SLI = why?

[etherealgrifter]

GeForce 6 series cards use 2 PCI-E slots right? aka SLI? but the FAQs and stuff say they are at least on par with the x800.... so ... why the 2 slots? Why isn't it 'twice as powerful'? Or is that only with 2 seperate cards like the alienware computers have? Go easy on the newb.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

The cooling solutions on a sigle card will take up 2 slots worth of space, but a single card will only take up a sincle PCIe connection.

2 6600gt cards is just a dumb idea, but 6800gt cards and above offer incredible performance.

Here, read up on what it's all about.

 

[Fern]

Before someone comes along to flame you...

This has been discussed a great deal. For example HERE.

Type in "SLI" in the search feature above and you'll see many posts. Might wanna look at the one I linked, then see Rollo's SLI benchtest threads.


Fern

 

[etherealgrifter]

thanks. was looking for some info b4 posting, but I'm still getting used to this site's layout.

 

[bluemax]

I'd rather spend $400 on one whiz-bang card than $500 on two smaller cards. Even $400 on two cards! When it comes time to upgrade, it'll be a whole lot less hassle...

And the 6800 Ultra actually puts out LESS heat than a 6600GT! Imagine a PAIR of 6600GT's in your case... [singing] Heat waaaaave! There's gonna' be a heat waaaave!

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: bluemax
I'd rather spend $400 on one whiz-bang card than $500 on two smaller cards. Even $400 on two cards! When it comes time to upgrade, it'll be a whole lot less hassle...

And the 6800 Ultra actually puts out LESS heat than a 6600GT! Imagine a PAIR of 6600GT's in your case... [singing] Heat waaaaave! There's gonna' be a heat waaaave!

I find that statement hard to believe. They're made on a smaller manufacturing process if I remember correctly and also have less transistors, both of which should cause it to run cooler than the 6800 cards.

Perhaps you're comparing the 6800Go to a 6600?

 

[VIAN]

SLI gives up to 85% performance boost or something around the 80s. So it doesn't double but it sure does get it up there. If Radeon cards were that powerful, then nobody would buy Geforce.

 

[nRollo]

Sigh- SLI is not very well understood by the public at large apparently. I bumped my investigation of it, HERE

There are reasons for the 6600GT and 6800NU SLI, they just aren't the same ones as for the 6800GT and 6800U SLI.

6600GT/6800NU SLI:
1. You buy one card because you're satisfied with that level of performance, and/or have only have $175-$280 to spend on a vid card. At some point down the road, you buy another to maintain that level of performance.
2. WMV acceleration is very important to you, and you believe MS will release their .dll someday, so you buy 6600GT/6800NU SLI to take advantage of their PureVideo, and get close to 6800GT/6800U performance for gaming.

6800GT/6800U SLI:
1. You want the absolutely fastest, best gaming rig money can buy.
2. You want bragging rights.
3. You are satisfied with $375-$5XX performance, so you buy that now, upgrade down the road to maintain that level of performance.

 

[fstime]

editt: nvm

 

[hans030390]

SLI=good (if you can afford it)

though i heard it was buggy....

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: hans030390
SLI=good (if you can afford it)

though i heard it was buggy....

The only problem I've had is getting Riddick to run in SLI, and I've seen some have managed it.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Rollo
Sigh- SLI is not very well understood by the public at large apparently. I bumped my investigation of it, HERE

There are reasons for the 6600GT and 6800NU SLI, they just aren't the same ones as for the 6800GT and 6800U SLI.

6600GT/6800NU SLI:
1. You buy one card because you're satisfied with that level of performance, and/or have only have $175-$280 to spend on a vid card. At some point down the road, you buy another to maintain that level of performance.
2. WMV acceleration is very important to you, and you believe MS will release their .dll someday, so you buy 6600GT/6800NU SLI to take advantage of their PureVideo, and get close to 6800GT/6800U performance for gaming.

6800GT/6800U SLI:
1. You want the absolutely fastest, best gaming rig money can buy.
2. You want bragging rights.

Wouldn't it be (also) likely for someone to buy ONE 6800GT - now - 'because you're satisfied with that level of performance, and/or have only have ~$300 to spend on a vid card. At some point down the road, you buy another to maintain that level of performance'

What am i missing here?

 

[Insomniak]

I will simply say this:

Being top dog has never been about making wise buying decisions. It's about being top dog. SLI can be either top dog OR a wise buying decision, depending on how you play it and what your personal upgrade schedule/budget is like. The playbook is on you.

 

[nRollo]

Fixed for Apoppin'.

3. You are satisfied with $375-$5XX performance, so you buy that now, upgrade down the road to maintain that level of performance.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Rollo
Fixed for Apoppin'.

3. You are satisfied with $375-$5XX performance, so you buy that now, upgrade down the road to maintain that level of performance.

you're right about the price . . . i keep forgetting pciE has a premium over agp still

ANYWAY - back to my question - you made a distinction between two classes . . . why would a 6800GT buyer not be in the first class, also - looking to upgrade later?

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Rollo
Fixed for Apoppin'.

3. You are satisfied with $375-$5XX performance, so you buy that now, upgrade down the road to maintain that level of performance.

you're right about the price . . . i keep forgetting pciE has a premium over agp still

ANYWAY - back to my question - you made a distinction between two classes . . . why would a 6800GT buyer not be in the first class, also - looking to upgrade later?

I suppose it could be, and probably is for most people. I was grouping them by price/performance.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Rollo
Fixed for Apoppin'.

3. You are satisfied with $375-$5XX performance, so you buy that now, upgrade down the road to maintain that level of performance.

you're right about the price . . . i keep forgetting pciE has a premium over agp still

ANYWAY - back to my question - you made a distinction between two classes . . . why would a 6800GT buyer not be in the first class, also - looking to upgrade later?

I suppose it could be, and probably is for most people. I was grouping them by price/performance.

thanks, i get it . . . . because now it's at least $200 more for GT sli over a sli'd 6800(std) setup . . . it tends to appeal more to the "bragging rights" crowd because of the current price premium attached to the pciE 6800GTs and Ultras.

personally, i am considering a [single (to start)] 6800GT in my next rig IF i go for PCIe with an eventual upgrade to dual 6800gts OR a single 6800U as my last AGP card . . . .

i'll probably go for the ultra . . .

 

[EternusNox]

I could be wrong but don't you have to use two identical cards for SLI? If that's the case, then the "buy one now buy one later" approach doesn't make much sense. Depending on when "later" is, when you buy the second card there may be a single next generation card that performs better the two card set-up. Personally, I think it's just a marketing ploy. I mean, why sell em one when you can get em to buy two? If SLI does have a future it would seem more likely that a dual GPUs on a single card would prevail.

 

[Extraordinary Cow]

What about these SLI-Certified games? Those are the only ones that take full advantage of SLI, otherwise sometimes a single 6600GT will beat a pair.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: EternusNox
I could be wrong but don't you have to use two identical cards for SLI? If that's the case, then the "buy one now buy one later" approach doesn't make much sense.

Don't you think manufacturers will consider this when/if they make "rev.2" cards? I sort of doubt they'll orphan their own products and say "Hahaha- buy two of our new model suckers!"

Depending on when "later" is, when you buy the second card there may be a single next generation card that performs better the two card set-up.

There may well be. That doesn't mean SLI will be a bad deal though.
Unless some new games come out that stress the cards, there are no games I can't easily run at 16X12 4X8X. Will I be worse off if the next gen cards run games at 70fps instead of 60fps for the 16X12 4X8X? I suppose marginally;however, I got to play all my games faster and better until those cards come out as a tradeoff.

Personally, I think it's just a marketing ploy. I mean, why sell em one when you can get em to buy two? If SLI does have a future it would seem more likely that a dual GPUs on a single card would prevail.

If you think it's a marketing ploy to offer much higher performance to the public who may want it, you're nuts. ATI must think so too, they're currently scrambling to get their own version to market.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Extraordinary Cow
What about these SLI-Certified games? Those are the only ones that take full advantage of SLI, otherwise sometimes a single 6600GT will beat a pair.

This is totally inaccurate. Those are the games tested by nVidia that have profiles built into the drivers. The settings only determine which version of sli works best for the game and preset it. You can force the setting on any game with Coolbits, or create your own profiles with utilities, and get the same benefits on non certified games. The only difference is you have to test which version gives you the greater benefit.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Rollo
Fixed for Apoppin'.

3. You are satisfied with $375-$5XX performance, so you buy that now, upgrade down the road to maintain that level of performance.

you're right about the price . . . i keep forgetting pciE has a premium over agp still

ANYWAY - back to my question - you made a distinction between two classes . . . why would a 6800GT buyer not be in the first class, also - looking to upgrade later?

I suppose it could be, and probably is for most people. I was grouping them by price/performance.

thanks, i get it . . . . because now it's at least $200 more for GT sli over a sli'd 6800(std) setup . . . it tends to appeal more to the "bragging rights" crowd because of the current price premium attached to the pciE 6800GTs and Ultras.

personally, i am considering a [single (to start)] 6800GT in my next rig IF i go for PCIe with an eventual upgrade to dual 6800gts OR a single 6800U as my last AGP card . . . .

i'll probably go for the ultra . . .

Just saw this . . .

is this a hot deal?

eVGA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB GDDR3/PCI-E/TV-Out/Dual-DVI (Retail Box)

That's a PCI-e 6800Ultra for $493 shipped from Monarch

(!)