9800GX2, 9800GTX or something else?

[CSQuake]

Hi guys,

Would you upgrade now to 2 9800GX2s, or wait for the 9800GTX (possibly in triple Sli), or wait for whatever else is around the corner from Nvidia ... maybe the Ultra?

Money no object.

This is for a gaming rig.

 

[Wreckage]

Well if it's true that the 9800GTX will be out within a week, then I would certainly wait for that.

If money is no object then SLI 9800GTX.

 

[ghost recon88]

If you're going to get a single-GPU-on-one-PCB solution, grab a pair of 8800GTS 512MB, very very very similar to the 9800GTX. However if you're looking for quad SLI, well then you'll have to go dual 9800GX2s.

 

[dasracht]

The fastest possible will likely be two 9800gx2's in sli, so get that.

Also read the other thread about this: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2169428&enterthread=y

 

[Dadofamunky]

Buy ***AT LEAST*** two of either. NVidia bases its business model on the SLI con job, and they're counting on you. A mere $1200 for 40 fps in Crysis is so little money in the grander scheme of things. So rack up them credit cards!

 

[batmang]

Originally posted by: Dadofamunky
Buy ***AT LEAST*** two of either. NVidia bases its business model on the SLI con job, and they're counting on you. A mere $1200 for 40 fps in Crysis is so little money in the grander scheme of things. So rack up them credit cards!

I get 40FPS in Crysis.....in DX9.... in 1680x1050... on Medium quality.. .

 

[Munky]

Get a 8800gts 512MB and tell Nvidia to release a real high end card if they want more money from you.

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: Dadofamunky
Buy ***AT LEAST*** two of either. NVidia bases its business model on the SLI con job, and they're counting on you. A mere $1200 for 40 fps in Crysis is so little money in the grander scheme of things. So rack up them credit cards!

You should be happy that there are people willing to give nVidia lots of capital to develop newer chip designs.

For many people $1200 is chump change, they will spend it on a bottle of wine without batting an eyelash.

There's really no need to be sarcastic.

It's true that most games don't scale very well beyond 2 GPU's but benchmarks aren't everything. Even if adding more GPUs doesn't increase average FPS, it may help keep the game from slowing down during heavy loads. Don't knock it until you try it...

 

[DoctorDeath]

I have two 9800GX2s and the quad sli drivers that are out now suck. I only scored 12,786 in quad sli.I removed one card and ran it a 2nd time.This time i scored 18,198 which is a decent score for a GX2

 

[djnoob]

1) you know I'm new to these forums and already I've see alot of posts by people who obviosly have nothing better to do than bitch. They make these grandeous statements about conspiracy, how company A is only trying to screw us, certain technologies are just a sham, whatever else, all with little or no fact to base it on.

Here's a message to those people........Just becuase you personally have had an issue with a particular product, technology, or company doesn't mean that's they way it is for everyone. If you're going to make such grand statements then you should come to the table with any proof that you may have to support the claims you make. Criticisms should be constructive and based on facts. If you can't do that then maybe you should take senseless banter someplace else. Just coming in here and bitching doesn't help anyone. What it does do is make this an unpleaseant place to converse with others who share the same interests.

2) I will say that I have seen some great posts and it's evident that there are many who are willing to provide assistance and guidance when asked and provide their opinions in a polite and respectful manner.


3)CSQuake- I'd wait and see which one performs better.

4)Doctor Death- Which drivers are you using? If you are using the 174.70 then you're not really running quad SLI. Those drivers won't be out until tomorrow.

 

[Dadofamunky]

Originally posted by: DoctorDeath
I have two 9800GX2s and the quad sli drivers that are out now suck. I only scored 12,786 in quad sli.I removed one card and ran it a 2nd time.This time i scored 18,198 which is a decent score for a GX2

Originally posted by: wired247
For many people $1200 is chump change, they will spend it on a bottle of wine without batting an eyelash.

Yes, and perhaps 200x more people would never consider doing such a thing. I think it's a ripoff (not the wine, although as you note that has also been known to happen, and I'm somewhat of a wine expert), and that both SLI and CrossFire are marketing gimmicks. Fact is, I think one GX2 card is an excellent choice for the OP until NVidia gets their driver software straightened out.

I think at present having one card can be cost-effective for gaming, since you already get 2 GPUs, but beyond that it just seems crazy to me to line NVidia's pockets. Plus, the GX2 has serious design flaws, primarily the thermal aspect. It's really unfortunate. Its performance appears quite good, but it seems to me it could be so much better for the money. Maybe later driver editions will deliver that...

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: Dadofamunky

Originally posted by: DoctorDeath
I have two 9800GX2s and the quad sli drivers that are out now suck. I only scored 12,786 in quad sli.I removed one card and ran it a 2nd time.This time i scored 18,198 which is a decent score for a GX2

Originally posted by: wired247
For many people $1200 is chump change, they will spend it on a bottle of wine without batting an eyelash.

Yes, and perhaps 200x more people would never consider doing such a thing. I think it's a ripoff (not the wine, although as you note that has also been known to happen, and I'm somewhat of a wine expert), and that both SLI and CrossFire are marketing gimmicks. Fact is, I think one GX2 card is an excellent choice for the OP until NVidia gets their driver software straightened out.

I think at present having one card can be cost-effective for gaming, since you already get 2 GPUs, but beyond that it just seems crazy to me to line NVidia's pockets. Plus, the GX2 has serious design flaws, primarily the thermal aspect. It's really unfortunate. Its performance appears quite good, but it seems to me it could be so much better for the money. Maybe later driver editions will deliver that...

I agree with you 100%, but you shouldn't tell an enthusiast that his enthusiasm is misplaced.

 

[etrin]

djnoob what a LOT of people are bitching about, me included, is the fact of there is NOTHING NEW. its just a rename, rehash of the same thing and each time its OHHHHHHhhh the fan boys shout.
YEP I am getting 3 frames a second faster and it ONLY cost me $350. SAME as you paid for the last card huh.

Personally I wish that ATI would release a card tomorrow that was 2 times faster than anything Nvidia had...then the next week Nvidia would release something new.

THAT is when we win. NOT let me rename the 8800GTS the 9800GTS yep that should cost about a hundred more.

 

[JPB]

I read a report this morning, can't remember where now. That the 9800GTX will be released at $299

 

[noobish]

ooooooo my arsh-pipe.. stop upgrading for two months and i bet they will pull something out of their arsh with double / tripple performance.

 

[djnoob]

Originally posted by: etrin
djnoob what a LOT of people are bitching about, me included, is the fact of there is NOTHING NEW. its just a rename, rehash of the same thing and each time its OHHHHHHhhh the fan boys shout.
YEP I am getting 3 frames a second faster and it ONLY cost me $350. SAME as you paid for the last card huh.

Personally I wish that ATI would release a card tomorrow that was 2 times faster than anything Nvidia had...then the next week Nvidia would release something new.

THAT is when we win. NOT let me rename the 8800GTS the 9800GTS yep that should cost about a hundred more.

You talk about getting ony getting 3fps more well it's quite documented that with the higher end cards that there are cpu bottlenecks. This goes even with high end overclocked cpu's. When was the last time you heard of a gpu bottleneck?

I will agree with you that when the competition is heavy we definately win. Here's what I want you to do though, when the 9800gtx comes out go ahead and comare a 8800gtx with a 9800gtx. Then compare the price between the two when each card was first launched. When you make that comparison you'll see that the 9800gtx is a much faster card at a much lower price. How are we not winning here?

Is there any new technology here? Well I personally can't be certain about that. They are in fact reaching much higher clock speeds so the "new" technology may simply be on the manufacturing end. Ether way, in comparing series to series cards there are obvious in both performance and price. Is every new series of cards going to bring the massive jump in performance as we saw going from the 7 to the 8 series? No and anyone who thinks or expects that I think is playing too many RPG's and is permantly stuck in a fantasy world somewhere.

What bothers me is that there are so many people out there who are willing to attack and spew the fanboy label at anyone who might be in defense of or in favor a of a new product. This goes for both ATI and Nvidia. For crying out loud knock it off! Maybe the new thing isn't the right upgrade for you and what you have currently. That doesn't mean that it's a bad product. Is everyone who has ultra's going to be compelled to up grade to gx2's? Probably not and honestly Nivida doesn't expect that. It's just same same as car manufacturers, some years a new model year you'll see a huge perfmance increase and some years it's simply some model upgrades. Just becuase something is different there isn't the expectation that everyone is going to get the new model.

Enough with the name calling and company bashing.

 

[Tempered81]

Originally posted by: CSQuake
Hi guys,

Would you upgrade now to 2 9800GX2s, or wait for the 9800GTX (possibly in triple Sli), or wait for whatever else is around the corner from Nvidia ... maybe the Ultra?

Money no object.

This is for a gaming rig.

qx9650

790i

3x 9800gtx Superclocked OC editions

4gb

kilowatt psu

30" wuxga

~$3,500


or wait for next gen



edit: if you decide you aren't made of money:

e8400/e3110

650/680i

2x 9600gt vanilla (user oc'd)

2gb

19 wide lcd

~$750

 

[T2k]

Originally posted by: JPB
I read a report this morning, can't remember where now. That the 9800GTX will be released at $299

Hmmm... that would be a decent upgrade from my 8800GTX@Ultra... OTOH 3870x2 drivers supposed to be a LOT better nowadays, aren't they?

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: T2k

Originally posted by: JPB
I read a report this morning, can't remember where now. That the 9800GTX will be released at $299

Hmmm... that would be a decent upgrade from my 8800GTX@Ultra... OTOH 3870x2 drivers supposed to be a LOT better nowadays, aren't they?

Frys has BFG 9800GTXs in stock here for 350.

Looks like 350 is the new price point which isnt bad... I paid that for my 7900GT when it came out.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: T2k

Originally posted by: JPB
I read a report this morning, can't remember where now. That the 9800GTX will be released at $299

Hmmm... that would be a decent upgrade from my 8800GTX@Ultra... OTOH 3870x2 drivers supposed to be a LOT better nowadays, aren't they?

you probably won't see much if any real performance increase going to a 9800gtx from an 8800gtx@ultra. With a decent oc you will probably see a small increase but we're only talking about a few fps most likely.