Add 2nd GTX285 to power & value system

Guys please help me, I want to add another GTX285 2G to my "Power and Value" system I just picked up but...when I opened up my case it
looks like there's no way that another video card will fit on this motherboard. (MSI X58M)  Seriously it looks just plain impossible.  
So I called Digital Storm and they  said that it would fit,  also I have a 750W power supply, will that work with the 2nd 285?  
I checked on the upgrade section, my GTX285 2G was listed at $409, but DS says that it would be $515 if they install it and give me a warranty,
I sure thought the price on the web site would be the price for the upgrade.
Has anybody had experience with the upgrade site?   

I knew where the card was suppose to go, it just did not look like it would physically fit. The width of the card looks greater than the space available, and if it would fit wouldn't air flow be blocked to both cards?

Wait you said a 285 2G?  Is that what the pre-built system comes with?

Originally posted by WaterDog I checked on the upgrade section, my GTX285 2G was listed at $409, but DS says that it would be $515 if they install it and give me a warranty, I sure thought the price on the web site would be the price for the upgrade. Has anybody had experience with the upgrade site?

Ok, so I did not do my part, I only saw the $409 price, I see  the other costs now.
Stress-test & benchmark this item before shipping (+$29)
Hassle free 1 year direct replacement warranty (+$49) 
+ tax would come to the quoted price for DS to do the upgrade.
There might be a better way to show the two prices, direct purchase and DS upgrade install.
Do I have that right?

Originally posted by DST4ME yes the difference in fps with the 1GB is like 2 to 4 fps.

The additional VRAM isn't for Performance per say, it's for High levels of AA at high resolutions. Because running at 2500x1600 with 16x AA uses a lot (particularly in crysis or GTA4) of VRAM, and when you run out, performance doesn't just drop, it goes to zilch pretty fast.

Yes, but that's 'High', and only 8x AA.  There would be a MUCH bigger difference on Very High and 16x AA, because that's when even a 295 starts dropping to the 285 level, it's running out of VRAM.

...

W/e the 2GB is still more future proof... until Dx11 hits lol.

Aka joke?

But it IS more future proof than the 1 gb, and I did say 'more' for a reason.

I think we will need 2GB VRAM by the end of 2011 (Crysis 2).

Hell, GTA4 Likes it now, due to it's poor optimization.

DST, if you sli, tri sli or quad sli, you don't gain memory. That is not how it works. 3 896 mb cards in sli will use 896 mb of v ram.

yes the memory does not combine however all 3 cards are not using a single 896MB of ram, each uses its own 896MB of ram to render the task, so its not the same as using only one instance of 896MB of ram. If I was not clear or came across wrong I apologise.

regardless of the ram amount, if you can get 60 fps with high settings, then you are gaming smooth.

um we are talking PCs so who cares what consoles will do? and again that is an assumption.

lets put Tri sli 8800 next to Tri sli 275/285 and in crysis on high settings and lets see how they hold up.

I understand that, what I'm saying is that decent may not be 60fps, and that is not future proof, if you got Tri sli 8800s not because you needed it but because you wanted to be future proof, right now you would be kicking yourself in the ass cause that money could have gotten you new current cards.

also at the rate technology is moving I'm not sure if in 2 years or better yet 3 years current card will do well or not, we all have to admit something, we are all assuming. assumption is not future proofing, other then that I agree with what you are saying.

again that is an assumption, and IMO none of them are future proof, we don't know what the future games hold in 2 or 3 years to make a statement like that.

first you have to know what is coming to know some thing can handle it.

that is a matter of opinion, 2 to 4 fps in an environment were you are already over 60 fps, so you won't even notice the extra 4 fps, yet you are paying $600 extra for those 4 fps.

its not a race, its a gaming experience and smooth is smooth whether you spend $750 for Tri sli or $1250 for Tri sli, if you can't tell the difference then how can you tell which is better.

truth is that if bring 2 systems and load one with Tri sli 275 896MB ($750)and one with Tri sli 285 2GB ($1250) and load up far cry 2 and have you play it on both machine, you will never be able to tell which has which just from the game experience alone.

the same goes for the games coming out next year or the games coming out in the future for which we know the specs of.

and that will hold true for 285 1GB version or 2GB version, also Tri sli is over 60fps not exactly at 60fps.

one this has held thru over the years, games make more use of CPU and GPU core then they do on ram.

if we had 8800 gts with 2Gb of ram, in Tri sli, they would still not beat a Tri sli 275/285 in any games.

and yes there is a difference between 16fps and 20fps but they both horrible gaming, under 30 fps is pretty much crappy gaming, be it 16fps or 20 fps.

also if by 16fps and 20 fps you are refering to 275 and 285, then 4 fps difference is in a single card, in sli the difference becomes less and less, so tri sli 285 is not 12fps better then 275.

also all games are not 4fps better,in some games 1 or 2 fps, as I showed in crysis for example the difference between 275 and 285 2GB is 1 fps.

Edited by DST4ME - 30 Jun 2009 at 11:13pm

by that time god help us and our Tri sli 285, be it 1GB or 2GB, cause if you think at 2160P 2GB of ram is gonna help you make any noticeable difference then you are mistaken, by that time as I said the GPU core will make a much bigger difference then 2GB of vram.

like I said Tri sli 8800gts with 2GB of vram will not beat a Tri sli 275/285 1GB version at 2560 x 1600. this shows how little of difference vram itself makes.

there is no big difference between 285 1GB and 285 2GB at 2560 x 1600 now, and it won't help at 3840x2160 quad HDTV either.

the GPU core and CPU will always be 99% of the game, ram or vram always plays very little part, and that is because most of the work (99%)is done in the brain, in the system itself the brain is the CPU, in the GPU its the core, ram is and always will make very little difference, so if you have a old GPU with 4GB of ram, its still not gonna do that great cause the brain of it is old, and most of the work is done in the brain, you can get a Tri sli 285 with 100GB of Vram, its still not gonna run crysis at quad HDTV res, even if we kill ourselves, but a newer more powerfull future gpu with 1GB of ram in tri sli probably will run it real easy, why because it has a much more powerfull brain.



Edited by DST4ME - 30 Jun 2009 at 11:45pm

maybe by 1 or 2 fps.

fair enough but I don't agree that 1 fps is better, to me better is something I will notice, and also I don't think its $100 better, but to each his own.

Edited by DST4ME - 01 Jul 2009 at 2:04pm