Which is better 1 good card, or 2 weaker cards sli'd

[Shotgun333]

Say if cards were rank on a number system 1-10(10 being the best)

now would 2 ranked 5 cards sli'd be as good as a rank 10 card non sli'd.

I was wonder just in case rank 10 card was $200 But 2 ranked 5 cards were $100 total, then if it would be cheaper and better to go with 2 cards.

thanks for any info



Shotgun

 

[BurnItDwn]

SLI/Crossfire gains from 1 to 2 cards range from 0 to 100%.
In general, I'd say most games see about a 60-70% improvement when going from 1 to 2 cards.

so ... two cards that are fives would add up to 8 or 9.

Of course it totally depends on the games you want to play and what resolution you want to play them on.

Read some reviews and draw your conclusions from them.

 

[Shotgun333]

ok, thanks

 

[TanisHalfElven]

2 slower cards are never better than 1 faster. even if the SLI is a bit faster it has too many headaches to deal with.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
2 slower cards are never better than 1 faster. even if the SLI is a bit faster it has too many headaches to deal with.

--are you speaking from personal experience?


my 'headaches' do not stem from a cheap mult-GPU solution

CrossFire is an excellent alternative to a single faster card, imo.
-iit *all* depends on price [for me]

 

[waffleironhead]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
2 slower cards are never better than 1 faster. even if the SLI is a bit faster it has too many headaches to deal with.

--are you speaking from personal experience?


my 'headaches' do not stem from a cheap mult-GPU solution

CrossFire is an excellent alternative to a single faster card, imo.
-iit *all* depends on price [for me]

Didnt you already have your 2900xt and then add another card later? Are you saying that at the time you would rather have had 2 2600's than your one 2900?


I figure it is better right now to get 1 good card than 2 medium card. I say get the $200 card now and pick up another in 6 months when they are ~$100

 

[M0R0NI]

It all depends on how much the budget is. In some cases 2 cards would be better than one but when you are talking about 2 cheap cards you may be better with spending that money on one much better card.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: waffleironhead

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: tanishalfelven
2 slower cards are never better than 1 faster. even if the SLI is a bit faster it has too many headaches to deal with.

--are you speaking from personal experience?


my 'headaches' do not stem from a cheap mult-GPU solution

CrossFire is an excellent alternative to a single faster card, imo.
-iit *all* depends on price [for me]

Didnt you already have your 2900xt and then add another card later? Are you saying that at the time you would rather have had 2 2600's than your one 2900?


I figure it is better right now to get 1 good card than 2 medium card. I say get the $200 card now and pick up another in 6 months when they are ~$100

that IS what i did

i got AMD's top card back in May and then *added* a [o/c'd] 2900Pro three weeks ago.

my whole *point* is that it depends on variables of Price/performance
-you example does not give very good performance