AND SO BEGINS the (unstoppable?) evolution of Multi-GPU gaming

[Hauk]

Single-GPU fans have fought it tooth and nail; but the Multi-GPU solution has lumberd down the runway and is off the ground.

Will single-GPU gaming make a comeback? With lower [total] cost units selling like hotcakes, will either camp even bother? Sure there are rumors of the next big single. But what next? Will it be enough by itself to run games a year from now?

Look at how many n00bs are taking on SLI for the first time! Look at how many have converted to SLI after swearing they'd never do it again [raises hand].

Multi-GPU is here to stay me thinks. Why would they go back to higher cost R&D and manufacturing? Some have speculated we're about to see The Last Huzzah.

What do you think?

 

[LittleNemoNES]

On the reverse, I am an SLI/Crossfire user gone single card

I felt like I was still @ work when I got home...too much tweaking, bugs, underwhelming performance.
I 8800GT -- set it to HQ: Done.

 

[Greenman]

Since most people will never want or use a multi card solution, I don't ever see it being main stream.

 

[Lithan]

Until SLI reaches 100% efficiency, it wont be mainstream. 90%+ of gamers aren't enthusiasts. The only SLI they're gonna see is on the "gaming" rig they buy from dell/gateway. And those guys care about the bottom line. Costlier mobo, costlier PSU, more elaborate and costlier case cooling, more noise, more (expensive) parts they have to warranty... yeah the costs for an OEM to include SLI are very high... so until it becomes a night and day difference scenario and they can get a large number of buyers to pay 500-1000$ premiums for SLI rigs, it wont be moving into mainstream.

 

[CP5670]

Originally posted by: gersson
On the reverse, I am an SLI/Crossfire user gone single card

I felt like I was still @ work when I got home...too much tweaking, bugs, underwhelming performance.
I 8800GT -- set it to HQ: Done.

This says it all for me. I had the exact same experience with multi GPU.

 

[phexac]

I am not likely to go for dual GPU, much less triple SLI or quad Xfire. If you get 30+ FPS in game, it's perfectly playable. If a game comes out that can not be run at max settings by any top single card out there (ahem Crysis) I will simply not buy until there is single GPU capable of maxing it. Some of the best games out there that sold most copies have slightly less-demanding graphics, run on all sorts of hardware, and are great games. Great graphics are cool, but if developers choose to make their games so that they cannot be handled by top-of the line hardware, then I am not going to uy their products.

 

[Hauk]

Originally posted by: Lithan
Until SLI reaches 100% efficiency, it wont be mainstream. 90%+ of gamers aren't enthusiasts. The only SLI they're gonna see is on the "gaming" rig they buy from dell/gateway...

Probably will never be 100% efficiency, but it's certainly more efficient than ever. Seems to be hitting 80% or better in a large percentage of new games. Agreed, exotic rigs have traditionally been had by enthusiasts with deep pockets; but with multi-gpu offerings starting at a $300 price point, it's certainly becomming more affordable. I bet a larger percentage of gaming rigs are home built than purchased thru online/retail now. Cards are cheap, CF/SLI mobos can be had under $100, memory, cases, it's all on the cheap. The only component that remains pricey is the psu. There's an answer for that too.. lower power cards. With 55nm cards widely available, power requirements are lower than ever.

All the reasons NOT to go Multi are being quietly addressed. Sales over the next year will define our mainstream in 2+. When Multi is running in 50%+ of gaming rigs out there, remember you heard it here first..

 

[Sylvanas]

We are going to have to wait for the next releases from AMD/Nv to answer this question....if the R700 or GT200 come out as single GPU and blow away any need for multi-GPU much like the 8800GTX did in november 06 then all talk of Multi-GPU being the future will die off for a while, wait and see- not long now .

 

[Lithan]

Originally posted by: SteelSix

Originally posted by: Lithan
Until SLI reaches 100% efficiency, it wont be mainstream. 90%+ of gamers aren't enthusiasts. The only SLI they're gonna see is on the "gaming" rig they buy from dell/gateway...

Probably will never be 100% efficiency, but it's certainly more efficient than ever. Seems to be hitting 80% or better in a large percentage of new games. Agreed, exotic rigs have traditionally been had by enthusiasts with deep pockets; but with multi-gpu offerings starting at a $300 price point, it's certainly becomming more affordable. I bet a larger percentage of gaming rigs are home built than purchased thru online/retail now. Cards are cheap, CF/SLI mobos can be had under $100, memory, cases, it's all on the cheap. The only component that remains pricey is the psu. There's an answer for that too.. lower power cards. With 55nm cards widely available, power requirements are lower than ever.

All the reasons NOT to go Multi are being quietly addressed. Sales over the next year will define our mainstream in 2+. When Multi is running in 50%+ of gaming rigs out there, remember you heard it here first..

But you're contradicting yourself. Until SLI is sold in the majority of assembled rigs, it can't ever be mainstream because almost all gaming rigs are bought assembled. Homebuilders are a very small portion of the gaming market. You may think that most gaming rigs are homebuilt, but a quick google will show you that it's very, very, very far from the case.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Lithan

Originally posted by: SteelSix

Originally posted by: Lithan
Until SLI reaches 100% efficiency, it wont be mainstream. 90%+ of gamers aren't enthusiasts. The only SLI they're gonna see is on the "gaming" rig they buy from dell/gateway...

Probably will never be 100% efficiency, but it's certainly more efficient than ever. Seems to be hitting 80% or better in a large percentage of new games. Agreed, exotic rigs have traditionally been had by enthusiasts with deep pockets; but with multi-gpu offerings starting at a $300 price point, it's certainly becomming more affordable. I bet a larger percentage of gaming rigs are home built than purchased thru online/retail now. Cards are cheap, CF/SLI mobos can be had under $100, memory, cases, it's all on the cheap. The only component that remains pricey is the psu. There's an answer for that too.. lower power cards. With 55nm cards widely available, power requirements are lower than ever.

All the reasons NOT to go Multi are being quietly addressed. Sales over the next year will define our mainstream in 2+. When Multi is running in 50%+ of gaming rigs out there, remember you heard it here first..

But you're contradicting yourself. Until SLI is sold in the majority of assembled rigs, it can't ever be mainstream because almost all gaming rigs are bought assembled. Homebuilders are a very small portion of the gaming market. You may think that most gaming rigs are homebuilt, but a quick google will show you that it's very, very, very far from the case.

He could of meant "mainstream" just for folks like us. And that I could see happening eventually.

 

[SpeedyGonzales]

Originally posted by: phexac
I am not likely to go for dual GPU, much less triple SLI or quad Xfire. If you get 30+ FPS in game, it's perfectly playable. If a game comes out that can not be run at max settings by any top single card out there (ahem Crysis) I will simply not buy until there is single GPU capable of maxing it. Some of the best games out there that sold most copies have slightly less-demanding graphics, run on all sorts of hardware, and are great games. Great graphics are cool, but if developers choose to make their games so that they cannot be handled by top-of the line hardware, then I am not going to uy their products.

What he said.

I switched from a 7800gt SLI set-up to a single 8800gt 320 set-up and never looked back.

I ignore Crysis, most of the other games just run fine @ 1680*1050 on a 2.5 year-old rig.

I like new technology, I have the money to buy it, but I do not like to be ripped-off.

 

[Lithan]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Lithan

Originally posted by: SteelSix

Originally posted by: Lithan
Until SLI reaches 100% efficiency, it wont be mainstream. 90%+ of gamers aren't enthusiasts. The only SLI they're gonna see is on the "gaming" rig they buy from dell/gateway...

Probably will never be 100% efficiency, but it's certainly more efficient than ever. Seems to be hitting 80% or better in a large percentage of new games. Agreed, exotic rigs have traditionally been had by enthusiasts with deep pockets; but with multi-gpu offerings starting at a $300 price point, it's certainly becomming more affordable. I bet a larger percentage of gaming rigs are home built than purchased thru online/retail now. Cards are cheap, CF/SLI mobos can be had under $100, memory, cases, it's all on the cheap. The only component that remains pricey is the psu. There's an answer for that too.. lower power cards. With 55nm cards widely available, power requirements are lower than ever.

All the reasons NOT to go Multi are being quietly addressed. Sales over the next year will define our mainstream in 2+. When Multi is running in 50%+ of gaming rigs out there, remember you heard it here first..

But you're contradicting yourself. Until SLI is sold in the majority of assembled rigs, it can't ever be mainstream because almost all gaming rigs are bought assembled. Homebuilders are a very small portion of the gaming market. You may think that most gaming rigs are homebuilt, but a quick google will show you that it's very, very, very far from the case.

He could of meant "mainstream" just for folks like us. And that I could see happening eventually.

Chipset manu's gotta start dual support than... most gamers are going to upgrade gfx more often than platform and not being able to switch between ati and nvidia when one takes the lead from the other will be a problem (if ati ever manages to have an advantage for more than a month).

 

[Greenman]

Originally posted by: SteelSix

Originally posted by: Lithan
Until SLI reaches 100% efficiency, it wont be mainstream. 90%+ of gamers aren't enthusiasts. The only SLI they're gonna see is on the "gaming" rig they buy from dell/gateway...

Probably will never be 100% efficiency, but it's certainly more efficient than ever. Seems to be hitting 80% or better in a large percentage of new games. Agreed, exotic rigs have traditionally been had by enthusiasts with deep pockets; but with multi-gpu offerings starting at a $300 price point, it's certainly becomming more affordable. I bet a larger percentage of gaming rigs are home built than purchased thru online/retail now. Cards are cheap, CF/SLI mobos can be had under $100, memory, cases, it's all on the cheap. The only component that remains pricey is the psu. There's an answer for that too.. lower power cards. With 55nm cards widely available, power requirements are lower than ever.

All the reasons NOT to go Multi are being quietly addressed. Sales over the next year will define our mainstream in 2+. When Multi is running in 50%+ of gaming rigs out there, remember you heard it here first..

You could be right. If they get all the bugs worked out of the drivers, if setup is easy, if two or more pci-e slots become standard on all motherboards, if top of the line cards sell for a hundred bucks or less, then yeah sure, I could see sli as being main stream.

 

[DSF]

It may be on the horizon, but I wouldn't say it's already lumbered down the runway and taken off. It will be a while yet before multi-GPU setups are the norm.

 

[BoboKatt]

Having owned both single GPU systems and Crossfire ones I can say I still prefer a simple one card solution - especially when the one card solution is as good as a multi GPU setup. I have a 8800GTX in one system and a dual Ati X1950XTX in another -- 8800GTX still wins.

If I were buying new and had to get everything to start I would certainly go SLI or Crossfire now -- which is a good thing considering how low the prices are on pretty much every part of a dual GPU system. In other words yah, the future looks bright indeed for multi GPU.

It's interesting that a while back folks would spend large on say an SLI board like the 680i and then get one video card like the 8800GTX as the cost was so high to go SLI after you just paid for that one expensive card and the premium on those motherboards. Then many (and I was one) would say, later on I will add a second 8800GTX -- but I never did.

Again now with the current cost of say 8800GT's, there is NO reason to just get one. Same goes for crossfire 3870 or 3850's. The real bottleneck is still choices in motherboards.... it's so easy to go Crossfire with many Intel boards supporting it... whereas you are still stuck jumping over to an nVidia chipset for SLI and (not sure anymore about this) but the cost of SLI boards is still expensive (?).

As far as driver support and actual gameplay increase etc., to tell you the truth I never really cared that I did not get say 100% increase with my second ATI card in my crossfire rig. Sadly I just wanted to try crossfire and see if I got ANY increase at all LOL. In fact I don't need a second 8800GTX for what I do, but I will be getting one if I can find a used one a decent price just to see what SLI does, how it improves eventually etc.

I would surmise that any PC hardware/gaming enthusiast would go SLI/Crossfire if they have the money, whether they actually need it or not.

 

[Hauk]

Originally posted by: Lithan

Originally posted by: SteelSix

Originally posted by: Lithan
Until SLI reaches 100% efficiency, it wont be mainstream. 90%+ of gamers aren't enthusiasts. The only SLI they're gonna see is on the "gaming" rig they buy from dell/gateway...

Probably will never be 100% efficiency, but it's certainly more efficient than ever. Seems to be hitting 80% or better in a large percentage of new games. Agreed, exotic rigs have traditionally been had by enthusiasts with deep pockets; but with multi-gpu offerings starting at a $300 price point, it's certainly becomming more affordable. I bet a larger percentage of gaming rigs are home built than purchased thru online/retail now. Cards are cheap, CF/SLI mobos can be had under $100, memory, cases, it's all on the cheap. The only component that remains pricey is the psu. There's an answer for that too.. lower power cards. With 55nm cards widely available, power requirements are lower than ever.

All the reasons NOT to go Multi are being quietly addressed. Sales over the next year will define our mainstream in 2+. When Multi is running in 50%+ of gaming rigs out there, remember you heard it here first..

But you're contradicting yourself. Until SLI is sold in the majority of assembled rigs, it can't ever be mainstream because almost all gaming rigs are bought assembled. Homebuilders are a very small portion of the gaming market. You may think that most gaming rigs are homebuilt, but a quick google will show you that it's very, very, very far from the case.

I don't have hard and fast numbers, but look at how many n00b's are posting on this site alone with first time SLI rigs. These are home brews, not online purchases. Sure there are plenty of places to buy online.

I think anyone who says the MAJORITY of gaming rigs are bought online is underestimating how many builders are out there now. Just in my circle of contacts, I know like ten teenagers who've built rigs for their parents and family. Home builders are everywhere now, all ages, all walks of life.

Back on topic.. the bird is in the air..

 

[Lithan]

Talk to blizz, they took system specs with patches. A lot of gaming magazines have done polls over the years and seems to fall 10-20% homebuilt... and I figure even that's a little skewed because homebuilders take pride in their rigs and are more likely to respond (to brag).


And I never said online... you think Gateway shops stay in business selling cell phone caddies?

 

[Hauk]

Originally posted by: Lithan
Talk to blizz, they took system specs with patches. A lot of gaming magazines have done polls over the years and seems to fall 10-20% homebuilt... and I figure even that's a little skewed because homebuilders take pride in their rigs and are more likely to respond (to brag).

I'll just agree with you. It's easier.

The mainstream market, whatever that is or shall be, will dictate what technology we'll have available.

 

[NanoStuff]

Inevitable, yes, but not imminent. Nvidia and ATI have both done a good job showing how multi-GPU configurations are poorly suitable for rasterization. I don't expect much out of it until ray tracing comes knocking.

 

[Skunkwourk]

*conspiracy hat on*

SLI/Crossfire should never become mainstream. If multi-gpu does, then gpu makers will no longer attempt to create high-performing single card solutions, forcing gamers to buy a second card to get respectable performance

*conspiracy hat off*

Realistically though, developers don't always make games aimed solely for high-end SLI/Crossfire rigs. Sure you have Crysis, but most developers target the "sweet spot" market which accomodates the widest range of PCs. Anything to increase sales. I would say most SLI/Crossfire users are Enthusiasts who are never the majority. My feeling is the majority PC gamers are bang for buck shoppers with a single gpu. It just wouldn't make sense to the average consumer, why they should have to buy 2 video cards. Also, given how we laugh at the misinformed gamer who goes to bestbuy and picks a card solely on how much VRAM it has, do you really think they'll do the research to weigh the benefits of 2 cheaper video cards in SLI vs one powerful gpu?

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: SpeedyGonzales

Originally posted by: phexac
I am not likely to go for dual GPU, much less triple SLI or quad Xfire. If you get 30+ FPS in game, it's perfectly playable. If a game comes out that can not be run at max settings by any top single card out there (ahem Crysis) I will simply not buy until there is single GPU capable of maxing it. Some of the best games out there that sold most copies have slightly less-demanding graphics, run on all sorts of hardware, and are great games. Great graphics are cool, but if developers choose to make their games so that they cannot be handled by top-of the line hardware, then I am not going to uy their products.

What he said.

I switched from a 7800gt SLI set-up to a single 8800gt 320 set-up and never looked back.

I ignore Crysis, most of the other games just run fine @ 1680*1050 on a 2.5 year-old rig.

I like new technology, I have the money to buy it, but I do not like to be ripped-off.

1680 X 1050 is too low a resolution to utilize G80 or G90 SLi for anything other than ultra high AA.

Single G80s and G90s will handle that res fine.

SLi and Crossfire are best utilized for achieving settings unreachable with single cards.

Secondarily they can be used as a cheap upgrade when the single card becomes too weak.

 

[v8envy]

Originally posted by: nRollo


Secondarily they can be used as a cheap upgrade when the single card becomes too weak.

I've never seen the SLI upgrade to be cost effective, ever since I became interested in the technology. Invariably selling (or just passing down) old hardware and upgrading to a single faster card has been better and cheaper in every respect. Everyone else had come to the same conclusion over the years -- multi-GPU right off the bat, with the highest end parts or not at all.

It's only with the 9600GT performing in the same ballpark as the higher end midrange products (9800GTX) that SLIing low end parts became interesting to the average Joe.

 

[mxyzptlk]

Interesting. Last november I purchased an 8600GT, simply because I was upgrading my mobo and needed PCI-E for cheap and I had a sort of "maybe one day" idea about SLI in the future. I'm not getting the sort of performance I'd like out of CoD4 and a 2nd card is ONLY another 95 bucks right now. Should I even bother?

rest of my system is:

C2D 6550 (not OC'd at the moment.. shit wasnt working right.. has been as high as 3ghz stable in the winter)
EVGA nForce 680i SLI
2x1GB Corsair DDR2 800

I dont really wanna just throw a hundred bucks at my CoD4 performance if its not going to be a night and day difference. The card otherwise performs well in the older/less demanding games I play (CS, audiosurf, WoW for my girlfriend), and CoD4 represents the only "next gen" (I'm not even sure that label applies) game that I've tried. And I REALLY don't want to introduce instability into my system if I dont have to..

edit: if I could just get CoD4 for PS3 to work with a mouse and keyboard, I wouldn't even NEED a computer. :roll:

 

[Jax Omen]

while a second card would give you more performance, you could spend $110-$130 and get an 8800GS/9600GT and get significantly more performance than the 8600GT SLI would give you. That's why people say SLI is only worthwhile if you're already running a high-end card.

 

[nitromullet]

Having owned both the current ATI and NVIDIA dual gpu single cards, I have to say that both companies have done a very nice job of making the dual gpu nature of the card very transparent to the end user. The only indication that you're running a dual gpu with the GX2 is the fact that the radio button next to SLI is checked. Otherwise, it feels like a single card. The 3870 X2 is the same way... Nothing to mess with.

I think that the if dual gpu is going to be adopted by the mainstream (or even just the enthusiast gamer), it will be on the form of dual gpu singe cards, and not dual card setups. Dual gpu cards have all the advantages of a dual card setup (except maybe re-sale options), but they don't require a specific motherboard to run. This gives consumers a lot more flexibility because it doesn't lock them into a platform. Plus, as I mentioned before, the drivers for the dual gpu cards are designed to make the existence of the dual gpus transparent to the end user, which is really what it's all about. If you can drop a singe or multi-gpu card into your rig and the only difference is that the muti-gpu card runs faster, then there isn't really that much of a hurdle left. Granted, we aren't quite there yet, but both SLI and Crossfire continue to get better and better every time I try them.