do all of you actually run SLI?

[Remedy]

Originally posted by: mOeeOm

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
SLI mobo + 2 dual DVI cards + 4 LCDs = Teh Win.

Just because it's an SLI board doesn't mean you have to run the cards as such.

- M4H

Common who needs 4 monitors....I still don't get people using two monitors, seems silly to me.

Try working with Sound Forge, CD Architect, Vegas 6 & Solidworks or Visio, and then come back to discuss this.

 

[Megatomic]

Not I. Heck, I'm still using an AGP8X mobo...

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Some SLI mobos have extra features, like the MSI Neo4/SLI and Neo4 Platinum SLI, which come with onboard Audigy Live. Other than that though, there pretty much isn't any reason for SLI... Such a retarded waste of money...

 

[jonesmaster]

I got an SLI board for future upgradeability. Right now one 7800 is plenty for what I do, but in 6 months Im not so sure. This way when I need more graphics power, instead of shelling out $550 for a new top of the line card, I can put in half that for a slightly outdated card that will put me up to current specs.

Thats why I bought SLI.

 

[Azndude2190]

I have a Leadtek 6600GT PCI-E card and I'm getting another one to go SLI...I dont want to go through the hassel of finding someone who's willing to buy my year old 6600GT...and plus I just need something that will play most of the newer games today on with max settings at 1024x768(my monitor limits me from getting a 7800 but I'm satisfied with that)...i'm planning on selling the whole system when I start college which is 2 years so 6600GT SLI is the best for me at this point given my circumstances

 

[lordsaytor]

Are SLI motherboards really that much more expensive than non SLI motherboards? I mean, you guys are saying SLI is a waste of money and you might be right. But the average SLI mobo isn't that much more expensive.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Originally posted by: Azndude2190
I have a Leadtek 6600GT PCI-E card and I'm getting another one to go SLI...I dont want to go through the hassel of finding someone who's willing to buy my year old 6600GT...and plus I just need something that will play most of the newer games today on with max settings at 1024x768(my monitor limits me from getting a 7800 but I'm satisfied with that)...i'm planning on selling the whole system when I start college which is 2 years so 6600GT SLI is the best for me at this point given my circumstances

You're wasting ~$300+ on video cards that perform like a ~$250 video card...

 

[MobiusPizza]

Originally posted by: chrisrod01
If you want the best of the best duh ofcourse you will have to run sli . I mean if you have the money hell go for it and make the fastest computer.Sli is not really a waste if you think about it. Let say you say sli mobo and only one 6800gt and later hardcore games come out you could buy another 6800gt to increase performance without buying all new stuff.But thats only my opinion

Yeah. But if you plan ahead and save money to upgrade to next-generation non-top-of-the-line card that has twice the performance, you get all newest features and lower power consumption.

SLI is ONLY useful if you have all the money to buy 2 top component graphic card at the same time you purchased your PC.
Upgrading with SLI is a money wasting strategy

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: AnnihilatorX

Originally posted by: chrisrod01
If you want the best of the best duh ofcourse you will have to run sli . I mean if you have the money hell go for it and make the fastest computer.Sli is not really a waste if you think about it. Let say you say sli mobo and only one 6800gt and later hardcore games come out you could buy another 6800gt to increase performance without buying all new stuff.But thats only my opinion

Yeah. But if you plan ahead and save money to upgrade to next-generation non-top-of-the-line card that has twice the performance, you get all newest features and lower power consumption.

SLI is ONLY useful if you have all the money to buy 2 top component graphic card at the same time you purchased your PC.
Upgrading with SLI is a money wasting strategy

Not if you get a 2nd card on the cheap from someone selling to upgrade to the new generation of cards when they are released.
Or as a mid generation upgrade (ie: 7800's released, buy one, 3 months later buy a second since the cards after won't be out for a while, rather than buying an incremental speed bump, or waiting another 6 mo for the next gen).

 

[MobiusPizza]

Originally posted by: Lonyo

Originally posted by: AnnihilatorX

Originally posted by: chrisrod01
If you want the best of the best duh ofcourse you will have to run sli . I mean if you have the money hell go for it and make the fastest computer.Sli is not really a waste if you think about it. Let say you say sli mobo and only one 6800gt and later hardcore games come out you could buy another 6800gt to increase performance without buying all new stuff.But thats only my opinion

Yeah. But if you plan ahead and save money to upgrade to next-generation non-top-of-the-line card that has twice the performance, you get all newest features and lower power consumption.

SLI is ONLY useful if you have all the money to buy 2 top component graphic card at the same time you purchased your PC.
Upgrading with SLI is a money wasting strategy

Not if you get a 2nd card on the cheap from someone selling to upgrade to the new generation of cards when they are released.
Or as a mid generation upgrade (ie: 7800's released, buy one, 3 months later buy a second since the cards after won't be out for a while, rather than buying an incremental speed bump, or waiting another 6 mo for the next gen).

Mind that SLi still need an identical card by the same card manufacturer. Whether you can find a seller selling his old card of same BIOS version, same build is a matter of luck.

By the time new gen card is just out probably it still cost quite a lot for the old card, as well as the new one. I would say it does worth a wait waiting for next gen second tier cards out. Check this:

If I have a GeForce 6800GT and wanna upgrade...
Original SLi board +$50 compared to nForce 4 Ultra boards

First Option
Buy a GeForce 6800GT second hand for $200 to run SLi, expected life = 1 year, performance ~ 1.8x (not garanteed)

Second Option
Buy a GeForce 7800GT first hand for $400, expected life = 1.x year (Probably 1.5x because of extended feature set. I myself can live with 2 years) + features and benefits, performance ~2x + Lower power consumption to save electricity bill + less noise + potentially less problem + more support on games (SLi is still immature in game support)

Anyway you see it I think the second option is more favourablre
You get all new features such as Pixel Shader 4 (not for this example, may be next gen) which is the point of this.

 

[Minotar]

Notice that the only people dissing SLI are the ones who can't afford it... Or is it just me?

Anyway, SLI can be a savior for the hardcore gamer! Just play battlegrounds in World of Warcraft and see a prime example of how SLI can turn a lag-fest into a playable experience, instantly. I use it everyday for gaming!!!!

 

[MobiusPizza]

Yeah. If you can afford buying 2 cards straight away to preview next-gen performance of course it's nice

 

[GamerExpress]

Yep I agree OP, money wasted.

 

[Topweasel]

No I am not going to be running SLI right away On my system I am just now finishing. I do plan within about 1.5-2 yrs picking another 7800GTX and throwing it in for SLI. I just looked at the Video card that is currently in my system I am using till i get my new proc in for the new machine, its a 9800XT and can now be picked up for $150. Right now the 7800GTX plays everything it needs to right so maybe right now it might not be completely needed, but future games will push it. Instead of throwing thi $500 card out i can double its performance for an extra 150$ to me I would be worth it to help extend the value of that original purchase even if doubling the performance can be purchased for $150 ( GF9600GT) because I am then taking full advantage of my original tech and increase the life of my substantial investment. The Idea of constantly trying to sell my video card just to stay up with the highend seems like to much work for me and again I am talking about a machine that I don't intend to do much to (2nd 7800GTX, Memory, and maybe hard drive not withstanding) for roughly 3 yrs.

 

[John2583]

I am planning on buying the MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI board. I am getting one BFG NVIDIA 6800GT. I want the mobo for its features, dual SATA II, Dual Gigabit(one provided by nforce chipset, the other marvel, as opposed to both being marvel on the Ultra mobo) The Soundblaster Audigy onboard sound has hardly any CPU overhead compared to the RealTek ALC850 on the Ultra. One of the reasons I want these features is because I plan on running Gentoo linux on it mainly, and with the multiple diff. chips for SATA and Gigabit Ethernet there is a better chance to have at least one fully functional driver for linux. (I have researched it and it looks like there is support for all of the diff. SATA and Ethernet on the Platinum, although you have to patch things for some of the chips). I don't really plan on buying another 6800 GT anytime soon, but topweasel made a good argument for buying another one after a year or two when the prices come down like for the ATi 9800XT today.

and then there is this:

Originally posted by: lordsaytor
Are SLI motherboards really that much more expensive than non SLI motherboards? I mean, you guys are saying SLI is a waste of money and you might be right. But the average SLI mobo isn't that much more expensive.

I've been saving up for this system all summer, so $50 isn't that much more considering the features you are getting. Remember, it's not always abou the SLI capability.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

Originally posted by: AnnihilatorX
Mind that SLi still need an identical card by the same card manufacturer. Whether you can find a seller selling his old card of same BIOS version, same build is a matter of luck.

That's a common misconception about SLI. You do NOT need identical BIOSs. Yet, you do need the same manufacturer, which does add complexity to the SLI upgrader. I've never really liked SLI as an upgrade path personally, though I suppose if someone got an amazing deal on a used card, it could make sense.

Another misconception about SLI is that the next gen will perform almost 2x as well as the previous gen top-of-the-line SLI. 7800GTX does not beat SLI 6800U/GT in any benchmarks at 16x12 4xAA 8xAF. Here's a quick sample from the benches right here on Anandtech:

BF2
6800U SLI....... 53.3
7800GTX......... 53.4

Doom3
6800U SLI....... 75.4
7800GTX......... 54.2

EQ2
6800U SLI....... 24.8
7800GTX......... 21.5

HL2
6800U SLI....... 118.4
7800GTX......... 119

SC:CT
6800U SLI....... 53.7
7800GTX......... 56.5

Those are 5 graphically-demanding and popular games. I wouldn't give either the GTX or the U SLI the win... except maybe with Doom3, which seems to really love SLI. Otherwise, it's pretty much a wash.

Anyway, calling something a "waste of money" is just a silly argument. What kind of car do you drive? If you spent over $5000, you must have wasted money because you could've just bought a used '95 honda since it will get you from point A to point B, right? What is important to one person may not be to another.

You get my point. Those that spend the extra money for a high-end SLI system want the best performance they can get. Right now, that is SLI. Back in January of this year, you could have purchased SLI 6800U/GT. Right now, 9 months later, the only graphic setup that can beat it at 16x12 4xAA/8xAF is SLI 7800s. The jury is still out for R520, and nV seems to have cancelled the 7800U. So who knows-- there may not be a single card this year that can end up topping SLI 6800U. R520 will have to be faster than the GTX to be able to do it.

 

[Aquila76]

I love my SLI. The 6800U's were ~$600 a piece when I built my system, and I get at least the same performance in the games I play with the SLI'd 6600GT's (cost me ~$400). In a year or so I'll probably get whatever SLI nVidia or Crossfire ATI is out and top of the heap. Supposedly the tech is built that you can use either co.'s mobo and run the other co.'s paired cards.

 

[mode101wpb]

I have the capability but by the time I dump large amounts of cash out for twin identical GPUs SLI2 will be the rage.

 

[redhatlinux]

Sli isn't just for gamers guys. Some people actually do REAL work using multiple monitors. I once bought a mobo with RAID, never did RAID any disks but at the time I had plans to. Plans change, mine did. The box was going to be a Linux box, it was for a while but it became a Winblows box. What's stupid, saying people are stupid when you have absolutely know idea what they use their box for. I can't even count the number of Pcs that I've had over the years. I do know that most of them did REAL work, earned money.