Graphicscard advice needed

timberflake

I'm going to be in the market to buy a new PC in a couple of months. I've been looking on PC Specialist at configuring my own and originally I wasn't too bothered about a graphics card and was going to spend the bulk of my budget on processor, memory and a solid state HDD.

However, the more I think about it, the more I'd like to give PC gaming a try (I've currently got a PS3).

My question is, what would be better, going for 1 top end graphics card, or buying 2-3 mid range cards?

I know theres the obvious drawback of having a number of cards that I'll have to replace all of them when I upgrade but I'm wondering if there's anything else I need to consider?

wornoutmumoftwo

I put one graphic card in mine (Radeon Saphire) and we can play top of the range games no problem. Running on a dual core with a 750w power unit. Just make sure the power unit can cope with the graphic card you choose as I know someone who burnt their motherboard by nor having sufficiant power.

gonzo127

always one top end card over multiple ones as you will get better bang for the buck as SLI/crossfire cards always lose a certain amount of performance by running duel cards (ie you donts get 2x the performance of a single card)

personal choice at the moment would be the ATI cards however if you can hold on a little while they could be launching their new series of cards according to this http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2010/10/08/amd-radeon-hd-6870-leaked/1

anyways to help out check this as it will show the 'power' of each card in comparison to each other http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/graphics-card-geforce-radeon,review-32014-7.html

timberflake

I'm having a Corsair 750w PSU put in so no problem there.

The rest of the PC wont be too shabby either:
AMD Phenom II X6 3.20GHz overclocked to 3.80GHz (with advanced liquid cooling)
8GB Kingston DDR3 RAM
240GB solid state HDD

Im either going to go for x3 Radeon 5670 cards or a single Radeon 5970.

I guess the benefit of going for a single card is that I can add a further 2 at a later date when they come down in price. That will also keep me on the cutting edge of gaming for years to come!

DatabaseError

advanced liquid cooling? not just the normal liquid cooling?

Looks like you're spending a lot there, 240Gb SSD...ouch As the most important hob for the SSD is holding the Operating System I just have a little 64Gb one and hold most apps/data on my 2.5Tb of mechanical drives, which are fast enough for such tasks.
..and, to be honest, I'm not massively impressed by SSD, yeah it's quiet, yeah it's fast, but I'm not convinced dropping my startup/shutdown speed was worth the money, it is nice that my browsers open almost instantly, but they only used to take a second or 2 before..my time isn't really that valuable
I suppose if I was after a totally silent PC then SSD would be the only way to go..which brings us on to your question.

a single card is much cheaper, and performs well enough for most users at most resolutions. As Gonzo suggests ATI cards provide better bang/buck, I've suffered ATIs bad drivers in the past, and so wouldn't buy another, but plenty do with no issues. One thing to be aware of, you seem to be spending money on reducing noise (watercooling, SSD, quality PSU), modern GPUs kick out one hell of a lot of noise under load, look at what 3rd party coolers are available for your chosen card(s), it can be a worthwhile investment. (I rate the accellero series myself), as you're having a loop installed maybe see if there's a block for your chosen GPU?

gonzo127

totally go for the 5970 check this out

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5670-review-test-crossfire/9

yes this is ONLY 2x 5670 however even if you add the extra 50% to take into account a third card (and thats not even taking into account the slight drop in effeciency which means you dont get all the 100% of the extra cards) the FPS of the 5970 still is noticably higher

shortchanged_2

timberflake wrote: »

I

However, the more I think about it, the more I'd like to give PC gaming a try (I've currently got a PS3).

My question is, what would be better, going for 1 top end graphics card, or buying 2-3 mid range cards?

I know theres the obvious drawback of having a number of cards that I'll have to replace all of them when I upgrade but I'm wondering if there's anything else I need to ?consider

Ultimately it depends on a few factors.

Such as; what is your budget?

What type of games are you likely to play?

Graphics cards like anything in the computer industry have newer models coming out all the time. Obviously all the brand spanking new, state of the art ones carry a hefty premium but you may find the next one down which is perfectly competent for your needs will be considerably cheaper.

timberflake

shortchanged wrote: »

Ultimately it depends on a few factors.

Such as; what is your budget?

What type of games are you likely to play?

Graphics cards like anything in the computer industry have newer models coming out all the time. Obviously all the brand spanking new, state of the art ones carry a hefty premium but you may find the next one down which is perfectly competent for your needs will be considerably cheaper.

Well the budget for the entire PC is £2,000 and I already have a 32" lcd moniter so I've got about £1,900 to spend on the rig.

Im a massive PS3 gamer and play all kinds of games, shooters, sports, racers, advneture, you name it. So I want the best card, or cards, I can as I want the best graphics I can achieve on my budget.

JasX

also the major drawback you run into with multiple graphics cards is they throw out alot more heat that can cause you other problems.... plus you may have a beefier PSU but you'll also have a higher electricity bill.

Last I heard AMD were lagging behind Intel on performance of high end chips.... aren't those AMDs benchmarking slower than my 1 year old i7 950 running at stock speeds?

even for gaming a SSD is substantial overkill, yes it'll give you near instant boot times but its a high price to pay. Even with that i'd drop in one of these -this specific drive has some damn impressive benchmarks and I'd say about the fastest you'll get before going for an SSD

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173804

also you might want to look at this site for hardware ideas (but buy elsewhere)

http://www.pcper.com/hwlb.php


I'd also suggest getting a more powerful processor you can comfortable run at stock speeds, ditch liquid cooling and make sure you have a shiny aluminum 'heat efficient' case but thats more a personal preference

Jeff_Bridges_hair

I have just installed this little man and it works a treat.

JasX

Jeff_Bridges_hair wrote: »

I have just installed this little man and it works a treat.

I have an Nvidia 295... performs well but thinking I might look towards ATI for my next one, the 'more bang for buck' seems to be holding out for a while now and from experience Nvidia's tend to run hotter/throw out more heat.

....they are however a little ahead of the game on the 3D gaming front.....