To SLI or not to SLI...that is the question...

[JiF]Stepovich · Post by **[JiF]Stepovich** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:00 pm

Okay...I'm sitting on one new BFG 760GT to get
popped into my new system.
Would it really make that much of a difference to
go with another card?

[JiF]rIot · Post by **[JiF]rIot** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:07 pm

do it!

[JiF]AlbieDamned · Post by **[JiF]AlbieDamned** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 8:25 pm

I'm sure it would. So it's a question of opportunity cost. If buying a second card means you can't eat or pay the mortgage, then don't. Anything else isn't essential, so I would get the second card.

[JiF]ALargeWoodenBadger · Sat Feb 24, 2007 2:05 am

It doesn't matter how well it works, think about the bragging rights!

[JiF][AARP]Tissueman · Sat Feb 24, 2007 3:04 am

[JiF]ALargeWoodenBadger wrote:It doesn't matter how well it works, think about the bragging rights!

I don't even know what it means so it has got to be cool.

[JiF]ALargeWoodenBadger · Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:46 am

[JiF][AARP]Tissueman wrote:
[JiF]ALargeWoodenBadger wrote:It doesn't matter how well it works, think about the bragging rights!
I don't even know what it means so it has got to be cool.

It's just like when you got the new Dumont and the neighbors were still listening to Amos 'n Andy on the Phillips. Oh those were the days.

[JiF][AARP]Grimp · Post by **[JiF][AARP]Grimp** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:51 pm

I saw SLI in a few of his movies. They were okay. I know he is kinda short, but I don't think he will fit in any reasonably sized PC case.

[JiF]Lonewolf · Post by **[JiF]Lonewolf** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 4:02 pm

If you can afford to go SLI then I would go ahead and do it. SLI has its upsides and downsides but with some of the new games being made to optimize the use of SLI you will see a difference. I haven't gotten my SLI setup going yet as I'm still waiting on the custom case but when its done I'll running SLI with XFX 7800GT 512MB. I have heard some people talk about the quality being better when watching movies and stuff on a SLI PC. It really all comes down to your personal choice but I think there will be some major happenings for SLI this year.

[JiF]Rhykin · Post by **[JiF]Rhykin** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 7:42 pm

I didn't do it with my rig. I don't regret not doing it either, but it's really up to you if you feel the performance increase is worth the extra $$. If I wasn't on a budget I probably would've done it (who wouldn't

)

[JiF]KellysHero · Post by **[JiF]KellysHero** » Mon Feb 26, 2007 5:24 pm

The ~$210 for two 7600 GT OC's you can get a single card such as the 7900GS or 7950GT that will outperform the two. And for an extra $100 you can get an 8800 GTS w/320 megs of ram that will kick the crap out of all them and be Direct X 10 compatiable. Not to mention it's probably SLI capable also.

Upon further study, here's some interesting data points for SLI vs. non-SLI cards. Although I still say go with the 8800 GTS.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/nvi ... page17.asp

No Benchmarks for BF2 or 2142 using SLI though. The question is, does BF2/2142 support SLI? If it doesn't and they don't plan to and it's the main game you play, going SLI wouldn't make sense.

Another review.
http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=318

However, we feel it would be quite pointless to run two GeForce 7600 GTs in SLI. The GeForce 7600 GT's greatest strength is its great value. It offers great performance for an affordable price. Buying two of these cards will cancel out that advantage without giving you a truly significant advantage in performance.

Instead of buying two GeForce 7600 GT cards, you can actually buy a GeForce 7900 GT card with cash to spare. The GeForce 7900 GT easily beats the GeForce 7600 GT SLI, making the SLI setup both costly and redundant.

Not sure how up to date their pricing is though...