option, but it looks like it will just barely do SC2 at 2560x1600. It's cheap enough where I could get two, but apparently SC2 does not like SLI/Crossfire setups.
HD 5830 - Seems to be slightly more powerful than the 5770 at a significantly higher cost. I haven't been able to find a good comparison of an OC'd 5830 and an OC'd 5770 though. I'm not sure if the performance difference increases with overclocking. I'm open to buying used cards, which means I might be able to grab one of these in the $150-160 range.
HD 5850 - This one would be going over my budget a bit. I haven't seen a used one go for less than $200, but this would surely provide the performance I need.
GTX 460 - This seems like a good option in terms of performance, but it's also at the top of the range as far as my budget goes. The card is too new for there to be many used ones floating around though. Also, the only card I've found which can output to 3 monitors is the Palit model.
GTX 465 - Read that some of these can be unlocked to a GTX 470. Brings me back to the days of the 9800NP > 9800P flashing. Don't know if there are any unlockable ones that support 3 monitors though.
Any advice? I haven't built a PC in years so I've had to play catch up on what's the latest. I know there are price drops / new cards coming very soon and I can wait a couple weeks or so, but I'm just trying to get an idea of what would be the best route to go.
The only gaming I do right now is Starcraft 2. I don't really see myself doing any other PC gaming until Diablo 3 comes out, at which point I will upgrade to make sure I can run the game at the highest settings. For now I'd like a card that will run SC2 at 2560x1600 at Ultra settings. I can live without AA, as it seems as if the extra power needed to enable that will put quite a dent in my wallet.
I will be overclocking whatever card I get to squeeze out as much performance as I can.
The cards I've looked at are the following:
HD 5770 - This is the most budget friendly option, but it looks like it will just barely do SC2 at 2560x1600. It's cheap enough where I could get two, but apparently SC2 does not like SLI/Crossfire setups.
HD 5830 - Seems to be slightly more powerful than the 5770 at a significantly higher cost. I haven't been able to find a good comparison of an OC'd 5830 and an OC'd 5770 though. I'm not sure if the performance difference increases with overclocking. I'm open to buying used cards, which means I might be able to grab one of these in the $150-160 range.
HD 5850 - This one would be going over my budget a bit. I haven't seen a used one go for less than $200, but this would surely provide the performance I need.
GTX 460 - This seems like a good option in terms of performance, but it's also at the top of the range as far as my budget goes. The card is too new for there to be many used ones floating around though. Also, the only card I've found which can output to 3 monitors is the Palit model.
GTX 465 - Read that some of these can be unlocked to a GTX 470. Brings me back to the days of the 9800NP > 9800P flashing. Don't know if there are any unlockable ones that support 3 monitors though.
Any advice? I haven't built a PC in years so I've had to play catch up on what's the latest. I know there are price drops / new cards coming very soon and I can wait a couple weeks or so, but I'm just trying to get an idea of what would be the best route to go.