Alrighty, Long time no see, forum. I've recently come across some neat PC parts, but I want MOAR. Tons of games came/coming out and whatnot, and I'd like a competent PC to handle them. I recently ordered me a shiny new SSD hard drive and am now debating whether or not to upgrade my video. I am currently running two of these(link) paired up with a Core i3 540 sitting snugly on this(link). And yeah, I realized how lame that mobo is but only right after I already walked out of my local retail store. Impulsive shopping ftl. Anyways, all this brings me to my question. Is it worth upgrading two 9800GTX+ BE to a single Fermi 460? And what about a 470? Is 460 and 470 a big difference? Also, if you don't mind answering this - it's my motherboard. I heard on THIS youtube vid that the 2 pcie slots are always locked at x8 no matter 1 card or 2. Could this be possibly true, or they just trollin and want me to buy 2 cards? Anywho, thanks for taking your time and reading this. I really appreciate the help. Thanks!
1st thing that I should update is the CPU. 2 core are the lowest limit if you have or want also a fast GPU. i3540 will bottleneck a GTX 470 also at 1920x1200. I have no ideea about your mobo but doesn't look too impressing to me...:3eyes:
uhh, most of those boards only have one slot that can work at 16x. so you have to use that slot. your cpu's too much of a bottleneck. i would upgrade that to an i5 before even considering a new gpu. big difference between 460 and 470. 460 has 336 cuda cores, 470 has 448 cuda cores. your best bet would be to get a cpu first and wait a month for the gpus. the 560/570 come out next month apparently.
Great info guys, thanks! But,I'm not trying to do anything too intense on my PC. I'll be playing games below 1080p, and a 540i with a 460 is a nice combo for that, or so I heard. Upgrading the CPU at the moment is not an option as well. I'm more concerned about upgrading my two older cards. Is it necessary or no? Will I see a big frame boost or a minor one? Also, a more concrete answer on the pcie slots on my mobo would be nice.
With prices falling I'd go for the 470. Sure it's hotter and noisier, but it is one spanking card and it overclocks veeery nicely. As for your CPU, a nice comfortable overclock should remove most, if not all of the bottleneck. Just my 2 cents
9800gtx has 128 cores 2x 9800gtx has 256 cores all up a 460 has 336 cuda cores. so you'd see some improvement. mostly in games that dont run well in sli. you'd see more improvement from a 470 or 560. and even at 1080p, you'd still be hit by a cpu bottleneck.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/pc-buyers-guide-summer-2010/ Yeah, I am aware of the bottleneck issue. But, since the guy who wrote the above article has a bachelor's in CS, I kinda trusted him with my budget build. The 540 was on sale for $99, so I nabbed it. I also don't mind OC'ing the 540 since it's running very cool right now at roughly 30 degrees C. I also found this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133326 And I am really considering purchasing it. Everyone's "2 cents " are greatly appreciated!
