Graphics cards to larger resolutions

[ikix]

I will be looking into a graphics card to support a new rig which will be displayed on a monitor of resolution 1920x1200.

However i'm stick on the option to go for, as far as i can see there are three ways to go:
1. Buy two 8800GT (or GTS £-permitting) and put them in SLI
2. Buy the high end 8800GTX
3. Buy the new 9800 series

The issue i have is the memory required is important at the high resolutions, with 9800 however the memory is two 512 modules and so is not as effective as the 8800GTX 768. Also will the two 512 on the 8800GT (on different cards however) be effective or not.

Secondly which option will produce the better performance, and importantly which is the best bang for buck? (I haven't included the ATI series as reviews seem to show nVidia performing much better with similar cards and although the technical numbers of the ATI cards are better the way the nVidia cards work make better use of what they have an consequently perform better)

Cheers, iKiX

[Bauer]

Generally it is better to get a single high spec card than 2 lower spec/mid range cards in terms or cost, performance, power consumption and driver related issues.

The new 9800 series is apparently near identical to the current 8800 range of cards. I would wait until the 9800 cards are released (the 9800 GTX is released tomorrow I think) as this should reduce the price of the 8800 range.

[matty-hodgson]

if you decide that you'd like to SLi some cards.. then personally i'd go for the 9600GT SLi option.. some games seen a 210% perfromance boost and the average boost was something like 170%..

worth thinking about and also a lot cheaper!

edit: on 2nd thoughts.. at 1920 x 1200 you get better results with the 8800GT SLi so just go with that if you're going the SLi route..

[Bauer]

If you have two 8800GT 512Mb cards in SLI only 512Mb will be available to use (i.e NOT 1Gb).

The GTX with 768Mb RAM will be fine at 1920x1200. I read an article the other day evaluating the effect of different amounts of RAM at different resolutions. I'll see if I can find the link as you may find it useful.

The best bang for buck would be to get a GTS and overclock it or buy 2x8800GT SLI. Performance wise at 1920x1200 or higher, the best would be the 2x8800GT however the 9800GTX or the 8800GTX are enough to obtain playable frame rates at this resolution.

I don't have any of the above cards by the way. I'm just going by what I've read in numerous forums, articles and benchmarks.

VGA Charts - 3DMark06 & Fear

Fudzilla - 8800GT in SLI beats 8800GTX by 50 percent

[camalbitboy]

Price
1 X 9600GT = £115
2 X 9600GT = £230
1 X 8800T = £150
2 X 8800GT = £300
1 X 8800GTX = £230

Performance
I can run COD4, Oblivion, in fact every game I have on 1 MSI 8800GT OC at 1920 x 1200 with full settings, and some levels of AA and AF with the exception of Crysis of course. I will be going for a 2nd GT to futureproof (to some extent) and to get the full AA and AF settings as well.

2 of any card (listed above) will outperform a single 8800GTX, even 2 9600GT's [H] Enthusiast - BFGTech 9600 GT OC in SLI vs. GeForce 8800 GTX

The 512 memory isn't as much of an issue, as the memory bit depth. The 8800GT is limited by the 256 bit depth before it can make use of more memory
[H] Enthusiast - Palit GeForce 8800 GT Super+1GB. Also a pair of GT's can match an Ultra at high res (30” Widescreen LCD – 2560x1600 – 8800 GT SLI Half way down the page), so neither the bit depth or amount of memory appears to be a problem at the moment.

I found looking att all the benchmarks very confusing until I read this, and I think that it makes alot of sense. Rather than look at absoloute figures, look at whether it does what you want it too at the res and quality you will use. It doesn't matter if card A's min FPS is 63 and canrd B's min FPS is 500 as your monitor can only show 60fps anyway.

So as of the current market;
A single 8800GT will almost certainly work for you (excluding crisis again),
A GTX or pair of 9600GT's will do better, for £100 more mind you (I'd go single card between these choices as SLI doesn't always scale well, power consumption and noise)
A pair of 8800GT's will give a significant performance increase over a GTX for a further £70. Look at a comparison of GT SLI vs 8800Ultra here
A pair of GTS's will go further for more cost obviously.

The gamble is whether to wait for the 9800GTX but going by the 9800GX2 it looks like it will be nothing revolutionary, and there will always be the next card.

My recommandation is for the twin 8800GT's (I admit I'm going to be biased as thats what I'm going for) as they will play everything currently available (Again I ignore Crysis as nothing can play it at 1920, v high settings, AA and AF ) and will remain competative for a while for the price. If you have the cash the twin GTS's would be better of course.

[Blitzen]

COD4 isnt particularly stressful GPU wise though.

A 8800GTX, although still around the £200 mark is still a VERY fine GPU and will serve your needs perfectly.

I certainly wouldnt buy an 96 or 98 series card at all. They are all time kippers and will sink faster than the Titanic. The performance is questionable for a next generation card aswell. (The 9800 series are VERY overpriced)
The 8800's were a fine idea and they will stay top of the price v performance charts for a while yet i believe.

[camalbitboy]

If you have two 8800GT 512Mb cards in SLI only 512Mb will be available to use (i.e NOT 1Gb).

Bauer what do you mean here^? .

Each card can use its full 512Mb for processing surely, SLI doesn't limit to only one cards, or half of each cards memory.

Can you clarify what you mean please?

[kalniel]

Each card can use 512 yes. But each card is also required to have it's own copy of the framebuffer. So if you have something that needs more than 512mb it won't fit in 2x512 cards anymore than it would fit in 1x512mb.

[camalbitboy]

Each card can use 512 yes. But each card is also required to have it's own copy of the framebuffer. So if you have something that needs more than 512mb it won't fit in 2x512 cards anymore than it would fit in 1x512mb.

Ah right, with you now. Thanx.

[-iceblade^]

9600GT is the best SLI option, but it will struggle at that res not too long from now. Get the 8800GT in SLI, but if you want to drop down to a 1680x1050 res, then you'll be fine with any of those single cards.

[camalbitboy]

[QUOTE=camalbitboy;1379306]

The gamble is whether to wait for the 9800GTX but going by the 9800GX2 it looks like it will be nothing revolutionary, and there will always be the next card.[QUOTE]

Well here's your answer on the 9800GTX....

Dunno why the quote didn't work. Poss cos its impolite to quote oneself?...

[Pleiades]

Well, after seeing Hexus' review of this card, can't help feeling disappointed with Nvidia. Were we expecting too much of a leap in performance (eg 2x) for this generation? But of course, it *isn't* a new generation, just a warmed over 8800...

[sjbuck]

I run an 8800GTX at 2560*1600 playing all sorts of games, the only games that's caused a problem is (drum roll) crysis. Even crysis was OK once the detail level was adjusted. Unless some REALLY heavy hitting games come out in the next 6-12 months an 8800GTS or GTX will be more than enough. Personally I'd buy the GTS and upgrade it in 12-18 months to the PROPER new Nvidia range that I was hoping would have been available now.

Good luck!