Hello Everyone, This time is for real, I'm upgrading my 8600GTS to something better. I've been doing a little research on which card is the best option at the moment but I must say the results were quite inconclusive... I'm a gamer, I won't deny it, my preferred resolution is of 1280x1024 I rarely go beyond that but I guess I will if the hardware allows it xD. Apparently the 2x8800GT in SLI config is still one of the best options for gaming but those little things were discontinued...I'm left with the 9800GT which at 150€(+/-) seems a good choice but there is also the 9800GTX at 200€(+/-) which also seems like a good choice and I don't mind spending the extra 50 if the performance pays up =]. Please do give me your opinion on this. PS: I have a classmate who keeps saying that the monitor someone uses to gaming has a heavy influence on the performance, is that true, can you explain me please? Best Regards ~Deimos AMD ATHLON X2 5200+ 2.6GHz ASUS GeForce 8600GTS ASUS M2N-E SLI MB 2xKingston 1GB DDR2 800

As has been said in these forums MANY times before, SLi configurations are a waste of money unless you're running high end cards. In many cases, a single high end card will outperform 2x mid level cards in SLi, plus a single card won't require as much power. Would your PSU be capable of handling an SLi config? Your board is based on a low end SLi chipset meaning that if you do run two cards, they will run at x8, not x16. However, if you get one good card, it will run at x16. As for the monitor, I suppose what your classmate said is true. It would take more graphics horsepower to run a game at 1280 x 1024 on a 32" monitor than it would on a 17" monitor. "If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions" - Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in Pulp Fiction

Yes if you want SLI I would have to say to go with 9800GTX2 which would be a better option. Jim R

"As for the monitor, I suppose what your classmate said is true. It would take more graphics horsepower to run a game at 1280 x 1024 on a 32" monitor than it would on a 17" monitor." this is incorrect. it doesnt matter the size of the monitor, just what resolution it is at. this is because it doesnt matter what your screen size is, it matters how many pixels the video card must process. if they're both 1280x1024, it's doing the exact same amount or processing meaning that there's no performance difference with the computer. if you never go higher than 1280x1024 then you'll need nothing more than ONE 9800GTX and depending on what games you play i doubt that you'll even need that!