What would you do if you had $1500 to spend on Video cards?

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DarkSideImmy

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Let's say you just built a new gaming rig. It's an overclocked Q6600 on a 680i chipset with 4GB of memory and you want to use a 24" Dell display @ 1920 x 1200. You love Crysis and other graphic intensive games. But you can't use your new setup until you get some video cards! (It's rough)

All you need left to get is two video cards for your SLI setup. You are willing to spend quite a bit to get the best and want it soon.

You are willing to get a pair of 8800GT's OC'd now and wait until the biggest and baddest cards are released next year from Nvidia and use the EVGA step-up program to upgrade (if they are released within 90 days) or just suck it up and buy two 8800GTX's and overclock them right away.

What would you do?
 
DarkSideImmy said:
Let's say you just built a new gaming rig. It's an overclocked Q6600 on a 680i chipset with 4GB of memory and you want to use a 24" Dell display @ 1920 x 1200. You love Crysis and other graphic intensive games. But you can't use your new setup until you get some video cards! (It's rough)

All you need left to get is two video cards for your SLI setup. You are willing to spend quite a bit to get the best and want it soon.

You are willing to get a pair of 8800GT's OC'd now and wait until the biggest and baddest cards are released next year from Nvidia and use the EVGA step-up program to upgrade (if they are released within 90 days) or just suck it up and buy two 8800GTX's and overclock them right away.

What would you do?
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8800GTs. The price difference between the GT and GTX just isn't justifiable, IMO, even with a large budget.
 
RexPokinghorn said:
8800GTs. The price difference between the GT and GTX just isn't justifiable, IMO, even with a large budget.
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exactly. do this. nvidia won't be releasing bigger badder cards within the next 90 days (512mb 8800gts notwithstanding), but two 8800GTs in SLI (can I suggest KO edition @ $280 a pop) would mop the floor with 1920x1200
 
Buy two used GTX's that are going for almost the same price as the GT's are brand new due to gouging and which will maintain their value better and offer a better experience at the resolution you ought to be gaming at. If you can get the GT's for MSRP then those are a steal, but I just can't understand people paying $300 or more for them. I predict if supply catches up with demand, the resale value on the GT's will plummet in light of used cards competing with new cheap cards and ATi's offerings, and the new rumored GTS.
 
People saying the GT and the GTX aren't well separated are often looking at the resolution numbers and forgetting that in order to manage that the GT drops AA entirely, while the GTX is usually running 4x or better with the same framerates.
 
Both newster and silent-circuit bring up good points. Many are selling off GTX's in the hope that the soon to be released GTS will out perform it. 1920x1200 is where the GTX starts leaving the GT in the dust.
 
What would you do if you had $1500 to spend on Video cards?
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Gain some wisdom about how to put two thirds of that money to better use and then buy a pair of 8800GTs.
 
yacoub35 said:
Gain some wisdom about how to put two thirds of that money to better use and then buy a pair of 8800GTs.
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lol. That thought doesn't leave my mind.

But all other builds I've done involved sacrificing/skimping on my video cards to save a buck, so this time I'm serious about spending some money to get something that I'm happy with for at least 2 months at which point I'll consider the newer SLI chipset motherboard, possibly DDR3, a good LSI RAID controller, and a video upgrade.

But still, forking out the dough for a pair of GTX's is hard, especially when the GT"s are performing well.

I guess I just need a convincing argument either way.
 
DarkSideImmy said:
lol. That thought doesn't leave my mind.

But all other builds I've done involved sacrificing/skimping on my video cards to save a buck, so this time I'm serious about spending some money to get something that I'm happy with for at least 2 months at which point I'll consider the newer SLI chipset motherboard, possibly DDR3, a good LSI RAID controller, and a video upgrade.

But still, forking out the dough for a pair of GTX's is hard, especially when the GT"s are performing well.

I guess I just need a convincing argument either way.
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Read some reviews of both cards then decide yourself if 10% performance max (after clocking) is worth over double the cost
 
Nenu said:
Read some reviews of both cards then decide yourself if 10% performance max (after clocking) is worth over double the cost
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Well, if you go with 1920x1200 resolutions and above with only DX10 games, the the GTX is anywhere from 50 to 100% faster.

You could pick up either the 8800 GT or 8800 GTX cards and step up to the new high end cards when they are released. But, if the 90 day window is closed before that, the 8800 GT is a better choice since it is more current and easier to sell used.
 
Crysis loves loading up over 500 megs of data on your VRAM (even on 'only' High). If Crysis is a primary concern, then memory is a primary concern. The GT has 512MB -- the GTX, 768MB. As everyone knows, SLi does not double the available memory for texture storage.

Snag two GTXs. Memory is certainly not the only advantage. It won't set you back $1500, either.
 
Well If I had 1500 and had to spend it on video cards I would just hold onto it till the next fastest card is out. It seems kinda silly to spend 600 bucks right now only do a planned replacement in on 90-100 days. I mean really it is not like Crysis is going anywhere.

If you cant wait that long I would at least wait a month before buying some EVGA 8800GT/GTX that way you have a better chance of being able to trade up to the next gen ones when they release.

Looking at the coming soon list of games for the PC, I don't see a lot this spring to really warrant spending the cash on an upgrade.
 
Just get the 8800GT now and if you feel that something better may come soon just stepup! :D

or

You could wait until something new comes out and go all out on the highest end card there is out there, perhaps with some water cooling as well :p

about 600+600 leaves you with 300 for water cooling. Not too shabby.
 
How exactly do you arrive at $1500? Already have all the supercars, mansions and mistresses you can afford and don't know what to do with the rest of your money?

I make a decent living and I could spend that, if I could somehow justify it to myself. But it doesn't make any sense to me to even consider spending that much on video cards.

Even if I won a multi-million dollar lottery, I wouldn't be spending $1500 on video cards for one computer. It just doesn't make any sense.
 
I would not criticize others on where they want to spend their money. $1500 does not get you a super car, mansion, anything that significant. It might get you a decent HDTV, however. Either way, some people may be able to build an entire PC for that amount. Some may simply choose to buy a CPU. It is all where you want to spend it.
 
Snowdog said:
How exactly do you arrive at $1500? Already have all the supercars, mansions and mistresses you can afford and don't know what to do with the rest of your money?

I make a decent living and I could spend that, if I could somehow justify it to myself. But it doesn't make any sense to me to even consider spending that much on video cards.

Even if I won a multi-million dollar lottery, I wouldn't be spending $1500 on video cards for one computer. It just doesn't make any sense.
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I'm glad you posted your thoughts on how you can't justify a purchase like that. It's something I was worried about and it contributed to the discussion.

I can justify it because spending $1500 on video cards and watercooling is something I can afford and something that I want. Do I need it? Obviously not, but that's not the point. Do I throw money away and not know the value of a dollar? No. And knowing that I can sell my cards at any time helps.
 
Obvious...if you must spend $1500 and need to buy now you get 2 8800 ultras and water blocks...no debate...the debate is all about IF you want to spend that much and IF you can wait, etc, etc..and that is not what you asked,,,
 
schoenda said:
Obvious...if you must spend $1500 and need to buy now you get 2 8800 ultras and water blocks...no debate...the debate is all about IF you want to spend that much and IF you can wait, etc, etc..and that is not what you asked,,,
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I don't have to spend $1500 but I can spend UP TO $1500. Obviously I want to spend as little as possible but I realize that isn't going to work if I want to run high to ultra settings on games @ 1920 x 1200 with DX9/10.
 
And here I am trying to fit an entire build into $1500. :p

More power to you man. Also +1 vote for SLI'd 8800GT's
 
The 512 vRAM limit is overstated. No one is cruising with AA at high res in Crysis so that is utterly irrelevant. So it comes down to resolution and the GT performs 33 percent better than the GTS, which has 640 MB, in Crysis at 19x12.

For everything else out now GT SLI would smoke any other configuration from a price: performance ratio.

Speculating about future titles is pointless, but I with the U3 engine already out it doesn't look like there will be anything nearly as taxing as Crytek's engine for at least a year, and honestly I don't see any interesting games on the horizon either.

2007 was the best year for gaming bar none.
 
firebane said:
2 8800 GTXs and the rest invested on a nice 24" or 26" monitor to play on.
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Have the nice 24" just need some cards that can push high res without too many hiccups. And it seems that GTX and GT both have strong arguments. Although there seems to be a fan speed issue with the GT's. I'd be installing aftermarket cooling so that is a moot point anyways but worth noting.
 
Snowdog said:
QFT. I have seen the light. Quad cards are the way to go for someone who wants to spend $1500 on graphics cards.
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I think I'd be embarrassed to have quad cards. It would make me uncomfortable. I feel guilty considering dual SLI when others run one card seemingly well.
 
The GTX really does provide much better performance at higher resolutions then the GT does, look around the internet, if you're going to play at high resolutions with all the settings maxed out, the GTX can provide a good 15% to 20% performance increase over the GT can.

Being that you can get used GTX's for under $450, I would suggest buying a pair of those, that'd be around $900, you'd still have $600 left over.
 
Mr. Bluntman said:
Ghahahaha. :D

I'd get two 8800GTs with a certified PSU, a Phenom 9600, get one quality hooker that already has the coke, and get a half of herb. :cool:
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A hooker with unused coke that she would supply to a client? Riight. While I'm at it, anyone want to give me two GTX's?
 
Ahh, perhaps a single gtx would tide you over for the next bing thang from nvidia next year...really, then sell the gtx...really the only thing that touches my game rig right now is Crysis and i actually find it awsome, (even if somewhat e-penis diminishing), playing with a few high and medium settings as opposed to all super high settings....or even, dare I say, run it in Dx9 mode.....OMG! Did he say that?
 
DarkSideImmy said:
I think I'd be embarrassed to have quad cards. It would make me uncomfortable. I feel guilty considering dual SLI when others run one card seemingly well.
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So would I, but I don't think the OP would.

For me SLI is slightly dubious. I saved money on my MB by getting the model with single graphics slot.

I do wonder who does this stuff. I work in a programming shop. Lots of money and gaming geeks around, yet I don't know a single person who runs SLI/Xfire, though one of my buddies bought the dual slot version of my board, "just in case", but I know he will never do Xfire.
 
Snowdog said:
So would I, but I don't think the OP would.

For me SLI is slightly dubious. I saved money on my MB by getting the model with single graphics slot.

I do wonder who does this stuff. I work in a programming shop. Lots of money and gaming geeks around, yet I don't know a single person who runs SLI/Xfire, though one of my buddies bought the dual slot version of my board, "just in case", but I know he will never do Xfire.
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I work in the same conditions, and you're right, out of all the people I work with, I am the only person who has SLI.

Well, there's a few people who "claim" they do, but in talking with them, it's obvious they're lying to boast their e-penis. You know the type.

I have actually had SLI for four years now, since it first came about, first with a set of 6800GT's, then with a set of 7800GT's, however, I'm moving to the 88** series in a few days and will be going single card from here on out.

SLI is a complete pain in the ass, truth.
 
Snowdog said:
So would I, but I don't think the OP would....

For me SLI is slightly dubious. I saved money on my MB by getting the model with single graphics slot.

I do wonder who does this stuff. I work in a programming shop. Lots of money and gaming geeks around, yet I don't know a single person who runs SLI/Xfire, though one of my buddies bought the dual slot version of my board, "just in case", but I know he will never do Xfire.
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I am the OP lol.

Quad SLI would def make someone a "gaming geek". With dual SLI I'd prefer to be known as "an enthusiast".
 
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