Slashdot Mirror
Gigabyte's 3D1 brings SLI to a single card
An anonymous reader writes "Gigabyte have implemented nVidia's SLI on a single graphics board, dubbed the "3D1." The card features two GeForce 6600GT cores (I would imagine two 6800 cores would draw too much power and create too much heat for a single PCB.) Hexus.net have a review of the board, which in various tests was able to compete with a 6800GT, but will it be marketed at a favourable price? You may also want to read Hexus' article - 'An Introduction to SLI' - for a look at how SLI technology works."
There are PCBs available which have a thicker copper layer thus are able to be used for even higher current. You can make PCBs for some 100s of Amperes.
You can already do that in terms of "having the power of 4 6600 chips". Just SLI two 6800 Ultras. Same number of total pipes. Probably faster memory too.
Anandtech didn't seem to be too impressed by this solution.
From Anandtech: Unfortunately, in light of the performance tests, there really isn't much remarkable to say about the 3D1. In fact, unless Gigabyte can become very price competitive, there isn't much reason to recommend the 3D1 over a 2-card SLI solution. Currently, buying all the parts separately would cost the same as what Gigabyte is planning to sell the bundle.
The drawbacks to the 3D1 are its limited application (it will only run on the GA-K8NXP-SLI), the fact that it doesn't perform any better than 2-card SLI, and the fact that the user loses a DVI and an HD-15 display connection when compared to the 2-card solution.
Something like this might be very cool for use in a SFF with a motherboard that has only one physical PCIe x16 connector with the NVIDIA SLI chipset. But until we see NVIDIA relax their driver restrictions, and unless Gigabyte can find a way to boot their card on non-Gigabyte boards, there aren't very many other "killer" apps for the 3D1
They pretty much say Stick with true SLI unless size restraints force you into a single card solution
In Soviet Russia, Trojan exploits YOU!
You should find this board outrunning the 6800Ultras. This is basically a $400 board outrunning a $500 board (that goes for as much as $600 depending on brand/features).
The lowdown (using individual boards here but the dual is about the same):
Doom3 1600x1200:
6600GT SLI = 77.1fps, Cost = $376 (188x2)
6800Ultra = 73.9fps, Cost = $489
According to a great article on www.Anandtech.com it doesn't really outperform two individual boards though. It may be wiser to get a single 6600GT now and SLI later.
This board somewhat defeats one of the great features of SLI: future upgrades. The idea is you can buy a "good" card today and at some point when it gets a little bit dated you can add more performance at a lower future cost.
However, a single board SLI solution should help offset the nasty cost of an SLI motherboard right now. The NF4 SLI boards are running about $100-$150 over where they should be simply due to shortages (spanking new product overdemand).
$255, Gigabyte NF4 SLI mobo
$188, 6600GT today
$59, 6600GT 2 years from now (Based on the cost today of a $200 graphics card two years ago, the GF4 4200)
Total: $502
Or you can opt for 6600GT performance today and tomorrow without SLI in the picture:
$149, Gigabyte NF4 non-SLI mobo
$188, 6600GT today
$269, 6800Ultra 2 years from now (Based on the cost today of a $500 graphics card two years ago, the GF 5900 Ultra)
Total: $606
As you can see even with the badly overpriced SLI motherboards it's still a better deal in the long run. If SLI motherboards get back to reality you could see the savings increase from $104 to ~$200 as well but that's just speculation.
References:
All new prices are from www.newegg.com. For the older boards (4200 & 5900U) that are not available at Newegg I used pricegrabber. Anandtech was used for the benchmark and 2 year old reference articles.