Use gfx budget to SLI?

[RufusKing]

I'm only a couple of weeks away from ordering my new system parts, and I'm still scanning down the list nearly everyday to review my choice of parts. Something that has bugged me since I first started looking about was SLI. My motherboard will do it, but the question is...

Do I buy two Leadtek 6600 GT 128mb cards and link them with SLI

or

Do I spend the money I would spend on those two on one 256mb Leadtek 6800GT?

Its hard to piece together enough information off reviews to make my choice, so I as always come to a place where the knowledge doesnt run dry! Anyone help me out on this one?

Cheers

-Leonard

[Hanners]

I'm only a couple of weeks away from ordering my new system parts, and I'm still scanning down the list nearly everyday to review my choice of parts. Something that has bugged me since I first started looking about was SLI. My motherboard will do it, but the question is...

Do I buy two Leadtek 6600 GT 128mb cards and link them with SLI

or

Do I spend the money I would spend on those two on one 256mb Leadtek 6800GT?

Its hard to piece together enough information off reviews to make my choice, so I as always come to a place where the knowledge doesnt run dry! Anyone help me out on this one?

Cheers

-Leonard

To be honest, I would go for the 256Mb 6800GT, particularly if you want to game at high resolutions with AA and AF - You'd be surprised how often that 256Mb comes in handy over 128Mb, in new titles at least.

Also, check out Rys' look at GeForce 6600GT SLI performance on this very site to give you an idea of performance against a single 6800GT.

[Lee H]

I'd go for 1 6800GT because no doubt 6 months down the line you want to SLI and then the addition of another 6800GT would make the system even sweeter than it already was. I'm planning on getting my SLI rig soon and just awaiting a 6800GT on the PCI-E platform.

[nvening]

Well people say that you get a slightly better performance with 2 6600gts but i would still go for the 6800gt, its got 256bit memory instead of 128bit, 128bit is a bottle-neck.

Also if you have 2 128mb cards does that count as 256mb of ram?

[StormPC]

Yes it does count. It uses all the resources of both cards.

If you already have an SLI motherboard it seems dumb to pay extra for it and fail to use it. Also, in most cases the 2 6600GTs are cheaper than one 6800GT.

I know people have been saying that in hi-res the 6800GT beats two 6600GTs, but in my own tests I'm not seeing that. SLI kicks arse but you have to set it up properly and use the right drivers.

[RufusKing]

Do you know of any reviews facing 2 6600 GTs against a 6800 GT? I would love to see how they compare with benchmarking

[nvening]

mmmmmmmmm I think the Jan issue of Custom PC had some stuff on it,plus a review os the ASUS SLI board, look on www.custompc.co.uk
Also StormPC, i dont think that 2 6600gts give you 256bit memory, you will be still stuck with the 128bit.