Looking for some Video Card advice

[othotbail]

After checking the "Can you run it" thread. I have found my nividia 5800 series card is not going to run many of the newer games including NWN2. I read someplace about people putting 2 video cards in there computers not long ago. I wondered about if anyone had tried that and had any success. I can't see spending 500 dollars on a new, top of the line, video card just yet and I am really in no great hurry to upgrade right now but I figured I'd post and see what you good folks recommended. It seems I can run almost anything with my PC that is out these days if I just had a better video card or two cards, I don't know really. What video cards do you have and how do you like them? Thanks to any suggestions and pitfalls you share with me in advance.

[Moredo]

I don't know too much about using two video cards, but you can get a new, working (not top of the line) card for around 100-150 bucks that'll run NWN2 without much difficulty.

[wolfwielder]

If you want to run a lot of the high end games like Crysis and so forth, then running in either SLI (nVidia) or Crossfire (ATI) is a good way to go.

To do this, you need a few things

2 Video Cards
Motherboard that supports whichever option you choose
Powersupply to supply the juice needed

I just built a new system this year and was going to go Crossfire with my video but after reading a lot about the technology for Crossfire and SLI unless you are doing some serious HD gaming, you can get along with a single 512mb video card. Now if in the future you want to go SLI or Crossfire go ahead and buy a card that supports it, that way when the time comes around you dont have to purchase as many items to upgrade. If you dont decide to go SLI or Crossfire, then you really havent lost anything by purchasing a card that supports it.

[othotbail]

Thanks Moredo and Wolfwielder. Well what I would want is the best bang for the buck as does anyone.My PC was bought over 2 years ago so I have a strong feeling my motherboard and power supply might not be able to support the two video cards, but I was curious about it. I believe I read it in one of those gaming magazines recently. However the Crossfire and SLI information is good to know as I might as well upgrade to cards that support that format. It seems that all the important upgrades are coming from video cards these days and if that trend continues perhaps down the road 2 video cards will be required and not just a novelty. I was sort of looking for a card with at least 640 mb as it appears Crysis has raised the bar and you need that much to run it smoothly. If I got that my computer should be pretty good to play almost anything that comes out for a good 2 more years hopefully. I am sort of leaning towards a nVidia 8800 GTS 640 mb or better but I am in no real rush to buy I still enjoy playing NWN and don't see losing interest in that for quite a while so I have no real reason to upgrade yet really. It sure helps to know what you want when your ready to buy though as they will try and sell you anything they can.

[Cougar]

Actually I would recommend the 9800 series over the 8800 at the moment. It uses the same chipset but has native support for HD and is about the same price and cheaper in certain cards. It seems I purchased my 8600GT card two weeks too early but I got a great deal for it with 512MB of RAM for under $80 including shipping.

[Buddha]

I am sort of leaning towards a nVidia 8800 GTS 640 mb or better

I have this card, and it has no problems with NWN2. Anything higher will kick NWN2-ass as well.

Keep in mind though, that not much is more important to your system than the power supply. If the processor is the brain, the power supply is definitely the heart. These cards pull a fair amount of power, and also have a need for a 6-pin separate power cable off of your power supply. So if you don't have a spare one of those lying about inside your case, factor in a new power supply as well.

If it's a no-name brand PSU, I'd recommend getting a new one. Nothing more frustrating or difficult to diagnose than an underpowered system. It'll throw you all kinds of weird symptoms. Personally, I put the Corsair 620W modular unit in my build, and haven't looked back. Damn good power supply.

[KinX]

If it's a no-name brand PSU, I'd recommend getting a new one. Nothing more frustrating or difficult to diagnose than an underpowered system. It'll throw you all kinds of weird symptoms. Personally, I put the Corsair 620W modular unit in my build, and haven't looked back. Damn good power supply.

I learned that lesson a long time ago. Never bought a no-named PSU ever again. Just like pretty much everything else in this world, you get what you pay for. It's worth forking out the extra dollars for a brand name PSU.

[S?retur]

PSU-warnings +1
- Just look at how many posts there have been lately about people with problems due to faulty PSUs

As for cards, if you don't care for the absulutely best performance regardless of cost, ATI seems to have some good price/performance. The 3870X2 is essentially a dual-card on one slot, and seems reasonably priced, although not as fast as the best NVidia GPUs. Two GeForce 9600 GT 512 MB in SLI is also supposed to be a winner in terms of price/performance. I suggest you have a look at http://www.tomshardware.com, they have a "best card for the money" column each month.