NVIDIA has sold 750,000 SLI southbridges in 5 months

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Chosonman
Quote from gamepc.com:

"when you use an SLI system, you also have to purchase two expensive cards (which will end up being more expensive than a single X850 XT Platinum), which will consume much more power, create much more heat, and requires an expensive motherboard in order to function. In addition, SLI technology is still in its infancy and has some problems associated with it, whereas the X850 XT is based on a highly refined and stable architecture. It?s a tough call to make. If it was mine, I would likely take the single Radeon X850 XT Platinum, based on the noise issues alone."

X850XT PE vs 6800 Ultra SLI Benchmarks here: http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=x850xtpt&page=7


SLI is a cash cow for NVIDIA. Imgine sucking 750,000 people to buy 1,500,000 video cards. Holy bejesus...
I'm sure most of the so called "expert" opinion and hype generated by SLI has to do more with its marketing potential and money generating power than with actual real world advantage of owning the system.

The real world advantage is having a far better gaming computer than everyone who doesn't, and playing at higher settings. 😉

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: StrangerGuy

Originally posted by: Rollo
IMO the only people who don't like SLI are the ones who haven't used it. The return of SLI is the biggest thing that's happened in the graphics industry since 3dfx started it.
No matter how good a single chip card is, two is better.

I was looking through neweggs refurbs yesterday and saw EVGA 6600GTs for $140.. So a person could get two, and for $280 have a rig that outperforms a $380 6800GT at Halo 16X12 4X8X, at Doom 3 16X12 4X16X, at Half Life 2 16X12 4X16X, and many games at 20X15 0X16X.

Not too shabby, especially when you throw in the 2nd gen video processing.

BTW- anyone see Raven released more shots/trailer of Quake4?

$280 for 2 6600GTs is very nice of course, but for refurbed ones? Oh I almost forgot I can get a brand new X800XL for that price too!

And it will spank 6600GT SLI at every single game except for Doom3 (which btw IMO is more of a tech demo than a real game).

While you are correct that the X800XL for the same price will win more benchmarks than it loses to the 6600GT SLI, we weren't really talking about X800XLs?

I'm not going to argue that point here, I have many times before. Mostly, I just can't see buying a midrange SM2 solution in the middle of 2005- too primitive!

 

[billwinkle]

I enjoy my sli setup. I chose to do it because I have never been in the position to run a high end computer before. It is kind of nice to be at the leading edge of new emerging technology. Right now I don't care if drivers are still in thier infancy. I know they will come around.
There is always going to be a leader in card technology. Always has been always will be. We as consumers and gamers will always win out with such competition. Without it, what kind of cards would we have in our systems?
Everyone is intitled to their opinions as to what card is best. But insulting each other for their choice is just plain stupid. It shows a lack of character, maturity, and knowledge. Anyone can go out and find the right info to support their theory. What these people forget is it is our money and our choice to buy what we want. You trolls are not going to influence my buying decisions. Maybe they flame because thier mommys won't let them buy the latest and greatest. Heck there is one person in this forum that flames nvidia, and touts the virtue of the X850XT PE, yet uses a 6800. How crazy is that?
I think we will all see that SLI will mature with time and will be a good cost effective solution for gaming. Why else is the competition coming up with thier own sli?
I for one enjoy each manufacture topping the other. We benefit. I remember going to a computer show to pick up a memory chip to double my video memory to 2megs. Those were the days.

So enjoy your gear friends. Its all good.

 

[Ackmed]

A sold number, is not the same number in peoples PC's.

Not everyone who has a SLI motherboard, has SLI. When faced with two choices, a SLI board, and one thats not, the price is minimal, a lot people seem to get the SLI board.

I am glad to see it finally maturing.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Ackmed
A sold number, is not the same number in peoples PC's.

Not everyone who has a SLI motherboard, has SLI. When faced with two choices, a SLI board, and one thats not, the price is minimal, a lot people seem to get the SLI board.

I am glad to see it finally maturing.

Finally? It's only been available for about 5 months.

 

[Ackmed]

I dont think I said available?

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Ackmed
I dont think I said available?

Well, you said "finally maturing" implying that it's taken a long time to mature. You could barely buy a SLI rig till this year, and it's 4/23?

 

[apoppin]

five months is a LONG time . . . . ~1/3 the life of a GPU product cycle. 😉

it looks like those touting the x800 series are just "sour grapes" crowd. SLI - like it or not - is a huge "success" . . . even the earliest adopters are "satisfied" . . .

and ATI has decided to be a 'follower' and hop on the bandwagon . . . at least they have foresight even if their fans are myopic.
:thumbsdown:
(that said, i am a [self-confessed] "ati fanboy" and am looking forward to their solution - feeling zero "need" to upgrade my 9800xt - yet) 🙂

 

[Ackmed]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: Ackmed
I dont think I said available?

Well, you said "finally maturing" implying that it's taken a long time to mature. You could barely buy a SLI rig till this year, and it's 4/23?

It did take a long time to mature. Getting drivers with profiles, and fixing a lot of bugs.

Are you trying to say it was mature when it came out?

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Ackmed

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: Ackmed
I dont think I said available?

Well, you said "finally maturing" implying that it's taken a long time to mature. You could barely buy a SLI rig till this year, and it's 4/23?

It did take a long time to mature. Getting drivers with profiles, and fixing a lot of bugs.

Are you trying to say it was mature when it came out?

More mature than you make it out to be. I've been using SLI for months and the only problem I've encountered was with Riddick, and that has been fixed.

SLI is new tech, and for me to run every game (but one) I've thrown at it without issue for the last three months (most of it's existence) is impressive.

In any case, to me, there weren't a lot of bugs, only one.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Ackmed

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: Ackmed
I dont think I said available?

Well, you said "finally maturing" implying that it's taken a long time to mature. You could barely buy a SLI rig till this year, and it's 4/23?

It did take a long time to mature. Getting drivers with profiles, and fixing a lot of bugs.

Are you trying to say it was mature when it came out?

almost every new chipset/gpu requires a "maturing period" . . .. look at the drivers for 6800 series . . . . the 9700p . . . the r8500 . . .

the FACT that SLI HAS matured in five months shows that nVidia was dead "serious" about it - is betting their bank [largely] on it - and has spent A LOT of time in R&D.

i am willing to bet that ATI's "sli" is gonna take LONGERto mature . . . look at their bastard of a product - the Radeon MAXX - it NEVER "matured".
:roll:

that said, ati has come a long way since the MAXX and i fully expect their multi-GPU setup to be 'excellent' [even though i won't be an 'early adopter']

 

[Ackmed]

Wow, look at how you jump on someone for saying that SLI is finally maturing. How is that a bad thing? Its not spin, its the truth. Its also a compliment. If SLI and the prices had been in the state they are now, I would have probably gotten 2x6800GT's. Ive already got a SLI board, and SLI PSU. Its too late for me to pay that much, when the next gen cards should be out in a few months. At launch it was buggy, but thats to be expected. Did I ever say it wasnt? Nope.

And for the record, I was banned at nvnews about a year ago. Not for breaking any rules mind you, I didnt break any. I was called an "ATi supporter", and proved a mod wrong. And was banned for it. I am not banned anymore, but dont visit the site, save for once a month or so.

 

[nRollo]

Apoppin:

i am willing to bet that ATI's "sli" is gonna take LONGERto mature . . . look at their bastard of a product - the Radeon MAXX - it NEVER "matured".

The MAXX had it's share of problems, but it was definitely the most ambitious project ATI ever put out. (to me at least)

Loved my MAXX, flashing/missing textures and all! 🙂

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Ackmed
Wow, look at how you jump on someone for saying that SLI is finally maturing. How is that a bad thing? Its not spin, its the truth. Its also a compliment. If SLI and the prices had been in the state they are now, I would have probably gotten 2x6800GT's. Ive already got a SLI board, and SLI PSU. Its too late for me to pay that much, when the next gen cards should be out in a few months. At launch it was buggy, but thats to be expected. Did I ever say it wasnt? Nope.

And for the record, I was banned at nvnews about a year ago. Not for breaking any rules mind you, I didnt break any. I was called an "ATi supporter", and proved a mod wrong. And was banned for it. I am not banned anymore, but dont visit the site, save for once a month or so.

You're right. What happened at nVNews isn't relevant here, my apologies.

(for that matter I was banned myself from FS for refusing to stop calling people who OCd/destroyed/RMAd cards repeatedly "thieves" and "scum", so I'm not one to talk about board politeness)

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Rollo
Apoppin:

i am willing to bet that ATI's "sli" is gonna take LONGERto mature . . . look at their bastard of a product - the Radeon MAXX - it NEVER "matured".

The MAXX had it's share of problems, but it was definitely the most ambitious project ATI ever put out. (to me at least)

Loved my MAXX, flashing/missing textures and all! 🙂

did you ever try it with Win2K?

Yes - it was an "ambitious failure" . . . ati's "mistake" was promising Win2K driver support . . . imo, ati "Most ambitious" product was the r300 . . . an unqualified "success".

i had the Rage Fury 32 . . . i almost got the MAXX [shaft]. 🙂

 

[Acanthus]

I think im gonna wait for G70s to hop on SLI 🙂

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Acanthus
I think im gonna wait for G70s to hop on SLI 🙂

the g70?

nVidia has this one tightly under wraps . . . from past it might predict it is a further 6800 variant with yet higher clockspeed and faster vRAM . . . but it looks as though they might also have pushed ahead half-skipping a cycle . . . really looks interesting as the "answer" to the r520 . . .

should be paperlaunched when the r520 is shipping in quantities this Fall.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Keep pimping it all you want Rollo, the truth of the matter is that people who don't want to wast money because they don't get off on the hardware enthusiast factor (or at leaset claim so), it simply isn't worth wasting your money.

Yeah, recommend refurbed products, 1 might be too much of a risk for some, 2 could be pushing it. Then there's the fact you have to get an nF4 SLI motherboard...which nVidia conventiently jacks the price up on when its been proven the difference in the Ultra and SLI chipsets is negligable, however there's the convenient factor of the jumper which they can restrict companies from selling individually.

I agree that two cards is better than one, just as CPUs are going dual core, having the power of two GPUs even without 100% efficiency from both is going to be the best way to increase performance, but right now its just not practical. ATI dropped the ball by not offering an SLI answer, nVidia has gone unchecked with their chipsets and jumpers and it just isn't worth it when we consider price/performance, especially when you can only cite a handful of games at a certain resoultion and IQ setting, if it was unanimous across the board things might be different.

 

[Drayvn]

To me i do have the money for SLI and ATis Multi Rendering whatchmacallit... But to me buying 1 now is sufficient. But i always keep on the crest of the wave, and stay up to date, when the next gen comes out, ill get it straight away. So i see no need for me to buy a second one as sooner or later the refresh card that comes out is the one im gonna get, and thats about 6-9 months afterwards, so in that space of time i doubt id see a game that would make me think i need a nother GPU to run it smoothly.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Keep pimping it all you want Rollo, the truth of the matter is that people who don't want to wast money because they don't get off on the hardware enthusiast factor (or at leaset claim so), it simply isn't worth wasting your money.

Yeah, recommend refurbed products, 1 might be too much of a risk for some, 2 could be pushing it. Then there's the fact you have to get an nF4 SLI motherboard...which nVidia conventiently jacks the price up on when its been proven the difference in the Ultra and SLI chipsets is negligable, however there's the convenient factor of the jumper which they can restrict companies from selling individually.

I agree that two cards is better than one, just as CPUs are going dual core, having the power of two GPUs even without 100% efficiency from both is going to be the best way to increase performance, but right now its just not practical. ATI dropped the ball by not offering an SLI answer, nVidia has gone unchecked with their chipsets and jumpers and it just isn't worth it when we consider price/performance, especially when you can only cite a handful of games at a certain resoultion and IQ setting, if it was unanimous across the board things might be different.

i find it a little . . . . strange . . . that the only ones deriding SLI have something else. 😉

it seems - from perusing the threads here and in GH that something like 90% of the SLI adopters - like it. 😛
edit: in other words, i don't see anyone saying "i HAD an sli setup and i dumped it because it sucks" . . . the "problems with sli" posts seem to resolve to the satisfaction of the user.
that says way more to me. 😉


edit: the not getting "double the performance for twice the money" argument is BS.

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Acanthus
I think im gonna wait for G70s to hop on SLI 🙂

the g70?

nVidia has this one tightly under wraps . . . from past it might predict it is a further 6800 variant with yet higher clockspeed and faster vRAM . . . but it looks as though they might also have pushed ahead half-skipping a cycle . . . really looks interesting as the "answer" to the r520 . . .

should be paperlaunched when the r520 is shipping in quantities this Fall.

I doubt it. According to sources, G70 has already taped out, as has R520. They should launch and ship very close to one another.


Anyway, I plan to jump on the SLI bandwagon with G70 rolls around as well.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Insomniak

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Acanthus
I think im gonna wait for G70s to hop on SLI 🙂

the g70?

nVidia has this one tightly under wraps . . . from past it might predict it is a further 6800 variant with yet higher clockspeed and faster vRAM . . . but it looks as though they might also have pushed ahead half-skipping a cycle . . . really looks interesting as the "answer" to the r520 . . .

should be paperlaunched when the r520 is shipping in quantities this Fall.

I doubt it. According to sources, G70 has already taped out, as has R520. They should launch and ship very close to one another.

the r520 tapped out a long (long) time ago. it is slated for release (paperlaunch) NEXT month.

We should start to hear about the g70 (PL) when the r520 is actually available.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
Keep pimping it all you want Rollo, the truth of the matter is that people who don't want to wast money because they don't get off on the hardware enthusiast factor (or at leaset claim so), it simply isn't worth wasting your money.

Yeah, recommend refurbed products, 1 might be too much of a risk for some, 2 could be pushing it. Then there's the fact you have to get an nF4 SLI motherboard...which nVidia conventiently jacks the price up on when its been proven the difference in the Ultra and SLI chipsets is negligable, however there's the convenient factor of the jumper which they can restrict companies from selling individually.

I agree that two cards is better than one, just as CPUs are going dual core, having the power of two GPUs even without 100% efficiency from both is going to be the best way to increase performance, but right now its just not practical. ATI dropped the ball by not offering an SLI answer, nVidia has gone unchecked with their chipsets and jumpers and it just isn't worth it when we consider price/performance, especially when you can only cite a handful of games at a certain resoultion and IQ setting, if it was unanimous across the board things might be different.

I guess whether it's "worth it" depends on your pocketbook Bunnyfubbles.

There are LOTs of games I can play at higher levels than any single card- is that "worth it"? To me and many others it must be?

Care to link us to some high end upgrades that give you more bang for buck than SLI? I'm interested as to why you think something that costs an additional $400-$500 and gives you back 30-80% performance increases at settings most people only wish they had is somehow "not worth it".

 

[bunnyfubbles]

because you're paying $1000 for video game hardware when $200 will do the job...even then there are those who would consider the $200 to be pushing absurdity to play video games.

Heck the ones you list provide next to no replay value through multiplayer, of which HL2 might be the only decent game in that light and its one of the least demanding games of the ones you listed. So what, you pay all that money for limmited gaming time just to see it at super high resolution and eye candy?

In that light I'd believe you all are getting severely ripped off. However that's up to you, not me. Quake 4 might provide some redemption, UT3 even, but by the time we have those games we very well may have new hardware and SLI/AMR options...

I'm not denying that SLI gives you the absolute best performance, if it were cheap or it was presented to me for free, I'd be absolutlely thrilled and an SLI owner, but its anything but. You say "bang for buck" but you're talking paying for nukes when TNT will be more than enough to do the job for the vast majority.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: bunnyfubbles
because you're paying $1000 for video game hardware when $200 will do the job...even then there are those who would consider the $200 to be pushing absurdity to play video games.

with that extraordinary exaggeration you lost major credibility.

Not everyone will "settle" for 10x7 [like i do with "my $200" 9800xt] 😛