I was thinking about SLI and what it means for the industry.
I just read in a thread a person saying not to buy a 6800Ultra because in two months it is going to be outdated by something newer. But with SLI on the horizon is that what will really happen?
1) I was thinking that SLI was brought out in order to keep the same cards on the market longer, and to slow down the GPU production cycle. Rather than put out something that gives 50-100% more preformance of the previous generation, SLI gives people "next generation preformance" with just the purchase of card of the "last generation". This is why I think that NV45 was canned- (or was it revived?) because it would seem more of a gimmick (like how the X850XT is right now)
2)This way rather than having to show a refresh every 6-12 months they can keep the same card on the market for longer. And because people will want to purchase a second card tweleve months from when they got their first card, it will keep demand slightly highe. Because cards are on the market longer, prices will not drop as fast as they do now. Furthrmore, production of a greater number of NV40 GPUS will reduce the average total cost of each GPU. This saves Nvidia even more money.
3)This way they can make more money, and focus on the "next generation" longer will lead to GPUs that get more sophisticated. There could also be a deviation from the standard "Brute force" methods that are currently used (that doesn't mean brute force is bad~ i remember someone here said that sometimes people don't think straight foreward enough)
What I just wonder is people are expecting something 50-100% faster than a standard 6800GT in a few months from now, and it makes me wonder whether or not we'll be able to buy these "new cards" anytime before summer at the EARLIEST. I just don't see why Nvidia would tout SLI, and then a year later rather than buy their "latest and greatest" for 500 dollars, you double your preformance for only 250...
I just read in a thread a person saying not to buy a 6800Ultra because in two months it is going to be outdated by something newer. But with SLI on the horizon is that what will really happen?
1) I was thinking that SLI was brought out in order to keep the same cards on the market longer, and to slow down the GPU production cycle. Rather than put out something that gives 50-100% more preformance of the previous generation, SLI gives people "next generation preformance" with just the purchase of card of the "last generation". This is why I think that NV45 was canned- (or was it revived?) because it would seem more of a gimmick (like how the X850XT is right now)
2)This way rather than having to show a refresh every 6-12 months they can keep the same card on the market for longer. And because people will want to purchase a second card tweleve months from when they got their first card, it will keep demand slightly highe. Because cards are on the market longer, prices will not drop as fast as they do now. Furthrmore, production of a greater number of NV40 GPUS will reduce the average total cost of each GPU. This saves Nvidia even more money.
3)This way they can make more money, and focus on the "next generation" longer will lead to GPUs that get more sophisticated. There could also be a deviation from the standard "Brute force" methods that are currently used (that doesn't mean brute force is bad~ i remember someone here said that sometimes people don't think straight foreward enough)
What I just wonder is people are expecting something 50-100% faster than a standard 6800GT in a few months from now, and it makes me wonder whether or not we'll be able to buy these "new cards" anytime before summer at the EARLIEST. I just don't see why Nvidia would tout SLI, and then a year later rather than buy their "latest and greatest" for 500 dollars, you double your preformance for only 250...
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