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sli/crossfire vs single card

Associate
Joined
19 Jun 2009
Posts
43
hey guys, at the moment, i have 2 GTX 260s and they are running quite hot. So i was wonddering is it better to get one card such as a GTX 285 or Ati 5870 or having two in sli, such as my GTX 260's?

And also which would people get a GTX285/295 or a 5870/5970??

Cheers
 
Associate
Joined
8 Jun 2009
Posts
515
Location
London
it runs cooler, consumes less power, does better performance than your sli 260s at stock, while being a single slot card, and can be easily clocked to/close 1ghz, introduces new technology, directx 11, eyefinity etc

if you are buying a new card, theres no point going for old generation like 285/295 unless it's really cheap
 
Associate
Joined
8 Jun 2009
Posts
515
Location
London
well you know, if sli 260 is running everything fine now, there's no real need to replace... + 5xxx have been out for ages, and ati claimed to release 6xxx series by end of this year, so you could as well wait and those, + by that time proper dx11 titles will come out.

cant believe i said that, i replaced my sli 280 to xfire 5870 :D
 
Associate
OP
Joined
19 Jun 2009
Posts
43
yea they are running fine i think, so i took them out, cleaned them for dust and put them back in, and still no change. I havent got a clue whats going on, i would like to resolve it without getting a new one. Any ideas?
 
Associate
Joined
8 Jun 2009
Posts
515
Location
London
umm try running one card at a time, see what kind of temps you are getting then

how old are they? maybe thermal paste needs to be reapplied. Is the case getting good airflow?

Another possible solution could be getting an aftermarket graphics card cooler
 
Associate
OP
Joined
19 Jun 2009
Posts
43
yea the case is getting pretty sweet cooling, i have anothe 3 case fans i might install, and they aint old, but i might reapply the paste, but wheni took them off they looked pretty good.

and one question, how come the clock speed of a 5870 is higher then a 5970?
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
Posts
90,805
260GTX in SLI at stock is around the same as the 5870 give or take, generally very slightly faster in almost everything except crysis. Obviously doesn't do so well in DX11 :D they will overclock as well as any 5870 if not better than so your always going to be on par.

I find it really odd they are both idle at 70+C - I could imagine one card might be due to a poorly fitted heatsink or something but both is a bit odd. Mine idle in low 40s with very little space, a Creative X-Fi stuck in the gap between them and a v. hot nForce northbridge exhausting super heated air onto one of them :S
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
Posts
90,805
GTX480 is marginally faster, but a lot more money. Until something compelling DX11 wise comes along it would be madness to spend £400+ for a marginal performance gain.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
19 Jun 2009
Posts
43
very true. I have friends who love nvidia and wont change to Ati and vice versa.
I guess im thinking if i have one card, then it will give more aiflow and if i had 2, one will be blowing on the other.
 
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