help n00b with crossfire/SLI

[enhanced]

hey, guys im looking for a little help here. ever since crossfire and SLi came out i have never really looked too much into them. IIRC crossfire was more hardware based while SLi was more software, is this still true? i remember reading that they actually hurt performance with a small monitor and only helped if you had something like a 36" or bigger screen. true, false?

im asking because in the near future i would like to build an HTPC and buy a nice HDTV around 46-50" or so. i plan on turning my current system into the HTPC and building myself a new rig. my current system is a 4800+ X2 @ 2.75Ghz, dfi cfx3200, 2GB ram, 2 150GB raptors raid0, x1900GT with a 19" LCD.

[JamesXP]

Have a look at the stickies,

If the 50" screen is 1080p your resolution would be: 1920x1080 :)

[enhanced]

reading them now....

what are you getting at with the resolution? im not following here...

[JamesXP]

If your 50" TV is 1080P the resoulution would be 1920x1080, Just for reference.

[ajrettke]

Not sure about the smaller screen hurting performance or the hard/software difference between the two. (I think the crossfire can be setup in windows...I haven't tracked SLI lately, but I thought that was done in windows as well *shrug*)
1080p is 1080p, it doesn't matter if your running a 24" or 72", the video card will drive the res of 1920x1080, so physical size is irrelevant.

Now that said, there really isn't a major difference, both give a boost to performance, some games utilize SLI better and some crossfire, in either case the gains aren't double, but there not minute either.

For an HTPC rig, I wouldn't go SLI/crossfire because of heat, power, noice, and quirks with either as far as drivers go and trying to mix SLI or crossfire with an HDTV tuner or Tivo etc.

If your not gonna be gaming and just watching movies, and using Tivo type stuff just stick with the 1900GT, it has the horsepower to drive anything out there for the uses mentioned. If your gonna game, then obviously you might need to upgrade (i'd recommend upgrading since your going to want to run a high res)

[enhanced]

ok, well that makes more sense. i do plan on gaming on the HTPC as well as movies and a "tivo" function. as far as heat/noise with the system goes, im considering water cooling it. i've done water before so that shouldnt be a problem. i could swear i read that sli/crossfire didnt help much on a smaller screen... i guess that doesnt matter tho even if it did then. what matters is if it affects it now.