To SLI or not to SLI, that is the question...

[TheRyuu]

Ok, so I haven't built a PC in 5 years, focused more on the network side of things... looking at a new system and am considering SLI.

Let me just say, I'm not really a gamer, or at least not on my PC anyway (console gaming), but I would like it capable of running whatever is out there to a decent degree.

I don't want to spend more than about $500 on my video solution, and I don't think I should need to (since I'm not hardcore with gaming or CAD). Mostly I do standard computer stuff, but I also do some video encoding.

Are all these turbo charged, nitro-injected cards really going to benefit from anything other than gaming? What about SLI?

I will say this. I will probably (eventually) use my PC to output HD video to a projector, so would like that capability. Preferably I'd like a card that can also do that output (w/out a separate card).

My current system (5 year old AMD 1100) has an ATI all-in-wonder Radeon, which I enjoyed because of its ability to do everything (albeit not necessarily as good as you could get in a dedicated card). Is there a comparable card now or is it better to buy a separate graphics card AND TV card)?

So, in short, my wants:
- Decent gaming performance
- Video out (for HDTV to projector)
- TV (I actually just need video-IN to display in a window on my PC, not neccessarilly a tuner card).

Main questions:
- What benefit will SLI give me if I'm not a gamin freak?
- Should I get an SLI motherboard just in case I want it? And if so, should I go with the new ASUS that does true 16x SLI, or is 8x SLI enough?

Thanks for any input!

 

[TecHNooB]

If your going to upgrade..

I suggest you wait until Socket M becomes available. Should be out by the beginning of next year I think.. Supposedly the 939s are just about ready to phase out. You don't wanna buy a new computer and be limited to only "aging" parts. That and Vista and DX10 are ready to make their way onto the scene.

So far, i've only seen SLI used for gaming. I don't know much about video encoding, but I'm sure one $500 dollar card should suit your needs. I'd hold onto the money until Socket M and DX10 are out next year.

 

[xtknight]

I don't think SLI/Crossfire would be applicable for you at all if you're just doing video encoding. I think only one card's PureVideo/VideoShader HD is used for acceleration.

I suggest an ATI All-in-Wonder X1800 XL...great value. I'm pretty sure it does everything you want but check first. It should have H.264 decode acceleration and 5x-as-fast encode acceleration soon. Gaming performance should be a little below the high-midrange 7800GT.

ATI's X1800 XL All-In-Wonder: Performance and TV in One Package

I myself am not aware of standalone TV VIVO cards. The only ones I know of just input TV/video, but they don't output anything, the exception being a couple HDTV cards.

 

[VERTIGGO]

I've heard as many people complain about problems with SLi as have praised its power, and especially if you're looking for stability and compatibility I'd go with a more powerful single card. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't have an SLi board. If you never plan on gaming at resolutions over 1280 x 1024, you really have no need for SLi, except in the case that 2 cards are cheaper than one, for example 2 7800gts at $560 have practically the same performance as one 7800gtx 512 for $750. (except that the 512 is virtually impossible to get anyway. I'm going with the A8N32 SLi board from asus because I plan to run 1920x1200 in high speed games, and I want to keep it for a while. As of now, 32x PCI-express is not necessary, in fact the extra bandwidth is not even used yet, so you'd be fine with 16x hopefully for a long time. For high end video, dual 7800GTs are the best price/performance, but in your case, a single 7800GT or X1800XL all in wonder might suit you well. They can handle most games (Doom3, HL2, Far Cry, Battlefield 2, etc.) at up to 1600x1200 without reducing your image quality much. And at under $300 it might be best to plan on upgrading a single card more often, as new generations have better features and scale better with their contemporary software. Unless you want to shell out $600 almost every year, you probably don't need to mess with SLi, but a good SLi motherboard wouldn't cost much more, so you might as well get something like an A8N SLI just so you have more options.

 

[Elfear]

I agree with the other posters. SLI sounds like overkill for you if you don't game that much. A 7800GT or an X1800XL would suit your needs just fine. Don't know much about the VIVO stuff so I won't comment on that.