I have $400 for a new video card.....

[CaptNKILL]

Well I just bought a EVGA GTX-285. Thank you all for your help and suggestions.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130480

Nice choice.

That's going to be one hell of a card. :D

You might want to grab a physx card at some point too. :thumbsup:

[musman]

Nice choice.

That's going to be one hell of a card. :D

You might want to grab a physx card at some point too. :thumbsup:

I guess I need to read up on this physx thing everyone is talking about. I don't think my 600psu will like another card lol. Do you need some special software for physx? What would be a good card for that?

[K007]

I have a feeling these new cards that are coming out are going to be ungodly expensive. The GTX-275 is looking good for several reasons.

#1 A lot of people on the FSX forums (I play FSX a lot) are using this or similar cards.
#2 It has OpenGL 3.0 support.
#3 I have been told these are better for Physx, too be honest I'm not really sure how important that is lol.

#4 Price

ati cant afford to put there prices up, and nvidia is following after ati release, so nvidia can't put them up unless the performance is really that good to make its price worth it.

for $400 i am pretty sure when ati comes out there flagship card would be below/close to $400, so buying one now is defiantly not the best move.

nvm u brought one, grats.

[musman]

ati cant afford to put there prices up, and nvidia is following after ati release, so nvidia can't put them up unless the performance is really that good to make its price worth it.

for $400 i am pretty sure when ati comes out there flagship card would be below/close to $400, so buying one now is defiantly not the best move.

nvm u brought one, grats.

Your probably right by saying it wasn't the best move, but I did and its a really good card. There is always something better coming out. I figure I could alway buy another one and do SLI. I did wait for the Core I7 to come out, and that was a good move. Other than Crysis, I will be able to play everything at the highest settings for a long time to come.....i hope :)

[Blacklash]

I guess I need to read up on this physx thing everyone is talking about. I don't think my 600psu will like another card lol. Do you need some special software for physx? What would be a good card for that?

No. PhysX will run fine on your 285. It's bundled with the driver and automatically installs. It should enable by default in the nVidia CP. People are suggesting a "mid range" as in getting a second card like a 9600GT and using it solely for PhysX duty. It would increase FPS in games that utilize PhysX and at 1680x, I don't think you will be hurting with that 285 doing it all.

If you did use another card for PhysX, you would simply install the 9600GT, or whatever, in your second PCi-e 16x slot without connecting it to your main card with an SLi bridge. You could then select it in the nVidia CP. In my experience the nVidia CP should select it automatically for PhysX duty. Grats on the 285. It's a good one and you selected one from a company with great support.

If I were you I'd use the official 182.50 drivers. You can get them below.

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

BTW EVGA support end user overclocking so you can freely boost the clocks on your card without voiding your warranty. They even provide a tool for such a thing.

http://downloads.guru3d.com/EVGA-Precision-1.7-download-2251.html

[musman]

No. PhysX will run fine on your 285. It's bundled with the driver and automatically installs. It should enable by default in the nVidia CP. People are suggesting a "mid range" as in getting a second card like a 9600GT and using it solely for PhysX duty. It would increase FPS in games that utilize PhysX and at 1680x, I don't think you will be hurting with that 285 doing it all.

If you did use another card for PhysX, you would simply install the 9600GT, or whatever, in your second PCi-e 16x slot without connecting it to your main card with an SLi bridge. You could then select it in the nVidia CP. In my experience the nVidia CP should select it automatically for PhysX duty. Grats on the 285. It's a good one and you selected one from a company with great support.

If I were you I'd use the official 182.50 drivers. You can get them below.

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

BTW EVGA support end user overclocking so you can freely boost the clocks on your card without voiding your warranty. They even provide a tool for such a thing.

http://downloads.guru3d.com/EVGA-Precision-1.7-download-2251.html

Thanks for the great reply! That clears some questions up for me. And the link for the drivers!! :D

[john19055]

Newegg has some good deals on the BFG GTX 280 for $249 and a free game with free shipping.

[CaptNKILL]

Newegg has some good deals on the BFG GTX 280 for $249 and a free game with free shipping.

I wouldn't buy a GTX 280.

The GTX 275 is faster half the time, uses far less power and makes far less heat. It probably stomps all over the 280 when overclocked too.

[john19055]

A GTX 280 will overclock. and if they are both running at the same speed the performance would be the same.the GTX 280 does use around 40watts more ,but you still need a power supply about the same size .I can run my at 704/1566/2600 if I needed it but it is fast enough at its stock clocks of 665/1458/2400.You can save $100 when buying a GTX 280 over a GTX 285.The GTX 285 should overclock farther since it is on a 55mm die and has .7ns memory .But if a person don't overclock they can get a BFG GTX 280 OCX clocked at 665/1458/2400 for $264 and a free game. and spend that $100 on memory or a card for physics.Besides I already had GTX 280 ,I did'nt see so reason to sell it for less then I paid for it and spend over a $100 more for a GTX 285 and gain just a little more performance because it overclocks a little higher.I just think the GTX 280 are at a great price and they are plenty fast enough to hold someone over untill the GT300 comes out.IMO