New to sli/crossfire

dtiao7eb

dtiao7eb

Member
well its been about 5 years since i've built a computer... and i'm looking for a new video card... i'm definitely a gamer... my current rig lags a little in SC2.... so i've decided its time for an upgrade... well i'm currently going with

CPU: Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Gulftown 3.33GHz 6 x 256KB L2 Cache 12MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80613I7980X

MOBO: ASUS Rampage III Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

I just need a nice video card to go with that... any suggestions? budget... umm i'd say around 500 per card? (i'm thinking about sli/crossoverx) but i'm not sure how that works! any help would be great thanks guys/gals:good:
 
first: you don't NEED a cpu that powerful, although you can get one if you absolutely need to. for playing new games, you would never use the full power of that cpu. i'd stick with a lower i7.

for the gpu, if you can, don't immediately get and sli/crossfire setup. it really doesn't let you upgrade down the road. if you are looking to play newer games, a single 5870 or 480 would do the trick, although if you want more power, then you can either get two 480s or you could go with a 5970, which is 2 5870s on a single pcb for cheaper than two 5870s. if you overclock it, it will perform right with the two 5870s (it comes underclocked from the manufacturer).
 
thanks joh**

i know the cpu is kinda overkill but i do a little photo editing and video editing for fun.. so that should help with the rendering etc. and i don't really wanna upgrade within i'd say 5-7 years. I would rather get something that will last :)

i have never done overclocking in the past is there a link that is for "OC for dumb***es? lol

basically the only game in the future that i can see are currently sc2... maybe new wow:c expansion...(but i know that doesn't use much) and Diablo 3...

thanks!

(also any suggestions on which card is more reliable nvidia/ati??)
 
as far as scaling, sli usually does a better job, meaning you'll probably get closer to 100% out of each card with sli versus crossfire.

do you see yourself playing more games like first person shooters down the road?
 
oh yeah but recently i've been playing on xbox lol b/c of friends etc... but i def play 1st person shooters. also can you SLI two different cards? like a new nvidia and my old gtx8800 ?? i think someone told me it has to be two of the same cards.
 
also sorry maybe a noob question... the mobo only lists pci 2.0....i see alot of 2.1 cards are they compatible? or negative.
 
not quite sure with nvidia but i do think it needs to be the same card. for ati, you can crossfire cards with the same first two numbers, so a 5850 will work with a 5870 and both will work with a 5970 (which is 2 5870s).

pci-e 2.1 cards will work in the 2.0 slot.
 
Which would you recommend? I have used ATI and have disliked their drivers...always seem to be a big pain in the A** but i've been reading reviews for some of the nvidia GTX 480 fermi super clocked (EGVA) and they say they have heat issues...

XFX HD-597A-CNB9 Radeon HD 5970 Black Edition 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

maybe that's the card to go with?

thanks all your help! i can't wait to build :):good:
 
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