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1xPCIe vs 2xPCI Graphics cards
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4. August 2008 @ 15:58 |
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Ok heres the dilemma... I've just bought a barebones kit with a MSI K9N6SGM-V motherboard.
It has built in GeForce 6100 graphics which isn't ideal (although I'm not an avid gamer)
I'm thinking of upgrading to play some newer games. Should I:
a) Spend a lot on a nice PCIe card, or;
b) Spend a decent amount on a PCI Card, then later get another card of the same type to increase my power.
I do not want to run dual monitors, I want more graphics power.
My board is not SLI ready so I wasn't sure if this was possible.
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AfterDawn Addict
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4. August 2008 @ 16:01 |
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You can't SLI PCI graphics cards, the technology only exists for PCIe, neither should you use SLI even if you did have two PCI express slots.
Get a reasonable PCI express card, but make sure you have a good enough power supply. The PSUs provided in barebones kits are usually too weak to run anything other than integrated graphics.
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4. August 2008 @ 16:58 |
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Geez you answer all my threads. I'm soon gonna start PMing you instead.
Thanks, I was looking it up and its very back and forth about using SLI or not... and I couldn't find any info on using dual vid cards without crossfire or SLI.
Well I guess I'm looking for a good GeForce card... any suggestions. The most advanced games I'll likely play are portal, HL2 and battlefield... I don't want top of the line, but I think I'll be committing more cash to by budget than before... Getting a decent HD and PSU 1st, then getting a good vid card next month or so.
Thanks for all the great info up till now sammorris
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AfterDawn Addict
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4. August 2008 @ 17:04 |
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Can't be done, you either use SLI or Crossfire, they're the only two ways of combining two graphics cards to gain performance.
To play Portal and Half Life 2: Episode Two at maximum performance, a card like the the HD4850 will suffice for normal resolutions. If you use 1920x1200 or higher and want to max the game out, however, I'd recommend crossfire.
Bear in mind you won't be able to do this on a standard power supply.
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4. August 2008 @ 17:18 |
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Edit... said something and quickly realized it was dumb... nm...
thats a pretty expensive card... $200+ eesh... I was hoping to stay at least as low as $120-$150 max...
a 3450, 3650, 3850 or 3870 wouldn't be good enough?
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 4. August 2008 @ 17:26
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AfterDawn Addict
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4. August 2008 @ 17:23 |
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No, you can use either brand, but you need to make sure your PSU is powerful enough.
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4. August 2008 @ 18:34 |
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I think you read my question before I realized it was dumb and edited it heh.
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AfterDawn Addict
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4. August 2008 @ 19:13 |
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An HD3870 would be fine, it's what I currently use and is perfectly adequate for most games. It too requires a new PSU though, if you're using a barebone.
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AfterDawn Addict
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4. August 2008 @ 23:00 |
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lol
Some of us are around here more than others... JK
Can't a 4850 be had for around 150? Or are you in Canada?
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4. August 2008 @ 23:31 |
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I'm in Canada yes :( Prices are much higher and theres no newegg for us...
I don't know why they haven't gone to Canada yet, they would rule the market here... the best we have that compares to newegg is tigerdirect...
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AfterDawn Addict
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4. August 2008 @ 23:32 |
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Newegg's prices would be more in Canada as well, due to the taxes.
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5. August 2008 @ 00:52 |
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Canadian prices are almost par with American, the u add the 4% duty fee and $5 Canada Post handling fee($8 for priority) and your done... even with that added on newegg prices would be very good for us Canadians...
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. August 2008 @ 00:53 |
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Well hopefully they are.
Anyway, a 4850 would be very good price/performance if you can afford it.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. August 2008 @ 07:05 |
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5. August 2008 @ 11:15 |
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Very nice but these cards are very expensive... I'll try my luck on ebay with them for a while... I'm not planning to buy for another month or so anyways, hopefully the prices drop or there are sales...
Also, since I was looking at 3870's... I did some googling and they don't seem to be much better than the 3850's... in most games there was only about a 3fps difference, and in some cases (very few) the 3850 actually did better by like 1 or >1 fps... and the 3870 is always noticeably more expensive... I was thinking the 3850 was the obvious better deal.
But again, I'm gonna keep my eye open for a better deal on a 4850... would be nice not to have to upgrade for a while.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. August 2008 @ 11:19 |
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The 3870 and 3850 are indeed not far apart, by price or performance. The 4850 is about twice as fast as either, however.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. August 2008 @ 11:20 |
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Well I always regretted getting a 3850. I should have gotten that 3870. Oh well.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. August 2008 @ 11:25 |
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Only if you got the original 256MB version. The 512MB version was a close match.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. August 2008 @ 11:27 |
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lol
Well that version wasn't available when I got it.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. August 2008 @ 11:28 |
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Indeed not. The 3850 is still capable of scoring 10,000 in 3dmark though, so it's not THAT bad.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. August 2008 @ 11:36 |
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No it's not.
ANYWAY, let us know in a months time.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. August 2008 @ 12:06 |
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Why do you say that? If an 8800GS can pull 11,500 then an HD3850 can pull at least 10,000.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. August 2008 @ 12:23 |
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lol
I mean no it's not a bad card. My bad, wasn't clear enough.
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AfterDawn Addict
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5. August 2008 @ 12:24 |
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Ah right, my mistake. :)
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5. August 2008 @ 13:41 |
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heh, you guys are great. Thanks for all the great info... Just got some good news, My Utility Provider just sent me a check for $106 cause I overpaid a bunch of times... lets see if I can scrounge up some more cash and get a 4850 :D
Also, I've searched up different brands for the 4850 and the 3850/70... I noticed there are many variations of this and some brands that are give the same stats... I know the higher the mhz core speeds and such and the more stream processors the better right... but can a card have roughly the same stats, but be inferior? Like would Diamond Be worse than Sapphire even if they both have 775mhz/1800 and 320 stream processing units?
Especially cause one company could use cheaper parts and die faster... Just wondering if you guys did the research and I wanna pick ur brains about what you discovered or think.
Again, thanks for the always great and fast replys... helped me a bunch so far.
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