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Two SLI 6600GT's vs. an unlocked 6800nu

BrokenVisage

BrokenVisage

Lifer
I'm just curious on how much of an edge having two linked 6600GT's would give me over an average 6800 with all 16 pipes unlocked as well as the extra vertex shader. I'm leaning toward upgradability with the gaming rig I have in the works right now so I'm wondering do I go the SLI route and get high mid range stuff like a 3000+ Winchester and the two 6600GT's, or focus my moneys a bangin' non-SLI board/proc and just OC a 6800 to take advantage of the bandwidth it provides unlocked. But building schemas aside.. bottom-line, does having the two GT's give me a huge performance boost over an NU? Thanks.
 
6600's in sli are a waste, they have 128bit memory and only 128megs of ram, and this doesnt double when you put them in sli.
You might as well buy the 6800gt since it costs the same as two 6600's.
 
Originally posted by: shabby
6600's in sli are a waste, they have 128bit memory and only 128megs of ram, and this doesnt double when you put them in sli.
You might as well buy the 6800gt since it costs the same as two 6600's.
Click to expand...

for sure, plus the 6800GT oc's to an ultra.
 
What your asking is not a real fair comparison. First off, unlocking the pipes on a 6800 is not a guaranteed thing, it's a 50/50 chance. IMO, I do think 2 6600GTs in SLI will outperform a 6800, but i agree with the other posters here in that it's a waste. If you're gonna get an SLI board, go with one 6800GT now, then SLI in another one later on.
 
Depends on what you are going to play.

If we forget about SLI not being implemented for all games:

I have in the last three weeks ran 3dmark05 on 2 6600 gt's slightly overclocked and got a score of 6312.

I have also ran a 6800 ultra (one only) on the same system with slight OCing my best score has been 5924.

FYI

 
Originally posted by: mrohde
Depends on what you are going to play.

If we forget about SLI not being implemented for all games:

I have in the last three weeks ran 3dmark05 on 2 6600 gt's slightly overclocked and got a score of 6312.

I have also ran a 6800 ultra (one only) on the same system with slight OCing my best score has been 5924.

FYI
Click to expand...

that only matters if you are a benchmark-whore. the 6800GT wins in every real world game; thats NOT overclocked to an ultra.
 
Why is there such a small selection of PCI-e 6800GT's?

Edit: And why are they some much damn more then the AGP models when PCI-e 6600GT's are cheaper then them?
 
You might as well buy the 6800gt since it costs the same as two 6600's.
Click to expand...

If that was true you would have a very good point, but it's not so you don't. Remember to compare PCIe versions of the boards. You can pick up dual PCIe 6600GTs for just over $350- you can't get a 6800GT PCIe for that price.
 
Originally posted by: BenSkywalker
You might as well buy the 6800gt since it costs the same as two 6600's.
Click to expand...

If that was true you would have a very good point, but it's not so you don't. Remember to compare PCIe versions of the boards. You can pick up dual PCIe 6600GTs for just over $350- you can't get a 6800GT PCIe for that price.
Click to expand...

in my world you can 😛
 
first of guys, you missed the fact that he said unlocked 6800 which mean 128mb but 16pipes and its no where near the performence of a 6800gt when using his res and AA/AF but if u are strictly choosing between a SLI 6600gt or a unlocked 6800 then for SLI however i strongly suggest to get a 6800gt since u dont have to spend extra $$ on the SLI mobo.
 
Originally posted by: shabby
6600's in sli are a waste, they have 128bit memory and only 128megs of ram, and this doesnt double when you put them in sli.
You might as well buy the 6800gt since it costs the same as two 6600's.
Click to expand...

No, it DOES effectively double ram, pipes, and memory bit width. But the performance improvement from it can vary depending on which type of rendering you set the sli to do.
 
Originally posted by: ddviper
ya get a 6800GT, SLI IMO is a waste of money w/o much performance boost
Click to expand...

Last time i check 90% performance boost is pretty good.

I would definitely get the 6800GT then later when the prices fall get another 6800GT.

-Kevin
 
Originally posted by: dguy6789
Originally posted by: shabby
6600's in sli are a waste, they have 128bit memory and only 128megs of ram, and this doesnt double when you put them in sli.
You might as well buy the 6800gt since it costs the same as two 6600's.
Click to expand...

No, it DOES effectively double ram, pipes, and memory bit width. But the performance improvement from it can vary depending on which type of rendering you set the sli to do.
Click to expand...

it will double your pipes though because each card is doing its own rendering. but not ram because one card can't access the other card's video ram, so it has to have the same files in it's own.
 
Originally posted by: BrokenVisage
I'm just curious on how much of an edge having two linked 6600GT's would give me over an average 6800 with all 16 pipes unlocked as well as the extra vertex shader. I'm leaning toward upgradability with the gaming rig I have in the works right now so I'm wondering do I go the SLI route and get high mid range stuff like a 3000+ Winchester and the two 6600GT's, or focus my moneys a bangin' non-SLI board/proc and just OC a 6800 to take advantage of the bandwidth it provides unlocked. But building schemas aside.. bottom-line, does having the two GT's give me a huge performance boost over an NU? Thanks.
Click to expand...

1. You can't unlock a PCIE 6800NU, it's the nV41 chip, only 12 pipes there.
2. 6600GT SLI is faster than a 6800NU, but slower than a 6800NU SLI. See here:
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/msi_nx6800/
3. An unlocked 6800NU has no extra bandwidth, it has extra fillrate and geometry processing.

Intersting proposition on high end unlocked NU vs mid range 6600GT SLI.

I've had high end 6600GT SLI, an unlocked NU on a A64 3000+, and a GT on that as well. To be honest there's not huge differences between the three other than the GT being most AA/AF flexible to the huge bandwidth/frame buffer advantage.

So I guess my answer is I'd go SLI as a. PCIE is way of the future b. I don't think you can get better than 6600GT SLI performance out of a NU, no matter how fast the cpu. c. the 6800NU is limited by the 128MB framebuffer for 16X12 settings as well.

So, a 6600GT SLI rig should be faster at any game that makes use of SLI, and gives you a more future proof motherboard.
 
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