New high end gaming build. Please help!

[bernardstachman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShyguyXPC

as the others have said, can't SLI that with the 275.

sorry, i dont understand. i thought that what was being said is that i cant SLI NVIDIA and ATI.... but it seems i cant SLI a 275 w/ a 285, right? and can i match an EVGA card with another non-EVGA 275? if this is so, am i better off getting another 275 to SLI with?

again thanks for all the help!

[ShyguyXPC]

yes, thats what we are saying.

You Can't SLI or Crossfire an Nvidia and ATI card together.

for SLI the card has to have the same GPU on it, example, 275 and 275.

they can be different clock speeds and memory sizes, as well as Manufacturers (Evga and an XFX, or an MSI and a Gigabyte, etc etc).

just that the faster card will default to the slower ones speeds, and card with more memory will default to lesser ones capacity (for example a 1GB card paired with a 512MB will lose 512MB extra RAM on it).

For Crossfire, ATI's cards. same things apply in reference to clock speeds, but if I remember right you don't lose the extra RAM on a larger sized card. also with Crossfire you can combine with any card of the same family.

for example you can have any combination of Radeon 4830, 4850, 4870, 4890, 4850x2 or 4870x2 up to 4 GPU's.

if that were the case with Nvidia SLI, which it isn't, THEN you'd be able to combine a GTX 260, 280, 275, 285 or 295 in any combination as well. but unfortunately SLI doesn't work like that.

for Crossfire though it is highly recommended to use the same GPU though, so for example a 4850 and 4850, or 4850 and 4850x2, etc.

so you have a GTX 275 already, if you buy a 2nd 275 regardless of the brand, it will work.

Nvidia has a few Exceptions, you can SLI a 9800GTX+ and a GTS 250, they are both the same cards, just renamed. and a GTX 260 192 core (first 260's that were out) and a GTX 260 216 core (2nd version that was out) card together. Also a 260 216 core 65nm (fabrication Process of the chip) GPU and a 3rd version of the 260 216 core with a 55nm chip can also be SLI'd together.

as far as I know those are the only exceptions to Nvidia's SLI so far.

but in your case, just grab a 2nd GTX 275 for SLI and you'll be fine. try to match it with your current card, but if you can't then any 275 will do.

[bernardstachman]

thanks for the thorough clarification shyguy!

ill prob grab a 2nd 275 and call it a day. my last question is, since the 275 is becoming an older model, should i NOT get a 2nd and wait a year or so for the gt300s to come out, or will my current performance be too hindered for this with just one card?

you guys are all great. thanks!

[ShyguyXPC]

275 is still a kick ass card, its not THAT much slower than a 285 or the Radeon 5000 series. if it were me I'd hold out for the 300's.

but unless your wanting to run Crysis Fully maxed with AA and 1920x1080, etc etc etc, then a 2nd 275 will be good for it.

but looking at the specs for the GT300's, their double that of current GTX cards, actually more than double, 512 Stream Processors vs current 275, 285 and 295 cards have 240. but won't know how they perform until their released or close to release. but they should at least be as fast or faster than the Radeon 5000's.