Single or Dual 512mb NVIDIA GeFORCE 9800 GT

[nafets]

Hi Guys,
I know this is not a Golf question but i thought i see what some the thought where!! I'm looking at purchasing a new computer from Dell, i sure there are people who have bad experiences with them. I've been informed by my Comp tech the they are good valve for money. So any rate i have the option of buying an XPS630 standalone machine with a single 512mb NVIDIA GeFORCE 9800 GT grahpics card for $1,999.00 or option it with Dual 512mb NVIDIA GeFORCE 9800 GT graphics card for $2,319.09.

Cheers Stef

 

[James G]

You can get a second card for less than $320 (i think), i just bought one of these cards when my 8800GTX shit out, it's not as powerfull (512mb Vs 7**mb) but a single one runs COD4 with all the goodies on at 60+ fps... (the 8800gtx would run it at 100+)

Just get the single package, and if you are familiar at all with computers, you can install a second yourself!

Some of the higher end Dell machines are pretty cool, but you do pay extra for a name, check out your local computer stores, they may have something better value for you... had mine built to spec 2+ years ago, it's still the fastest pc in the house (was $3000)

hope that helps :thumbsup:

 

[nafets]

Cheers James G, Sure has helped, was leaning towards the single graphics card!! Just wanted to get some idea before i ordered. Yeh i'm pretty familiar computers so i if later on it shits it self ill think about adding 2!! Once again thanks heaps for the info

Cheers Stef

 

[johno]

had my dell for 5 years. still works after it was saved by dodgey from a nasty antivirus software virus trojan pharker hacker poof. So go Dell!

 

[SleekY]

don't bother... you should be ok with that single card for a while

 

[White Fang]

I'm running a dual 9800GTX+ setup loving it at the moment. In all fairness though, guess you'd have to also factor in your CPU speed and RAM as well. I'm running 2.66 GHz Quad Core and 4 GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM on top of the SLi setup.

Also I had mine custom built through http://www.gamedude.com.au/

 

[DRMAT]

Depends on how many games you play i guess.... sure dual cards are awesome but if a single card will play the game you want at the detail level you want and over 40fps then why do you need two? Anything over 30fps and you can't tell the difference anyway. The new single cards should be able to play things like Crysis that used to bring systems to their knees fairly easily now. The other thing to consider is power consumption and noise from those fans!

 

[bj240z]

Hi Guys,
I know this is not a Golf question but i thought i see what some the thought where!! I'm looking at purchasing a new computer from Dell, i sure there are people who have bad experiences with them. I've been informed by my Comp tech the they are good valve for money. So any rate i have the option of buying an XPS630 standalone machine with a single 512mb NVIDIA GeFORCE 9800 GT grahpics card for $1,999.00 or option it with Dual 512mb NVIDIA GeFORCE 9800 GT graphics card for $2,319.09.

Cheers Stef

My experience with dell pricing sees me notice pretty good value for the basic package, BUT, as soon as you start optioning things, the price is ridiculous! Look at what you're getting for the money, and then compare that to a "White Box" system from a good local guy. I use umart online in brisbane and gold coast. Another great site to search for parts is staticeice.com.au that's an awesome tool.

Gl, either way, as I know I haven't really answered your question

 

[White Fang]

Depends on how many games you play i guess.... sure dual cards are awesome but if a single card will play the game you want at the detail level you want and over 40fps then why do you need two? Anything over 30fps and you can't tell the difference anyway. The new single cards should be able to play things like Crysis that used to bring systems to their knees fairly easily now. The other thing to consider is power consumption and noise from those fans!

Indeed, those are also other things to take into consideration. :23:

The fans aren't so noisy, but they are definitely noisier than my previous setup. Somehow I got used to the noise.

Power consumption wise, I haven't had much to complain about my electricity bill as of yet - feels around the same price. I'm running an Antec 1000W TruePower and it appears to be pretty energy efficient.

I guess I just like the idea of spreading the load on 2 GPUs rather than 1. :headbang:

I think you could also perhaps consider one of those single cards that have 2 GPUs? I hear they're pretty good too. You can then buy a cheaper mobo since you wouldn't need 2 PCI-E slots. Having said that though, I notice that might not be an option offered to you... so I guess it boils down to how picky you are with your machines, on top of how much you would like to emphasise on value?

 

[brisgti]

if i were going for a multiple video card machine (and i have, 2 9800 gtx+, slightly 'tweaked') i'd build my own machine, or if you don't have the time and comfort level, get it custom built by a local shop.

reasons for this are:

1) you'll be able to pick a quality motherboard. dell (and all the other big box mfgrs) skimp on this and it's important.

2) power, you'll be able to make sure you have adequate power for the two cards, and they will be hogs under load. this is also very important.

3) case, you'll need one that dissipates heat well or your parts will fail earlier than they normally would. in qld this is a good idea.

4) other components like ram, cpu and your motherboard bus speed can wind up being bottlenecks for overall system performance if you don't take them into consideration. if you build your system you get to sort all this stuff out, often for significantly less than people who spend big bucks on a cpu and stick it in a rubbish motherboard. always better to have average, well thought out parts than expensive 'ooh shiny!' parts.

it will cost a bit more than the dell, but if i was getting 2 video cards i'd be wanting a serious machine to make the most of them, so consider the application of the machine. if it's just general computing with the occasional game, consider a single card machine, i'd go the dell here for easiness. if you're a serious gamer, or someone who used to build computers for a living, build your own or have it built for you.

good luck with whatever you choose. :thumbup:

 

[playa78]

get a mac

 

[DeZZar]

running a single GTX280 now, will be running dual soon. I'd recommend going this generation of card over the 9800! I was looking at the 9800 before getting the 280 - but do some research - the 280 is the go!

build your own machine. I did - based on quad core and sli mainboard