current setup with Big ATI or new MB with one more 260 GTX? - Hardware & Software

hey guys. i have a setup right now that operates with a MotherBoard that doesn't support Raid0 or SLI. it does however support crossfire. my specs are: p5ql PRO Zotac geforce 260 GTX 2 x 500 GB hard drives q9550 2.83GhZ i don't think you'll need anymore. so, what i need to know. what is the most economic solution. should i get a big ATI or stay with my current, perfectly fine card. get a Raid0 and SLI friendly MB and invest in another 260 GTX some time next year? i'm thinking that going for the new MB is more economic since i already have half (and more than enough) power in the current Graphics card and could buy a cheap 260 GTX next year or so. what's your thought, what would you do in my place?

GTX260 are not cheap anymore and they probably won't get any cheaper. How big a big ATI are you talking about?

Your 260 will be good enough for the games coming out in the next few months and after that you could probably get a 5850 for the price of a new motherboard and a second 260.

[QUOTE=FHamster;20156580]GTX260 are not cheap anymore and they probably won't get any cheaper. How big a big ATI are you talking about?[/QUOTE] enough to outdo dual 260 GTX, otherwise it would be an insane waste of money.

[QUOTE=Bomimo;20156599]enough to outdo dual 260 GTX, otherwise it would be an insane waste of money.[/QUOTE] Well, right now GTX260s are hard to find for under 200. A new MOBO might cost about 100 or more. So if you wanted to upgrade a 5850 would probably be your best bet

[QUOTE=FHamster;20156641]Well, right now GTX260s are hard to find for under 200. A new MOBO might cost about 100 or more. So if you wanted to upgrade a 5850 would probably be your best bet[/QUOTE] ok, valid point. i'll be thinking about that. but my q9550 would bottleneck it badly, wouldn't it?

I'd say 5850, if you only needed to buy the 260 it might have been worth it but a MoBo as well I doubt it there isn't much point getting a new 775 MoBo at this point now, you'd want to switch to 1156/1336 which means new CPU and RAM too[QUOTE=Bomimo;20156539]it does however support crossfire. p5ql PRO[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=YYermRswb7n46yAX[/url] how can it support crossfire with only one PCI-E slot [editline]04:46PM[/editline] [QUOTE=Bomimo;20156674]but my q9550 would bottleneck it badly, wouldn't it?[/QUOTE] nope, Q9550 is still fairly high end

[QUOTE=reapaninja;20156699]I'd say 5850, if you only needed to buy the 260 it might have been worth it but a MoBo as well I doubt it there isn't much point getting a new 775 MoBo at this point now, you'd want to switch to 1156/1336 which means new CPU and RAM too [URL]http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=YYermRswb7n46yAX[/URL] how can it support crossfire with only one PCI-E slot [editline]04:46PM[/editline] nope, Q9550 is still fairly high end[/QUOTE] about the crossfire, it uses last gen PCI as the second GPU port i've read that that works fine witht he current GPU's but could bottleneck future generations. that would also explain why the sellers all advertise Xfire. so, my q9550 would be able to carry it? could you enlighten me about exactly how highend it is? i'm very unknowing about any processors after Pentium 4 and PowerPC G4.

[QUOTE=Bomimo;20156761]about the crossfire, it uses last gen PCI as the second GPU port i've read that that works fine witht he current GPU's but could bottleneck future generations. that would also explain why the sellers all advertise Xfire. so, my q9550 would be able to carry it? could you enlighten me about exactly how highend it is? i'm very unknowing about any processors after Pentium 4 and PowerPC G4.[/QUOTE] except PCI and PCI-E are completely incompatible, look at the layout of them highend as in within a few FPS of an i7 920, at least for games [url]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=50&c=1[/url] [url]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=48&c=1[/url] [url]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=47&c=1[/url]

[QUOTE=reapaninja;20156842]except PCI and PCI-E are completely incompatible, look at the layout of them highend as in within a few FPS of an i7 920, at least for games [URL]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=50&c=1[/URL] [URL]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=48&c=1[/URL] [URL]http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=47&c=1[/URL][/QUOTE] ah, you're right about both. i seem to be confusing PCI with PCI-E 1 and PCI-E with PCI-E 2. if that's wrong too, then illuminate, end my witless sudffering [editline]08:48PM[/editline] does the 5850 outperform two 260 GTX then? if it's equal or just a few less i'll be going for a 5850. if it's better... well, that one's obvious.

I'll sell you my extra gtx. I just upgraded to a 5850 and it's just laying around now.

[QUOTE=IllegalPaste;20159461]I'll sell you my extra gtx. I just upgraded to a 5850 and it's just laying around now.[/QUOTE] how much. and are you aware you'll be sending it to scandinavia.

[QUOTE=Bomimo;20157799] does the 5850 outperform two 260 GTX then? if it's equal or just a few less i'll be going for a 5850. if it's better... well, that one's obvious.[/QUOTE] Different games and applications scale SLi differently.

[QUOTE=FHamster;20162852]Different games and applications scale SLi differently.[/QUOTE] as far as i understood, they're pretty equal. but the 5850 has a noticeable upper hand.

[QUOTE=Bomimo;20160244]how much. and are you aware you'll be sending it to scandinavia.[/QUOTE] Dunno, and the price of postage is about $15.