SLI with 6600gts

[Axman]

With these new drivers, should I go ahead and add an additional 6600gt to my rig?

What I'm wondering about, more specifically, is if the method by which this sampled anti-aliasing works with the downwards end of AA; because my 6600gt renders, say, Counter-Strike Source at 12x10 with 2x AA, should I expect to be able to render 4x AA?

What is as follows makes me ask:

Each GPU renders a different Antialiasing sample pattern and then these patterns are combined to produce a final output. Today NVIDIA is introducing an SLI 8X AA mode and an SLI 16X AA mode.

The article is not specific about the lower levels though it is about 8x and 16x, which leads me to believe that it is not as supported as I would wish it so.

But still, I would be happy to find out that I can have some fun with budget SLI, so, if anyone has tried a similar rig, does it work as well as we could hope?

Thanks,
Max S.

 

[geekcomputing]

just depends on cash.

i say go for it.

extra power never hurts.

plus it enlarges your E-penis. LOL

 

[Axman]

Got a reply, after some time:

"SLI mode is limited to 8x and 16x at this time. We are not able to comment on future SLI AA at this time.

Best regards,
NVIDIA"

 

[Merc]

That SLI antialiasing mode brought my two overclocked (400/1.1) 6800GT's to their knees. It is a performance killer with anything less than 7800's. 2 6600GT's in SLI will perform about on par with an overclocked 6800GT if that helps.

 

[Nuzzles]

Personally, I wouldn't go for it. Sell your 6600GT and use that money to help pay for a 7800GT. Later on you can add another one, it'd be far more beneficial, I think.

 

[Axman]

Actually, interesting note on me getting another 6600gt. In one of the shitty eBay experiences everyone is afraid of, I came out ahead.

I got a good price on an identical MSI card, so thought, what the hell, I haven't broken the bank yet, I'll get one. It arrived with the thermal glue separated, but this was something I would have bet on at the price it was going for; I figured that since I had some thermal glue I might try to fix it, but as soon as I took it apart I could see that it had previously been dissasembled, and thermal /pasted/. . .not going to go for any of that, so I clean it off to see that: the heatsink's loose moorings allowed it to crack and grind off a corner of the chipset. Not only does this mean the guy knew that the heatsink was crapped, he sold it knowing that the thing wasn't operational. I never even tried to turn it on, I've seen what happens to cracked chipsets that are powered up.

So fuck it, I send the guy an email and tell him I don't want to RMA it, I just want my money back. A couple of days go by and nothing happens, so I send go to PayPal and start the claim process, and make a call to the ol' Visa folks. Within the hour the guy refunds me, but tells me to keep the card, it's mine, he doesn't want it back.

MSI accepted the card without question, and I get to see the new one next week.

Not bad for less than $200, gotta say. Might eBay the pair for the cost of a 7800 if I can live that long without a computer at home.

And since I have to RMA the board, (again) I might just do that. Of course, like the man says, my e-penis. . .

 

[Nuzzles]

Actually, interesting note on me getting another 6600gt. In one of the shitty eBay experiences everyone is afraid of, I came out ahead.

I got a good price on an identical MSI card, so thought, what the hell, I haven't broken the bank yet, I'll get one. It arrived with the thermal glue separated, but this was something I would have bet on at the price it was going for; I figured that since I had some thermal glue I might try to fix it, but as soon as I took it apart I could see that it had previously been dissasembled, and thermal /pasted/. . .not going to go for any of that, so I clean it off to see that: the heatsink's loose moorings allowed it to crack and grind off a corner of the chipset. Not only does this mean the guy knew that the heatsink was crapped, he sold it knowing that the thing wasn't operational. I never even tried to turn it on, I've seen what happens to cracked chipsets that are powered up.

So fuck it, I send the guy an email and tell him I don't want to RMA it, I just want my money back. A couple of days go by and nothing happens, so I send go to PayPal and start the claim process, and make a call to the ol' Visa folks. Within the hour the guy refunds me, but tells me to keep the card, it's mine, he doesn't want it back.

MSI accepted the card without question, and I get to see the new one next week.

Not bad for less than $200, gotta say. Might eBay the pair for the cost of a 7800 if I can live that long without a computer at home.

And since I have to RMA the board, (again) I might just do that. Of course, like the man says, my e-penis. . .

So basically you got a free card?

 

[Axman]

It cost me $14 in RMA shipping and potentially a whole lot more in eBay losses. . .Yeah, I totally got a free card

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