Sli vs Single card

Hi all,

I've had a google and cant see much in the way of guidance so I figured I'd ask around.

Is there a rule of thumb where sli becomes a better idea over a slightly higher end card?

As background I'm not working with an unlimited budget but I've a fair bit to kick around.


I'm trying to work out if I'm better off buying a single very high end card or running sli in two not quite so bleeding edge cards.

I'm not running multi-monitor or anything over 1680*1050 so I'm thinking single high end may offer better returns.

I am looking for something that will last a while though, thats my main concern, other than bang/buck.

If you need any more information let me know and I'll provide :)

Single card TBH.

SLi/Crossfire still has scaling problems in some situations, leaving you with no benefit.

Buy a tip top card, then if you find that you need more performance, buy another and put it in a multi setup.


e.g. There's no point buying 2 GTX260s if you can afford to get a GTX480

Thanks :)

the 400 series seems to have the SLI scaling problem sorted though :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by roachcoach

... I'm not running multi-monitor or anything over 1680*1050 ...

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In that case you don't need anything over a decent mid-range card from the current line up. It's probably worth waiting until NVidia bring out the mid-range version of Fermi though, and seeing how that shakes up the prices...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by roachcoach

Hi all,

I've had a google and cant see much in the way of guidance so I figured I'd ask around.

Is there a rule of thumb where sli becomes a better idea over a slightly higher end card?

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It's better when the game/profile for the game works better than a single card. That's increasingly the case for both nVidia and AMD - AMD's dual GPU card is still the fastest card out there for example. But it's whether you want to have the ultimate speed in some games, or slightly below but for all games.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by scaryjim

In that case you don't need anything over a decent mid-range card from the current line up. It's probably worth waiting until NVidia bring out the mid-range version of Fermi though, and seeing how that shakes up the prices...

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Yeah, I'm looking for something that will last a while though, would that change it?

My rusty old 8800GT lasted ages :)

it won't change it much unless you're planning on upgrading your monitor before your graphics card. The ATI 5750 copes admirably at 1920x1200, the 5770 more so, so any card of that class or better will be fine. For the best longevity it's always worth buying something more powerful if you can afford it though.

I only suggest waiting for the mid-range fermi derivatives as the current cut-down full fermi cards are a bit disappointing, and it sounds like you'll be after an nvidia card anyway - the GTX460 could be well worth waiting for...

Waiting might be a good shout actually, there's no rush around the upgrade.

Always go single-card if you can, much better from all angles really. The only time SLI/Crossfire should really come into the equation is if you're getting a really great deal from a mate or similar, or if you're looking to spend in price point that doesn't exist in the single-card market.