Single-card equivalent to SLI configuration?

[Ornery Platypus]

Hi there,

I am trying to get a feel for a graphics card upgrade path and I would like to move away from an SLI setup to a single-card configuration. Does anyone know about where in the Nvidia/ATI product lines single card performance begins to exceed a dual 8800GT setup? More generally, is there a site out there that maps SLI/Crossfire configs to equivalently performing single cards?

Additional information:

Running 1600x1200 currently, may upgrade to display with 1920x1200, but no more

Setup:

Q9300 OC'd to 3.105 GHz
4 GB RAM
EVGA 750i SLI FTW
Hiper HPU-5B680 PSU
Coolermaster 690 Case



Thanks!

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Well it depends on the game and how well it scales with SLI, but a GTX285 would be a better solution overall and would probably give you a better gameplay experience overall - again, depending on the game.

Here are some benches to look at. I'll post more as I find them:

AT's review of the GTX280 at launch, includes 8800GT SLI:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3334&p=11

AT's review of the HD4870 at launch:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=13

AT's recent review of dual video cards, no 8800GT SLI but you should be able to use the 9800GX2 and 9800GTX+ as references (meaning the 8800GT should perform below these cards):
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3517

Techpowerup benches, no 8800GT SLI but use the 9800GX2 as a reference:
http://www.techpowerup.com/rev...S/HD_4870_IceQ4/6.html

Tech Report, you know the drill:
http://techreport.com/articles.x/16504/4

 

[happy medium]

8800gt sli = 9800gtx+ more or less in most situations.

A good upgrade would be any gtx 200 series cards.

 

[Ornery Platypus]

Thanks for the links!

I just skimmed through them but the 8800GT's are higher up the lists than I expected. As you said, it looks like I would need to go up to a GTX285 (or perhaps a 4870X2) to see a noticeable difference.

Regarding games, based on what I have played, I would like to see significant improvement in Crysis and GTA IV. A slight bump in Oblivion and Fallout 3 also couldn't hurt.

Looking at the benches and the games above, I am wondering if my CPU is becoming a bottleneck and maybe a vcard upgrade is not the best investment.

Also, I'm a little concerned about my 680 watt power supply. The reason for looking at single cards was my perception that equivalent SLI setups were more power hungry and less cost-effective. Based on the articles, I'm not sure that's true.

Anyway, thanks again for the reply!

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: happy medium
8800gt sli = 9800gtx+ more or less in most situations.

A good upgrade would be any gtx 200 series cards.

This is not correct. 8800GT SLI is significantly superior to a single 9800GTX+. The only single gpu cards that will match it are GTX 280/285 and sometimes an HD4870 1GB or GTX 260.

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: happy medium
8800gt sli = 9800gtx+ more or less in most situations.

A good upgrade would be any gtx 200 series cards.

This is not correct. 8800GT SLI is significantly superior to a single 9800GTX+. The only single gpu cards that will match it are GTX 280/285 and sometimes an HD4870 1GB or GTX 260.

I stand corrected . thanks