8600GT SLI?

A

asyork

2[H]4U
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Jan 3, 2002
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My brother is still using a single 8600GT, and I just happen to have another one in my closet. I was thinking about getting him a copy a Borderlands so that we'd have something to play together. He is used to using minimum settings in games, so what kind of performance could he expect with 8600GT in 2x SLI?
 
that would be one of the silliest things I have seen. even when an 8600gt was somewhat decent at 1024x768 and 1280x1024, it would have been pretty silly to do that. an 8600gt usually only has 256mb of vram so anything higher than 1024x768 with higher settings is not going to be any better with a second card anyway. if your brother has a decent pc then just sell both of the 8600gt cards and put the money towards getting a gts450 level of card.

so what are the rest of his specs?
 
I don't remember exactly what he has, but he's still on an old crt at 1024x768. He has 2GB of DDR2, which is the max his mobo can take. I think he has an Athlon 64 X2 4000+, and he is still running XP. I'm not entirely certain his mobo even supports SLI actually.
 
i bought a 3870 for $25 a few weeks back. that would smoke 8600GT in SLI.

You can get some good deals in the FS section for older but still good GPU's.
 
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asyork said:
I don't remember exactly what he has, but he's still on an old crt at 1024x768. He has 2GB of DDR2, which is the max his mobo can take. I think he has an Athlon 64 X2 4000+, and he is still running XP. I'm not entirely certain his mobo even supports SLI actually.
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well an 8600gt can actually almost max out older games just fine at that low res. most newer games are not that bad at that res either and usually do not even require low settings. if thats an older pc then it probably has a single core 4000 A64 not an X2. that single core cpu is killing him even more than the 8600gt is most games. you need to see what ALL of his specs actually are before deciding on a new card. by no means should you consider 8600gt sli though. if that is indeed a single core cpu then don't even bother getting a faster gpu though.
 
I'll have to keep an eye out. I wasn't wanting to buy a card because he is graduating soon, and might buy a better one on his own with all the cash he'll be getting. He's the kind of person that always says he doesn't know what he wants, and if I suggest something, I usually get a, "maybe."

He really needs a whole new computer...

Edit: I'm almost positive he has an x2. Thinking about it more, I'm also almost positive he only has one pcie slot. He doesn't know enough about computers for me to be able to ask him those questions until I am at his graduation and can look at his pc myself.
 
asyork said:
I'll have to keep an eye out. I wasn't wanting to buy a card because he is graduating soon, and might buy a better one on his own with all the cash he'll be getting. He's the kind of person that always says he doesn't know what he wants, and if I suggest something, I usually get a, "maybe."

He really needs a whole new computer...

Edit: I'm almost positive he has an x2. Thinking about it more, I'm also almost positive he only has one pcie slot.
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there was no such thing as the 4000 X2 at that time so again if thats a single core 4000 A64 then don't even bother with a new gpu. the 4000 X2 came out much later on the AM2 platform.
 
At what time? I helped him build it, and it was around December of '07. I appreciate the help, but I never said when he bought the computer. He basically built the cheapest computer he could.
 
asyork said:
At what time? I helped him build it, and it was around December of '07. I appreciate the help, but I never said when he bought the computer. He basically built the cheapest computer he could.
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sorry, some how I got the impression that it was socket 939 that he had. if you built it in Dec 07 then yeah the AM2 4000 X2 was out by then. again though check to make sure of the exact cpu before getting a new gpu.
 
Honestly, if you already have the 2nd 8600gt, stick it in and give it a shot. If your brother is used to playing at low setting, it will be a decent upgrade for him. If you sell them you would be lucky to get $30 each... There isn't much for $60 that would offer any kind of improvement. The system is old and you don't have much (if any) upgrade path so just enjoy it for what its worth. I now people who run similar setups and they do just fine and enjoy new games at low-medium settings.
 
lloose said:
Honestly, if you already have the 2nd 8600gt, stick it in and give it a shot. If your brother is used to playing at low setting, it will be a decent upgrade for him. If you sell them you would be lucky to get $30 each... There isn't much for $60 that would offer any kind of improvement. The system is old and you don't have much (if any) upgrade path so just enjoy it for what its worth. I now people who run similar setups and they do just fine and enjoy new games at low-medium settings.
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a second 8600gt is not going to allow higher settings in many cases. at just 1024x768, its going to cause a lot of cpu overhead on that relatively slow cpu. and even in general that cpu is going to limit performance anyway. plus having just 256mb of vram will not allow him to raise the settings in really demanding games like Metro 2033. also he already mentioned that he believes the mobo has just one pci-e slot anyway.
 
Iamthelaw said:
It's better than one card. Use it until he can upgrade.
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it actually will not be in many cases. heck there is a chance it could actually be slower at 1024x768 due to the additional cpu overhead on his relatively weak cpu. plus he has already mentioned that the mobo has just ONE pci-e slot so its not even an option anyway .
 
cannondale06 said:
it actually will not be in many cases. heck there is a chance it could actually be slower at 1024x768 due to the additional cpu overhead on his relatively weak cpu. plus he has already mentioned that the mobo has just ONE pci-e slot so its not even an option anyway .
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Its still going to be an upgrade. You are telling him NOT to put the 2nd card in that he already owns?
http://pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/XFX-GeForce-8600-GTS-and-GT-Review-SLI-Tested

More FPS is more fps. Who cares if its 5-10 fps more.. its MORE fps. It nothing more, it might give him a smoother experience..
 
needmorecarnitine said:
I'm sure he is planning on playing Metro 2033 on that computer.

It does have a 640x480 option, right?


:p
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I was just giving an example where the vram would also be a limitation in a game where he would want more gpu power than an 8600gt can give. and I think it only goes to 800x600 but even there it needs more than 256mb of vram.

EDIT: just fired it up and even at 800x600 on all low settings it was using over 500mb inside and over 560mb outside. :eek:
 
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I'll bring the card when I go to his graduation in a couple weeks, and I'll see if he has an extra slot.
 
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