Which Graphics Card option for new PC?

[Astarael]

I'm having a little difficulty deciding between these two options for the new PC i'm having built (spec's below). They both come out to the same price, but I don't know which will perform better. My PC is mostly used for FFXI, random assortments of other new games as they are released, watching downloaded shows/films, and some basic photoshop work.

Two options are:

896MB GEFORCE GTX260 PCI Express + DVI

or

2x 512MB GEFORCE 9800GTX+ PCI Express + DVI + TV-OUT in SLI



Rest of Spec:

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Processor i7-920 (4 X 2.66GHz) 4.8GTs/8MB Cache

Memory (RAM)
3GB CORSAIR XMS3 1333MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY! (3x1GB)

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
300GB WD VelociRaptor® SATA 16MB CACHE (10,000rpm)

[Funkworkz]

DO NOT get a geforce 2xx for FFXI, you will regret it.

it might outperform the x2 SLI for other games, but its horrible for ffxi

[solsirt]

if FFXI is a primary concern then funkworkz is correct, don't go nvidia

Take your pick of the 4870's (x2 if you'd like, but isn't needed for what it sounds like you're doing).

Personally I'm an ASUS fan, but to each his own.

[Zoner]

ATI 4870 ftw! I think newegg is currently having a sale on several 4870 cards aswell.

[Olo401]

The GTX 260 core216, GTX 285 and 295 are all awesome top-end cards. But they're pricey 'cause they're new, so if you're not a power user or loaded or doing fold@home you don't really need it.

My choice was between a 9800GTX+ (aka the new GTX 250) and a 4870, and I got the 4870 because it was a bit less expensive, it had a rebate that made the deal even better, and is slightly newer tech than the 9800. I probably would've been happy either way.

[Funkworkz]

its not that the 2XX cards are bad, they are very good for any game... except ffxi.

at the whitegate AH the FPS drops to 8-10, and at any event with more than 6 people on screen they drop to 15.

not to mention the horrible driver issues found in these threads:

http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/tech/...rd-issues.html
http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/tech/...ed-advice.html
http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/tech/...-280-ffxi.html

[Olo401]

Meh I get those FPS drops too. It's not the video card so much as the server congestion. The driver issues are a concern tho - you can manage using older drivers, but what good does that do you if you run games besides FFXI?

[Epical]

Running a HD4870 and loving it. =)

[Calina]

DO NOT get a geforce 2xx for FFXI, you will regret it.

it might outperform the x2 SLI for other games, but its horrible for ffxi

its not that the 2XX cards are bad, they are very good for any game... except ffxi.

at the whitegate AH the FPS drops to 8-10, and at any event with more than 6 people on screen they drop to 15.

not to mention the horrible driver issues found in these threads:

http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/tech/...rd-issues.html
http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/tech/...ed-advice.html
http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/tech/...-280-ffxi.html

i have 3 GTX 260 core 216 in tri sli and FFXI runs perfectly lol

[Funkworkz]

your probably one of a handful who actually dont have problems with it. also seeing as you have a sli running it could be why.

i have a single EVGA overclocked 260 and its horrible. not to mention i play on an HDTV and the newest drivers fuck with my resolution so i need to run 177.xx

[Mansin]

Buy a 4850/70 and save yourself money/trouble.

[hexagram23]

i have 3 GTX 260 core 216 in tri sli and FFXI runs perfectly lol

You sort of proved everyone's point. If you need 3 GTX 260s to run a 6 year old game properly there is obviously a problem.

[Astarael]

I should mention, a few months ago i bought a laptop, with vista, decent processor, ram, and an 8400M geforce card. with vista and that, i couldn't run FFXI, it was too unmanageable, 5FPS with more than a party on screen. I downgraded it to XP and it works fine now. I intend to use XP on this system

Even so, I was originally thinking of getting dual 4870, but a friend convinced me otherwise. Will the 4870 be able to keep up with what the 9800GTX could do on everything else?

[Astarael]

Also, I just went and checked prices on the site i'll be purchasing from. Getting dual 4870's costs £120 more than the dual 9800GTX's ($160ish?). That change any opinions?

[Funkworkz]

check out this heirarchy chart: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...rd,2064-7.html

the 4870s are just one tier higher than the GTXs your looking at, so its probably not a worthwhile upgrade and the 9800s will be good enough to save you some cash. the 4870s will outperform them though of course, so its your call.

[Calina]

acculy i ran with just 1 gtx 260 at 1920 x 1080 on a 40" HDTV for 3 months with no problems

i got these cards befor i got the rest o the system i put 1 in my old PC(witch had only 1 PCI-exp slot) and it ran fine

so all i proved is that it works fine with both sli tri sli and single card also with most current drivers to boot

id say do clean driver install if your having problems.i did have some problems with these cards not with FFXI but other games and after doing a real clean install they worked fine with all games FFXI included

and when i say clean install i dont mean dl the drivers and installing over the old 1's thats what gives you the problems to begin with

dl driver sweeper from guru3d.com then uninstall old drivers next restart pc in safe mode run driver sweeper for nvidia display drivers that will get rid of that the uninstall dosent

finally restart install new drivers restart once more and your good to go

[virusiidx]

Buy a 4850/70 and save yourself money/trouble.

this

[Elipse]

Buy a 4850/70 and save yourself money/trouble.

I'm wondering about these cards myself. I read about a lot of issues with Sapphire branded cards and I found this thread on BG http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/tech/...hd-4850-a.html

Are these just old issues from 6 months ago that are all sorted out now or do I have to find a specific brand with the 4850/4870?

I'm really looking for a card that i know will have no problems with FFXI and I'm not very concerned about other games (nice to play but mostly I just play ffxi). So is the 4850/4870 the best card to go with for ffxi or should I go with Nvidia 9600GT or something?

[Epical]

I'm wondering about these cards myself. I read about a lot of issues with Sapphire branded cards and I found this thread on BG http://www.bluegartr.com/forum/tech/...hd-4850-a.html

Are these just old issues from 6 months ago that are all sorted out now or do I have to find a specific brand with the 4850/4870?

I'm really looking for a card that i know will have no problems with FFXI and I'm not very concerned about other games (nice to play but mostly I just play ffxi). So is the 4850/4870 the best card to go with for ffxi or should I go with Nvidia 9600GT or something?

Using a Sapphire 4870 right now, and it's silky smooth. If you're just getting a card for XI, no need in getting the 4870 -- the 4850 will do quite nicely and save you a bit of coin.

[viperlasson]

what resolution do you game at? If it is under 1680x1050 then you wont get much out of SLI or Crossfire. I have an ATI 4870 and it can run any game flawlessly on max (Don't play ffxi anymore, haven't tested with it).