That is the question.
My system is in my Sig and sys drop down. I am looking to upgrade the graphics. I was looking to SLI. Currently only running a single 8800GTS 640mb and was maybe going to buy 2 8800GT 512mbs for 90 bucks since as a single card is still better then mine. I know my CPU is going to be the biggest bottleneck in almost any gfx upgrade, is a new gfx card like the GTX 460 1GB going to be worth the investment until maybe this time next year when I can then do the board and cpu/ram comfortably?
I'm not looking for the answers to say, why not wait until next year. I was planning to build a new system with an i5 or i7 but now just looking to keep costs somewhat down to get more bills paid and still have fun gaming on the newer games.
Just played Crysis 2 Demo on lowest setting (Gamer) and it was playable but choppy. I am willing to bet my CPU is causing issues, but at 150ish for even the Core 2 Quad, am I going to see that investment returned if I get a gfx upgrade too?
Just a core 2 quad and 2 gtx 460's is about $530 on the egg. I was able to get the gts/c2d to last the last 3ish years, is the cost worth the upgrade or do I just look at 1 460 and a budget i5 build?
I know there is 2 cards on ebay right now and none on my local craigslist but I am guessing the cards might sell for more then I am really willing to pay for a card this outdated. If I were to get the 460/s I would probably run the 8800 as the physics unless it won't be needed with the power of the 460's ..
I am considering SLI 460 because it would be a huge increase in performance, little more future proofing then my 8800 was and is about $40 (before any rebates applied) cheaper then a single 480 card with significantly more performance too.
Should be updated now, but I am running win xp 32bit (yes i know i can't use all the ram available now). Will be getting win 7 64bit soon. Also, I would've liked some water cooling, but not sure that can be an option now (if SLI'd) after seeing the cost of the block for the card. I would not remove the H50.
*update*- after looking at some liquid setups, that option isn't available anymore.
~100 for a Koolance GPU block
~129 for the Koolance Res/Pump/Display
~20 for compression fittings
~10 for hose
~70 for Black Ice GT radiator/fittings