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SLI 260 vs Single 5830

M

Mk32

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Messages
213
Right now i have a single gtx 260 and want to do a 3 monitor gaming setup.
So what would be better in terms of overall performance?
I am a bit wary of SLI 260s becuase of the heat/noise and with a 5830 i can always crossfire later (hopfully amd/ati get there act together).
 
Here's the thing. You can get a used 260 for around $120.
You can then plug in all your monitors via dvi. 2x260 is also significantly faster than a single 5830.

With the 5830, yes you can go 3 monitors on 1 video card, but you must have at least 1 monitor with native displayport in, otherwise you need to purchase a $100 Displayport to DVI active adapter.

In your case, adding the second 260 is probably going to be the simplest upgrade and offer you more horsepower to run the triple screen setup, assuming of course your mobo already supports SLI.
 
vjcsmoke said:
With the 5830, yes you can go 3 monitors on 1 video card, but you must have at least 1 monitor with native displayport in, otherwise you need to purchase a $100 Displayport to DVI active adapter.
Click to expand...

You can also get a $20 DP->VGA adapter if you are OK with VGA instead of DVI.

But yeah, GTX 260 SLI is going to be faster, so unless you don't have an SLI board it is the better choice. If you want single card, it should be at least a 5850. 5830 is too slow.
 
for 2 gtx260 price, you can get used 5850.
I THINK they perform same but 5850 will be single card with less power and heat.
 
Well i already have one Gtx260 (rig in status) planing on running 3 1080p monitors and my case/psu/mobo can all do SLI/Crossfire fine.
Probably get a 260 of the fs forums but again my only reservation is heat/noise.
 
Mk32 said:
Well i already have one Gtx260 (rig in status) planing on running 3 1080p monitors and my case/psu/mobo can all do SLI/Crossfire fine.
Probably get a 260 of the fs forums but again my only reservation is heat/noise.
Click to expand...

a second 260 at this point in time is a waste of money. Sell your 260 and get a 5850. You can go eyefinity now and in the future you have an upgrade path of a second 5850.

The gtx 260 sli will have no upgrade path and is not dx 11.
 
Have you considered a gtx 460? I'm gonna pick one up soon and another one later. Probably the best all around video card on the market and a monster overclocker.

This post is not meant to offend ATI fans, I actually prefer ATI as a company. The gtx 460 is just to good to ignore.
 
SLI 260 is by far faster than a 5850.

He already has a 260, incase some of you are having troubles reading.

You can get a 260 very cheap now.

I have my setup air cooled in an 800D (which doesn't have a great air cooling reputation) and I have absolutely NO noise or heat problems (except one annoying case fan, but that is another story)
 
We can read just fine.


Going SLI gtx 260


Pros -

Its cheaper
Its faster

Cons

Uses more power
Is dx 10 only
no upgrade path


Going hd 5850

Pro's

Single card
dx 11
runs cooler
less power needed - The 5850 uses only 14watts more under load than a single gtx 260
upgrade path
Single card surround gaming

Cons
Slower performance
 
Allowing nVidia surround view on older nVidia cards is the most pro-consumer thing nVidia has done in a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGG while....can't wait try it on my 8800GT-SLI set up.....Wish ATI would do this :(
 
Mhm well thanks guys, but I think i may wait for the ATi 6000s which I heard are coming soon.
Anyone know any dates?
 
Rauelius said:
Allowing nVidia surround view on older nVidia cards is the most pro-consumer thing nVidia has done in a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGG while....can't wait try it on my 8800GT-SLI set up.....Wish ATI would do this :(
Click to expand...

Surround ONLY works on 260 above and 400s I believe, sorry.
 
pasta4u said:
We can read just fine.


Going SLI gtx 260


Pros -

Its cheaper
Its faster

Cons

Uses more power
Is dx 10 only
no upgrade path


Going hd 5850

Pro's

Single card
dx 11
runs cooler
less power needed - The 5850 uses only 14watts more under load than a single gtx 260
upgrade path
Single card surround gaming

Cons
Slower performance
Click to expand...

"No upgrade path" is bs, just buy a new video card. You are telling him to just skip the money savings and performance so you can go crossfire in the future...well a few years down the line when he asks the exact same question would you then tell him to use that "upgrade path" and go crossfire, or since there is some nice new single card would it be wise for him to buy do that?

How is single card surround gaming a pro?
 
Yeah true, probably will got for the SLI 260s, are your 260s both core 216s?
Do you know of any caveats of running a 260 192 and a 216 in SLI?
 
chinesepiratefood said:
"No upgrade path" is bs, just buy a new video card. You are telling him to just skip the money savings and performance so you can go crossfire in the future...well a few years down the line when he asks the exact same question would you then tell him to use that "upgrade path" and go crossfire, or since there is some nice new single card would it be wise for him to buy do that?

How is single card surround gaming a pro?
Click to expand...


this x10

Get another 260, dx11 hasn't shown anything dire that I've seen so far, and it will be noticeably faster than a 5850 let alone a 5830.
 
chinesepiratefood said:
"No upgrade path" is bs, just buy a new video card. You are telling him to just skip the money savings and performance so you can go crossfire in the future...well a few years down the line when he asks the exact same question would you then tell him to use that "upgrade path" and go crossfire, or since there is some nice new single card would it be wise for him to buy do that?

How is single card surround gaming a pro?
Click to expand...

There is no upgrade path.

In 7 months when he wants a dx 11 game no matter how powerfull his dx 10 cards are , he wont get dx 11 effects. In 7 months when that happens and nvidia has out new low end cards and ati has refreshed its line up gtx 260s will be worth even less. However if he has a 5850 now he can play those games and if performance isn't enough he can buy a second.


In a few years crossfire 5850s may not be a smart choice. I agree. however going dual card on a dx 11 platform even if he decides a gtx 460 is a better value for him , would be much smarter because its the current standard in graphics and more and more games will support it.

I personaly don't like crossfire or sli which is why I listed single card surround gaming as a plus. with ati it requires one card and 1 card uses less power and creates less heat inside the case.

I would have recommended sli gtx 460s but that is a $500 investment for tripple screen gaming. Which is another reason why 1 card multigaming is important. If i were to recommend any dx 11 nvidia card he wouldn't be able to do multi screen gaming without doubling his investment in the card.
 
Whole thread is shins unless hes gonna tell us what Resolution/monitors he wants use. No offense new guy but I dont get why we bother succombing to the fanboy bloodlust everytime a random new person shows up and posts an incomplete question regarding videocards purchases.
 
pasta4u said:
There is no upgrade path.

In 7 months when he wants a dx 11 game no matter how powerfull his dx 10 cards are , he wont get dx 11 effects. In 7 months when that happens and nvidia has out new low end cards and ati has refreshed its line up gtx 260s will be worth even less. However if he has a 5850 now he can play those games and if performance isn't enough he can buy a second.
Click to expand...

There won't be any games with serious dx11 effects till we have new generation of consoles supporting it.
 
piscian18 said:
Whole thread is shins unless hes gonna tell us what Resolution/monitors he wants use. No offense new guy but I dont get why we bother succombing to the fanboy bloodlust everytime a random new person shows up and posts an incomplete question regarding videocards purchases.
Click to expand...

let me quote myself
" planing on running 3 1080p monitors"

And i was just asking for other peoples experiences and thoughts on muilt-monitor gaming.
 
Michaelius said:
There won't be any games with serious dx11 effects till we have new generation of consoles supporting it.
Click to expand...

lol sure there wont be.

We already have games using dx 11 in serious manors and we will only be getting more of them. Staying with out dated video cards is very short sighted. But what can I expect , nvidia didn't have a dx 11 video card on the market for almost 9 months while its competition , the fan boys surely would have picked up the mantra of not needing dx 11 because thats what nvidia was spoon feeding them.
 
Mk32 said:
let me quote myself
" planing on running 3 1080p monitors"

And i was just asking for other peoples experiences and thoughts on muilt-monitor gaming.
Click to expand...

Sorry, couldnt find that.

So DP capable monitors or not?
 
pasta4u said:
lol sure there wont be.

We already have games using dx 11 in serious manors and we will only be getting more of them. Staying with out dated video cards is very short sighted. But what can I expect , nvidia didn't have a dx 11 video card on the market for almost 9 months while its competition , the fan boys surely would have picked up the mantra of not needing dx 11 because thats what nvidia was spoon feeding them.
Click to expand...

Just because you are a fanboy who buys anything his beloved company advertises as must have feature it doesn't mean other people don't think for themselves.
 
Cheapest 5850 on newegg is 285 & when you add a decent active display port adapter your at a total of about 385 compared to 2x 460's totaling 400.. thats a 15 dollar price difference & the 460's extra juice used is nothing compared the the extra performance gained.

When looking for triple monitors ATI is not really a good buy unless you have to buy a new Mobo or PSU. so if you can get another 260 for now do that & spend the extra cash saved where you will see a difference now. Worry about later when its later since nobody can say for certain when dx11 is going to be necessary, or that in a year we wont be looking at new cards at better values & performance.
 
Michaelius said:
Just because you are a fanboy who buys anything his beloved company advertises as must have feature it doesn't mean other people don't think for themselves.
Click to expand...

Just because you are an old fart who sits on his porch, yells at kids to get off his lawn, and keeps talking about the "good ol' days" that actually sucked ass doesn't mean the rest of us want to live in the past.
 
piscian18 said:
Sorry, couldnt find that.

So DP capable monitors or not?
Click to expand...

Probably not, don't have the budget for such things...
And i think in the end i am going with to wait still sep to see if 6000s are coming, and unless something earth shattering comes I am going with SLI 260s.
 
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