So for us 30" LCD'ers and 8800GTX is the GTX-280 worthy upgrade ?

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Zorachus

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I have a 30" Apple Display and love it for gaming, but also use a Intel IP35-Pro motherboard, thus only able a single VideoCard in my 8800GTX.

So for gamers like myself with a 2560x1600 monitor, and only a single card, is the GTX-280 a worthy upgrade, to be able to play most of my games with 4xAA/16xAF and no stuttering ?
 
Yes, From the reviews I've seen the 280 performs its best at 2560x1600, I'd say go for it.
 
I know the 4870 is supposed to be good, but from rumors it will just be like 25% faster at best compared to a single 8800GTX if even that. Where as the new single GTX-280 can be like 50-75% faster than a single 8800GTX in the benchmarks ?
 
there are no solid reviews out....

IMO, I'd wait until some solid reviews come out for the 4870X2 before making a decision.
 
I'm moving to a 30" LCD (Samsung or Gateway) and will get the 260.
 
Wait and see what the 4870 (and even the 4870X2) is like. Then buy a GTX 280. But at least that way you won't have any doubts :)
 
I have a highly overclocked 8800 Ultra and a 30 inch LCD and I've been dying to upgrade my GPU for a while now. So far the 280 is not looking like the world beater I was hoping it would be. (well, at least not for $650). definitely holding off and seeing what the RED side has to offer in a few weeks.
 
the gtx 280 certainly is a nice card. i run a 30'' monitor now with the 9800gx2 and i've had times where it has gotten choked up a bit because of AA and the limited memory interface. i think the gtx 280 will do quite well at higher res because of the full gig of dedicated memory with the 512bit memory interface. it will be interesting to see what ATI has to offer, but i'm not getting my hopes up for anything groundbreaking. i don't see it coming out and really annihilating the gtx 280
 
Well, I guess it comes down to the fact that if you have the cash to burn on a 30" monitor, you probably have the money to drop on a couple of 280's..... but if the 4870 lives up to what people are saying, you should be able to get nearly the same performance from it, and therefore the 4870x2 should be a pretty impressive card. That is all hearsay of course, but imo it's worth it to wait a month or so to find out (on the x2)
 
I am wondering the same thing. I have a 8800 Ultra at the moment with a Dell 30 inch monitor. Want to see what the next upgrade will be best. I also have an Intel board so I can only run a single nVidia card or ATI in crossfire.
 
Zorachus said:
I know the 4870 is supposed to be good, but from rumors it will just be like 25% faster at best compared to a single 8800GTX if even that. Where as the new single GTX-280 can be like 50-75% faster than a single 8800GTX in the benchmarks ?
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According to rumors, the 4870 is within range of the GTX 280 (within 20%) and the 4850 will probably be close to the 260. No point investing in older hardware unless it's something very recent like a GX2, which has dropped in price considerably. I have a 30" ACD and currently looking at a GX2, 280/260 or 4870. There's also a very good chance I just might skip this summer's new offerings unless a killer game is released that's extremely demanding on the hardware.
 
APOLLO said:
According to rumors, the 4870 is within range of the GTX 280 (within 20%) and the 4850 will probably be close to the 260. No point investing in older hardware unless it's something very recent like a GX2, which has dropped in price considerably. I have a 30" ACD and currently looking at a GX2, 280/260 or 4870. There's also a very good chance I just might skip this summer's new offerings unless a killer game is released that's extremely demanding on the hardware.
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good points...if you play Age of Conan I have read the GTX-280 is THE card for the game for us 30" Display'ers, the GTX-280 is the only card out that can handle AoC at 2560x1600rez.

plus I have gotten back into QuakeWars after the 1.50 patch makes it much more like BattleField2 now, which is a good thing, and playing that 2560x1600 4xAA/16xAF is a hog for my single 8800GTX, I get maybe 30+fps, the GTX-280 will give me 60+fps at those settings ?
 
Zorachus said:
plus I have gotten back into QuakeWars after the 1.50 patch makes it much more like BattleField2 now, which is a good thing, and playing that 2560x1600 4xAA/16xAF is a hog for my single 8800GTX, I get maybe 30+fps, the GTX-280 will give me 60+fps at those settings ?
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Hard to say without actually playing the game but all the reviews seem to concur that the GTX 280 is the best option for 2560x1600. It seems to be designed for it. You can't go wrong performance-wise.

The problem is the very high price, and yes us 30" folks also look at price tags. Even if I had made up my mind, I would not buy now. The prices will probably drop significantly in little time, once the 4870 hits the shelves unless it proves to be a poor performer. History indicates NVidia will not drop its prices if there's little competition.
 
APOLLO said:
The problem is the very high price, and yes us 30" folks also look at price tags.
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Thanks for saying that. It is funny how people assume that just because we have a 30" screen that we are not cost concious. Hell, I would argue that we have to be to be able to afford it ;)

Back to topic.

There is no doubt that a GTX is no longer a sufficient card for 2560x1600 4aa+16af gaming.

Yes, I can play a lot of older games at full res, but when on the newer ones I have to sacrifice a lot of eye candy to stay at 2560x1600. GRiD is a prime example for me.

Also buying another 8800GTX is no longer a very appealing option due to its age. It probably not worth it, since we can sell it and buy a GTX280 for about the same cost.

But I agree with most here. I will wait for the ATI\AMD new cards to see how they perform before making the decision on getting an upgrade to the 8800GTX.
 
Zorachus said:
I have a 30" Apple Display and love it for gaming, but also use a Intel IP35-Pro motherboard, thus only able a single VideoCard in my 8800GTX.

So for gamers like myself with a 2560x1600 monitor, and only a single card, is the GTX-280 a worthy upgrade, to be able to play most of my games with 4xAA/16xAF and no stuttering ?
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Yes, for 8800 GTX owners with such large monitors, there are two routes:

1) Get another 8800 GTX. Less expensive, but you have to deal with SLI.

2) Get a GTX 280.

Since the HD 4800 series are about to be released, you may want to wait just a week, to see if GTX 280 prices settle at something below the $600 mark.
 
Silus said:
Yes, for 8800 GTX owners with such large monitors, there are two routes:

1) Get another 8800 GTX. Less expensive, but you have to deal with SLI.

2) Get a GTX 280.

Since the HD 4800 series are about to be released, you may want to wait just a week, to see if GTX 280 prices settle at something below the $600 mark.
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I am using a Intel IP35 Pro motherboard = just one PCIeX slot, and I am also wondering if newer drivers down the road will widen the gap between the GTX-280 + 9800GX2 ? But for me the real 1gb memory and 512bit bus seems better suited for high rez 30" gaming than a dual GPU card where stuttering can appear ?
 
What about a GTX-260? I don't believe anyone mentioned that option. Granted, it's not as fast as a 280 but considerably cheaper and for those not interested in playing Crysis like myself, is this a good option or would something older be better?
 
I am foaming at the mouth for an upgrade to my 8800GTX, and only able to run a single card no SLI on this nice Intel motherboard. But gaming at 2560x1600 in QuakeWars looks pretty sweet, but this single GTX is not cutting it much longer.

I have my finger hovering over the buy button on newegg :D what to do ? :eek:
 
Zorachus said:
I have my finger hovering over the buy button on newegg :D what to do ? :eek:
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Wait it out a week or two, at least until the first wave of Ati cards hits the reviews. I can't imagine these prices will hold deep into July.
 
Zorachus said:
I am foaming at the mouth for an upgrade to my 8800GTX, and only able to run a single card no SLI on this nice Intel motherboard. But gaming at 2560x1600 in QuakeWars looks pretty sweet, but this single GTX is not cutting it much longer.

I have my finger hovering over the buy button on newegg :D what to do ? :eek:
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You should wait. I'm not fond of the waiting game, but a week is just a week. The HD 4800 series may drop the GTX 280's prices.
 
APOLLO said:
What about a GTX-260? I don't believe anyone mentioned that option. Granted, it's not as fast as a 280 but considerably cheaper and for those not interested in playing Crysis like myself, is this a good option or would something older be better?
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For 30'' monitors, the GTX 280 is better, though the GTX 260 is obviously another option, even if not as powerful. But since everyone seems to just want the nearly twice as fast as a 8800 GTX option, then that's the GTX 280.
 
Zorachus said:
I am using a Intel IP35 Pro motherboard = just one PCIeX slot, and I am also wondering if newer drivers down the road will widen the gap between the GTX-280 + 9800GX2 ? But for me the real 1gb memory and 512bit bus seems better suited for high rez 30" gaming than a dual GPU card where stuttering can appear ?
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Then nevermind the SLI option. And yes, that's the main gimmick for these new cards. Higher resolutions and higher levels of AA, while maintaining playable framerates. The GX2 keeps up or wins in some games, but SLI limitations, make it a bad choice in others.
 
Zorachus said:
I have a 30" Apple Display and love it for gaming, but also use a Intel IP35-Pro motherboard, thus only able a single VideoCard in my 8800GTX.

So for gamers like myself with a 2560x1600 monitor, and only a single card, is the GTX-280 a worthy upgrade, to be able to play most of my games with 4xAA/16xAF and no stuttering ?
Click to expand...

I'm in the exact same situation, I'm running a Dell 30" display and want my games at 2560x1600 where possible by my 8800GTX is struggling and I'm having to use low/med settings and some games like Crysis having to abandon the 2560x1600 resolution altogether.

I've been looking at the GTX280 and honestly I'm not that impressed, I'm putting together a spreadsheet of the costs of all the Nvidia cards both on their own, and in SLI, to see the relative cost of all the possible setups. GTX280 SLI is out of the question since the cards are £470 each right now ($940 USD)

Certainly something like 9800GTX SLI would be much cheaper at about £400 total, although in the end it might be best just to try and find another cheap 8800GTX and keep my current one and run them in SLI.

I'm convinced theres a decent SLI setup out there which performs close to the GTX280 but costs less. If the 260 and 280 drive down the 9800GX2 prices then going Quad SLI with 2x9800GX2 would be very powerful since the 280 struggles to beat the 9800GX2 to begin with.
 
I play AoC @ 2560x1600 just fine. 8800ULtra SLI - However, a GTX280 SLI would be better... but thats $1300... I could pull maybe $350-400 per Utlra card, and be out of pocket $500.

HOwever, I'm just waiting on the 4870x2 reviews, as many are as well.
 
Had pre-ordered 3x GTX280 but cancelled them.
First want to see the tri-sli review on guru3d.com and than pull the trigger.
I'm no so impressed with the performance gain over a 8800gtx, would have expect more.
But if you run with 1 8800gtx right now, i definatly get that gtx280 !
My 8800gtx tri-sli is performing quit well in most games, so i'm still not sure what to do.
 
Frostex said:
......

I'm convinced theres a decent SLI setup out there which performs close to the GTX280 but costs less. If the 260 and 280 drive down the 9800GX2 prices then going Quad SLI with 2x9800GX2 would be very powerful since the 280 struggles to beat the 9800GX2 to begin with.
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I think we'll see improvement with new drivers....
 
Frostex said:
I'm in the exact same situation, I'm running a Dell 30" display and want my games at 2560x1600 where possible by my 8800GTX is struggling and I'm having to use low/med settings and some games like Crysis having to abandon the 2560x1600 resolution altogether.

I've been looking at the GTX280 and honestly I'm not that impressed, I'm putting together a spreadsheet of the costs of all the Nvidia cards both on their own, and in SLI, to see the relative cost of all the possible setups. GTX280 SLI is out of the question since the cards are £470 each right now ($940 USD)

Certainly something like 9800GTX SLI would be much cheaper at about £400 total, although in the end it might be best just to try and find another cheap 8800GTX and keep my current one and run them in SLI.

I'm convinced theres a decent SLI setup out there which performs close to the GTX280 but costs less. If the 260 and 280 drive down the 9800GX2 prices then going Quad SLI with 2x9800GX2 would be very powerful since the 280 struggles to beat the 9800GX2 to begin with.
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WIth high AA at the 25x16, 2x280 will probably beat 2xGX2. I suspect we'll see a hard review showcasing 280x2, 280x3, GX2x2, 260x2, 260x3, and 9800 GTXx2 soon. At least I really really hope we do. I'd be VERY interested in how that turns out.
 
Justifire said:
Had pre-ordered 3x GTX280 ...
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Justfire, you are a nutcase!!!!

BTW, I mean that as a compliment ;)

Funny, a year ago I bought an Intel 4600 and a 7600GT for my 2 20" dells.

Then I bought another 30"Dell, and said, I will SLI my 7600GT and thats it.

Then I bought a Q6600, for better overall performance.

Then I wanted to play DiRT so I gave in an bought a 8800GTX. What a happy day that was.

So now I am reading a post from this nutcase and thinking, uhmmm, maybe I should do that too :p

PLEASE STOP THIS INSANITY!!!! I need help lol
 
vengence said:
WIth high AA at the 25x16, 2x280 will probably beat 2xGX2. I suspect we'll see a hard review showcasing 280x2, 280x3, GX2x2, 260x2, 260x3, and 9800 GTXx2 soon. At least I really really hope we do. I'd be VERY interested in how that turns out.
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Yeah but im a bit more interested in the price of all of this, ofc GTX280 will be faster but it's going to be close to £1000 thats $2000, you have that laying around?
 
With high res it's really the only way to go. Get something new.
If you were like me who can only up 1680x1050 then yes, a second GTX would be better than getting a 280. I do agree, wait for the AMD reviews to come out and maybe even a driver revision to see what changes.
 
Justifire said:
Had pre-ordered 3x GTX280 but cancelled them.
First want to see the tri-sli review on guru3d.com and than pull the trigger.
I'm no so impressed with the performance gain over a 8800gtx, would have expect more.
But if you run with 1 8800gtx right now, i definatly get that gtx280 !
My 8800gtx tri-sli is performing quit well in most games, so i'm still not sure what to do.
Click to expand...

Yeah it seems like a tough call, but you'll probably be better off waiting a couple weeks.

In the long run you'll spend less money waiting for the the inevitable price drop of the GTX280 due to its slight performance gains over the $400 GX2 (remember how quick pricing on the 8800Ultra dropped because it was only slightly faster than the 8800GTX?). I also don't think you'll lose too much of your resale value on your 8800's because those cards have already received several major price drops.
 
Well just ordered the eVga SSC GTX-280 on the egg, plus Age of Conan, looking for a fun new mmorpg to try out, I am totally burned on WoW after 4 years playing, need something fresh. And I hear the GTX-280 is tailor made for AoC at my 2560x1600rez ??
 
APOLLO said:
What about a GTX-260? I don't believe anyone mentioned that option. Granted, it's not as fast as a 280 but considerably cheaper and for those not interested in playing Crysis like myself, is this a good option or would something older be better?
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That's what I suggested a few posts up. I'm getting a 30" and think the 260 will easily satisfy my gaming appetite. My top concern is to be able to play games smoothly at 2560x1600. I really don't care about cranking the settings to 4xAA and 16xAF so I can see the individual nose hairs of a guy I'm trying to take out with a sniper rifle.
 
Frostex said:
Yeah but im a bit more interested in the price of all of this, ofc GTX280 will be faster but it's going to be close to £1000 thats $2000, you have that laying around?
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I spent 400$ on my monitor then 600$ on my graphic's cards to power them. I don't see how spending 1500$ on a monitor then spending 2000$ on graphics cards would be much different. Hell, I'm being honestly tempted to upgrade to a 30" and 2 or 3 280s.
 
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