video card need feedback

[moe]

I have a Nivada 6600 card,1024 memory,what im planning on doing is,changing it to 2 video cards 9800GTX nivada,a new motherboard that will hold both cards,also a new pracesser,and raize my memory to 2024,I guess i will have to do this to run HELLS HIGHWAY,or C.WARHAMMER,so i can play with all of u,because my pc will not run anyone of these games.and im start to wonder about COD5,So i would like to here from all of u and tell me what u think about this.....moe.

[Duke{CLR}]

If you put an exact parts list together we can look around and give you some better input.

I would also think about 4 GB of memory if you are using DDR2. It's cheap these days.

[Duke{CLR}]

Hmm I posted too quick. Whats you budget and what do you plan on reusing?

[moe]

right now im looking at 1,ooo.oo dollars plus labor,yes it is DDR2,TRI-MET computers in EFLAND N.C. is going to build it,Im going to let him do it because he built this one,the 9800GTX go for $200.oo each.But it should run any new games,im not rich but with these new games coming out,u got to have a bigger video card to run them.Im no pc wizard,i wouldnt no video card to a hard drive,even if it jump up and bite me,so u might say im lost when it comes to pc parts.ty...moe.

[Duke{CLR}]

Do you have to buy the parts from them too? I can buy two of those on NewEgg for $300.00. If this guy is going to mark up all the parts you may be paying a lot more then labor to this guy.

[Duke{CLR}]

Here is a list for a NON SLI rig. It's been a while but I think this is a good start. This is just the CPU, MB, video card and Memory. It come out to be in the $630 dollar range. you would still need PSU,Case, HDD and an optical but with $300.00 that shouldn't be too hard. There are also cheaper video cards out there Ii picked this one out because WT picked it recently.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
$126.99
($106.99 after $20.00 Mail-In
Rebat
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$104.99
($89.99 after $15.00 Mail-In
Rebate
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

EVGA 01G-P3-1280-AR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$429.99
($389.99 after $40.00 Mail-In
Rebate pdf
Free FarCry2 w/ purchase & register at manuf, ends 12/31
Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1280-AR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
$69.99
($39.99 after $30.00 Mail-In
Rebate
Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

[WalkinTarget]

You'll honestly get further with one faster video card as opposed to two slower cards in SLI. When you start with SLI, you eliminate your upgrade path to a second video card a year down the road, so that's one issue.

Next, google 'SLI microstutter' and you now have reason #2 to pass on SLI. In a nutshell, its an odd occurrence that shows up from time to time wherein Nvidia's implementation of SLI causes a screen lag that results in a micro stuttering effect that looks like your video cards are running out of steam.

Lastly, the SLI setup requires a real beast of a PSU if you go with the GTX280, so I doubt you want to blow $150+ on just your power supply (I won't even mention the case issues with those huge cards).

I like Duke's list, altho the video card is clearly a decision that is best left to the buyer. Its rare that an upgrader can look at a $400 video card purchase and not think twice about it. That's half the budget usually right there.

[Apache Warrior]

If you are running XP you do not need 4 gigs of RAM. XP will only recognize a little less than 3 gigs.
Apache

[Duke{CLR}]

I think we scared him off.

Moe buddy are you there we want to live vicariously through you.

[moe]

im still here,i talk to my friend who is building my pc,and he said,we will go with one 9800GTX nivada card,and then later down the road,we can add another 9800 GTX if we need to,so it will cut the price down to $600.oo installed,but that is with everything,and labor.......moe.

[bobytt]

Moe, dont buy OLD generation video card dude. get for 50$ more GTX 260.... its crazy to save 50 bucks from video.... and trust me after a while when you decide to add another one , its going to be way easy to find 260 than 9800GTX. TRUST ME,
In this upgrade the best spend money that you are going to use are those 50$ for GTX 260 and not 9800GTX. I personally believe that your friend have an 9800GTX that he is trying to get rid of.


Newegg.com - GTX 260

pick one.

I got many times for friends of mine open box videos and never had any problems so if you willing to go that way


Newegg.com - Open Box: MSI N260GTX-T2D896 OC GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card


Or there you go thats from amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CD15QC

and i just got today my MIR from MSI

i had one MSI GTX 280 for a while




My final words. Get the AMAZON MSI GTX 260, its TIMES better than 9800GTX , and FOR SURE you are going to be many times more happy with that then with ANY 9800GTX!

Product Details

[WalkinTarget]

That 9800GTX is indeed not your best buy. While you may trust this guy to build your PC, you cannot seriously agree with him that the 9800GTX is your best choice.

The first component that will need upgraded in almost any rig is the video card. I buy one a year, but I can go two years on most everything else such as mainboard or CPU, or three years on LCD or sound card, but you clearly need to put as much $$ into the video card as you can.

[bobytt]

I totally agree with WT! MOE dude. Trust me man , the least you can go is GTX 260 at this moment. and MSI GTX 260 from amazon is going to end to you for 209$ which is only 50$ at most from 9800GTX.


Product Details

there you go 220$ eVGA GTX 260 and FarCry2 the game itself go for 40-50$