Single GPU or GPU's in SLI?

Hi everyone, I was just wondering which was better, both for price and performance. An Amazetech HD 5870 (stock) for $516.45AUD or the Palit GTX 260+ (OC'd) in SLI for 219.95AUD each.

I appreciate all feedback:)

yeah, i was considering that also. the 5850 has got pretty decent performance on crysis at high settings.

ive got 2 OC'D 260GTX SLI and nearly all my games use SLI to one extent or another in my games, if your worried about stuff like that download nhancer and set your settings through that works alot better in my opinion. But yeah 216 USD vs 512 USD for the same performance id get the SLI

yeah, i was looking at building a completely new rig.

in the event the OP lives in the usa.. get 2 hd 5850's they will be cheaper and outpreform a gtx 480!!!

I wouldn't get two gtx 260's, i'd get a 5870. The gtx 260 uses too much power for me to run it in sli, you need at least a 1000 watt psu. Also, with a single card you don't have to worry about bottlenecking the two cards if your cpu can't keep up with them. Also, instead of two gtx 260's, if you really wanted, you could go with two 5770's which would be cheaper and more energy efficient with all the benefits of dx11 (not that there are many :S). Also, the 5770's scale pretty well in crossfire

I wouldn't get two gtx 260's, i'd get a 5870. The gtx 260 uses too much power for me to run it in sli, you need at least a 1000 watt psu. Also, with a single card you don't have to worry about bottlenecking the two cards if your cpu can't keep up with them. Also, instead of two gtx 260's, if you really wanted, you could go with two 5770's which would be cheaper and more energy efficient with all the benefits of dx11 (not that there are many :S). Also, the 5770's scale pretty well in crossfire

29121994

You don't need 1000 watts to power 2 GTX 260s, I have 2 GTX 260s running just fine on 750 watts. I bought my second GTX 260 just 2 weeks ago over a DX11 card for a couple reasons. One I don't have Windows 7, two there aren't that many titles that utilize DX11 yet, three it was the cheaper option while still getting a nice performance boost. If you have Windows 7, I would probably go with a 5850. However I am still very happy with my two 260s.

A single 5870 is good enough. Also, I would really love to get ATI as my next card, because of their amazing IQ:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/09/22/amds_ati_radeon_hd_5870_video_card_review/6

[QUOTE="29121994"]

I wouldn't get two gtx 260's, i'd get a 5870. The gtx 260 uses too much power for me to run it in sli, you need at least a 1000 watt psu. Also, with a single card you don't have to worry about bottlenecking the two cards if your cpu can't keep up with them. Also, instead of two gtx 260's, if you really wanted, you could go with two 5770's which would be cheaper and more energy efficient with all the benefits of dx11 (not that there are many :S). Also, the 5770's scale pretty well in crossfire

DJ419

You don't need 1000 watts to power 2 GTX 260s, I have 2 GTX 260s running just fine on 750 watts. I bought my second GTX 260 just 2 weeks ago over a DX11 card for a couple reasons. One I don't have Windows 7, two there aren't that many titles that utilize DX11 yet, three it was the cheaper option while still getting a nice performance boost. If you have Windows 7, I would probably go with a 5850. However I am still very happy with my two 260s.

A 1000W PSU is overkill for dual GTX 260. Only real reason you'd need a 1000W PSU would be if you were interested in running 2 of the GTX 480 in SLI....maybe a real solid 900W would even work.

Total power consumption for a computer with 2 GTX 260 cards in SLI (under full load) will roughly fall around 560W (give or take a bit, depending on what else you're running). A good 750W PSU is more than enough for two of these cards.

A single HD 5870 in a computer roughly requires the power use of around 360W (just as before, give or take a bit depending on what else is running in the computer).

So yes, in the end a single HD 5870 is easier on the pocketbook for electricity.....you could essentially run two of the HD 5870 cards in Crossfire and use about the same power consumption as two of the GTX 260s.

It all comes down to personal preference and choice. If I were to make a new gaming rig right now and I wanted the absolute best performance from a single GPU card, I'd pick up a GTX 480. But if I wanted a very good card that gives a much better price/performance ratio, then I'd get the HD 5870. I wouldn't go with SLI or Crossfire unless I had the money to buy two high end cards.

ive got 2 OC'D 260GTX SLI and nearly all my games use SLI to one extent or another in my games, if your worried about stuff like that download nhancer and set your settings through that works alot better in my opinion. But yeah 216 USD vs 512 USD for the same performance id get the SLI

hlhmark

it's $216 each, so it is $432 vs $512. Must consider other factors as well though, such as a new PSU..so lets say $80-$100

It would be the same cost, or maybe even more expensive. The 2 gtx260s would perform better if they scale well, but I think crossfire and SLI are a little inconsistent. I'd say go for the 1 5870. If you had a gtx 260 to start with, then yeah, adding anothe one on would make sense, i could say that's not a bad idea.