SLIed 8800GTs delivers HALF the performance?!?

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DefRef

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
4,041
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UPDATE: I purchased a 2nd 8800GT, but now I'm having problems.

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I currently have a PNY XLR8 8800GT 512MB card crammed into a Thermaltake Soprano case. This rig (in sig) originally had SLIed 7900GTs that fit fine, but switching to the 8800GTS then 8800GT required moving drivers and rerunning cables.

I'm planning a new build in a couple of months but I'm getting a little antsy to get some new video in for Fallout 3 and may get something - looking at an eVGA GTX 260 - now ahead of the rest of the build happening. I'm having a hard time getting specifics of the lengths of these cards and didn't want to hassle with opening the case to put a ruler in to measure the old card.

I figure someone here has made this switch; how much longer is the 260? If it's any more than a 1/2" longer, it probably won't fit and will have to wait. TIA!
 
Zebo

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
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Why on earth would you spend $200+ when you can spend $100 or less used (another GT) and be faster than not only the 260 but 280 as well?

260, even core 216 is not much of an upgrade~ 30% over what you got. I can hear buyers remorse already.
 
Keysplayr

Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
21,219
54
91
There are numerous pros and cons to your suggestion. You know this. It's been discussed to death in more threads than I can remember. What's great for you, may be just as great for the next guy. But not the guy after him.

OP, measure from the inside of the expansion slot covers to your hard drive cage (more specifically to your drive(s) in that cage) and see if you have at least 10.5" clearance. If not, and it's not possible to move any disk drives to other bays to create the clearance, then the 260 is probably not an option, and I'd opt for Zebo's suggestion. If you do only have 1/2 inch clearance with your current 8800GT, then I'd say it's a no go.
 
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DefRef

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
4,041
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Zebo: You got any benchmarks for that statement? The reviews I've seen have show the 260 blowing away SLIed 9800s and this is a generation before that. I'm looking to the future and 512MB of texture RAM is rapidly becoming not enough.
 
taltamir

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
the GTX 260 moves the location of the power plugs so that they don't "add" to the length of the card anymore. you needed about an inch and a half of clearance before for the power cords, now you don't. Keep that in mind when measuring.
 
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DefRef

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
4,041
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I may have a BFG, not a PNY card - my 320MB 8800GTS was the PNY. I've been looking around and that does seem to be the case, surprisingly. However, another 8800GT would be $188 (shipped) and $220 AR+discount code for this GTX 260. I may not be able to put a 2nd 8800GT in so it may be a moot point. Sigh.
 
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DefRef

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
4,041
1
81
Originally posted by: taltamir
the GTX 260 moves the location of the power plugs so that they don't "add" to the length of the card anymore. you needed about an inch and a half of clearance before for the power cords, now you don't. Keep that in mind when measuring.
Click to expand...
Are the plugs on the top edge of the card instead of the butt end? That would certainly help.
 
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DefRef

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
4,041
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I stopped in at the Beast Buy across the street from my work and was surprised to see the PNY 8800GT priced at $103 on the shelf tag and $258 on the sticker. In case there was an incompatibility, I bought a pair and crammed one into the rig; it barely fit.

I dunno. Performance doesn't seem much better and perhaps seems mostly the same. I don't have any benchmarks outside of game demos, but the in-game performance of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., The Witcher EE and Bioshock are quite mediocre, especially Bioshock. Company of Heroes was able to bump from 1680 to 1920 alright, but the others are gagging at 1680 or lower. MOH:A really sucks - running in the 15-20 fps range - at only 1280x1024. I'm running the latest WHQL drivers, so I don't get it. (Yes, I rebooted to activate SLI detection.)

Edit: Yep, something is desperately wrong. 3DMark06 has plunged from 7570 to 3263. Half the score?!?
 
myocardia

myocardia

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2003
9,291
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Originally posted by: DefRef
Edit: Yep, something is desperately wrong. 3DMark06 has plunged from 7570 to 3263. Half the score?!?
Click to expand...

You've got some serious problems, since you're getting less than 1/4 the score with two 8800GT's than I get with only one.
 
O

OCChronic

Member
May 7, 2008
83
0
0
SLI and crossfire are only as good as the implementation in games. In some cases, SLI & crossfire performance was less than the single card. The gains of SLI will always be spotty at best and downright dissappointing in most cases. I never bought into the hype and replaced my single card when it fell behind the times. Plus, selling the old card can help offset the cost of the newer model.
 
myocardia

myocardia

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2003
9,291
30
91
While what you say is true, OCChronic, it doesn't apply at all in 3dMark06. It has nearly 100% scaling, assuming you aren't CPU-bound.
 
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DefRef

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
4,041
1
81
I've been away for the weekend, but I'm back now. I uninstalled, cleaned and reinstalled the drivers and now I'm at 3910 in 3DMark06. Still utter suckage. What should I look for now?

I used to have SLIed 7900GTs, so I'm fairly confident to 600W PS can handle the load. The mobo's drivers and firmware haven't changed since then, so I don't get it.
 
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DefRef

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
4,041
1
81
I DLed the TRU X-treme-G 178.13 drivers and discovered the SLI Broadcast Aperture setting in my BIOS was disable, but after re-enabling it, I'm only getting 3900 in 3DM. I'm really flummoxed here. Is there any way to determine the cards are functioning properly?
 
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DefRef

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
4,041
1
81
Alright, this is just getting stupid. I disabled SLI and ran 3DM and got 3668.

Here are my old single 8800GT numbers:

3DMark Score 7570 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score 3293
SM 3.0 Score 4014
CPU Score 1537

Here is my latest run:

3DMark Score 3668 3DMarks
SM 2.0 Score 1523
SM 3.0 Score 2037
CPU Score 735
 
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DefRef

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
4,041
1
81
Re-installed the AMD Dual-Core Optimizer, DLed and installed the full DirectX 9 redistributable (Aug. 2008), rebooted and got 3884. I'm about to cry from frustration.

For reference, here are all the scores from this rig and the cards that made them:

* 7800 GT - 4430
* 7900GT - 5303
* 7900GT SLI - 7283
* 8800GT - 7570
 
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DefRef

Diamond Member
Nov 9, 2000
4,041
1
81
Went into Nvidia Control Panel and set 3D Settings to Default and got 3896. I'm going to bed. I'm regretting even starting this whole thing. :(

Edit: Tried AFR2 mode and got 3852. Nothing's working.
 
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poohbear

Platinum Member
Mar 11, 2003
2,284
5
81
i think u'd get more help if you went to sli zone dude. i'm actually curious as to ur problem since i plan on going the 8800gt sli route.
 
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