The myth of SLI

[davidstone28]

http://www.tech-hounds.com/article14/ArticlesPage1.html

[MON]

heavy reading gets you thincking is it worth the extra £300 for another card!!!!!!

or why get a sli board..

also you have to get a sli board for all the extras on the board

[pibrahim]

I found the article somewhat dubious.

SLI is, primarily, a high-end setup. Why bother testing SLI with the least powerful card capable of running it? I'm not saying they needed to use GTX 512s, but something like the 7800GT would have been more appropriate.

I've read so many posts from people having problems even getting the 6600s to work properly in SLI, I'm not convinced the SLI increase of that card is directly comparable to the SLI increase of newer cards.

[iranu]

we all know that Sli will not give a 100% boost in fps - it's more like 30%. Whilst they do state that a single high end card is better than 2x 6600's I do not see why they have to title the "article" Sli myth and reality.

Reality would be running 2x 7800gt(x)'s with a highend proccessor (wow 3500@ 2.2ghz) and doing proper benchies at the 3 resolutions with a selection of AA/AF and comparing those with single cards plus 2 6600's.

I don't run SLi but I'm sure that as more games come out to support it and there is better driver support along with competition from crossfire it will become more beneficial.

[Butcher]

SLI is only worth it if you're going to buy top end cards. As they say, it's pointless getting 2x6600s over a 6800GT, but on the other hand, what single card can beat 2x 7800GTXs?

Also an odd selection of games there. One of the games i find it helps a lot is HL2, but no mention of it at all...

[JonSt]

Apparently this is the benefit of crossfire over sli, where as a game has to support sli, theoreticly, crossfire will work for any game. Just a shame at themoment the the mobos' are quite pants. Although the new chipset is out very soon, so it should change.

[Butcher]

Well you can just flip SLI on for any game, it's not always beneficial though. Whether SLI on default settings beats crossfire is another question.

[shaithis]

SLI is a steaming pile of dog do-do IMO.

Twin 7800GTs here and have yet to run ANYTHING except 3DMark06 that actually shows a difference.....

And I TRY (emphasis on try as none really work at 60fps+) to run at native 1920x1200 resolution...........where SLI 'supposedly' comes into its own.

And lets not go into the drop in PQ you can get with some games.....

Currently thinking of ditching my SLI setup for a single ATI card. More flexible, good PQ and no weekly driver-shuffling.

btw, games I run are:

World of Warcraft
FEAR
Quake4
EverQuest2

[BubbySoup]

Dunno what you are doing wrong Shaithis . SLI GTX's here and I notice a big difference when running at 1920x1200. In fact I wouldn't have even bothered with the 2405 screen if SLI was not an option.

I do agree however, that SLI is a waste unless its running on high end cards, on a fast system at resolutions above 1600x1200.

[kalniel]

I think too many people take SLI out of it's intended market.

I see there being two markets. 1) the ultra top range - people who want the fastest thing with no limit on budget. When a top range card comes out, there's only one thing faster - two top range cards! It's not a question of whether there's a real world difference, it's the fact it's the fastest thing out there - wether that means a higher minimum frame rate, or higher IQ or whatever.

2) the second hand buyer - buy a mid range card now, then later on pick up the same card for next to nothing on the second hand market - you recieve a very good value for money boost to your system, disproportionate to the money spent on the second hand card.

[shaithis]

Dunno what you are doing wrong Shaithis . SLI GTX's here and I notice a big difference when running at 1920x1200. In fact I wouldn't have even bothered with the 2405 screen if SLI was not an option.

I have come to the conclusion that SLI is HIGHLY dependant on what apps you run.

If you are lucky enough to play one of the few games that actually benefits from it, then you will be happy.....otherwise you end up like me - VERY unhappy.

Replaced the SLI 7800GTs with an ATI X1900XTX at the weekend and all I can say is WOW!!!

I can now play ALL my games at 1920x1200 6xAA and never get dips below 45FPS while spending at least 90% of the time at a rock steady 60 FPS......

Yeah, my 3D Mark score dropped by almost 1000 points but I would much rather have smooth gaming then bragging rights.