I'm soooooooooo confused

[Elderado]

Hi, i'm having soooooooo much problems choosing a video card and i'm hopeing you all can help.

Its for a gaming rig with max resolution of 1650x1050. I would like to play COD and MOH type games as well as MFS X at max settings. Now i have read all the posts as far back as January as well as surfed the internet for card reviews. When i finaly think i have narrowed down my choice i read another review or opinion and i'm no longer sure of anything. I don't realy have a preference between ATI or Nvidia (although i keep reading about how ati cards generate so much heat) Here is the specs for the PC and the cards i have been looking at (keep in mind i want something i can upgrade in the futur).

Intel Core i7-920
THERMALTAKE TT ISGC-400
ASUS P6T SES
OCZ 3GB DDR3 PC3-10666 PLATINUM LOW VOLTAGE (still using WIN XP till next year)
WD BLACK 500G 7200RPM
ANTEC TRUE POWER NEW 750W P/S BLUE
and the rest of the usual acc.

Cards ive looked into:

2 ASUS ATI RADEON HD 4870 1GB in crossfire
2 SAPPHIRE HD 4870 1GB TOXIC F RT in crossfire
1 SAPPHIRE RADEON HD4890 PCI-E 1G OC
1 EVGA 01G-P3-1280-AR E-GEFORCE GTX280 1GB

or any other simillar $ card you might think. I'm having it custom built in a shop here in canada.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

ps. i have no intention of overclocking anything.

[Andy]

To be honest all of your choices would be over kill if you at your max resolution. A single 4870 would suit you fine for now, or step up to the 4890 if you are looking for longevity. Also, I'd recommend looking into the xfx ati cards as opposed to sapphire or Asus as it's generally accepted that their warranty, and rma procedures are superior.

As far as heat issues with ati cards, personally I've never had an issue, but my case is well cooled, and ventilated. I haven't overclocked my 4870 at all, and I let Catalyst control the fan speed, and it's been great since day one. It's played everything new so far without any issues at 1920 x 1080.

Oh, and welcome to HWC! The above is just my opinion, and i'm sure others will chime in with tons more to aid in your confusion.

[mo' power]

I'm using a PNY GTX275 with plans to tri-sli. I used PNY because of my budget and the great deal I got on it. Otherwise, I would have gone with EVGA for the lifetime warranty. The EVGA GTX280 is a great card with a lifetime warranty. You can also add another card or two in the future as prices begin to drop.

[Elderado]

Thx for the replies.

I thought life time waranty does not apply to EVGA cards ending with TX (as stated on their site) or am i reading it wrong? ie. GTX 280

[Perineum]

You're looking at the wrong number in reference to the lifetime warranty

The model number is GTX 280

The part number is what you need to be looking at. IE: GTX 285 is part number 01G-P3-1180-AR

So that particular one ends in "AR"

[Squeetard]

GTX 275 is also a good option. The 280 is last gen.

And I'll second what Perineum said about the part numbers.

[dimre01]

imo all those cards you're looking at are huge overkills. I would personally go with either the GTS 250 or the GTX 260, as they are the best bang for the buck, and both of them are under 175$ CAN.

[Caldezar]

+1 for overkill. A 4850 would suit you fine for what you're doing, and a 4870 would give you a healthy comfort zone for upcoming games. All in all though, you're best off just going for the best price range. As for ATI vs NVidia, Equal cards will be slightly cheaper with ATI, and perform better under heavy details.

[3.0charlie]

-10 for overkill. Be careful guys when you offer opinions:

as well as MFS X at max settings.

The P6T offers both Xfire and SLI; definitely go for dual GTX275s, or even GTX285s in order to play that game properly. And even with those cards you won't hit 40 fps.

Your PSU should be able to handle either, though I would consider replacing it for the 285s with a Corsair HX850W.

[upcoast604]

I played COD4/waw and MOH airborne at 1680x1050 4aa/8af nvcp high quality with a 9800gtx+512MB which was a stutter fest. Then I got a gtx280 and not much stutter at all now. A 9800gtx+ and 4850 should have been enough but it appears not, maybe some ppl don't use aa/af. My choice would be the gtx275 or 4890 if I had to buy a card now with 1680x1050 res.