Right now I have an XFX 285gtx black edition. I was wondering if i could by any chance put it into sli mode with a 280 gtx(i'm guessing I cant) or if I should just upgrade to a 480/490 or 5970.

I cant get onto newegg right now so I was also wondering about the prices on them.

You can't do it with gtx 280 and 285. It is probably a software limitation, although you could flash your 285 down to a 280. However, this would mean lower sli performance. IF you sli, just get another 285. It will work without any fiddling around and will be faster.

Gtx 490? Not released yet, so good luck with that one! The 480 would be a good improvement over your single 285; however, 285 sli will give you at least 10% better results vs a single 480. Plus it would be cheaper.

Of course, getting another 285 would mean buying hardware that is on its way out, still BEAST but just can't handle dx11. If you REALLY have enough for a 5970, it beats the sli 285 in everything but physx (of course) http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...5970,2474.html

The gtx 480 will be around 470-500 depending on brand, the 5970 will be in the middle 600's.
Another gtx 285 will be about 360.

If your case can fit it, the 5970 would be beastly. It overclocks like no other since it is downclocked in the first place. It's just damn expensive.

If you can't sell your 285, I'd go with the sli. If you can though, the 480 and 5970 would both be good. Just make sure you have good ventilation both in and around your case if you get the 480. Some even artifact at stock clocks.

not to mention his motherboard has to have 2 pci-e 16x ports in order to run 2 cards (which is the assumption). i personally don't use sli but i don't understand why he couldnt run a 280 with a 285. there are a couple configurations which he could use a 280 and a 285. he could use the 280 for physx processing and use the 285 for frame rendering which would give better performance in physx enabled games but that wouldn't help his framerate as much as having both cards in sli i would assume.

the sli enhancement still should be able to work with a 280 and 285 if it works on the same principle as the 8 series cards where you can have an 8800gtx and an 8800gt in sli but i dont know...

Well if you want physx, it wOuld be more cost effective to get a midrange card like a 250 or 9800. A 280 is overkill.

You really should, in a perfect world, be able to. But nvidia doesn't want you to. The only successful stories I've read required some tweaking and in the end, it wouldve still been better to get another 285. Plus the price difference between those is minimal.

yea very true, i think however nvidia should design all their sli systems to work based on the lowest performing card in your sli system then the other cards mimic that one. that way
it could have more compatibility with certain cards. i would say though it would be really retarded if they allowed you to have a 250 and a 280 in sli because i'm sure the performance difference would be too different, but a 280 and a 285 shouldn't have that much difference in performance so the 285 downgrading itself to a 280 to put them in sli should still give a boost in performance. sucks that nvidia doesn't do that though.

So, i just looked and my current card(Black edition/limited edition) is selling on ebay for ~500$, XFX dropped Nvidia products. so yeah, i'm planning on getting the 5970 now, cause i can get the money.
I'm gonna get this beast. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150460

I've had 4 XFX cards so far and they've all been beastly.... until the next series comes out.
I've been rather impressed by the black edition cards cause they overclock about better than any other cards. Ex. I have my 285 overclocked from 690(already factory overclocked) to 730Ghz without water cooling.
So, i'm assuming....know... that 2GB GDDR5 RAM is better than just 1GB GDDR3. and that having an underclocked card at 725 is going to be better than an overclocked 730.

Just thanks for the tad bit of swaying because I most likely would have bought another 285.

I also just went insane when I saw the dimentions of the 5970.... i'm glad that i got my HDD bay, because i have room for the card... barely. If not I can always cut a chunk of my case out to make it fit

720$ for a card u can get a mid gaming pc for that price lol

whats your cpu?

Indeed. My philosophy: I'd rather buy a cheaper graphics card and avoid premium prices. As long as the games run nice and smooth. (who cares about extra 60fps when you're hitting 100fps?). Why? Because I'll save money and get it better invested aftewards. How? By waiting one or two years, I'll be able to buy a newer card, much faster (and keep up with the game requirements), and the combined prices of the two probably still wouldn't reach 720$. Premium prices are only justifiable for those who don't care about how much money they spend, or those who suffer from compulsive consumerism.
I'd rather play on the conscious side. Plus I'm not rich. lol.

tl;dr: regular updates w/ decent prices >>> slow upgrades w/ premium prices

Frankly unless you want 3 or more screens all playing (a) game(s), you have no need for that kind of a card, ever. It's just not worth it, save the money for something useful. Heck, just buy anouther PC with that much money and use it to play the seccond game xD

I've had my card for about a year... that's why I'm getting a new one.

I do have extra money that I have no idea what else to get, I cant get a car for another 2 years thanks to law changes in my state....