SLI Primer

GFXguy writes "If you are looking to catch up on some hardware learning you may want to check out "SL Why?". It is a short article that goes over the basics of SLI graphics. The article goes over some strengths and weaknesses of this technology as well. It looks like one video card is not going to cut it any more, at least for the hardcore gamers out there. "

Comments

FUD Biased Article with Inaccuracies

[dbretton]

#1) Doom 3 runs in SFR mode, not AFR.

#2) CPU issue is overblown. I'm not even sure if any additional information is truly sent to the processor.
In AFR, the data for each frame is sent to alternating graphics cards. Since the frames would have been processed anyway, there is not any additional load on the CPU than there would be for an identical system with a video card that is twice as powerful as in an SLI system.
In SFR, the same data is sent to two graphics cards. This would be more data, but seemingly require only a smidgen more CPU power. The video cards send the data between each other over a dedicated bridge, and the video cards handle the task of reassembling the image into a single frame.

#3) SLI card cost. 6600GT AGP cards cost more than their PCIe counterpart. 6800 AGP cards cost less. This has more to do with the amount of time in the market than anything else. In 3 months, the prices will be equal.

#4) Stability. "...certain older cards that are said to be SLI compatible have serious stability problems when used with SLI, but, for example, not all 6800 GT cards can be used with SLI". To date, I have not seen a PCIe 6600GT or 6800GT card released which is not SLI compatible. Not all 6800GT cards can be used with SLI, but that has more to do with the fact that many cards are AGP based and older than two months (when the first SLI motherboards were released).

#5) No benefit. "From what I heard, more than a few games realize no FPS gains at all from the addition of a second video card". First, this is rumor. Many games realize no benefit at low resolutions (640x480, some at 800x600) because the games are more CPU bound than video card bound. All the games that are SLI compatible definitely realize solid FPS gains. Moreover, those gains can be "converted" into graphics enhancements (i.e. no need to go from 60fps to 95 fps, but now you can turn on 8xAA or up the screen resolution, etc.)

#6) Dual GPU cards. The author obviously doesn't know what he's talking about here. The Gigabyte dual GPU card is just an SLI solution on a single graphics card. It's (almost) exactly the same as having 2x6600GT cards. It uses the same technology and produces the same results. So what's this viable new technology on the horizon he is talking about?

#7) SLI cannot be forced. Of course it can! The default mode is "no SLI". This can be changed in the configuration options for the card.

Re:PC vs Console - TCO

[raynet11]

That's a valid point, I have both x-box and PC for gaming. It comes down to patience, do I want to wait a few years for Half-Life 2 or far cry to be ported to my console or do I want to play it now? If you don't mind the wait then do so, most hard core gamers are not going to wait. I didn't wait for Half-Life two but in case of Doom, I going to wait for the x-box port.

Re:Asinine

[friedmud]

I just upgraded my computer after having the same one for 4 years... which as a CS major (well, I just graduated) is a pretty long time. How do I make my computer stretch so far? Buy upgradeable solutions up front... and that's exactly what I did this time.

I bought an SLI mobo (MSI K8N Platinum SLI)... put the slowest 939 pin Athlon64 I could find (3500+) (the price ramps up significantly passed this point).... then I bought _ONE_ Geforce6800 GT and 1GB of RAM in two sticks (leaving two slots open)... and finally a 535 watt SLI power supply.... Then hooked it all up to a new 19" Flat Panel.

All in all I paid about $1600... which is a little bit but let's look at the upgradeability.

First of all there's the obvious SLI slot. In about a year when 6800GT's are $150... I'll be able to nearly DOUBLE my performance in games. That's a pretty good upgrade.

I left two RAM slots open so I can jam another set of 1GB sticks in there in a year and have 3GB.

The newly announced dual core chips from AMD will work in my current 939 socket... with a BIOS upgrade... so I will be able to again almost DOUBLE my CPU performance (blah threads, blah, I do a lot of compiling and stuff so it will be a big upgrade for me)

So there you have it. I didn't spend a million dollars... but my computer is REALLY future proof. I probably won't do another $1500 upgrade until about 3 to 4 years from now... and like I mentioned I'm a fairly heavy computer user.

So for me SLI is future proofing my system, and I, for one, am grateful!

Friedmud

Re:What about...

[randyest]

What about you? There will always be older, cheaper hardware available and you can just get one of them instead of two.

There's one of you in every thread about something new or high-end:

"A cellphone with a camera and flamethrower? What about those of us who just want to make a call?!"

"A GPS that drives for me? What about those of us who just want to download directions ?!"

"A computer with two graphics cards? What about those of us who just want to play minesweeper and read email?!"

I don't get it; does it really bother you so much that there are some people who want more or different performance levels than you?

Do you not realize that the very existence of high-end products helps drive down prices for the lower-end stuff you so desire?

Re:Single video card not going to cut it?

[keeleysam]

I also buy nvidia because of their WINDOWS drivers. ATI's (in my experience), are like HP's printer drivers (awful), and nVidia's JUST WORK, and overclocking is easy.

Re:Audiophile insanity vs. gamer insanity

[Snommis]

I agree - audiophiles are worse, INITIALLY. But they can usually resell a piece they replace (sometimes at a profit). Us gamers buy a $500 card to trash it 6 months later.

My stereo will clearly play great audio long after I trash my current rig, and a few components after that, too. Until you can purchase an ear upgrade, anyway. The next FPS down the pike will make my PC a paperweight...