To all the PC gamers on the board, I could use some help. I just got back into PC gaming a few months back, as I had been out of PC gaming for roughly ten years.
I'm planning on purchasing a couple new graphics cards next spring. I'm trying to decide between Dual GTX 550 Tis, or Dual GTX 560s.
This is my current setup:
XFX nForce 780i Motherboard
XFX Core Edition Power Supply 650w
Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme QX6700 2.66 Ghz overclocked to 3.2 Ghz
8 GB DDR2 RAM overclocked to 1066mhz
3x nVidia GTS 250 512 MB (3-Way SLI)
Two HDDs (160GB Velociraptor, 2 TB Western Digital Caviar Green).
Here's my dilemma, as I've been trying to figure this out for months now.
I originally decided to go with Dual 550 Ti's and a dedicated sound card, as that would greatly reduce power consumption, and put less strain on my power supply. Not too mention it could potentially save me more than $100, as opposed to dual 560s. However, after comparing the cards extensively, I figured I would go with dual 560s, as their wattage consumption is very similar to my GTS 250s. Not only would dual 560s outperform my triple GTS 250s, but it would also cut down on power as well. Also, dual 550 Ti's wouldn't be much of an upgrade over my current 3-way 250 setup.
After doing some more thinking, I probably won't go the sound card route, so that's a little bit of a money saver, though not a whole lot.
As of now I've decided I want to go either dual GTX 550s, or dual GTX 560s and keep a GTS 250 in there for PhysX. My friend just recently upgraded from a GTS 250 1 GB to a GTX 560 Ti, and he told me that the GTS 250 required just one power plug, whereas his new 560 Ti required two.
Basically a very long story short: Would dual GTX 560s plus a single GTS 250 512MB be too much for my current power supply?
This is the setup I'm hoping to have this time next year:
XFX nForce 780i Motherboard
XFX Core Edition Power Supply 650w
Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9650 3.0 Ghz overclocked to 3.6 Ghz (theoretically. Based off my current overclocked settings)
8 GB DDR2 RAM overclocked to 1066mhz
Four HDDs
With the setup I have planned for next summer, what video route would you guys recommend? I don't want to have to purchase a new power supply.
I bought the computer pre-built. Though I did put in a new HDD and upgraded the RAM, I really haven't looked at my graphics cards.