Right then, I have a situation. I have a core i7 running 4.7ghz under water. 12gb 1866mhz ram running close to stock speed. (1880 ish i think) an evga classified. Do I have gtx260 x2 (sli) running 748/1646/2448 or do I swap these out for a gtx295 single PCB running 575/1296/1998 with the potential to run higher but no guarantee ? So thats 2 highly overclocked 260s which give me a grand score of 25k in vantage or a gtx295 which in theory could give me more power if i could get the clocks close to that of the 260s?? I must say that both of these will cost me an identical amount. Andy
If you can squidge a few more quid, the GTX275s in SLI will kick backside. Essentially, you'll have a heavily overclocked GTX295 as your starting point. If that's not an option at all, here's Bit's review of the single-PCB GTX295 - The overclocking bit, to be specific. Hope that helps some (I'm not the person to ask on this, tbh, but at least I try!) Will
+1 on the 275's. Although TBH, if you've got the money for a 295, Bit's review clearly shows the 4870X2 out performs the 295 in many areas. (folding excluded, of course) and it's nearly 100 quid cheaper. However, you seem to have a nice chunk of cash burning a hole in your pocket, why not wait and see what DX11 cards ATI come up with next month?
If you already have GTX 260's in SLI you've got yourself a 4870 x2 basically. So really I reckon you should hold off until the start of next year so that both dx11 cards for ati and nvidia are out so you can get a much better upgrade.
The CPC review of the old GTX295 had the positive of "Slightly faster than a 4870X2", and the negative of "Much more expensive than a 4870X2". The stock, air-cooled 4870X2 also managed to beat BFG's water-cooled, pre-overclocked GTX295 in 2 out of 4 test games. All depends what games you play. Oh, and 4.7GHz? That must be a 9(6/7)5, or an incredibly brutal 9(4/5)0. For that amount of processor bling, there should be NO limit on GPUs (my rule is always graphics card should be the most expensive thing in a PC, or it's not being done properly)
GTX275 in SLi or HD4890 CF, either will be fine the HD4870X2 would offer less performance but its Excellent value for money, can be had for £240 for 2GB version
I have 2 GTX260s on RMA. The ones I have wont be replaced with identicle parts as they dont have them but they will pay me all of my cash back in the form of a credit note! I was offered 2x 275s but due to the aftermarket coolers only 50% of heat will be exhausted and I dont want them to heat my system up! The GTX295 will run cooler than 2x 275s with those coolers and wont be too much slower! My only other option was 2x EVGA SSC cards that run at similar speeds to a stock 275 but with the advantage of getting rid of all heat! Andy
Sorry no, its 2x gtx260s but EVGA SSC (I had BFG MAXCORE OCX cards) so I have a choice of 2x EVGA SSC gtx260s, 2x Palit gtx275 cards, or a gtx295 by asus. Andy
A new spanner in to the works here.. its going to cost me an extra £100 but dual 4870x2 cards... Thats about as quick as I am ever likely to get isnt it? Andy
His motherboard is a classified so yes its both... Now I know why the electricity bill is so high! May have to trip the switch for upstairs when hes in his room! Paul
I'd stay from Palits, they are impossible to find aftermarket coolers for, and AFAIK all GTX-275 waterblocks will not fit the Palit GTX275.
Really wouldn't be too much of a problem if he wasn't going to watercool. But they are less overclockable. Perhaps the IChill ones? Or do those take too many PCI-E slots?
