My take on SLI

[Googer]

The up and coming NV5x will smoke any current sli setup, in almost all benchmarks, with a rumored 32 pixel pipes it will doubble the frame rates in 100% of todays games.

So it kind of defeats the purpose of the whole upgrade concept because in the end you will spend more on two cards than on one, at $1000 for 32 pixel pipes (16 x 2 [6800s] =32 [pipes] @500 each)(ge6800 x2).

NV5x will likely cost $500

SLI does not always offer a performance boost and sometimes it is 1 or 2 fps slower than a single card, most of the time card #2 is at idle or only rendering 5% of a scene. A waste of money if you ask me. $500 would be better spend on a second cpu and supporting motherboard. Or invested in an IRA. SLI is not the magic performance wand that people are hoping for, You will be disapointed to find that sli does not work 100% of the time.


SLI BAD
New GFX card each year (or year and a half) cheap and GOOD

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Give it up, SLI is obviously not for you, you should make a post in Off Topic about your take on private jets and how they're a waste of money just because you cannot afford one and/or have no need for one.

I would buy into it, but it does not always work. some games dont get any performance boost while others see a measly 5-10%. Its not a waste of money, but a waste of precious silicon.

 

[Edward Lee]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42

Originally posted by: Edward Lee
SLI is like putting a large sail on an aircraft carrier. The ship might run faster but how practical is it?

I don't see how you got that analogy out of SLI.

Here are the benchmarks of moderns systems running modern games. Notice how as the resolution increases, the power of SLIed video cards becomes more and more apparent.

OMG lol... Thanks for the link... I never saw these benchmarks before. But this just proves to me what a waste SLI is. Less than a 10% in overall performance from a 6800 Ultra or X800... Shouldn't twice the money = twice the performance? Or at least something noticable?

It's not even worth looking at a 6600 GT SLI.. There's NO performance gain over a single 6800 Ultra...

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee

OMG lol... Thanks for the link... I never saw these benchmarks before. But this just proves to me what a waste SLI is. Less than a 10% in overall performance from a 6800 Ultra or X800... Shouldn't twice the money = twice the performance? Or at least something noticable?

It's not even worth looking at a 6600 GT SLI.. There's NO performance gain over a single 6800 Ultra...

No, it's not double. Much like an Athlon 4000+ isn't 6x as fast as an Athlon 2800+, though it's more than 6x the cost.

Here are the results from that site.

In 3DMark 2005 at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 71% more fps than a single 6800U.
In Unreal Tournament 2004 at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 51% more fps than a single 6800U.
In Doom 3 at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 71% more fps than a single 6800U.
In Farcry at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 76% more fps than a single 6800U.
In BF:V at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 62% more fps than a single 6800U.
In Halflife 2 at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 43% more fps than a single 6800U.

Is that worth paying twice as much? To me? No. Then again I never splurge for the top of the line.

 

[Edward Lee]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42

Originally posted by: Edward Lee

OMG lol... Thanks for the link... I never saw these benchmarks before. But this just proves to me what a waste SLI is. Less than a 10% in overall performance from a 6800 Ultra or X800... Shouldn't twice the money = twice the performance? Or at least something noticable?

It's not even worth looking at a 6600 GT SLI.. There's NO performance gain over a single 6800 Ultra...

No, it's not double. Much like an Athlon 4000+ isn't 6x as fast as an Athlon 2800+, though it's more than 6x the cost.

Here are the results from that site.

In 3DMark 2005 at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 71% more fps than a single 6800U.
In Unreal Tournament 2004 at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 51% more fps than a single 6800U.
In Doom 3 at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 71% more fps than a single 6800U.
In Farcry at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 76% more fps than a single 6800U.
In BF:V at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 62% more fps than a single 6800U.
In Halflife 2 at 1600x1200/4xAA/8xAF the 6800U SLI gets 43% more fps than a single 6800U.

Is that worth paying twice as much? To me? No. Then again I never splurge for the top of the line.

You need to go back to school.. I have no idea how you fudged those numbers.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee
You need to go back to school.. I have no idea how you fudged those numbers.

Here is the Doom 3 image

I see the number 73.4 next to Geforce 6800 Ultra SLI. I also see the number 42.8 next to Geforce 6800 Ultra.

Further analysis leads me to believe that 73.4/42.8 is equal to 1.71495327102803738317.

Where have I gone wrong?

 

[ts3433]

The numbers aren't false; if you go look at Tom's site and do the math, Chaotic42 is completely right. I'll demonstrate that math for you:
3D05: 4259 (2 Ultras) / 2479 (1 Ultra) = about 1.718, so the SLI has 1.718 times the performance of a single Ultra, a 72% increase.
UT04: 153.3/101.0 = 1.517, so a 52% increase this time.
CoD is one where there's about a 2.6fps difference.
D3: 73.4/42.8 = 1.714, 71%
FC: 61.0/34.6 = 1.763, 76%
BFV: 93.3/57.3 = 1.628, 63%
HL2: 107.4/74.4 = 1.437, 44%

 

[Edward Lee]

Originally posted by: ts3433
The numbers aren't false; if you go look at Tom's site and do the math, Chaotic42 is completely right. I'll demonstrate that math for you:
3D05: 4259 (2 Ultras) / 2479 (1 Ultra) = about 1.718, so the SLI has 1.718 times the performance of a single Ultra, a 72% increase.
UT04: 153.3/101.0 = 1.517, so a 52% increase this time.
CoD is one where there's about a 2.6fps difference.
D3: 73.4/42.8 = 1.714, 71%
FC: 61.0/34.6 = 1.763, 76%
BFV: 93.3/57.3 = 1.628, 63%
HL2: 107.4/74.4 = 1.437, 44%

Sorry it's late and my eyes are dry... I did the math again... the numbers are ok...

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Give it up, SLI is obviously not for you, you should make a post in Off Topic about your take on private jets and how they're a waste of money just because you cannot afford one and/or have no need for one.

I would buy into it, but it does not always work. some games dont get any performance boost while others see a measly 5-10%. Its not a waste of money, but a waste of precious silicon.

At the same time I can argue that private jets waste aluminum and jet fuel, but they're still used. We could be so much more efficient and use that material and fuel in large commercial jets.

You might be willing to wait for your flight, perhaps even transfer planes, but there are those who want to get there when ever they want/need to and as fast as possible. If they can afford it, why not?

Every argument I've read so far has been based off of jealous foundations. If the 2nd card came for free, everyone would be using SLI because simply put:

SLI = faster than no SLI.

I shouldn't even matter by how much, there are people out their paying premiums for the P4EE and Athlon 64 FX, and they're seeing less % increase from their paying twice as much.

cry me a river... I for one am glad to see such technology. Seeing as how CPUs have apparently hit a wall and seem to be resorting ot multiple cores on the path to more performance, I wouldn't be suprised if the same is bound to happen for GPUs as well, especially now that TV is going high def, gaming is bound to follow suit (1920x1200, delicious)

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: Rami7007
YOU DONT NEED HIGHER THEN HIGH FRAME RATES AND DONT WASTE MONEY ON SLI!!!

The ironic part to all this is, that (according to your sig), you (or someone else) just spent over $600 for a CPU when for half that price you could have a 3500+ that performs "high", now why do you need "higher than high" performance with the 4000+? SLI grants you a higher % performance gain than the 4000+ does over a 3500+...

Just thought I'd let you know, I wouldn't want you to "waste" your money, especially since you could even overclock a much slower A64 cpu to match your 4000+, I'd love to see you try and stably overclock your X800XT to match an SLI 6800U setup. But then you'd need some supercooling system that would match or exceed the cost of straight up SLI...hmm...

And how much did your XT PCI-e set you back? $500, $600? Certainly an AGP motherboard and a GF 6800GT @ $400 can't be that much worse, or did you need "higher than high" performance with the X800 XT?


Don't waste money? I wouldn't call your choice in the XT and 4000+ very frugal ones, Heck with the money I'd save NOT getting a 4000+ by going with a 3000+ (and overclocking), I could almost save enough to go dual 6800GTs vs. your one XT. Don't waste your money...LOL

 

[beany323]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee

Originally posted by: shabby
Nvidia didnt mention this, but sli will make your penis bigger.... or so i've heard.

LOL, there's a reason to buy..

lol....now i can explain to the wife why i need 2 gt ultra's!!! (not that its small or anything.. *ahem*)

 

[Nyati13]

Simple reason.....

Because I can.

Nothing else.

 

[KayKay]

the advantage of sli is not to go out and grab 2 6800 ultras right away. its so you can buy say a 6800 gt, play happily for like 1/2 year or something, then purchase another 6800 gt at a lower price, rather than purchasing a newer and more expensive card, and get good performance out of them.

 

[mrgoblin]

Originally posted by: shinotenshi

3. it can be argued that its an upgrade path

Thats the real big reason for it. I can buy a 6600gt now and I have the option of buying another in the future. Its also very nice to be able to upgrade to two 6800 ultras in the future once they are about 200 each. Im sure that will match a 500 dollar card especially overclocked. Its the future. Same with dual core. What can you possibly gain? Its a niche market without the single upgradability of sli.

 

[Anubis08]

It is the future whether you like it or not. For now however some people have more money than sense. It is also cheaper than creating a single card that could perform as well-a little beyond our technology for now I think.

 

[Edward Lee]

SLI is stupid. Anyone who buys an SLI system is stupid. I've heard all the arguements for SLI and they're all stupid.
And the worst arguement of all is that it's upgradable or you can save money later by buying an SLI now.

Here's the quick bottom line. SLI is expensive now so you're NOT saving any money. 1 High end card can and will do the job of 2 medium grade cards now and in the future. And it'll still be cheaper than buying 2 medium grade cards.

Buy a $200.00 card in the future and you will get the performance $200.00 card in the future. Meanwhile there will be $400.00 cards out there that will beat the pants off 2 $200.00 cards.

 

[mrgoblin]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee
SLI is stupid. Anyone who buys an SLI system is stupid. I've heard all the arguements for SLI and they're all stupid.
And the worst arguement of all is that it's upgradable or you can save money later by buying an SLI now.

Here's the quick bottom line. SLI is expensive now so you're NOT saving any money. 1 High end card can and will do the job of 2 medium grade cards now and in the future. And it'll still be cheaper than buying 2 medium grade cards.

Buy a $200.00 card in the future and you will get the performance $200.00 card in the future. Meanwhile there will be $400.00 cards out there that will beat the pants off 2 $200.00 cards.

Edward Lee is stupid. Anyone who disagrees with that is stupid. Every arguement he has made against sli is stupid. The worst arguement he made of all is saying that its not upgradeable and that you cant save money later by buying SLI now.

Heres the real bottom line. SLI is a smart buying option if you dont have the scrilla to buy the top card now. Just like buying 512mb now and 512 mb later, its great. And no matter what this guy says, id rather have 2 6600gts and an sli board over a 6800gt.

 

[Edward Lee]

You are a moron

 

[puerevil]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee

Here's the quick bottom line. SLI is expensive now so you're NOT saving any money. 1 High end card can and will do the job of 2 medium grade cards now and in the future. And it'll still be cheaper than buying 2 medium grade cards.

IMHO, i don't really think SLI is to save money... nor is it an upgrade path... it's more for enthusiasts that really want the frames/second to go as high as they possibly can. you say that 1 high end card can and will do the job of 2 medium grade cards. but what if you get '2' high end cards.... i'm willing to bet that 1 high end card can't beat 2 of them in an SLI setup!!

 

[Edward Lee]

4566

 

[IamTHEsnake]

Why does anyone need Sli, the 6800's or the x800's????

Here I am runnign Need for speed; Underground 2 at a blazing 10fps.

 

[kd2777]

Originally posted by: Nyati13

Simple reason.....

Because I can.

Nothing else.

and of course to enlarge the eCock!

I bought into the SLI, not because of 10FPS or anything like that, but because I love computer hardware. I bought the ASUS SLI motherboard form zipzoomfly for 199 and a couple of 6600GTs from Newegg for just a little under 200 each. Since SLI is just something I wanted and not needed I compromised and got the cheaper 3000+ CPU to cut cost. Not every computer upgrade is about FPS or even performance; sometimes it is just because it is new.

kd

 

[puerevil]

POWER TO THE PPL!!

 

[SkyBum]

Back in my home town of Logan, Utah a lot of people were dropping $10,000 to $20,000 worth of performance upgrades into an $10,000 snowmobile! Hell, my next door neighbor had nearly $40k into his sled before he totaled it in a competition. Did they really need carbon fiber, custom suspensions, nitrous oxide, and supercharging? Hell no! But hillclimbing is what they like to do and they gain a lot of enjoyment from pushing performance to insane limits. Who the hell cares if someone wants to drop an extra grand into their PC just to see what it can do?

Life is far too short to be spent worrying about what other people choose to do do with their own money...

 

[stevty2889]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee
SLI is like putting a large sail on an aircraft carrier. The ship might run faster but how practical is it?

LMAO, apperantly you have never seen an aircraft carrier, or know much about them...thats the silliest thing I have every heard, and defintaly does not come close to being a good comparison on SLI. Yeah, 6600gt's may not be the best idea for SLI, but 6800GT's or 6800Ultras are another story, if you have the money, and want higher performance than you get get with a single card, then why not?