SLI,..I want it but,...why bother?

T

thespymaster

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Jun 17, 2002
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So,...2 x 6800GS'es in SLI Cost about $400 right? 2 x 6800GS'es in SLI perform about the same as 1 x 7800GT at about $320. $80 dollars wasted and it's older tech. 2 x 7800GT's in SLI cost about $640 right? 2 x 7800GT's don't give a significant performance increase over 1 x 7800GTX at about $475 or am I way off? 2 x 7800GTX'es in SLI cost about $900-$950 and perform about on par with 1 x 7800GTX 512 at about $700. SO,...unless I shell out $1400-$1500 for a pair of 7800GTX 512's...it's fiscally not worth it to go SLI with anything less than the 512's, or am I missing something....?
 
You could search the 500 other SLI complaint threads or the troll topic right below this one...
 
well unless you can get one card cheap then it would be worth it, like if you can get 2 gts for around 500, or 599 < tigerdirect has a combo (COD2, PSU, and 2 7800gts) for 599.99 after rebate.

But otherwise i do not see it as being very helpful.

its all up to you.
 
yes sli isn't very cost effective, but for alot of enthusiasts it doesn't matter. I personally am grabbing another 6800GT as it would be cheaper than doing a full upgrade to a 7800 or x1800.
 
For me, since I will be going with a 2nd 7800gt in a couple months, SLI is a god send, because I can get one 7800gt now, and one in a couple months. Spread it out so I can 1. buy other components I need now, 2. spend money for the gifts I want to buy. This way I can get the performance of a gtx with 2 gts eventually, spreading out the cost.
 
your best bet is 2 get a 7800 gt. a 7800 gt sli murders the gtx and beats the btx 512. u could upgrade 7800 gt 2 sli if u needed 2, but this card is good enough 2 play most games on max with aa + af
 
Baker_God said:
yes sli isn't very cost effective, but for alot of enthusiasts it doesn't matter. I personally am grabbing another 6800GT as it would be cheaper than doing a full upgrade to a 7800 or x1800.
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Well,...I'm 38 and have been doing this a long time, prolly while most on these forums were in diapers. I am an enthusiast but, I've got a family too. My wife kinda turns her lip when its time to upgrade but she lets me if I can justify it,...like having just moved to a PCI-E mobo/power supply. I had to get a $50.00 PCI-E X300SE video card for now so I can use my machine. She knows the video card(s) is/are coming too but she'll want to see the justification. I just don't want to be sorry 6 months from now...ya know?
 
Listen if you want to go SLI your best bet at being cost effective is find some chap or chaps upgrading their cards to the 512mb or some such and pick up their 1 or 2 gtx's or even GT's you can find some great deals on slightly used.

I know how wives and family make buying toys problematic but you will think of something :).
 
paintb4707 said:
You could search the 500 other SLI complaint threads or the troll topic right below this one...
Click to expand...

Its not a troll topic. Dont be mad a lot of people dont think SLI is a good idea.
 
I wouldn't do it. It seems in every benchmark test done on every hardware site, the single card matches or even outperforms the SLI setup of the same cards (especially when they tested 7800s) UNLESS you're running the game at the maximum possible resolution with the highest anti-aliasing settings. Personally, I can't justify spending that much money just so I can smooth the edges of my games a smidge more.


yes sli isn't very cost effective, but for alot of enthusiasts it doesn't matter. I personally am grabbing another 6800GT as it would be cheaper than doing a full upgrade to a 7800 or x1800.
Click to expand...

Going SLI for this reason, however, is one way to go, especially if you purchased a 6600 or 6800 when they first launched. Both have gone down in price and the 7800 doesn't really employ any major feature enhancements (ie: SM 3.0, etc...) over the 6 series. Of course, this would be to merely improve performance, not try and match or beat the new card on the block.

Trying to beat the current generation card with an SLI setup from the previous generation isn't going to give you the performance lead to justify the cost. This is my biggest beef with SLI and quite frankly why I think it's just a nice big bowl of steamy shit.

SLI is just a means to show off. Consider it the "racing stripes" of the video card industry. Neat to have, cool to brag about, but pretty much fuckin' useless.
 
Having SLI is like owning a McLaren costs alot and is for the most part underutilized but you get the chicks.

I get tons of women with my rig I can IM and chat like noone's business better than anyone without SLI or an ATi card :).

I GET HOT CHICKS you don't so please don't be jealous that SLI owners actually get chicks.



:cool:

P.S. The fact is two cards in SLI are the fastest combo you can get so if you want the best this is it. Those are the facts and I wanted the best and the fastest so that means SLI ;). Anyways SLI might not make sense money wise to alot of people and that's fine the same thing is true for alot of different things. So in closing it's not in everyones best interest but I do have the fastest best solution on the market currently which is what I paid for. No complaints from me :).

EDIT: You get what you pay for!
 
Thanks guys,...I want SLI more so to play with the tech. rather than to get 22AA x 38AF @ 3800 x 2500 res. ya know? I do want it but man,...where to go with it...
 
I justified it by getting one card then waiting and saving up a lil money and then finding the best deal possible. I had a 6800 and I just got another 6800 for $130. I can afford 130 more than I can afford 300-400 for something like a 7800 GT :)

2 6800s are good enough performance for me :) Who knows next year maybe I'll sell these 6800s and then slip into some 7800s after the prices get slashed :)
 
You know what how many god damn threads are there gonna be about people bitching about SLI. How about this, STFU about it, all you haters and whiners cant afford SLI or dont want SLI and thats not our problems, if you dont think its worth it to bad, to some who think it is thats great too.
 
Marc, don't you think that was a little over the top? Chill out just a little and give your insight as to why SLI is so great instead of whining. Might change a few peoples minds ;)

Anyway, I'm still kinda split on the whole SLI deal. Sure it's cool, deffiently is and I would love to play around with it. But after that there isn't to much to do besides lengthen your e-penis by saying you have such a great SLI setup. Personally I'm just going to stay with a decent single card (6800gs seeing as how I'm on a budget.) I'd rather put the money into something else, like mini-itx. Great fun if you like to tinker :D
 
Marcdaddy said:
You know what how many god damn threads are there gonna be about people bitching about SLI. How about this, STFU about it, all you haters and whiners cant afford SLI or dont want SLI and thats not our problems, if you dont think its worth it to bad, to some who think it is thats great too.
Click to expand...

If you're going to come in and jack up the thread, at least take the time to attend a class on grammar and spelling.... :rolleyes:
 
Marcdaddy said:
You know what how many god damn threads are there gonna be about people bitching about SLI. How about this, STFU about it, all you haters and whiners cant afford SLI or dont want SLI and thats not our problems, if you dont think its worth it to bad, to some who think it is thats great too.
Click to expand...

Preach it on the mountain muh brutha!!
 
Marcdaddy said:
You know what how many god damn threads are there gonna be about people bitching about SLI. How about this, STFU about it, all you haters and whiners cant afford SLI or dont want SLI and thats not our problems, if you dont think its worth it to bad, to some who think it is thats great too.
Click to expand...

So far, you're the only person in this thread whining and bitching.
 
thespymaster said:
So,...2 x 6800GS'es in SLI Cost about $400 right? 2 x 6800GS'es in SLI perform about the same as 1 x 7800GT at about $320. $80 dollars wasted and it's older tech. 2 x 7800GT's in SLI cost about $640 right? 2 x 7800GT's don't give a significant performance increase over 1 x 7800GTX at about $475 or am I way off? 2 x 7800GTX'es in SLI cost about $900-$950 and perform about on par with 1 x 7800GTX 512 at about $700. SO,...unless I shell out $1400-$1500 for a pair of 7800GTX 512's...it's fiscally not worth it to go SLI with anything less than the 512's, or am I missing something....?
Click to expand...

2x7800GT's perform very close to 2x7800GTXs.
 
from reviews, its cost effective if your doing high resolution, which i am with my dell 2405. yes, performance isnt really noticable if your running on a 15" screen, but at 24", my lowly 6600gt is getting hammered at 1600x1200, i dont even dare run at 1920x1200. for me, it is cost effective running sli since you can get 2x7800gt for 600 approx. rather then one 7800gtx 512mb for 750. that 150 i can put into upgrading my ram and getting a nice 2 gig set, specially with the prices on memory now. in the end, its up to you to decide which you want and can afford i suppose.
 
fallguy said:
Its not a troll topic. Dont be mad a lot of people dont think SLI is a good idea.
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Oh? How many of them started a thread and merely posted their oppinion rather then complain about it?
 
i was thinking about this too, i mean lets say im in the market for a $300 dollar vid card, right now my obvious choice would be a 7800gt. however down the line lets say 1-1.5 years ill have enough and its time to upgrade. My choice would have to be between getting another 7800gt or the next gen offering at that price point. Depending on wether or not the next gen does leaps and bounds in performance, i have to decide wether i should go sli and stuck with old school or go single next gen. I'm wondering if next gen will ever >= 2x old gen in sli.

What i would really like to see is mixed gens working together. Lets say you have an sli mobo, with a single card thats very current like a 7800gt. Next gen comes out and it owns 7800 series. You buy one next gen card viola, you can now play all games at native res on high with 60+fps with like 2xaa. Putting in your old 7800gt with the next gen will act as assist card, handling features/tasks that arent cutting edge, leaving the uber leet 8900gt to do most of the leg work on new features like uber leet shader 5.0. Now it you can do ultra high settings with max AA/AF with only a 300 dollar upgrade. Its blending the old and new for having the best bang for the buck which would be very good performace.

as it stands right now 2x 7800gt > single 7800gtx 512 = $600+ new
id like to see 7800gt + 6800gt assist > single 7800gtx 510 =$300+ new + keep ur old card
 
Yea I would have to agree with some that SLI is also more of a high res IQ thing as well as speed. I mean you can't compare the IQ you can get with SLI to an ATI card or single NV card it just rocks :).
 
fallguy said:
Its not a troll topic. Dont be mad a lot of people dont think SLI is a good idea.
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Of course most of them are people like who seem to "conveniently" forget that 7800 SLI is the ONLY way to play new games like FEAR, COD2, and Q4 well at 16 X12 4X8X.

You've got to remember Fallguy, some people aren't satisfied with the lower levels of performance you are and know that SLI offer the biggest bang per buck of ANY system upgrade.

You should impose your budget on others old buddy, some of us like 16X12 4X8X and want to play at that setting! :rolleyes:
 
See I just came from a 6800 Ultra AGP with a Opteron [email protected], and the fact that I had to play FEAR with almost NO eye candy kinda sucked in my opinion. Quake4 was okay but I couldn't play above 1024 w 2xAA. I in fact have never been able to play at HiRes (1600x1200) so I got used to not playing that way.. and for the most part I was content.. but FEAR was like a slap in the face.. soo, I upgraded...

I happened to find a great deal on ebay for 2 (2 week old) eVGA 7800GT's w/Copper heatsinks(470/1100) for $555 shipped. It was worth it for me because as I type there is 3 hours left on my auction on ebay for my 6800Ultra(which I got for $220) and the current bid is at $305.+ shipping. Which makes this basically a $200 or so upgrade.

I was skeptical about the whole SLI thing especially with the prices associated with it, but now that I run it, I finally am able to make my CPU a bottleneck and not my GPU.. Games run like I could have never imagined, and my epenis just grew about 9 inches. :p

$312 Opteron [email protected]
$555 SLI 7800 GT's
$140 2x512 Ballistix 249mhz/2.5-2-2-5
=
3dm05opty1652743gpuclockedmin9.jpg
 
paintb4707 said:
Oh? How many of them started a thread and merely posted their oppinion rather then complain about it?
Click to expand...

It is not a troll topic. He posted his opinions, as did others. Its not a very good upgrade path most of the time to a lot of people. People "complaining" about it, is not trolling.
 
fallguy said:
It is not a troll topic. He posted his opinions, as did others. Its not a very good upgrade path most of the time to a lot of people. People "complaining" about it, is not trolling.
Click to expand...


high resolution gaming is the killer app for sli, i enjoyed in with my old 2005fpw and dual ultras and will eventualy revisit sli with a second KO or two 512s,(if they ever comeoout of the stratusfear)


I do quiet well with a single KO @1920 x 1200 but i am concerned about next years games so its going to be one or the other to keep my big screen happy
 
jacuzz1 said:
high resolution gaming is the killer app for sli, i enjoyed in with my old 2005fpw and dual ultras and will eventualy revisit sli with a second KO or two 512s,(if they ever comeoout of the stratusfear)


I do quiet well with a single KO @1920 x 1200 but i am concerned about next years games so its going to be one or the other to keep my big screen happy
Click to expand...

I agree that it is. I never said that SLI isnt good for everyone, and its not always a good upgrade path. Depending on what new cards are out, and the price and avail of the card you're trying to match. Which is what I was getting at in post I quoted. Its not trolling for someone to "complain" about SLI, and the downsides of it.

I too am at 1920x1200, and just today added another GTX for more frames. F.E.A.R. and CoD2 forced me to upgrade. All other games played fine with one GTX, but not those two. I just got my second GTX in yesterday, and got around to installing it today. My CoD2 frames went way up, as did F.E.A.R.'s. I wouldnt have bought one, with the R580 allegedly so close, but I got a killer deal on it. Once I figure out how to work it better.. it should be even better.
 
Anyone thinking of SLI needs only to try and play a BF2 "Special" forces night map and watch their fps slow to a crawl. I have 2x7800gts, 2 gigs ocz and a 3800 venice. My fps dips into the 30s! @ 1280x1024 w/ most settings at low or medium and only 2x aa!!!!!

so unless you like 800x600 step up to the sli b/c they don't all code like valve.

EA SUCKS!!!
 
spaceman said:
Anyone thinking of SLI needs only to try and play a BF2 "Special" forces night map and watch their fps slow to a crawl. I have 2x7800gts, 2 gigs ocz and a 3800 venice. My fps dips into the 30s! @ 1280x1024 w/ most settings at low or medium and only 2x aa!!!!!

so unless you like 800x600 step up to the sli b/c they don't all code like valve.

EA SUCKS!!!
Click to expand...

Thats a problem with the game not the video card :p they need to patch that thing bad :(
 
strikeout said:
iWhat i would really like to see is mixed gens working together. Lets say you have an sli mobo, with a single card thats very current like a 7800gt. Next gen comes out and it owns 7800 series. You buy one next gen card viola, you can now play all games at native res on high with 60+fps with like 2xaa. Putting in your old 7800gt with the next gen will act as assist card, handling features/tasks that arent cutting edge, leaving the uber leet 8900gt to do most of the leg work on new features like uber leet shader 5.0. Now it you can do ultra high settings with max AA/AF with only a 300 dollar upgrade. Its blending the old and new for having the best bang for the buck which would be very good performace.

as it stands right now 2x 7800gt > single 7800gtx 512 = $600+ new
id like to see 7800gt + 6800gt assist > single 7800gtx 510 =$300+ new + keep ur old card
Click to expand...
That whole assist thing sounds great, but I don't know if a driver change can have that happen. It may have to be like SLI 2.0 or something, which I'm sure will happen sometime in the future.

Question... 2x7800gt 256mb > single 7800gtx 512mb? Are you sure? I know that the 512mb comes in very handy at high res and higher filtering for the newer games... I have a 24" Wide Dell, and THE ONLY REASON why I didn't upgrade my X800GTO² (570/620) to a 7800gt yet is because it's still 256mb. I run my monitor at 1900x1200, so I feel like I may need that 512mb when I get one of the newer games.
 
spaceman said:
Anyone thinking of SLI needs only to try and play a BF2 "Special" forces night map and watch their fps slow to a crawl. I have 2x7800gts, 2 gigs ocz and a 3800 venice. My fps dips into the 30s! @ 1280x1024 w/ most settings at low or medium and only 2x aa!!!!!

so unless you like 800x600 step up to the sli b/c they don't all code like valve.

EA SUCKS!!!
Click to expand...

You need to unfuck your computer then. Because I'm running almost the exact same specs and graphical settings, and I only have a SINGLE 7800GT. My frames are a solid 60-70 frames on night maps.

However, Iron Gator is another story.
 
thespymaster said:
So,...2 x 6800GS'es in SLI Cost about $400 right? 2 x 6800GS'es in SLI perform about the same as 1 x 7800GT at about $320. $80 dollars wasted and it's older tech. 2 x 7800GT's in SLI cost about $640 right? 2 x 7800GT's don't give a significant performance increase over 1 x 7800GTX at about $475 or am I way off? 2 x 7800GTX'es in SLI cost about $900-$950 and perform about on par with 1 x 7800GTX 512 at about $700. SO,...unless I shell out $1400-$1500 for a pair of 7800GTX 512's...it's fiscally not worth it to go SLI with anything less than the 512's, or am I missing something....?
Click to expand...

I think you got it all wrong here...

the 7800GT and the GTX preform very close to each other.. and the same gose for SLIing the 2 cards. And the 512mb 7800GTX is only a few % above the 256mb GTX, and that mostly vecause it clocked higher.
 
spaceman said:
Anyone thinking of SLI needs only to try and play a BF2 "Special" forces night map and watch their fps slow to a crawl. I have 2x7800gts, 2 gigs ocz and a 3800 venice. My fps dips into the 30s! @ 1280x1024 w/ most settings at low or medium and only 2x aa!!!!!

so unless you like 800x600 step up to the sli b/c they don't all code like valve.

EA SUCKS!!!
Click to expand...


somethign is wrong with your box. I run BF2:SF, 1280x1024, everything on high, with 2xAA and pull an avrage of 52fps most of the time. Even on night maps. My low is in the 30s if i turn on the 2xAA i never drop below 45fps.

6800GT, FX57(OC 3700+), 2gb Clucial Value (254Mhz, 3-3-3-8 1t)
 
...I see people talk bang for buck and SLI.
...I see people talk SLI and upgrade path.

The simple fact of the matter is that SLI is all about best bang period, regardless of bucks. :)

If you're not after the best bang, then why are you here? :)
 
I think it would be fair to say that SLi is for 2 types of users, 1. The person who wants the fastest gaming experience currently possible. or 2. Someone who wants a decent upgrade path. If you are a # 1 Get 2 7800GTX 512 as otherwise you'll never be happy, if you are a # 2. Get the best card you can afford, whichever that may be. 1 7800GTX 512 would be great. Then about 1 yr from now get the 2nd one at a huge discount and light a cigar to celebrate. ;)
 
thespymaster said:
So,...2 x 6800GS'es in SLI Cost about $400 right? 2 x 6800GS'es in SLI perform about the same as 1 x 7800GT at about $320. $80 dollars wasted and it's older tech. 2 x 7800GT's in SLI cost about $640 right? 2 x 7800GT's don't give a significant performance increase over 1 x 7800GTX at about $475 or am I way off? 2 x 7800GTX'es in SLI cost about $900-$950 and perform about on par with 1 x 7800GTX 512 at about $700. SO,...unless I shell out $1400-$1500 for a pair of 7800GTX 512's...it's fiscally not worth it to go SLI with anything less than the 512's, or am I missing something....?
Click to expand...


OP, you aren't even close with those statements.

7800GTX512 > 6800GS-SLI >= 7800GTX > 7800GT

7800GT-SLI > 7800GTX

7800GTX-SLI > 7800GTX512

7800GTX512-SLI > ALL

Lots of reviews and benches out there, just search.
 
so it would be worth more to get the 512 and wait down the road and get another when the price drops ??

I'm interested in knowing this stuff because I'm currently looking into getting a 512... or a 256 gtx...

I mean, I can afford either one 512 gtxoc or go the sli of gts <currently cant afford 2 gtx maybe soon still thinking>... I just want the best bang for the best time, and if getting the 512 and waiting is it I'd like to know... I've done the reviews but this isnt the kinda thing/burden one man wants to face alone... I just like to know peoples opinions not because it'll set mine but because it gives me more to think about really...

oh and I only have a 480-500 watt ps... I think lol been a while I'll have to check again :)
 
The 512 would be your best option then. Try to get them before they're switched to 1.2ns and 1.4ns memory.
 
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