BountyHead

Single fasted card is the 280GTX , best Performance/price ratio is 4870 in Xfire. Simple I say go with Xfire 4870 if going with an all new rig. But a single 280 will be slightly less head ache as a single card is always easier to deal with then multi gpu setups.

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This is a portion of the conversation with my buddy about the PCI-Express power cable on his 1950PRO

Maytridy

I'm not sure if that's true now that a 280 is $140 cheaper than two 4870's.

logo199

He said in his OP that this was a new build and you should disregard his specs.

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MaddenModer

Just buy a 3870x2 from the marketplace here for 200 bucks. It can still beat the 4850

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microman

or two for $420 with 2 free sata dvd burners. NOW THATS A DEAL!

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3DMARK SCORE
4329.69Mhz Q6600 Validated - http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=304363

3600Mhz E1200 http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=433636

Maytridy

That's not really enough power though...I'm not looking to beat a 4850.

At $460 for a GTX 280, you can't really beat that deal. That's $130-140 cheaper than two 4870's!

It just seems like people aren't really answering the original question.

BountyHead

One 4870 is only 10-15% slower than one 280gtx, So right there is way better price/performance, 2 for 140 more will give about 50% better performance than a single 280 . Most would agree that at this point unless you want less headache or wanna wait for a price drop and SLI the 280s the 4870s are the slightly better choice.

So no i don't think the 280 is a better option, i think the 4870s are. But if you wanna save some cash and invest in a nice SLI board, snag the 280 then go SLI when the next big price drop happens.

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This is a portion of the conversation with my buddy about the PCI-Express power cable on his 1950PRO

whtwrnglrx06

he edited that after i posted that because i posted that

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[Project] Maximus Quad

Maytridy

Ah, thank you. rep for the good advice.

fencefeet

thats why you buy a 4870x2 instead. its about 15% faster than two 4870s crossfired and should cost $499 at release. so yeah that is a much better deal than a 280gtx. its only a little more $$$ and will kill it.

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3DMark Vantage

3DMark 06