Originally posted by: sellmen
Originally posted by: James3shin
What is up with all the hate towards SLI? It seems that if it was good enough for NV, ATi deemed it good enough for them, after ATi stated they will have their own version of SLI.
I don't think there is any hatred towards SLI as a feature, more the implementation. The fact that Nvidia has to individually support every game makes it almost worthless, IMO. Gamers who are willing to spend the type of money SLI requires probably play all types of games. If your fancy 6600GT SLI rig effectively becomes one 6600GT for many of your games, what's the point? One 6600GT gets absolutely crushed by any 6800GT/X800 level card.
The second problem is that two 6600GT's in SLI make very little sense. As shown on benchmarks on anandtech and other sites, two 6600GT's get outperformed by one 6800GT, sometimes significantly, when using AA/AF and high resolutions. I'm going to assume anyone spending $400+ on a video card setup is going to use AA/AF and high resolutions - making the two 6600GT's a pretty poor option. SLI motherboards come at a $50-60 preminum - you're paying more money for less performance even in SLI compatible games, while at the same time getting poor performance in games that don't support SLI.
If you want to get a pcie card, the X800XL makes the most sense now. Faster than two 6600GT's, and even though retailers are still price gouging, you can get it for $370. Two 6600GT's plus the $50-60 extra for the SLi motherboard will run you more than that.
SLI really only makes sense if you get two 6800GT's or 6800 Ultras, where you will still get good performance in games that don't support SLI.
You are mistaken about several things, let me help you:
1. SLI compatible games: Check out the 71.80 drivers. There are eighty four game profiles in there by my quick count, and the vast majority of them have SLI enabled by default. You can edit to switch the others to SLI, although in some cases like NFS2, you need to turn off motion blur and light trails to see big gains.
84 of the most popular current games is not "a few" or "only some" - it's most games you're likely to actually be playing. I don't play Doom 1 anymore.
2. Price- you can buy two 6600GTs from Monarch for $356 shipped, any time. They have been cheaper also. You cannot buy a X800XL or 6800GT for $356 shipped with any regularity, they are usually well above $400.. $356 is also not "$400+", and you can't make a blanket statement that everyone who spends $356 on a video card(s) expects to play at 16X12 4X8x.
16X12 4X8X Far Cry
Hmmm 35fps average on your X800XL- smooth gaming there! While a 6600GT SLI would only be at 25 fps at that setting, I'd say either is way below playable?
3. WMV9 decode- 6600GT SLI has this, X800XL and 6800GT does not. Ask the guys who lit up the boards when they found their GTs didn't have it if they consider this important.
4. Overall feel of gaming. Average fps is nice, but as HardOCP noted, the 6600GT offers a "smoother" gaming experience than the single 6800GT or X800Pro. This counts for something, a higher average means less if the fluctuation of fps makes animation stilted.
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=Njk2LDg=
The average framerate numbers that we had been exposed to previously that were supplied by NVIDIA simply undervalued the real gaming experience the cards would deliver. Almost across the board, the 6600 GT SLI delivered a better quality gaming experience than did a Radeon X800Pro or a GeForce 6800 GT.
5. If you have a SLI motherboard, the X800XL makes no sense at all right now. Why would you buy a card you can't SLI when you can find GTs for the same price or a little more, and have the possibility of upgrading to an UBER rig that will crush anything?
Last word an compatibility, you can write your own profile for ANY game if those 84 aren't enough for you. Odds are you don't need SLI to run those games super fast anyway, "even" on a 6600GT single, which is still offering greater than 9800XT performance, for well under $200..
Mostly you guys need to get off this idea that your video card choice is some measure of IQ and that you're somehow "doomed" if you don't get the absolute best value for your money.
I bought all of ATIs flagship cards when they were second or third best behind nVidia products (e.g. beloved MAXX), didn't mean I enjoyed them any less. Want to know what the difference is between a 6600GTSLI and X800XL/6800GT? 2XAA or one resolution setting.
Those cards play best at 12X10 4X8X, 6600GT SLI at 12X10 2x8X. Call out the POLICE! Missing out on that 2X means you're criminally insane!
