Buying the Card
This is what this guide was ONLY supposed to be about. Given my eccentricity, you should not expect a straight forward solution. You see as I said before you need to look at the bigger picture prior to making a purchase. I do not agree with upgrading in bits. The way technology evolves, performance nearly doubles and prices half in less than 12 months. Thus it is a much better idea to buy a balanced system than a skewed system.
Take this example. You set out with PKR. 60,000 to build your ultimate rig. You visit your local vendor and get this really hot graphics card that takes up more than half the budget. You pair it to a “compromised” system expecting big things to happen. Unfortunately such things do happen, not the way you expect them to (anger, dissapointment, frustration, rage, depression).
The State of PC Gaming
Most PC games these days are console ports –straight console ports. Some are so badly ported that do not even take into account the availability of keyboard and mouse on the PC.
They textures are pretty similar as are the effects. Both current generation consoles have graphics processors that are at least two generations or more behind what the PC’s have. If performance doubles with every generation, the consoles have a 4x disadvantage over their PC counterparts.
So how do you put all the extra power to use? You can game at higher resolutions OR you can do clever things like ATi’s eye finity.
Eye-finity is a clever idea. Take all the extra power, add monitors together so that act like one “jumbo” screen and game at really high resolutions. This technology works with the latest 5 series ATi card.
Actually this technology has been around for quiet some time on Nvidia cards as well. Not the consumer cards, but professional Quadro series cards. It will take Nvidia almost nothing to add this to their current consumer cards if they feel that Eye-finity is a threat.
So unless you plan on buying a really big monitor (read 22” or more) OR have many (similarly specced) monitors lying around that you can hook up together, you’ll be amazed to see how little you actually need to spend in order to get good performance.
Exotics
I talked about Eye-finity, which I’ll also include here.
Nvidia also has something up its sleeve. Something that does not actually require many displays, but rather one “special” display. It is called 3D vision.
Those of you who are old enough to have owned a GeForce 2 series card made by Asus will remember the “special” edition cards that came with 3D glasses. I had one and it was a blast when it worked.
Nvidia has re kindled an old flame and has brought back this, but with a twist. The hardware is now sold discretely and requires a special 120 Hz monitor (the monitor draws two discrete frames at 60hz each for each eye. Each frame is slightly different thus creating the 3D effect or stereoscopic vision).
Is it worth it? Yes if you desire real immersive gaming. Otherwise No.
Also note that not every one has equally good stereo vision. The effects perceived are thus very subjective. You need two good aligned eyes to at least have some form of stereoscopic vision.
The Selection Process
Remember when I said you do not need to spend a whole lot of money to get decent performance? This is the part where this all becomes true.
Gaming on a bugdet: GPU Cash Limit < PKR. 10,000
It is possible to get very good performance at this price point IF your system is well balanced. Pair a E8400 with a decent Nvidia 9800GT and see your games come to life. For all screen sizes of 19” (both CRT and LCD) this pairing will do the job nicely. You will be able to play the majority of games at relatively high settings and get stable frames that will justify your gaming.
At this price point ATi’s offerings are thin. There are two ATi cards that are pretty close to this price point: The 4850 and the 4770. The former is too close to a 4870 1 GB, the latter is more expensive than a 9800GT, but performs nearly on par (loose some, win some more). Neither would actually improve your game play experience beyond a 9800GT. Under 10,000 the Inno3D 9800GT is a very very good buy.
Gaming with cash to go: GPU Cash Limit < PKR. 15,000
The advantage here is higher resolutions and/ or greater eye candy. ATi’s 4870 1GB is an excellent choices. It has nearly hit 15,000 price point and is a REAL STEAL at this price. Pair it to a E8400 for good performance. Pair it to a Q9550/ Core i5 for even better performance especially in games that take advantage of quad core processors. (Most recent games, especially those coming from Capcom, like The Lost Planet, Devil May Cry 4, Street Fighter, Resident Evil 5). The Nvidia GTX 260-Core 216 should be at this price locally. Unfortunately it is not and thus is not a contender. If you must have Phys-x, consider this card. But it is not worth it at the given price point. (The differential is about PKR. 6000 or so)
Gaming with cash to spare: GPU Cash Limit < PKR. 25,000
Your options are now opening up. Get either a 4890 or a GTX 275. This time the latter has more weight and better performance. But remember to get a decent processor (Quad Core, especially if over clocked). A 22” LCD is an ideal match for these. Again Nvidia also has the added advantage of Phys-X and 3D Vision. Please note: The performance difference between a 4890 and a 4870 and a GTX 260 Core 216 and a GTX 275 will only add to your game play experience IF you pair these up to equally powerful system components. Otherwise fall back a category. You will save some money and get a similar game play experience.
Gaming with cash to burn: GPU Cash Limit > PKR. 25,000
I’d ask you to save your cash and wait for BOTH ATi’s and Nvidia’s offering to hit our shores. There is enough power in current generation cards that there is no point forking out more money on solutions like the GTX285, 295 or the 4870X2. Even if you have loads of cash, hold on it or donate it to charity. (No, ATi and Nvidia are not charities). But before you decide to send me hate mail read on.
Special Situation #1: A high-end Core i7 “9” series rig
If you happen to own a high end core i7 processor, or an over clocked 920 (to say 3.6 GHz), there are ways to considerably improve your gaming experience. Pair this with Windows 7 for almost killer multi GPU performance.
This is the only time I’d recommend getting a dual GPU solution. You already enough high end components to justify another. You’ll also need better than a 22” display in the mix to really get the most out of your card(s).
So which is it going to be? The Nvidia card is more expensive but has added benefits (as mentioned). The ATi card is cheaper. (I am talking about the GTX 295 or the ATi 4870-X2). The performance gap is not worth the price gap. If you can live without Phys-X and 3D vision, get ATi’s card. It is recommended.
Special Situation #2: Thinking of going Dual GPU in steps
This again in my books is not a good idea. You’ll end up spending more and probably not get the best of performance as compared to a single GPU solution.
E.g. You bought a ATi 4870 1 GB when it came out. It cost you something like PKR. 25,000. You now think they are cheap enough to add another. So you fork another 15,000 to your X-fire capable board thinking you just made the best decision of your life?
Wrong…
The total amount you spent is 40,000. Instead of spending another 15,000. Sell your old 4870 1GB and get a single GPU new generation card. The performance will be the same and game play experience will be much better. And you will probably pay less.
Special Situation #3: Are dual GPUs a good idea?
Okay so this is not really a special situation, rather a case scenario. Is it a good idea to get two cards at the same time and get bonus performance?
The answer is not a simple yes or no. Yes you will get better performance. How much better depends on the drivers. Drivers depend on the manufacturers. If your favorite game is not your developer’s, don’t expect to get driver optimizations the day the game comes out… if ever.
The other problem is more subjective. It is called “micro stuttering”. This is a kind of a perceived frame rate drop. Many people with dual GPU solutions experience this. There is no way of knowing if you will or not, until you give it a shot. Yes this applies to video cards that integrates two processing cores on one card (the so called "X2" cards, also including the GTX 295)
Am I in favor of dual GPUs or even Quad GPUs? No. For several reasons. These days even a single card has enough power to get you gaming. Unless you are a fanatic and demand absolute performance in every game there is no reason to fork out so much money for power that you will hardly use. Other reasons include micro stutter, insane power requirements.
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