SLI, Crossfire, or a 7950 GX2 really worth it over single card?

[undeclared]

I'm going to be getitng a core 2 duo, 2gigs ram, etc..

I was thinking about SLI/Crossfire/7950 GX2 or just a single card..

SLI, Crossfire, or a 7950 gx2... But will I really see a huge difference over a 7900 GTX 512, or an X1900 XTX 512?

In 1920x1200, or even 1680x1050.. I'm not talking about games where it's like OMG 200 FPS VS 100 FPS..

I'm also talking 16x FSAA, 8x that other thing, max detail, etc..

Is it a need or a want for that kind of thing?

 

[JPB]

It is a personnal want more than a need imo.

 

[Wreckage]

1680x1050......don't waste your money. However once you get above that and you want all the bells and whistles you may want to look at a dual card solution.

Just for fun........A 7950GX2 is a single card.

 

[redbox]

Originally posted by: Wreckage
1680x1050......don't waste your money. However once you get above that and you want all the bells and whistles you may want to look at a dual card solution.

Just for fun........A 7950GX2 is a single card.

I agree higher than 1680x1050 you may want something better than a x1900xtx or 7900gtx, but if the choice was up to me 1.) I wouldn't be running that high of res 2.) I would wait for a better gpu rather than going with a dual gpu solution (which the 7950GX2 is) I have messed with dual gpu setups before and don't like the complications. That being said the decision to go dual gpu is a personal one. It can give you great results if you are willing to deal with it's little quarks i.e. no dual monitor support and just general glitches.

wreckage: we really ...really .....really don't need to get into that debate again. but good effort anyways.

 

[Elfear]

Agree with the above posters in that resolutions above 1680x1050 can see worthwhile increases with multiple gpus. Even at 1680x1050 games like Oblivion and FEAR can see nice gains.

With the clocks in my sig, Oblivion can drop into the low 20's or high teens in some of the outdoor areas at 1920x1200 4xAA+HDR and everything on high. It isn't very often I imagine Crossfired X1900XT's would alleviate that problem. FEAR would do the same in some areas of the game.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: xtwells
I'm going to be getitng a core 2 duo, 2gigs ram, etc..

I was thinking about SLI/Crossfire/7950 GX2 or just a single card..

SLI, Crossfire, or a 7950 gx2... But will I really see a huge difference over a 7900 GTX 512, or an X1900 XTX 512?

In 1920x1200, or even 1680x1050.. I'm not talking about games where it's like OMG 200 FPS VS 100 FPS..

I'm also talking 16x FSAA, 8x that other thing, max detail, etc..

Is it a need or a want for that kind of thing?

at those resolutions, if you want to use HQ settings or high aa/af settings, yes, it's very helpful.

 

[Skott]

Anything over 1600x1200 gets a better benefit from dual card setup. 1600x1200 and below a good single card is fine. The 7950 GX2 is a good high end single card set up. Two x1900XTX or two 7900GTX would be better at resolutions over 1600x1200. Just my two coppers on the subject.

 

[PianoMan]

If you're thinking of getting (or already have) a monitor w/native res of 1920x1200, a 1900XT(X) or 7900GTX will run games like Oblivion that high, with most of the eye candy to boot. Only problem will be the occasional framerate hits during complex outdoor (typical) scenes. With this game, single card will do fine (though I sometimes itch slapping together an CrossFire system together just for the heck of it).

Now, if you want to run F.E.A.R. (which I don't - too scary, LOL ) at 19x12, that's a different story. You'd definitely need to run dual cards, or drop down to 1680x1050, for fps.

PM

 

[nitromullet]

To offer a different point of view... Even at 1680x1050, a dual card set can be the difference between acceptable game play and silky smooth... it depends on the game and settings. There is no single card that plays Oblivion completely smoothly at 1680x1050 with HDR and/or AA, only a dual card setup can do that. Even a 7950GX2 can struggle with Oblivion at times. Whether it's worth it, is up to you.