upgrade from 2 7600gt's and softh to ... gtx 460 & triplehead2go?

[spoonseven]

To Skuzzy and all:
I asked this last night online. Shawk suggested a gtx 460 card and matrox triplehead2go.

my computer is 3 or 4yrs old, been a while since i opened up case, I have a msi mb, 2gig ram, (2) evga 7600gt co sli vb. Sli is not enabled.   
i downloaded the softh software to have ah2 run on 3 monitors (2) 19" and (1) 22".

softh doesn't work with sli. so frame rates are in the low 30's to 20's at times. lately advanced graphics become disabled at startup of game and takes a while for the game to settle down to re-engage water detail.

is the triplehead2go needed?, would a card that is designed to run multi monitors do it on its own? or do I just need the triplehead2go and uninstall softh. I know I should probly clean hard drives, its been while since i have done this.
any suggestions?

[Chalenge]

To get 3D Vision Surround working you need two cards in SLI. Im not clear on whether all connections can be made to a single card (mixing DVI and HDMI).

Supposedly there are cards with multiple displayport connections that could do it but of those I have seen I have never physically seen more than two on a single card and so I cant tell you how it works out.

[TilDeath]

If you are looking to run 3 monitors for the game you have two choices.  You can go nVidia and the TripleHead or Ati card with an "active" display port adapter making it "Eyefinity".  The Triplehead is around $300.00 and the Active Display Port Adapter is $30 to $60.  I am currently in the process of a build using the Adapter.

This allows you to use only one "Eyefinity" enabled video card, no need for SLI or CrossFire.  The monies saved on the TripleHead will afford you the chance to possibly obtain and higher performance card and save you money.

Hope this helped

TD

[spoonseven]

thanks TD.
just looked at the ati site. any recommendation? 5670, 5750, or 5770?
would one card at 1gig be enough for ah2? or splurge for two cards? as well as does generation (2.0, 2.1) of the card?
I have a mb that is sli rated. not sure how that would relate to a crossfire setup.

Thanks again.

[TilDeath]

thanks TD.
just looked at the ati site. any recommendation? 5670, 5750, or 5770?
would one card at 1gig be enough for ah2? or splurge for two cards? as well as does generation (2.0, 2.1) of the card?
I have a mb that is sli rated. not sure how that would relate to a crossfire setup.

Thanks again.

I like the XFX cards and the most you can afford the better.  Make sure that you meet the EyeFinity requirements and that your PSU meets any new card you choose power needs.  I use Cableclub.com for certified cables.

TD

[Chalenge]

You dont have to have Ati or Triplehead you know? You just follow the Surround setup and dont activate the 3D vision part.

[MonkGF]

You dont have to have Ati or Triplehead you know? You just follow the Surround setup and dont activate the 3D vision part.

That's what I thought as well. A pair of 460s with surround activated works fine for driving 3 displays. See the other thread in here about multi-mon setups.

[TilDeath]

You dont have to have Ati or Triplehead you know? You just follow the Surround setup and dont activate the 3D vision part.

"ATI or TRIPLEHEAD" you mixing a Hardware piece and a Chipset.  My suggestion is for a SINGLE video card, not SLI or Crossfire.  I am trying to save the guy some money.  There is very little Driver support for SLI and Crossfire in most games today.  The Chipset maker or Card manufacture has to write the SLI/Crossfire drivers for the game.  Most people think that "Hey if I have two video cards...."  this is not true.  If you look at both nVidia's and ATI's website they will make announcements of driver configurations.  This is also why there are new driver releases, for the most part they are for bug fixes and SLI/Crossfire game driver support.

I have not been posting in these threads much since my return from Haiti, I do read them daily and I am at my wits end at some peoples suggestions to guys about hardware, that this will work and I have this so its good for them.  I build between 450 and 600 systems yearly.  Each one is speced out, thats why no many on my site.  Hardware changes daily, and while it may plug into an open slot, the real question is will it compliment the system over all, will it have the PSU running at 90% of its rated power?

Most requests on these boards are about video card upgrades.  Sure it will fit, and asking how many watts their PSU is is a good starting point.  But what about their system, what do you know other then the card fits the video card makers min spec for PSU.  But what if the person has a H2O system, running a dual loop (2 pumps), 4 hard disks, 2 DVD/CD's and 7 fans cooling the radiators, and since I have this nice setup I have a kilowatt of lights too.  This is an extreme push, but this is what people could be telling someone to get when they really don't know.  Going to NewEgg or Tiger Direct or what ever flavor site and hunting a PCI-e thats between $175.00 and $225.00, heck the Poster could do that him/her self.  Anyone with a set of hand tools can build a system, the hard part is the initial component choice then the system configurations after the build.

Point being, if you seeking hardware advice, mind what your told by anyone who has no monetary investment in your system and will most likely not help you out when you get really stuck.

TD
 

[Chalenge]

I have said the same thing Tildeath. It just looked like you were saying Nvidia wouldnt do it at all (and no I wasnt mixing). If he buys another 460 he is ready to go (of course only if his PSU is up to it). Im running two PSUs in every one of my systems now and though I regret the 2C extra internal temperature due to pulling one of the 230mm fans I can also run the other seven fans and six HDs without worry (and those extra HDs are really coming in handy these days).

[TilDeath]

I have said the same thing Tildeath. It just looked like you were saying Nvidia wouldnt do it at all (and no I wasnt mixing). If he buys another 460 he is ready to go (of course only if his PSU is up to it). Im running two PSUs in every one of my systems now and though I regret the 2C extra internal temperature due to pulling one of the 230mm fans I can also run the other seven fans and six HDs without worry (and those extra HDs are really coming in handy these days).

he has 2 7600's no 460's

[Chalenge]

Well that explains that then. 

[spoonseven]

Thanks to all for the good input.
after doing some more searching and thanks to your posts. I am leaning towards the gtx 460 now.
My system is not that elaborate, except for the 3 monitors.

but, being able to use one video card is a savings. do i really not need the triplehead2go with this card?.
thanks again.

[Chalenge]

You do if you use just the one card. I was thinking you had already taken shawks advice and bought one so I was suggesting that another single card would get you there. If you do that you have to check on your PSU and make sure it has the power to run both cards and the rest of your system too. You can use the Thermaltake PSU calculator but you also have to be careful in buying PSUs. I suggest looking for PSU reviews on anandtech.com if you do need one or just buy a Seasonic (or two) if you have the bucks.

http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/

Anandtech just did a review on the Corsair AX750 80 Plus Gold PSU:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4011/corsair-ax750-80plus-gold

And of course if your just loaded with cash get yourself a Thermaltake ATCS 840 case and two Seasonic X750 Gold PSUs. Of course you will also need a dual PSU connector so that the power switch turns them both on at the same time:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5637/cpa-167/Lian_Li_Dual_Power_Supply_Adapter_Cable.html

With that setup you wont have to worry about your PSU as long as you also have them on a good quality UPS.

Money money money...  

Or take the blue pill... stay in OZ... buy an Ati. 

[TilDeath]

Thanks to all for the good input.
after doing some more searching and thanks to your posts. I am leaning towards the gtx 460 now.
My system is not that elaborate, except for the 3 monitors.

but, being able to use one video card is a savings. do i really not need the triplehead2go with this card?.
thanks again.

nVidia = 2 video cards and the triplehead   ATI= 1 Eyefinity enabled card and the active display port adapter.

TD

[Chalenge]

No TilDeath. Nvidia equals two cards and no TripleHead. Two cards are $160 each. The limitation is the PSU and the cost of the card.

However... the 295s being dual GPU cards can do three monitors but you have to use two DVI and one HDMI hook up.

I looked into the Eyefinity technology. I see what is causing Nvidia to be slow in changing to something similar of course... but I also see cards that cost as much as two 260s in SLI. I understand what you are saying about SLI not being supported. Since I moved to Windows 7 I have not had a problem with SLI in any game. It used to be a problem in ROF on Vista but Vista has issues like that. Usually after you setup a proper profile for a game there isnt any problem and SLI works just fine.

I also noted that the XFX 6870 suggests 500 Watts minimum and the minimum for two 460s in SLI is 435 Watts.