Graphics Card(s) for Crysis, ARMA2 / Far Cry 2 - Games

I recently have been playing crysis, Far Cry 2, and amI'm looking forward to ARMA2. Sooo... here are my specs : ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 processors running - Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz 3.0 GB RAM NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, 32-bit ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I am considering getting another 8800 GT, Should I get one new better one... what should I do?

I have almost the exact same specs 'cept my processor is 3Ghz and I have a GTX 260. I personally think that the 260 is the best for its price at the moment.

Am I able to have a GTX 260 and a 8800?

[QUOTE=Kath;15585685]Am I able to have a GTX 260 and a 8800?[/QUOTE] You can, you just can't SLi them. You can quadruple monitor it up though.

If you want to run an SLI configuration, then no, both cards need to be the same for SLI.

I'm assuming SLi is two cards. So Should I go with a another 8800? I want to to mainly run crysis on all high, I can already, with MED shaders and shadows @ 20-27 FPS, What would be the choice? All new card, Or two 8800s?

[QUOTE=Kath;15585987]I'm assuming SLi is two cards. So Should I go with a another 8800? I want to to mainly run crysis on all high, I can already, with MED shaders and shadows @ 20-27 FPS, What would be the choice? All new card, Or two 8800s?[/QUOTE] You're usually better off with one good card than two mediocre cards. SLi doesn't scale that well.

From what I've heard, SLI only gives a 30% performance increase from having just one card. So you're paying full price for only 30% more of what you already have. However, the 8800 is nothing to scoff at. Your graphics card isn't what I would worry about, really. Your processor seems rather weak and will bottleneck you. But I'm probably wrong. Take my advice with a grain of salt because I'm usually wrong.

[QUOTE=Enishi;15586050]From what I've heard, SLI only gives a 30% performance increase from having just one card. So you're paying full price for only 30% more of what you already have. However, the 8800 is nothing to scoff at. Your graphics card isn't what I would worry about, really. Your processor seems rather weak and will bottleneck you. But I'm probably wrong. Take my advice with a grain of salt because I'm usually wrong.[/QUOTE] I think the 9XXX+ series gives an 80%-100% performance boost in SLI, most notably the cheap 9600GT

SLi is bullshit that just takes up space in your case. You are much better off just getting a better card.

This whole SLI thing is assuming you have the proper hardware to accommodate it.

[QUOTE=KorJax;15586304]I think the 9XXX+ series gives an 80%-100% performance boost in SLI, most notably the cheap 9600GT[/QUOTE] Wat. 9 series are basically repackaged 8 series, some with mildly better chips. ESPECIALLY a good example is 9800, which literally are 8800 ones.

[QUOTE=Kath;15585544]I am considering getting another 8800 GT, Should I get one new better one... what should I do?[/QUOTE] Consider what is better for the price. I believe it'll be cheaper to purchase another 8800GT and SLI them but it might not give you the same level of performance as a new card. Although the people saying to get a new card are also not taking into account (as they never do) that you're not going to get an 100% boost in performance from a new card... I haven't researched the exact specifications but I think switching from a 8800GT to the newest series of Nvidia Cards such as a 260 or whatever will only give you a 20-40% increase in performance. The best idea is to discuss this with any tech-experts you know. Most people on the internet talk shit. Most computer stores in your area would probably have some knowledgeable guys who are able and willing to discuss what'll give you the best performance per dollar. There are also a lot of internet sites that review each card compared to other cards. I believe if you google you could find a comparison between two 8800GT's in SLI and a new card. Then you just have to weigh up how much you're willing to pay for each increase in performance. To reiterate: [B]DO NOT TAKE INTERNET FORUM ADVICE, INCLUDING THAT PERTAINING TO MY PERSONAL OPINION, SEEK EXPERT ADVICE AND OFFICIAL INTERNET REVIEWS.[/B]

The power usage of SLi is horrid compared to the performance, especially on the 8XXX series. You are better off getting a new card. You should be getting pretty good framerates with an 8800GT though, I can still play most new games on highest with mine (high on Crysis, don't have vista so I don't know about VHigh - unlikely). I would advise holding off upgrading until you are dissatisfied with the performance to the extent that it ruins your gaming experience.

I know that 1 GTX260 give better performance then 2 9600gt in SLI mode. For my proof I will use the game Far Cry 2 as my example. the system with the GTX260 can run the game at 1680x1050 ultra high and have power leftover for 4x AA while maintaining an average frame rate (in an action scene) of 30fps (min 22). But on the 9600GT SLI system the settings had to be lowered to high and no AA to achieve a the same frame rate. And as for Crysis on max I get 15fps from the gtx260 (at 1680x1050 no AA) but I think my limiter is my processor there. But as Stallion mentioned we are not the best people to ask, Jallen also had some good advice at the end of his post (above).

Far Cry 2 also runs much better in MP. Just throwing that out there.

[QUOTE=SeanTucker;15588690]Far Cry 2 also runs much better in MP. Just throwing that out there.[/QUOTE] Completely useless to this discussion, you should feel ashamed.

My old good 8800 gts can run them all on the max settings.

You can use the GTX260 as a Primary card, and have the 8800GT as a physix card.

From what I understand Crossfire scales up better than SLi, but that is beside the point in this case. Also 48xx series can Crossfire with 38xx series. But you are much better off finding a new card. They are dropping prices on them almost constantly so you are bound to find something that runs well for cheap.

[QUOTE=Kendra;15587503]Wat. 9 series are basically repackaged 8 series, some with mildly better chips. ESPECIALLY a good example is 9800, which literally are 8800 ones.[/QUOTE] Uhhhh Wrong. I have a 9600GT, runs about 5-10% less than the 8800GT. Not SLI yet, but from every benchmark I've seen the 9XXX series vastly outperforms the older cards in SLI performance. [quote]Two BFGTech GeForce 9600 GT OC video cards in SLI provided real-world gameplay experience advantages over a single BFGTech GeForce 9600 GT OC. Though Crysis doesn’t show off SLI in its best, COD 4 and UT3 surely do with very high framerate performance even besting an 8800 GTX. The fact that 9600 GT SLI framerates were higher, but with the gaming experience being the same, it seems like a better value to save some cash and get two 9600 GTs in SLI instead of one GTX if you are looking to spend around $300 on a graphics setup right now. Again, you have to have a setup that supports SLI. [/quote] [url]http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ3Miw3LCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==[/url] [quote]As this article has shown; SLI gaming definitely hits a soft spot as well, if you go a little higher in resolution, 1600x1200 for example, that's where you'll hit a sweet-spot price/performance wise. You'll outflank the 8800 GTS 512MB and even the Radeon 3870 X2, and these products are priced similar. The downside .. you'll need an expensive SLI compatible nForce mainboard. But granted SLI works really well with the 9600 GT.[/quote] From the Crysis SP demo: [IMG]http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb134/KorJax/9600gtslichart.jpg[/IMG] Now that's almost double performance depending on the resolution used. At smaller res's there is less of a difference, but larger resoutions, like 1600x1200 give a huge performance boost. Crazy high res's not as much but still a big gain. Considering a 9600GT is only about $90-$100 now, that's a damn good deal. And that was on the single player demo. Here's another chart: Here's a chart on Call of Duty 4: [IMG]http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb134/KorJax/9600gtslichart2.jpg[/IMG] Huge increases, most of the time it is at about a 90%-100% increase in performance in the above chart. Source: [url]http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-9600-gt-512mb-sli-review-inno3d/15[/url] To say the 9XXX series is just a repackaged 8XXX series, is just stupid. Not to mention the 9XXX series uses considerably less power+heat than the 8XXX series.

[QUOTE=ohgodshana2;15588790]Completely useless to this discussion, you should feel ashamed.[/QUOTE] Actually, no it isn't. If he mainly plays MP, which is a perfectly reasonable assumption since the SP blows seven kinds of ass, he should know that he's going to get much better framerates than you and other users have been reporting, and he can probably settle for a slightly inferior card as a result.

Hi All Choose the nvidia 9600gt in SLI mode I have:- AMD ATHLON 64 X2 DUAL CORE PROCESSOR 4200+ (4.22GHZ) 4GB OF RAM 2 X NVIDIA GEFORCE 9600GT 1GB GRAPHIC CARDS VISTA HOME 64BIT Has run everything on HIGH graphic settings I LOVE SLI:)

[QUOTE=Kendra;15587503]Wat. 9 series are basically repackaged 8 series, some with mildly better chips. ESPECIALLY a good example is 9800, which literally are 8800 ones.[/QUOTE] No it's not.

[QUOTE=Kath;15585544]I recently have been playing crysis, Far Cry 2, and amI'm looking forward to ARMA2. Sooo... here are my specs : ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 processors running - Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz 3.0 GB RAM NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, 32-bit ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I am considering getting another 8800 GT, Should I get one new better one... what should I do?[/QUOTE] I got a 8800GT and runs them pretty good. put in mind i also have a quad core, 4gb ram. If upgrading, get a new one. You'll get better performance with one newer better card then two out of date cards.

Just a note, I have a 640MB 8800GTS, 1.5GB RAM and an early basic Pentium D 2.66Ghz dual core processor and I can run all of those games perfectly on high. If you're sure you want to upgrade the card as opposed to the processor then you can get 9 series Nivida cards for pennies these days.