EVGA 460gtx se vs 9800gt akimbo sli

[JackieChan]

Hey guys, I'm new to building a pc and I'm quite short on my budget. (Nobody watches my movies )
So I'm stuck between one 460gtx se EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE Video Card - 1GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0, Dual DVI, Mini HDMI 1.4, DirectX 11 at TigerDirect.com
Or sli these

After rebate for one 460gtx it would be $160 vs $100 and I'm also wondering if this power supply would power either DiabloTek PHD550 550-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA Ready, PCIe Ready, 20+4 Pin at TigerDirect.com

Also if the better option is the 460gtx se would I be able to overclock it with a 550 watt psu, and I'm not sure how to overclock anyway

(I will be playing on a 1920x1080 monitor. I will play Crysis 2 on it as well.)

Thanks in advance :D

[JJThomp]

NEVER EVER EVER buy a Diablotek Also I recommend the single gtx 460 over 2x 9800 just because 2x 9800 is a dead build and 1x gtx 460 you can always upgrade with another. PSU's you really get what you pay for buy corsair, antec, seasonic to be safe.

if you can afford it this is a wicked price and you can fit 2x gtx 460's on there assuming your build isn;t super power hungry... What is the rest of your build?
NCIX.com - Buy Antec Truepower New 650W Modular Power Supply ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC 80 Plus SLI Ready 120MM PWM Fan - Antec - TP-650 - in Canada

[Stock]

Don't get the SE version, it's crippled. For the same price you can pick up a 1GB 460GTX.

[JJThomp]

I recommend you pick this up instead
Gigabyte Radeon HD 6850 Windforce 820MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI Display Port PCI-E Video Card - DirectCanada
Much better bang for your buck especially if you want to crossfire it up later it will scale better.

[Soultribunal]

Originally Posted by JJThomp

I recommend you pick this up instead
Gigabyte Radeon HD 6850 Windforce 820MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI Display Port PCI-E Video Card - DirectCanada
Much better bang for your buck especially if you want to crossfire it up later it will scale better.

Personally speaking from Direct Experience with 460's and 6850's, if I had to go based on nothing else but driver support and compatibility I vote nVidia hands down.

to the OP, get the 1GB 460 or if the budget can hold out for a little more the 560TI.

ST

[JackieChan]

Thanks for the quick reply's guys. I'll be get a 460 sc not the se and since its cheaper than the 6850 I'd rather go with that. If the 6850 only requires one 6 pin than thats the better choice for me because I'm cheap and don't want to pay extra to get a 4x6 pin power supply to sli 460's.

How about this power supply -->Apevia ATX-WA750W Warlock 750-Watt ATX Power Supply - SLI and Crossfire Ready, 135mm Fan, Clear Sides at TigerDirect.com

The motherboard I'm getting only has one pci express x16 slot and its $50.

Altogether I'll have to pay $40 for the upgrade to 750 watts and $50 more for the better mobo = $90
:( Is it really worth all that extra cash for sli? From your previous builds and experiences would it be a better idea to spend extra, cause I'm a college student just trying to get the best bang for the buck to play Crysis 2, Skyrim, etc, etc.

(I'm from the US, I decided to ask questions here because this forum was quite active.)

[Bond007]

Go for a 1gb gtx 460, but NOT THE SE version you linked to.

[JackieChan]

GeForce.com - Get the Most Out of Your GPU

^
This shows that the 460gtx can hold its own on the highest settings admirably on 1920x1080. The best thing is that the one I'm getting is a 460gtx Super Clocked. Thanks for the help guys I'll be cheap and I think I'm better off just getting the 550 watt and 1 PCI express x16 slot mobo.

Would it be recommended to get some thermal paste for my cpu since I plan to overclock? I don't even know how to overclock, is it as simple as opening up a certain program and upping the frequencies?

[JJThomp]

Do not get the diablotek 550 you will be sorry 12v x 30 amps = 360watts = not enough for your system with that gpu. not to mention Diablotek has crazy high falure rates. At the end of the day it is your choice but the diablotek can fry your mobo and then because you were cheap you have to spend even more money.

Also average framerate means nothing (which is what nvidia was basing that on) if you have 60 fps most of the time and 10 fps in heavy battles the game is unplayable either way even if your average fps is 30-40.

The GTX 460 is a great card but I don't know if you're going to get the performance you're looking for out of it. If you can squeeze it out of your budget the gtx 560 ti is a much better choice or if you can squueze even harder HD 6950.

This is a crazy good deal on a 1gb 6950
NCIX.com - Buy XFX Radeon HD 6950 XXX 830MHZ 1GB 5.2GHZ GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI HDMI 2x Mini DisplayPort Video Card - XFX - HD695XZNDC - in Canada

[JackieChan]

Apevia ATX-WA750W Warlock 750-Watt ATX Power Supply - SLI and Crossfire Ready, 135mm Fan, Clear Sides at TigerDirect.com
How about this one?

Comes to about $661 and with the 460 gtx sc. (US money :D)
Then if I need nother 460gtx in the future I'll get another. Cuz the aforementioned cards will put me out of my budget.