Product cycles have been longer and longer

[Zap]

Originally posted by: zorrt
Yay to longer cycles! I hate having outdated hardware 3month after purchasing.

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
too late! your 8800gt is already obsolete!

Oh yeah, that 9600GT sure spanks the 8800GT because, well, 9600 is a larger number than 8800 and all.

I'm actually happy with slower product cycles.

 

[magreen]

The reason multi gpu isn't a high-end solution is simple: people who want high end are going to buy 2 high-end cards anyway. So what have you accomplished taping two cards together? All you did was save the sli cable.

For example, pit as many 3870x2 cards in crossfire-x as you want against 2 8800GTXs in SLI and the 3870x2s will get spanked. Because sli and xfire really only scale well to 2 cards.

Multi gpu is a hack to get people who wouldn't pay for true high-end to have close to high-end performance, and for when you can't release a faster single gpu part.

 

[scottb75]

I'm sure with 112sp instead of 64sp the 9600GT would spank the 8800GT.

 

[CP5670]

Originally posted by: qbfx

Originally posted by: nRollo

Originally posted by: BFG10K
Longer dev cycles are one thing but I'm personally more concerned with this multi-GPU crap both vendors seem intent on forcing to us.

It's not a high-end solution so they should stop pretending it is.

The only way it's not a "high end" solution is that it's not single card BFG, and that's your personal definition.

If you define "high end" as being able to offer high framerates (both average and minimums) and high levels of AA/AF, multiGPU fits the bill nicely.

IMO high-end isn't about framerates as much as it's about technology and innovation. To me a smaller chip, running cooler and consuming less, supporting later features, put into a card with more efficient architecture is higher-end than a dual chip card even if it's some percent slower. I'd prefer a 400HP V6 than a 450HP W12. It consumes less, is more versatile and more elegant solution.

I like the multi GPU idea in theory and would be more receptive to such setups if they actually did everything that single cards do and provided no additional hassles over a single card from the end user's point of view. I can't see that happening any time soon though.

As far as high framerates go, what I'm ultimately looking for in a high end solution is smooth motion in games. Framerates are only relevant as long as they contribute to that, which is not always the case with current multi-GPU implementations and their various glitches with micro-stuttering, vsync and so on.