Soccercrazy Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) I am upgrading my PC with 2 xfx GTS 250's, but my mobo(xfx 680i LT) doesn't have PCIe 2.0. I heard that having a PCIe 2.0 card in a PCIe 1.0 mobo can be hard on the mobo and the Video card. What do you think I should do...Upgrade my mobo or just put the cards in it, and if you think I should upgrade what mobo should I get? P.S. I was planning on upgrading my motherboard soon anyway. LINKS: GTS 250, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150357 680i LT, http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3839553&CatId=2541 Edited April 9, 2009 by Soccercrazy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredTacos Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 So...why are you getting dual 250's first off? 2nd, are you overclocking your PC or something? Also what monitor and resolution will you be using? But to answer your question, yes those will work fine. What PSU are you running though? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccercrazy Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 So...why are you getting dual 250's first off? 2nd, are you overclocking your PC or something? Also what monitor and resolution will you be using? But to answer your question, yes those will work fine. What PSU are you running though? 1. If I would have gone higher I would have ran out of money. My monitor is Samsung T220HD running at 1680x1050 PSU: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276567 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredTacos Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) 1. If I would have gone higher I would have ran out of money. My monitor is Samsung T220HD running at 1680x1050 PSU: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276567 So you are going to spend 260$ total on video cards right. I would look at one of the GTX 275's instead. You are not going to see gains from running dual 250's in SLI @ 1680, you will be sucking more power, and you will have to deal with SLI configs. The 250 is basically a 9800gtx (still a great card) Also the manufacture of your PSU has released some pretty shitty PSU's in the past, you might consider looking into another in case it dies and takes out components with it. I can link you to proof if you don't trust me. Corsair,PC Power & Cooling, Silverstone are all top brands. It MIGHT be okay, but I would count on death running dual SLI 250's. It should be OKAY with a single 275. **P.S.** not trying to talk you out of it, just making sure you are making the right decision as I've made expensive mistakes in the past Edited April 9, 2009 by Terry Taco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG.Z Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 DUDE buy a 790I SLI DDR3 . Take 1 280GTX its gonna be better then 2 gts250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccercrazy Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 So you are going to spend 260$ total on video cards right. I would look at one of the GTX 275's instead. You are not going to see gains from running dual 250's in SLI @ 1680, you will be sucking more power, and you will have to deal with SLI configs. The 250 is basically a 9800gtx (still a great card) Also the manufacture of your PSU has released some pretty shitty PSU's in the past, you might consider looking into another in case it dies and takes out components with it. I can link you to proof if you don't trust me. Corsair,PC Power & Cooling, Silverstone are all top brands. It MIGHT be okay, but I would count on death running dual SLI 250's. It should be OKAY with a single 275. I was going to buy PC Power & Cooling, but I never heard of it. Thanks for telling me it is a good brand. Should I count on death with a 750W PC Power & Cooling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eXoduS Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) you will be fine with pcie 1.0. even with today's high end cards in quad sli mode, the bandwidth capacity isn't reached on pcie2.0. pcie 2x has a very high bandwidth capacity for future proof purposes and to allow technologies like the gpu to advance without being hindered by the pcie interface's capabilities. to answer the rest of your question, i would upgrade the video card versus the motherboard because you will see more benefits from a gtx 275, like terry mentioned, than using 250s in sli. granted.. the gtx 275 is about 100$ more expensive than the gtx 250 according to newegg's pricing. for the 150$ price range i would recommend the ATI HD4870. nothing can compete with it in it's price range. the next spot would be the gtx 260 which can be had for 180-230$ on newegg. the list from there goes: gtx 260 core 216, gtx 275, gtx 280, gtx 285, gtx 295. all of these are great choices. the last recommendation i have is that if you are swaying towards the gtx 260, don't. the 4870 runs neck and neck with it and beats it in mosts tests actually, with a smaller price tag! keep the mobo, upgrade the video card. Edited April 9, 2009 by eXoduS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredTacos Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 DUDE buy a 790I SLI DDR3 . Take 1 280GTX its gonna be better then 2 gts250 Please do not give advice when you have no idea what you're talking about. I was going to buy PC Power & Cooling, but I never heard of it. Thanks for telling me it is a good brand. Should I count on death with a 750W PC Power & Cooling? Yea PC Power & Cooling is great, they usually cost more than others but always worth it. Corsair is my TOP choice as they are top notch quality and you can score some good deals. Here's some that will power your current rig with dual 250's and probably your next rig. You do NOT want to cheap out on a PSU. Corsair 750W 125$ (20$ rebate) - I'm actually running this one in my rig right now. Powers i7 920 @ 3.8,12GB of DDR3,GTX260, 6 HD's, and a few 120MM fans. PC Power 750W 120$ (20$ rebate) 650W 100$ (20$ rebate) If you want modular (removable cables) Mushkin 99$ is pretty damn good for the price. /END NERD RANT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredTacos Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 you will be fine with pcie 1.0. even with today's high end cards in quad sli mode, the bandwidth capacity isn't reached on pcie2.0. pcie 2x has a very high bandwidth capacity for future proof purposes and to allow technologies like the gpu to advance without being hindered by the pcie interface's capabilities. to answer the rest of your question, i would upgrade the video card versus the motherboard because you will see more benefits from a gtx 275, like terry mentioned, than using 250s in sli. granted.. the gtx 275 is about 100$ more expensive than the gtx 250 according to newegg's pricing. Yep, PCIE is barely reaching bandwith limits even on the high end. for the 150$ price range i would recommend the ATI HD4870. nothing can compete with it in it's price range. the next spot would be the gtx 260 which can be had for 180-230$ on newegg. the list from there goes: gtx 260 core 216, gtx 275, gtx 280, gtx 285, gtx 295. all of these are great choices. the last recommendation i have is that if you are swaying towards the gtx 260, don't. the 4870 runs neck and neck with it and beats it in mosts tests actually, with a smaller price tag! keep the mobo, upgrade the video card. Well the cheapest you could get a 4870 for that isnt a turd is 165, you can get a 260 for near that as well (got mine for 170$)so pricewise, they are equal. Performance wise, they are equal (GTX 260 folds better). He's also running an NVIDIA chipset, so going with an ATI card is not the best choice for his particular needs. The 4870 is a beast of a card for a great price, I almost bought one myself but when another direction for my wants/needs. Saying one card is better than the other in terms of performance or price is pure fanboyism. :blink2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG.Z Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Please do not give advice when you have no idea what you're talking about. WTF , 790i DDR3 xfx 280gtx Its all good or get the 780i is ddr2 but its an awesome mobo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccercrazy Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 Ok here is my next question... GTX 260 or 2x GTS 250? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredTacos Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Ok here is my next question... GTX 260 or 2x GTS 250? How much do you want to spend? I say get a 260 and use the rest of the money to get a reliable PSU so you don't kill what you have and you'll be ready for w/e you upgrade next. GTX 275 - 260$ GTS 250x2 - 260$ GTX 260 - 170$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soccercrazy Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 How much do you want to spend? I say get a 260 and use the rest of the money to get a reliable PSU so you don't kill what you have and you'll be ready for w/e you upgrade next. GTX 275 - 260$ GTS 250x2 - 260$ GTX 260 - 170$ The thing that I'm worried about with the GTX series is the size. I don't really want to move my hard drive because of my video card(s) bumping into it. And I am willing to spend maybe $260 at most for my video cards, and I already decided to get the Corsair 750W PSU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eXoduS Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Saying one card is better than the other in terms of performance or price is pure fanboyism. :blink2: fuck fanboyism.. ati has it's winners and so does nvidia. both are legendary gpu manufacturers. i dont care which one of them make it, just which one has the better one for the money i can spend. soccer you should also consider the games that you play. some games prefer nvidia and some prefer ati. games using the unreal engine 3 tech like gears of war, mass effect, unreal tournament 3 and many other great games will fare better with nvidia chipsets. terry is right about mixing the nvidia chipset and gpu together to typically get better performance. newegg has the cheapest hd4870 and gtx 260. the price difference in 4$. the question to ask yourself is not which video card is better than the other, but which will perform better on the video games you prefer. a few reviews you can refer to are as follows: TechSpot.com - HD4850/GTX260/HD4870/GTX280 Tom's Hardware Q3 2008 VGA Chats Tom's Hardware 1680x1050 09/2008 VGA Sum of FPS Benchmark w/ Anti-Aliasing Tom's Hardware 1680x1050 09/2008 VGA Sum of FPS Benchmark w/o Anti-Aliasing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RetiredTacos Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 The thing that I'm worried about with the GTX series is the size. I don't really want to move my hard drive because of my video card(s) bumping into it. And I am willing to spend maybe $260 at most for my video cards, and I already decided to get the Corsair 750W PSU. Ohhh okay. Yea 10.5 vs 9. Have you measured how much room you have? I don't think you'll be disappointed with 250's, I just think you'd be better off with one single card. fuck fanboyism.. ati has it's winners and so does nvidia. both are legendary gpu manufacturers. i dont care which one of them make it, just which one has the better one for the money i can spend. soccer you should also consider the games that you play. some games prefer nvidia and some prefer ati. games using the unreal engine 3 tech like gears of war, mass effect, unreal tournament 3 and many other great games will fare better with nvidia chipsets. terry is right about mixing the nvidia chipset and gpu together to typically get better performance. newegg has the cheapest hd4870 and gtx 260. the price difference in 4$. the question to ask yourself is not which video card is better than the other, but which will perform better on the video games you prefer. a few reviews you can refer to are as follows: TechSpot.com - HD4850/GTX260/HD4870/GTX280 Tom's Hardware Q3 2008 VGA Chats Tom's Hardware 1680x1050 09/2008 VGA Sum of FPS Benchmark w/ Anti-Aliasing Tom's Hardware 1680x1050 09/2008 VGA Sum of FPS Benchmark w/o Anti-Aliasing So are you arguing with me? I'm confused. I think you're just trying to say that one card does better in some games than the other, which is true. and Tomshardware links. Really? Don't ever post info from there, that site is a joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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