Touriqunet

Hi, im looking for a case which is GTX 260 SLI friendly, i really wanted to get the Thermaltake Soprano DX case because of its amazing looks, but i dont know if i will be able to fit 2 GTX 260 cards (probably Gainwards golden sample ones)
If any other cases are out there, which are dual or even tri-SLI friendly, please give me the name and ill research it myself.
I was really interested in something stylish (glossy?) with a nice big clear side window, although noting too pricey (e.g Antec 900)
Thank you

Tyree

Use one graphics card and save yourself trouble. One card will give you all the performance you need.
The Antec 300 is the same case as the Antec 900 minus lighted fans. CoolerMaster makes some very similar cases also.

DarkWombat

I'd have to agree with Tyree. Unless you've got two giant widescreen monitors and you want to play games maxed out on both screens going SLI is a waste of power and money. Get a single GTX 260 Core 216 and you'll be happy.

Touriqunet

Well, i wanted to play on max settings on 1680x1050 22'' monitor (every game thats out, e.g Crysis) with decent frames
After reading the review of a GTX 260 i found out the max i can get out of it at max settings on crysis is around 20fps which isnt really playable.
I can afford a GTX 275 EVGA or maybe even a GTX 285 (not EVGA though because they are too expensive past the 285). Why does EVGA price themselves so high? i mean a card is a card and the processor inside it will stay the same (unless factory OC'd ofcourse) but i can get pretty much the same specs from e.g Gigabyte or Gainward or Asus for a much lower price.
If i ever did want to go SLI with the GTX 260, will the case i mentioned (Soprano DX) be able to fit these 2? i like the Raidmax Ninja too.
I just saw a Gainward GTX 260 golden sample with 1792mb mem. and 216 steam processors, so i think this will be the best choice?
Thanks for your replies so far

DarkWombat

1792mb of memory is a gimmick. 896 mb to 1gig of memory is more than enough memory for anything your card needs. The newest games are often designed for PC's and consoles which do not have such insane graphics cards so they are optimized to not use up so much memory. By the time games start using over 1 gig of memory your graphics card will be too slow anyways. If you buy that much memory on your card you're just throwing your money away.

I don't know the length of the GTX 275 is but I did see them priced very well on Newegg. I'm pretty sure that if you get a decent mid tower case you'll be fine though. The reason I and others like EVGA so much is that their cards are reliable (never heard of someone getting a lemon EVGA card) and their support is great.

When you spend $150-200 or more on a graphics card that's going to be highly stressed and get very hot you want to be sure you'll be covered if it goes bad. While I like companies like Gigabyte (I've had a few of their motherboards over the years) their support is so-so. I've owned an XFX card that never had any issues but I've heard bad things about XFX's support.

EVGA is usually priced competitively and they have great service so why not go with them? Plus they have a 90-day step-up program where you can get your card upgraded for free if a better card comes out that's priced the same or lower within 90 days of purchasing your card. That's awesome.

Here's a great EVGA GTX 275 for $200 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130475

As for a case, the best case I ever owned hands-down was the Antec P180. It's heavy but it's sturdy, absolutely sound-proof and has pop-out lint screens in the front to keep everything inside perfectly clean. No sharp edges and trays slide right out for easy swapping of components. Plus it's very easy to keep your wiring nice and tidy for better airflow. Antec has updated the P180 with the P183 which is even better. Unfortunately for me they don't make a Lanbox style case in that series that fits big graphics cards so my latest computer isn't an Antec case (but it probably would have been if they did!). It's on the pricey side but trust me you get what you pay for:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129061

Unfortunately this case doesn't get free shipping from Newegg. I would stop by a local computer store to see if they have it, it's a pretty popular case and I've seen it at all the local Fry's stores.

Have you gotten a power supply yet? I think 700 watts is as low as you want to get if you're going to be running lots of high end stuff.

wrench97

EVGA offers Lifetime warranty on the high end cards and great support, What is Gainwards warranty and support like?
For 2 GTX260 cards you should be looking at a 1000HX corsair for 3 over 1100 in a PC Power & Cooling or Theramltake Toughpower.
If you add up the costs a GTX285 and 850TX it's going to be a lot cheaper.

Touriqunet

Thanks wrench and thanks Dark, very useful answers!
The power supplied i chose to go for is a corsair 750W, as it has the best reviews and i heard these things have a nice power output.
Since the GTX 285 looks nice on the benchmark side too, not forgetting is the best single GPU card out there, i guess ill go for that.
It would be great to go for the GTX 285 from EVGA, but in my honest opinion, i think they priced it way too high, i mean it costs nearly as much as a GTX 295 from Gigabyte!
Maybe i was just looking at a bad retailer who charges too much for the EVGA cards, but ill have a look again somewhere else and ill compare it to both of the shops/retailers to see.
If the GTX 285 is too expensive, is it a good idea to go for the GTX 275?
I also saw a pretty low priced GTX 260 SSC (supersuperclocked?) would this be worth going for? please dont forget i want to play crysis on top settings with 1680x1050 res.
PS: Thanks for the long, helpful and detailed answers, I appreciate it

wrench97

The GTX275 is about equal to the GTX280, They look pretty comparable price wise here of course as the clock speeds and Ram go up so does the price> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130479

Edit
Just realized your probably in the UK? EVGA's pricing is a lot higher there for some reason just as Gainward cards are hard to find here and pricy when you do find one.

linderman

I too agree with the fellas above


first off I would get the most top of the line EVGA card you can get your hands on .....EVGA support and warranty is worth every penny

power supply = dont overlook the Corsair 850-TX (provantage.com) for the few extra dollars they are worth every penny

as for cases = Antec 1200 is the cats hinny

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...lio-_-11103011


gaming systems should always be in a full tower case if you can ! the more air the better!

Touriqunet

And your opinions on the 'supersuperclocked' GTX 260? it looks pretty good. I checked the benchmarks and they arent that bad.
I remember you saying that going for anything higher than GTX 285 would be overkill for an average user like me, so i would prefer this single EVGA SSC GTX260 card.
I only wanted to hear your last opinion on it.
Thanks
Is the Raidmax Ninja / Thermaltake Soprano DX not full tower gaming towers? are they ripoffs? i mean i dont really want to spend over £100 for the case itself!

wrench97

The SC GTX260 should give you what you want, it's a good card.

I haven't used either case.

Touriqunet

Oh, too bad for the case then, i think ill go for the Soprano DX because it looks very nice, and i saw reviews that it actually is quite spacious inside.
Ill also go for the SSC GTX 260 from EVGA.
Thanks