2 or 1?

[Pedro_The_Swift]

yes its that time again,,(well, nearly,,)

its the Upgrade Video Card Juggle!:D

While I have been quite happy with my 8800 GTS I am now looking at either--
2 X HD5770(crossfire)
or
1 X HD5850

Not having run a dual card setup before,,
are there any tricks or traps?

any technical pro's or cons?

pricing works out around the same,,
The two X HD5770 has a bit of a performance advantage,
see here,
Charts, benchmarks Gaming Graphics Cards Charts 2009 (High Quality, Update 3), F.E.A.R. 2 (http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-cards-charts-2009-high-quality-update-3/F.E.A.R.-2,1682.html)

Both cards are DX11, DDR5, 1GB.

Power calc done here,,
eXtreme Outer Vision - eXtreme tools for computer enthusiasts (http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine)

anything else i should be concerned about?

[Rangier Rover]

Do you play high end games or do heavy rendering? Want to run more than duel monitors for heavy moderating or hacking.

[Craig]

Pedro

Are you running two monitors, or are you looking to plug one monitor into both cards using crossfire? I know that having a Crossfire system is great for getting great performance from 2 x cheap cards, but, with similar performance, basically the same price and the extra complexity, why not get the 5850 now, and then in another year or so, when the price comes down, you could get a second one and double your performance for a relative bargain.

Not sure about the best set-up for you, but I might be interested in taking the 8800GTS off your hands, is it the 320mb one?

Craig

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Do you play high end games or do heavy rendering? Want to run more than duel monitors for heavy moderating or hacking.


just high end games,, single monitor


Pedro

Are you running two monitors, or are you looking to plug one monitor into both cards using crossfire? I know that having a Crossfire system is great for getting great performance from 2 x cheap cards, but, with similar performance, basically the same price and the extra complexity, why not get the 5850 now, and then in another year or so, when the price comes down, you could get a second one and double your performance for a relative bargain.

Not sure about the best set-up for you, but I might be interested in taking the 8800GTS off your hands, is it the 320mb one?

Craig


Yes Craig,, this is the crossfire tricky bit,,,
one really good one now and buy a second later on,,

I thought I'd do that with the 8800,, but it seems not,,


oh,, and I just checked,, its the GT version,,, 512mg but only the GT.

[Dazza67]

just high end games,, single monitor
.

If only the above I would go for whatever gets the best FPS with no lag.
SLI/Crossfire of cards have always been my undoing ie: More heat, more expensive for upgrade, bigger PSU but dam they rock and as usual the week you buy those 2 expensive cards ATI or Nvidia will release a single card that will whip it for cheaper.

PS Have had a look at staticice.com.au for your prices

[HangOver]

IMO crossfire/SLI is a bit ermm touchy at the best of times.
Better to go for one decent card.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

yea,, will probably go single,,

and the next time you have your case open,,

just think about a vid card thats just under 11 inches long,,:o

luckily the area needed is a pull out drive cage thats not used:eek:;):cool:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

anyone know about/ used this?


Double Lifetime Warranty
XFX will repair and service this graphics card for as long as you live! Even for those of you who know how to push XFX cards to the limits, if anything goes wrong, XFX will service it free of charge! additionally XFX will also honor the protection plan for the second owner as well. You get the protection AND the added value of being able to pass along a full warranty. With XFX Live Help you will be able to communicate through instant messaging directly to our support representatives for any help with your XFX graphics card.

Must admit I willingly paid extra for the 3 year warranty Gigabyte have on all their cards,,

but a double lifetime?!?

hmmmm.

[HangOver]

sounds fantastic i might look at them next time i upgrade.
I just wonder if its one of those - if it looks too good to be true ......

[abaddonxi]

What's the half-life for a graphics card? I reckon they're betting that the actual number that fail in the extended warranty period will just be replaced with something newer and better before the user even remembers the extended warranty.

And if not, the cards'll be so off the boil they'll cost nothing to replace.

Is your power supply up to two graphics cards?:p

[Aussie]

I wouldnt buy another XFX. I've had 2 of them and they are very touchy when it comes too heat.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

What's the half-life for a graphics card? about 6 months,,,:o:mad: or whenever a HL2 Episode come out,,, seriously! I reckon they're betting that the actual number that fail in the extended warranty period will just be replaced with something newer and better before the user even remembers the extended warranty. yep,, its just playing the odds

And if not, the cards'll be so off the boil they'll cost nothing to replace.

Is your power supply up to two graphics cards?:p yep! even has the two PCIe 6 pin leads:cool::banana:
finally a bit of forward planning pays off:p


I wouldnt buy another XFX. I've had 2 of them and they are very touchy when it comes too heat.


thats weird,,
XFX are big on selling overclocked cards,,
and with this new warranty,,
:confused: