Is SLI getting better, or did Nvidia just turn it into another PR ploy?

[MonkeyFaces]

The first time I heard of SLI, I figured it was just a way for Nvidia to make 2x the money for less than 2x the performance (50% of second card at best). Now that SLI is well established and more mature, does anyone know if Nvidia will continue to allow SLI to utilize the second card. or will it just expand support to other games? Will 2 7900gt's ever utilize 80% of the second card as seen in the gx2 as drivers mature?

 

[Ackmed]

Yes its getting better. Its a LOT better than when it was launched. Yes they will continue to use the second card, why would they not? The 2nd 7900GT can be utilized 80% now, or more depending on the game, and the res. F.E.A.R. is the "SLI" poster child. It gets a huge boost from the second card. As do other games. Some do not scale as well as others, but generally 80% of the second card will be used if you're not in a lower'ish res.

 

[MonkeyFaces]

If 80% is being done now, then how come 2x 7900gt's don't= 7950gx2?

 

[Ackmed]

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2717&p=7

Read that, or any other review that compared one 7900GT, to two in SLI.

As I said, depending on the game, and res, you will get "180%" or more from two cards. That link shows F.E.A.R. with a single GT at 32fps, and two in SLI at 58fps, at 1600x1200.

 

[Gstanfor]

F.E.A.R. is the "poster child" for good reason. It's the first game to show what is possible from the technology when developers make allowance for it in the game, rather than relying upon "tacked on" support.

The 7950 GX2's internal PCI-e crossbar controller gives it an advantage over even the 32x SLI motherboards since it can get more data where it needs to go faster, being self-contained and incredibly compact.

 

[ricleo2]

I can vouch for the vast improvment from SLI when it first came out. FEAR does run spectacularly but other games run really well also.

 

[ronnn]

MOre than pr, as it is keeping nvidia in the game. They don't have a single card that can compete with the x1900xtx, but the 7950 competes very nicely.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Originally posted by: MonkeyFaces
If 80% is being done now, then how come 2x 7900gt's don't= 7950gx2?

7900GTs have 256 ram 7950 has 512 (per card). I think there's some other differences too; I'm being lazy and not checking though.

 

[Soccerman06]

Originally posted by: AyashiKaibutsu

Originally posted by: MonkeyFaces
If 80% is being done now, then how come 2x 7900gt's don't= 7950gx2?

7900GTs have 256 ram 7950 has 512 (per card). I think there's some other differences too; I'm being lazy and not checking though.

gpu and memory frequencies are different.

 

[TheRyuu]

I like my SLI setup. Especally with my new monitor (VX2025) and the higher resolution really lets my cards start to shine.

However, anyone looking to do a new build I almost always suggest the X1900XT.
When I bought my 7800GT's the X1900XT wasn't out. I then stepped up to 7900GT's, vmodded them and never looked back.

700/1620 and it's almost rock solid @ 1.45v on core and memory on stock.

 

[schneiderguy]

both SLI and crossfire work great in most games :thumbsup:

 

[TheoPetro]

I just started my SLI adventure and I must say I am quite impressed. No problems what so ever. Both overclocked a decent amount and are running fine. My only complaint is the heat on the top card but thatll soon be solved with water once I figure out how I want to do it. I play all my games at max settings at 1920x1200. Id say that works for me.