SLI or One big GPU
- Thread starter Nstg8R
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I would rather get one good card rather then two Okay cards
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2 mediocre cards, with a game designed with SLI options, will be more powerful than a single card of higher quality. It's a matter of the game's ability to split up its calls among GPUs, if the game isn't doing this natively then you throw in overhead on the card drivers on top of what the game already requires.
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only go SLI or Crossfire if your using large resolutions but if your only using 1024 x 768 then just get 1 video card.
SLI and Crossfire barely give a boost and its not so worth it if you ask me.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/ They have charts here so you can look and compare if you really wanna spend the money on getting 2 or 1 video cards, for what im using the increase is extremely small.
SLI and Crossfire barely give a boost and its not so worth it if you ask me.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/ They have charts here so you can look and compare if you really wanna spend the money on getting 2 or 1 video cards, for what im using the increase is extremely small.
Not once has someone mentioned southbridges. I might tear up here.
If your motherboard supports x16 by 16x SLi or Crossfire operation, then you're in the golden state, my friend. Most motherboards split the PCIe lanes between the two cards and both cards operate at 8x.
Anyways, are you talking about, for instance, A) [1x HD 3870 1GB] vs. [2x HD 3870 512MB] or are you talking about B) [1x HD 3870X2 1GB] vs. [2x HD 3870 512MB]? I'm just using the 3870 cards as an example (there are other dual GPU cards out there for ATi). If you're talking about option A, then you'd be better off with [2x HD 3870 512MB]. If you're talking about option B, whatever floats your boat; I'm too lazy to research which is better.
Honestly, though, RAM is definitely not what you should be looking at when it comes to video cards. As long as it's GDDR3 or GDDR4 and 256MB+, you're fine. 256MB is plenty to run any game at 1024x768.
More important factors to look at while shopping for a video cards are: GPU (What model is it? How well does that model do compared to others?), Memory Interface/Bus (128-bit cards are dating quickly, and aren't as powerful as their 256-bit counterparts), and Heat (depending on if you care or not).
If you want some help on video card shopping I'd be glad to point you in the right direction (I'm sure that other members would love to help out, too), just post back with your computer specs and ATi or nVidia preference, as well as price range.
If your motherboard supports x16 by 16x SLi or Crossfire operation, then you're in the golden state, my friend. Most motherboards split the PCIe lanes between the two cards and both cards operate at 8x.
Anyways, are you talking about, for instance, A) [1x HD 3870 1GB] vs. [2x HD 3870 512MB] or are you talking about B) [1x HD 3870X2 1GB] vs. [2x HD 3870 512MB]? I'm just using the 3870 cards as an example (there are other dual GPU cards out there for ATi). If you're talking about option A, then you'd be better off with [2x HD 3870 512MB]. If you're talking about option B, whatever floats your boat; I'm too lazy to research which is better.
Honestly, though, RAM is definitely not what you should be looking at when it comes to video cards. As long as it's GDDR3 or GDDR4 and 256MB+, you're fine. 256MB is plenty to run any game at 1024x768.
More important factors to look at while shopping for a video cards are: GPU (What model is it? How well does that model do compared to others?), Memory Interface/Bus (128-bit cards are dating quickly, and aren't as powerful as their 256-bit counterparts), and Heat (depending on if you care or not).
If you want some help on video card shopping I'd be glad to point you in the right direction (I'm sure that other members would love to help out, too), just post back with your computer specs and ATi or nVidia preference, as well as price range.
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in general, the rule of thumb with video cards is it is ALMOST always better to have one really top-end GPU than two lesser-quality GPUs SLIed together. the reason is not a whole lot of programs take full advantage of SLI mode, so your one upper-end card will usually out perform two lower-end cards. that being said, there are always mitigating circumstances. for the most part, though, if you're going to be spending money it's usually best spent on a single high-end card.
I don't believe anyone's brought up the matter of dual screens. Remember that with SLI (in most cases, I've read instances where this isn't true, but) you can only use one display. I personally like to use dual screens. This means the only time I will ever get any use out of my SLI is when I'm not playing multiplayer or a game where I don't want to use a FAQ. I've had my two 8800's in SLI for about a week and I've used it to game only once.
In short, if you want to be able to game with two screens, go for the single, better gpu. If you only have one monitor, then the choice is up to you.
In short, if you want to be able to game with two screens, go for the single, better gpu. If you only have one monitor, then the choice is up to you.
I have had two 7900GTS cards running in SLI and noticed very little performance increase in TF2. This could be due to a CPU bottleneck though as I don't believe TF2 is using both cores. As Glitch said (and in my experience) you can't run dual monitors when in SLI mode and usually disabling and re-enabling SLI requires a reboot. Even though I still have the 2 cards in, I never run SLI anymore.
If you are torn between buying 1 expensive card or 2 less expensive cards, I would go with the single card. In the future you could always add a second one (assuming you had an SLI or Crossfire mobo). Tom's Hardware updates their video card guide every month or so, I would definitely recommend checking it out: [link=http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card,1923.html]http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card,1923.html[/link]
(edit: fixed hyperlink)
If you are torn between buying 1 expensive card or 2 less expensive cards, I would go with the single card. In the future you could always add a second one (assuming you had an SLI or Crossfire mobo). Tom's Hardware updates their video card guide every month or so, I would definitely recommend checking it out: [link=http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card,1923.html]http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card,1923.html[/link]
(edit: fixed hyperlink)
I know I am a bit late on this thread, but here is what I can tell you from my experience.
I build a Intel Quad Core 6600 PC with 4 gig of ram and 2 8800GTS video cards. The motherboard does have duel 16x slots using the nforce 750I chipset.
First thing I did not know originaly
A great many games to not support SLI. And so the only run 1 GPU
When forcing a game to run in SLI you can get undesired effects. A good example I found was Bioshock. The nvidia recommended setting is for a single gpu. You can force it to run in SLI, but I experience screen flickering at certain parts of the game. "This was on Vista 64bit running DirectX 10"
In my PC it would appear that duel video cards is creating something of a heat problem. It is hard to get enough air in and out of the case, and to make sure it circulates correctly.
If I had this all to do over again I would get a single GTX video card, instead of duel GTS cards.
I hope this was helpfull.
I build a Intel Quad Core 6600 PC with 4 gig of ram and 2 8800GTS video cards. The motherboard does have duel 16x slots using the nforce 750I chipset.
First thing I did not know originaly
A great many games to not support SLI. And so the only run 1 GPU
When forcing a game to run in SLI you can get undesired effects. A good example I found was Bioshock. The nvidia recommended setting is for a single gpu. You can force it to run in SLI, but I experience screen flickering at certain parts of the game. "This was on Vista 64bit running DirectX 10"
In my PC it would appear that duel video cards is creating something of a heat problem. It is hard to get enough air in and out of the case, and to make sure it circulates correctly.
If I had this all to do over again I would get a single GTX video card, instead of duel GTS cards.
I hope this was helpfull.
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[quote1210876111=Pyro78]
If I had this all to do over again I would get a single GTX video card, instead of duel GTS cards.
[/quote1210876111]
You don't know how many times I've heard this when helping to troubleshoot a client's system. The upshot is, when you're building or configuring a rig, it is ALWAYS (well...99.9999999999999999%) better to spend your money on a single, higher-end card than two mid range or upper-mid range cards in SLI (or crossfire).
If I had this all to do over again I would get a single GTX video card, instead of duel GTS cards.
[/quote1210876111]
You don't know how many times I've heard this when helping to troubleshoot a client's system. The upshot is, when you're building or configuring a rig, it is ALWAYS (well...99.9999999999999999%) better to spend your money on a single, higher-end card than two mid range or upper-mid range cards in SLI (or crossfire).
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[quote1210876554=Crashman]
As Glitch said (and in my experience) you can't run dual monitors when in SLI mode and usually disabling and re-enabling SLI requires a reboot. [/quote1210876554]
A third cheap ATI card for the second monitor. NVidia drivers can't govern it.
I ran dual monitors with SLI active for most of a year.
As Glitch said (and in my experience) you can't run dual monitors when in SLI mode and usually disabling and re-enabling SLI requires a reboot. [/quote1210876554]
A third cheap ATI card for the second monitor. NVidia drivers can't govern it.
I ran dual monitors with SLI active for most of a year.
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- May 4, 2008
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always one good card rather than two, unless you're doing high res with high aa. Then when the games start to bog your card down get another in the future for a fraction of the price and wham, you're good for awhile longer.
This rule is especially good today since fps performance increase is negligible in most games unless high res and high aa.
This rule is especially good today since fps performance increase is negligible in most games unless high res and high aa.
One card is better almost always IMO. Two cards eat your system resources, takes more power, they'll probably be loud as a swamp buggy and very hot in your case, and the game your playing has to be able to take advantage of the SLI/Crossfire setup. They'll look great, and it'll probably impress your friends, but just think of what else you could spend the extra money on by not buying the 2nd GPU...
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Here is a great comparison of the latest cards in a 1 vs.2 vs. 3 vs. 4 card configuration.
Hard numbers, no more assumptions or opinions: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ5NiwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0
Hard numbers, no more assumptions or opinions: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ5NiwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0
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I would buy one good video card instead of two lesser cards in SLI.
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Well no matter the budget unless its extremely high i wouldnt buy 2 cards. If your building a new system you best bet is to buy the best video card you can afford. If your building or upgrading a system keep in mind that if your cpu isnt that great its gonna create a bottleneck and it probably wouldnt be worth buying $600 card if your cpu restricts the performance equal to a $400 card. As otheres have said memory doesnt mean much when i comes to video cards unless your running your resolution really high. Also another thing remember your powersupply wattage and voltages. You dont wanna have acheap powersupply that while yolur running 2 cards kicks the bucket cuz it wasnnt designed for it.
Any other questions you can pm me if you want and i can do my best to help you out.
Any other questions you can pm me if you want and i can do my best to help you out.
