SLI: A tax on the uninformed

[DeepScience]

So basically you're saying you've never played on an SLI system with 6800GT's or 7800GT's, and your'e just comparing from what you've seen in the second person, or read, or are you just plain assuming things?

Darn, so we can't comment on anything unless we've tried it?

 

[MoreGooder]

Wow, I never thought this thread would end up as such a heated debate. 4 pages of replies already to this topic is really enough I think. Just about everything that could be said on this topic has been said, including some things that we could have all done without.

Look.... It's really quite simple. SLI costs big dollars and gets you the highest framerates for high resolution displays. For some, it offers a tantilizing upgrade solution if they only buy one SLI capable card to begin with, add another later. For others, its merely marketing foo foo; they will likely sell one "old" card, and buy a new one. Just make your choice, buy what you can afford, and enjoy what you have. If you constantly wait for the best video card(s) before you buy, you'll never buy, so just get on with it and have fun.

 

[CrystalMethod]

Darn, so we can't comment on anything unless we've tried it?

There's nothing wrong with commenting on things. But, claiming something is better or worse without actually having any sort of reference point is just commenting to comment. Simply going out and stating something as fact, is not the same thing as stating your opinion.

 

[MaStA]

I think SLI is a joke as well. Unless you have an SLI board and buy one decent graphics card. Later down the road you can add another for pretty cheap and boost performance a little bit.

Jared

 

[freeagent]

hmm, looking at your sig, you only have one card, so what makes you think its a joke?

 

[MaStA]

hmm, looking at your sig, you only have one card, so what makes you think its a joke?

I do only have one card...I just think it is a marketing trip for them to come up with SLI/Crossfire. Just a way to make more money it seems to me.

 

[freeagent]

maybe for higher end cards, i suppose you can only use so much power, in that regards that makes sense. but for lower end cards, there is a definate bump in performace, checky this out, useing aquamark as an example, im running 280x10 and 570/1.14 in the first shot, and for the second shot, well, the screenie shows exactly what im running, so there is a fairly good bump in performance for lower end cards in sli.
http://img437.imageshack.us/img437/2276/aqua18jz18zq.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/8764/maxaquaslifullsysspec4yl.jpg

 

[MaStA]

maybe for higher end cards, i suppose you can only use so much power, in that regards that makes sense. but for lower end cards, there is a definate bump in performace, checky this out, useing aquamark as an example, im running 280x10 and 570/1.14 in the first shot, and for the second shot, well, the screenie shows exactly what im running, so there is a fairly good bump in performance for lower end cards in sli.
http://img437.imageshack.us/img437/2276/aqua18jz18zq.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/8764/maxaquaslifullsysspec4yl.jpg

Correct. If you buy two 6800GT's at the same time you could just buy a 7800GTX for probably the same price and have the same performance. So what is the point? I'm not sure how exact my statement is, but they should be close.

Futhermore, Aquamark is so outdated...

Jared

 

[freeagent]

yeah i know it is, but it doent take long, lol ill throw up any test you want.

 

[balla1128207]

will the bfg oc nivida 7800 GTX 512mb video card work with a regular 7800 GTX 512mb in sli?

 

[DumbstixLars]

Buyer beware. That's their problem. I don't think the average consumer would buy two video cards or spend that kind of money unless they either needed to or wanted to.

I work with a guy who bought an SLI MOBO (Fatal1ty) with two 6600LE's and asked me to set it up for him. After I set it up I ran 3Dmark03 on it and it scored only 7600 marks. This floored me since (at the time) I was running a single 6600GT AGP that scored 7800 marks. There were a couple other factors of course though, he had a 3500 AMD opposed to my 3200 AMD, and I had 2 gigs while he had only 1 gig of Ram. But still, unless the Ram was the bottleneck, I expected much more out of it.

 

[JEmlay]

I work with a guy who bought an SLI MOBO (Fatal1ty) with two 6600LE's and asked me to set it up for him. After I set it up I ran 3Dmark03 on it and it scored only 7600 marks. This floored me since (at the time) I was running a single 6600GT AGP that scored 7800 marks. There were a couple other factors of course though, he had a 3500 AMD opposed to my 3200 AMD, and I had 2 gigs while he had only 1 gig of Ram. But still, unless the Ram was the bottleneck, I expected much more out of it.

I just got done dealing with the same BS. 3DMark06 and 05 where fine yet 3DMark03 was scoring ~5,000 with my 7800GTX 512MB. A simple re-install of the chipset drivers and now it scores ~20,000. Odds are you having an issue that's affecting your/his score.

 

[balla1128207]

does anyone know if it will work?

 

[freeagent]

I work with a guy who bought an SLI MOBO (Fatal1ty) with two 6600LE's and asked me to set it up for him. After I set it up I ran 3Dmark03 on it and it scored only 7600 marks. This floored me since (at the time) I was running a single 6600GT AGP that scored 7800 marks. There were a couple other factors of course though, he had a 3500 AMD opposed to my 3200 AMD, and I had 2 gigs while he had only 1 gig of Ram. But still, unless the Ram was the bottleneck, I expected much more out of it.

he should get alot more then that.. maybe its because they are LEs? i did a 3dm03 run at bone stock settings, and get way more then that score. i have a fatality too, weird stuff..
http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/9920/3dm03stocksli8sp.jpg

 

[DeepScience]

There's nothing wrong with commenting on things. But, claiming something is better or worse without actually having any sort of reference point is just commenting to comment. Simply going out and stating something as fact, is not the same thing as stating your opinion.

I've seen a bunch of prices and performance stats mentioned. Do they not count as facts?

Besides, everyone who has two cards probably had just one at one point. So they must have made a decision somehow.

 

[V10Ace]

Single GT @ 500/1200 = 17,007 3dMark 05
SLi GT's @ 480/1140 = 27,270 3dMark 05.

My minimum frame rates have increased by at least 15-35 fps, which allows for a very enjoyable game play without the instant jerk every-now and then. I'd probably see more if I had a cpu with more balls. Opteron 165 on the way.

 

[T'wolves]

Correct. If you buy two 6800GT's at the same time you could just buy a 7800GTX for probably the same price and have the same performance. So what is the point? I'm not sure how exact my statement is, but they should be close.

Futhermore, Aquamark is so outdated...

Jared

You can say that now, but when the 6600GT's came out the 7800gtx didn't exsist yet, what was he supposed to do? save the money and not have a computer for 8 mo. or more? I don't think so.

The desicion at the time he made was one that best suited his needs then. If we was looking for a solution now, then one gtx would defiantly be better, but he isn't.

And before anyone else mentions how one "future card" will beat two of "today's cards" and therefore makes sli useless...It is the chicken and the egg question, what comes first two older cards or one newer card??? What should I get first.

Just remember if your glad you waited on "yesterday's card" cause of "today's card", wait on "today's card" cause of "tomorrow's card", you should think about the "day after tomorrow's cards"(oh wow) too, but those dont stand a chance against "next week's cards"(yikes). But if you wait that long, just wait for the "next month" generation of cards. Better yet, dont waste any money and invest in a mutal bond or something. Then you can check the on-line performance on the computer you dont have.

 

[veryhumid]

will the bfg oc nivida 7800 GTX 512mb video card work with a regular 7800 GTX 512mb in sli?

i think SLI only works with cards having the same clock speeds and BIOS

 

[Despotes]

I can't believe this is still going.??

If you don't think SLI is worth the extra money--so what. Don't buy.
I agree, buying 2 SLI'd cards when you can buy 1 at the same performance level for about the same price is stupid, but when maximum performance is needed at hi-resolution and a single card doesn't cut it--Go SLI.

Similar to purchasing a new processor--Do you really think the minor perceived increase in speed is worth spending $300 - $400? To most of us it is and to others it's merely a tax on the uninformed.

Before I went SLI--Why did I replace my 6800GT with a 7800GTX?? Why did I upgrade my speakers from the Cambridge DTT 3500's to the Klipsch 5.1 Ultras? Because I'm uninformed?

 

[infinitevalence]

Despotes: im glad its still going, it had come to the point where people were just buying SLI with out thinking. now people are thinking about it again, asking is this what i need or what i want. That for me is more than enough of a win, i dont care how many people agree or disagree with me. I just want to ensure that the important question gets asked.