GTX 295 or 2x4890's

[KMS]

Ok guys, i'm building a new PC and i need your help on what to get
GTX 295 or two 4890's ?
i've read almost every review out there, some show that 4890 CF is better
other reviews show that GTX 295 is better and i'm torn in the middle

money is really not an issue since both options almost cost the same in my country
difference is like ... 18$ or something around that, so money is out of the equation

i'll stick with my samsung 23inch monitor so i'll be gaming at 1920x1080
also i'm getting HEC Cougar 1200w, so can this PSU handle two 4890's/GTX 295 ?
... that's all

i'm leaning just a little bit towards the 4890's CF but i hear they're very noisy
so which is better in terms of performance, heat and noise

thanks in advance

 

[hat]

Meh... I would go with the 295 since most games are optomized for Nvidia GPUs, plus you get physx (if that means anything to you). That and the 295 is a lot more compact than 2 4890s.

 

[n-ster]

I would say 4890 would be a better choice (I thought 4970x2 and gtx 295 were close? so wouldn't 4890CF beat the 295?) if you are not using PhysX or folding... but I would get a single 4890 if I were you and wait for the GT 300 and 58xx to come out ( end 09 early 10)

but yea, physX or if you are folding, gtx 295

 

[ShadowFold]

What do you think 4890's are FAST.

 

[Charper2013]

But with the heat and mnoise deal... I say 295..

 

[n-ster]

depends... he probably has a nicely cooled case (since he has so much $$ ) so yea... maybe a bit noise... but I think he'd prefer 9% more performance over a little less noise...

I would only get 1 and save for GT 300 or the ATi's card

 

[LittleLizard]

4890 = GTX 275

GTX 275 * 2 = GTX 295

So basically, they like the same, i would go with the gtx 295 as is easier to deal with, less power, more silent and has phsyx.

 

[douglatins]

Uhm, if you buy two 4890 with no aftermarket coolers, you will get similar performance, but much higher noise. But two of those with aftermarket coolers would go a lot more expensive than a GTX295. And if you get the 295 you get the BEST VGA of the moment, opposed to 2 great ones. Hehe

 

[n-ster]

but CF scales better than SLI! IMO, get one 4890 or flip a coin if you really want one of the 2 choices... or if you actually mind more heat noise and no PhysX and suckyness of folding over a little bit of performance, then get the GTX 295 or else get the CF

 

[Drizzt5]

I'd go with the 4890's. I tend to like 2x cards rather then x2 cards if I want to have multiple gpu's at all.

But either choice will work. You planning on folding? Because then the choice should be obvious.

 

[phanbuey]

but CF scales better than SLI! IMO, get one 4890 or flip a coin if you really want one of the 2 choices... or if you actually mind more heat noise and no PhysX and suckyness of folding over a little bit of performance, then get the GTX 295 or else get the CF

I would like to see where CF scales better than SLI... Most reviews I read have SLI having wider support, less issues, and more frequent driver updates. Not one review I have ever read said that CF scales better.

Also 295 has slower clocks than a 275, so 275 SLI > 295 by 10%

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-sli,2298.html

+10% to a 295 is identical to 4890 CF performance.

 

[AsRock]

295 then your more guaranteed performance. And also takes out any messing about if CF gives you issue's.

 

[n-ster]

wtv about the scaling lol I'm not sure if it was CF>SLI or SLI>CF

how come TH says 4890CF>GTX 295 then?

Yea GTX 275 SLI... is that an option?

 

[LittleLizard]

I would like to see where CF scales better than SLI... Most reviews I read have SLI having wider support, less issues, and more frequent driver updates. Not one review I have ever read said that CF scales better.

Also 295 has slower clocks than a 275, so 275 SLI > 295 by 10%

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-sli,2298.html

+10% to a 295 is identical to 4890 CF performance.

well, oc the 295 a little to 275 clocks.

 

[phanbuey]

how come TH says 4890CF>GTX 295 then?

because 4890 = 275, but the 295 is a 'ed set of 275's (with lower clockspeeds)... so 4890's end up being 9% faster and SLI'd 275's are 10% faster than the 295 (lol if you followed my writing you deserve a cookie).

 

[n-ster]

because 4890 = 275, but the 295 is a 'ed set of 275's (with lower clockspeeds)... so 4890's end up being 9% faster and SLI'd 275's are 10% faster than the 295 (lol if you followed my writing you deserve a cookie).

So basically GTX 275 SLI = 4890 CF... but is that (GTX 275 SLI) an option for him? is he getting an i7 mobo? if so yes it is... if not, he needs a SLI mobo...

 

[fire2havoc]

I always prefer a single-card setup (to avoid excess noise, heat, and CF issues) so my vote goes to the GTX 295.

 

[trt740]

295 gtx

 

[enaher]

go for the 295 far less hassle, and you gte physix and cuda if its worth something to you

 

[KMS]

but I would get a single 4890 if I were you and wait for the GT 300 and 58xx to come out ( end 09 early 10)

there'll always be something around the corner, so why ever wait?
besides those cards would take like months after the release date until they hit the local markets in my country
and i'm not sure if i could afford one then

but i'm sure of two things
1- i can afford GTX 295 or two 4890's right now
2- i'm really really tired of waiting

and yes i'm getting i7 and GIGABYTE EX58-UD4P 3way SLI/CF
but unfortunately GTX 275 is not an option since we don't have it here yet

You planning on folding? Because then the choice should be obvious.

i'm planning on folding either way
i know ATI sucks at folding
but that shouldn't be the reason not to get 4890's if they were the best choice and perform faster

----------

the reason i leaned towards 4890's in the first place
was bcuz i thought they're faster than GTX 295

the main question here :
would the diff be noticeable in most games? especially the demanding ones ?

if there was no noticeable diff and they're both around the same performance then i'll go with GTX 295
(mainly bcuz of the heat/noise thing) + PhysX and for simplicity's sake
and i can see that all of you guys agree that GTX 295 runs cooler and quieter than two 4890's

and thanks guys i really appreciate your help

 

[n-ster]

at 1920x1080, you'll barely see a difference between 1 4890 and a gtx 295 or CF... get the GTX 295 less (barely) hassle and better for folding... and less space taken... PhysX n Cuda...

 

[ShadowFold]

How is it "less hassle", it's still a dual GPU card.

 

[Assassin48]

if money is no object then go with a triple sli gtx 285 they will beat the sli gtx 295

 

[KMS]

nope, can't go with triple sli GTX 285
unless i go with Q9550 or Q6600 instead of i7
and in this case it'd bottleneck the hell out of them

 

[DaedalusHelios]

GTX 295 because its stable with much more mature drivers. GTX 295 has alot of OC headroom and a better cooling solution when tweaked with Rivatuner.

GTX 295's folding power walks all over 4890's by what..... ten fold? Also Nvidia is the only one with Physx support.

Its pretty clear IMO that a GTX 295 is better, but they are in short supply. They are much more expensive to produce also.

I like ATi but when it comes to high end gaming I achieve the most desired stable results using Nvidia.