SLI or single Video Card?

[scca325is]

I sold my old gaming rig, I'm building my new one. I bought a board with two x16 slots thats SLI compatible. I am looking at buying an XFX GeForce 7900GT. However, the questions I have to ask is whether to get this high-performance card or get two mid-level cards in SLI. I am ready to spend 300-350 on the card(s). For gaming puposes, who would recomend what?

 

[bigstrickler]

Well its really up to you but I just got the Asus x1900xt from newegg for$360...this card is AMAZING...I get 70FPS in source running on all max settings and 120-130 running on medium. Also I can play oblivion on ultra high settings perfectly. So i Guess its ur choice

 

[Bobthelost]

Single card is nearly always my answer. Partially because it stops you wasting money on a SLI motherboard. Find out what two cards are within your budget and check benchmark scores to see which performs better. Then remember that SLI is more failure prone, power hungry, buggy and louder than a single card option.

 

[Gomce]

7950GX2! It replaced 2 x 7800gtx sli I had. It's performance is magnificent. I only got it up to 600 core / 1400 mem but there's space to go above that (stock 500/1200). I'm waiting for the summer to end before I get into that. Back to the issue at hand, I'm gaming at 1680x1050 with everything maxed out and it's running great. My 1 year old Gigabyte motherboard recognized it without a bios update (K8N-4 SLI mobo), and after applying the new 91.31 drivers all worked perfectly.

I ran only a single run of 3dmark06 and the score was 8102, nothing to brag about say when I compare it to the 7100 score with the 7800gtx sli, but games like BF2 definately feel much more smooth.

Anyways, sincerely recommending 7950GX2.
? Quiet
? Fast
? Overclockable
? Uses less power than x1900xt
? 1gb VRAM

 

[Slugbait]

but I just got the Asus x1900xt from newegg for$360

That would defeat the purpose of having an SLI mobo.

Partially because it stops you wasting money on a SLI motherboard

He already has the mobo.

7950GX2!

That costs waaaay more than 300-350, and (at this time) cannot be paired with another 7950 for quad.

Don't get $350 worth of SLI, your best would be a pair of 7600GTs...and in most benchmarks, this would barely beat a single 7900GT (a single 7900GT will beat a 7600GT/SLI in some benchmarks). And there's no upgrade path if you go cheap-SLI now unless you really like spending money...so the smart thing would be to buy a single 7900GT, then add another a few months from now when the prices drop.

 

[djnsmith7]

Originally posted by: Slugbait

but I just got the Asus x1900xt from newegg for$360

That would defeat the purpose of having an SLI mobo.

Partially because it stops you wasting money on a SLI motherboard

He already has the mobo.

7950GX2!

That costs waaaay more than 300-350, and (at this time) cannot be paired with another 7950 for quad.

Don't get $350 worth of SLI, your best would be a pair of 7600GTs...and in most benchmarks, this would barely beat a single 7900GT (a single 7900GT will beat a 7600GT/SLI in some benchmarks). And there's no upgrade path if you go cheap-SLI now unless you really like spending money...so the smart thing would be to buy a single 7900GT, then add another a few months from now when the prices drop.

I second this recommendation. I currently have a 7800GT OC & will be adding another one shortly. I took the same upgrade path as Slugbait recommended. It prevents you from having to spend all that money up front.

 

[MrPickins]

Crossposting is not allowed. 1 forum at a time, please

 

[0roo0roo]

sli is for 2 high level cards. its to extend performance. it doesn't have bang for buck for mid/low range to be worth it.