Building a new system, talk me OUT of buying 2 video cards.

dalearyous

Senior member
Jan 8, 2006
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ok im pretty up to date with hardware etc... and im very close to buying new computer. this is what i will most likely buy:
x2 4800
2 gigs of ram
mobo
audigy 2 plat (already have)
2 10k rpm raptor drives (already have)
drives etc... (got it)
video card(s): 2 7800gtx cards

ive talked to a lot of my friends about it and they got me thinking...why pay what close to a grand for 2 video cards when you can buy one and almost get the performance and then a year or two from now spend that 500 dollars you saved on a top of the line video card that way for 4 years your card is pretty much the ******.

i countered with the fact that when buying computer i usually go for the best at the time and have the machine last me 4 years, thats been the cycle...no real complaints. plus i feel that posts and friends haven't warmed up to multi gpu thing. dual video cards really pull ahead when you turn on AA and AF and i want to be able to do that maxed out. also, drivers and games are only going to get better and more enhanced for dual vid card setup. sooooo why should i not buy 2 vid cards?
 

Soccerman06

Diamond Member
Jul 29, 2004
5,830
5
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First of, dont buy 7800GTXs right now. Before people start flaming, remember that the r580 and G71 are just around the corner, literally.

Why not just buy a brand new, top of the line card every other year instead of buying 2 top end every 4. It makes a lot more sense in the financial/performance book. I personally have a 9800pro sitting at home, and it is running still working, albiet not at the level Id like it to be (kinda slow at most games).
 

dalearyous

Senior member
Jan 8, 2006
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yeah, i wasn't planning on buying till middle of february anyway. i guess i could go with one of the new cards and sit on it. if within a year software/drivers makes 2 video cards literally double performance ill just buy another.
 

dalearyous

Senior member
Jan 8, 2006
836
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monitor...i have the NEC FP2141sb (22" CRT) but honestly i was contemplating going to spring for a new LCD and go with the dell 2405.
 

Matt2

Diamond Member
Jul 28, 2001
4,762
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Yeah wait till G71 and R580, then you'll be able to make a more informed decision.

That 2405 will definately be hungry for lots of GPU power :D
 

Neavo

Junior Member
Jan 17, 2006
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quick thing, right now, i saw a guy with a sempron. and i LMAO! it was hilarious. me and my buddies have been in computing since forever.
and the sempron is laughable. Cheap cpu, weak core. Get something more dense.
 

Andres3605

Senior member
Nov 14, 2004
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Originally posted by: Neavo
quick thing, right now, i saw a guy with a sempron. and i LMAO! it was hilarious. me and my buddies have been in computing since forever.
and the sempron is laughable. Cheap cpu, weak core. Get something more dense.
Are you serius?, they are excellent value Cpus
 

NoStateofMind

Diamond Member
Oct 14, 2005
9,711
6
76
I would definatly wait for a week til R580 comes to the forefront. Even if you don't decide to buy an R580, the prices of the other cards should drop. :)
 

Munky

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2005
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0
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Originally posted by: Neavo
quick thing, right now, i saw a guy with a sempron. and i LMAO! it was hilarious. me and my buddies have been in computing since forever.
and the sempron is laughable. Cheap cpu, weak core. Get something more dense.

The celeron is a laughable cpu, not to be confused with a sempron which is a pretty good value cpu.
 

Sentry2

Senior member
Mar 21, 2005
820
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Originally posted by: Andres3605
Originally posted by: Neavo
quick thing, right now, i saw a guy with a sempron. and i LMAO! it was hilarious. me and my buddies have been in computing since forever.
and the sempron is laughable. Cheap cpu, weak core. Get something more dense.
Are you serius?, they are excellent value Cpus

I agree....the Sempron 64 2800+ is a great deal and will usually overclock 50%+ on the stock heatsink while still running cool.

If you're laughing at kmmatey's sempron 64 I would seriously hope you're not running an Intel. Show me a celeron chip that will out perform that sempron in games at the same cost. I am a little biased towards AMD's though. ;)


On topic: Wait for the G71/R580. I think either of these new cards will meet you're needs. ;) Buying 1 ultra high end card every two years would be better than 2 now for four years..IMO Just think how outdated the 7800's will be in 4 years.
 

hooflung

Golden Member
Dec 31, 2004
1,190
1
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Why not buy into SLI? Because there is no real performance gains for the money. SLI 6800Ultras aren't as good as 1 7800GTX. Its that simple. Why would you not expect the same thing happening with the new cards? Not to mention you can get one good card and an Athlon FX 60? Or even put it into 1 major card and a PhysX card when they drop next month?

In otherwords, Give me a reason why you SHOULD buy 2 cards.
 

Matthias99

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2003
8,808
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Originally posted by: hooflung
Why not buy into SLI? Because there is no real performance gains for the money. SLI 6800Ultras aren't as good as 1 7800GTX. Its that simple. Why would you not expect the same thing happening with the new cards? Not to mention you can get one good card and an Athlon FX 60? Or even put it into 1 major card and a PhysX card when they drop next month?

In otherwords, Give me a reason why you SHOULD buy 2 cards.

Because two 7800GTs or GTXes are better than any single card you can get in terms of performance? I'm not saying it's cost-effective, but if you want the fastest solution, going multi-card is how to get it. If you want to run at 1920x1200 on a 2405FPW with AA/AF, you need all the horsepower you can get.

That said, if you're looking to spend $500+ RIGHT NOW, I'd at least wait to see the final performance numbers on the R580 cards, which should be out in a couple weeks at most.
 

hooflung

Golden Member
Dec 31, 2004
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Originally posted by: Matthias99
Originally posted by: hooflung
Why not buy into SLI? Because there is no real performance gains for the money. SLI 6800Ultras aren't as good as 1 7800GTX. Its that simple. Why would you not expect the same thing happening with the new cards? Not to mention you can get one good card and an Athlon FX 60? Or even put it into 1 major card and a PhysX card when they drop next month?

In otherwords, Give me a reason why you SHOULD buy 2 cards.

Because two 7800GTs or GTXes are better than any single card you can get in terms of performance? I'm not saying it's cost-effective, but if you want the fastest solution, going multi-card is how to get it. If you want to run at 1920x1200 on a 2405FPW with AA/AF, you need all the horsepower you can get.

That said, if you're looking to spend $500+ RIGHT NOW, I'd at least wait to see the final performance numbers on the R580 cards, which should be out in a couple weeks at most.


Cost effective isn't on the same planet as SLI. The ONLY reason I can see to get SLI is for double monitors running off their own card AND pushing a game to its own CPU core. Multiboxing at its best. Anything other reason is a waste imho.
 

Matthias99

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2003
8,808
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Originally posted by: hooflung
Cost effective isn't on the same planet as SLI. The ONLY reason I can see to get SLI is for double monitors running off their own card AND pushing a game to its own CPU core. Multiboxing at its best. Anything other reason is a waste imho.

That would... not be using SLI at all. The entire point of SLI is to make two independent videocards seem like one (faster) videocard. This is very useful for trying to run demanding games at the highest resolution/quality settings. It's also very useful for professional 3D development applications (running 3DSMAX/Maya, etc.) when a single card won't cut it.

If you're not getting the performance you want out of a single 7800GTX or X1800XT, the only way to get higher performance TODAY is to use an SLI/Crossfire setup. Sure, you can wait for newer hardware to come out, but some people are impatient. :p
 

hooflung

Golden Member
Dec 31, 2004
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Originally posted by: Matthias99
Originally posted by: hooflung
Cost effective isn't on the same planet as SLI. The ONLY reason I can see to get SLI is for double monitors running off their own card AND pushing a game to its own CPU core. Multiboxing at its best. Anything other reason is a waste imho.

That would... not be using SLI at all. The entire point of SLI is to make two independent videocards seem like one (faster) videocard. This is very useful for trying to run demanding games at the highest resolution/quality settings. It's also very useful for professional 3D development applications (running 3DSMAX/Maya, etc.) when a single card won't cut it.

If you're not getting the performance you want out of a single 7800GTX or X1800XT, the only way to get higher performance TODAY is to use an SLI/Crossfire setup. Sure, you can wait for newer hardware to come out, but some people are impatient. :p


SLI is not only a technology describing how the graphics work but also a staple marketing jargon for Nvidia. There are two people we are describing here now. Professional sector, where they care about RoI (Return on Investment) and Gamers (who have to have the best.)

SLI fails in the professional arena in the purposed SLI modes. There is no real return on investment wasting money to render. Two times the investment without 2 times the benefit. It would also be hard to get 1.2 times the benefit in many cases. Its a nifty feature at best.

Gamers benefit is subjective. I say it's worthless but that l337 guy or gal with tons of disposable income to waste on ~20-30% performance in a game or two might think otherwise.

However, using SLI outside its marketed purpose does have RoI for both the gamer AND the professional. Since a second monitor can be ran independently off the 2nd card there can be things such as email clients, wiki, hhow-tos, web browsers, DVD playing, TV Broadcast, Netmeetings, another game, etc etc. If that is what the OP is going for then by all means. You can even spend less money on the second card and do a 6600GT. But for one game or one app... its a bit too much and people have bought into marketing.
 

deadseasquirrel

Golden Member
Nov 20, 2001
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Originally posted by: Sentry2
Originally posted by: Andres3605
Originally posted by: Neavo
quick thing, right now, i saw a guy with a sempron. and i LMAO! it was hilarious. me and my buddies have been in computing since forever.
and the sempron is laughable. Cheap cpu, weak core. Get something more dense.
Are you serius?, they are excellent value Cpus

I agree....the Sempron 64 2800+ is a great deal and will usually overclock 50%+ on the stock heatsink while still running cool.

If you're laughing at kmmatey's sempron 64 I would seriously hope you're not running an Intel. Show me a celeron chip that will out perform that sempron in games at the same cost.

Right here. Though, I'm not sure FEAR is the best example since, at this point, we don't know if it represents what next-gen games will be like, or whether it's just poorly coded. FWIW, COD2 has similar results too.

Maybe CPU speed just doesn't matter anymore with next-gen games at resolutions above 1024x768.
 

Matthias99

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2003
8,808
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Originally posted by: hooflung
SLI fails in the professional arena in the purposed SLI modes. There is no real return on investment wasting money to render. Two times the investment without 2 times the benefit. It would also be hard to get 1.2 times the benefit in many cases. Its a nifty feature at best.

Getting even 20-30% improvement for the (relatively miniscule) cost of a graphics card is HUGE when you're at the maxed-out end of the performance spectrum already. There's no other way to get that performance, so if a single card is not fast enough, that's really your only choice. If that improved performance results in better productivity, it could easily be 'worth it' from a 'return on investment' perspective.

Gamers benefit is subjective. I say it's worthless but that l337 guy or gal with tons of disposable income to waste on ~20-30% performance in a game or two might think otherwise.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Also, the performance boost can be considerably more than 20-30% in some cases.

However, using SLI outside its marketed purpose does have RoI for both the gamer AND the professional. Since a second monitor can be ran independently off the 2nd card there can be things such as email clients, wiki, hhow-tos, web browsers, DVD playing, TV Broadcast, Netmeetings, another game, etc etc. If that is what the OP is going for then by all means. You can even spend less money on the second card and do a 6600GT. But for one game or one app... its a bit too much and people have bought into marketing.

Okay, but that's not "SLI", that's just "running multiple video cards/monitors". :confused: I'm well aware of how nice multiple monitors are, and no, you don't need fast video cards to do that (even regular PCI ones work fine). In fact, if you don't want to run more than two monitors, you only need a single video card.
 

Matthias99

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2003
8,808
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Originally posted by: deadseasquirrel
Right here. Though, I'm not sure FEAR is the best example since, at this point, we don't know if it represents what next-gen games will be like, or whether it's just poorly coded. FWIW, COD2 has similar results too.

Maybe CPU speed just doesn't matter anymore with next-gen games at resolutions above 1024x768.

Look at that graph for a second and consider that an FX-57 is getting the same framerate as a Sempron 2800+. The game is clearly completely GPU-limited at those settings.

Even in the games where it's not, the Celeron D 351 (~$120-130) is barely squeaking by the Sempron 3100+ (~$80-90), and sometimes is WAY behind it. While the Celeron D is not a complete piece of garbage like the original P4 Celerons were, it doesn't look real competitive in terms of gaming.