Glyken Touchon
Independent Alchemists
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Posted - 2011.03.27 18:34:00 -
[1]
I'm after some advice regarding graphics cards in a new rig.
1x GTX570 1.25GB or 2x GTX460 1GB SLI
The price is similar enough that it doesn't factor into the decision.
I've had previous problems with both AMD and ATI, and with EVE taking the biggest slice of my gaming time, I'll prefer to stick with NVidia.
I'm leaning towards the single card (with the machine able to handle another in a future upgrade), but would the pair of 460s be better?
Thanks
GT
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Akita T
Caldari Navy Volunteer Task Force
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Posted - 2011.03.27 19:08:00 -
[2]
Edited by: Akita T on 27/03/2011 19:10:06
Just for the record, I'm going to assume the 570 costs around 350$ while each 460 costs around 190$ (so 380$ total).
Allegedly, 2x 460 in SLI mode are anywhere between 10% to 50% faster than a single 570, depending on game, graphics details, resolution and whatnot (no mention of any overclocking on either card on the benchmarks I got the numbers from). In fact, 2x 460 can even beat a single 580 under a pretty good deal of circumstances, apparently. Looks like the 2x 460 draws around 60-75 W more compared to a single 570 when in heavy usage, but could run a tad bit cooler thanks to double heat dissipating power if you can space them apart properly and the case is well ventilated... but will be ever so slightly noisier. I suppose it also depends a lot on what model of cards you pick, and on whether you want to overclock any of them (and by how much).
If you want good performance NOW, then go with the 2x 460. They really cost just a bit more extra (assuming your PSU can handle it), and there are some occasional kinks when dealing with SLI mode, but overall, you should see a noticeably better performance most of the time.
If you have later upgradeability in mind, go with the 570. The initial price savings are minimal (unless you'd need to upgrade the PSU for the above, in which case, this could be some noticeable savings), until you upgrade you KNOW you won't have any kind of SLI issues, and if you're lucky, you won't really notice the difference in performance all that much. The lower power drain is also a nice bonus.
P.S. I run a single 1 GB (barely 5% factory overclocked) 460 GTX myself. Even ramping up everything to the absolute max graphics-wise, it can easily handle two EVE clients at the same time smoothly. _
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