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Will SLI ever be worth bothering with @ 1280 x 1024

decimator

decimator

decimator

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OK, due to the limitations of my monitor (which I like) I game at 1280 x 1024 at the moment, and I'm not really planning to change it for the foreseeable future, but I do have an SLI-capable motherboard and an 8800 GTS (the 320 MB version) but from all the benchmarks I've seen, unless you're playing at 1600 x 1200 or higher (I don't) or using a lot of AA and/or AF (I don't care enough about these two to spend that amount of money) it doesn't make much difference to your framerates. In the tests I've seen, SLI only boosts fps by about 10-15% at 1280 by 1024. Now, my question is probably quite complicated, is this due to inherent limitations of the technology (i.e. is it always going to be like that) or will Nvidia ever be able to improve the drivers so that SLI would give a much higher (50%+) framerate boost at that rez?
 
With TFT monitors running at 60Hz, what does it matter how many FPS you can get? As long as they sit nicely at 60FPS, you'll be none the wiser.
 
I've no idea as to the answers on the technical side, but certainly the results seem to speak for themselves - ie two 8800 series cards at 1280 x 1024 don't perform massively faster than one.

So, as adding a second card is quite an expensive undertaking, it's probably not worth it for that resolution.

We live in hope that drivers will improve things, but graphics technology always seems to move on before that happens!

Having said all that, I do get higher frame rates in Crysis using the hacked DX9 'Very High' settings, something in the order of 25/30%, and some SLI friendly games like FEAR see much bigger improvements. (That's at 1440 x 900 by the way, which is similar pixel wise to 1280 x 1024).
 
i think no as it is usually better just to wait for the next generation of cards that are usually faster anyway and at 1024x1280, there are a few games that need sli of crossfire. even crisis should run at a decent framerate since 1024x1280 is considered quite low res these days. if you are planning on going sli, i suggest selling your 8800GTS and getting a 8800GT (good luck finding a place that stocks them though) or wait for the new 8800GTS to be released. both should be an improvement over you current card
 
jak731 said:
i think no as it is usually better just to wait for the next generation of cards that are usually faster anyway and at 1024x1280, there are a few games that need sli of crossfire.
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Well unless there is a massive improvement in the SLI driver situation, that is what I am probably going to end up doing - wait for the next generation of Nvidia cards to come out (and come down to an affordable price - £200 or so) though I have read quite a lot of speculation that Nvidia are more interested in pushing Tri-Sli etc than they are in bringing out 9800's (or whatever theyr're going to be called) so I'm wondering how long I will have to wait.
 
If its anything, I got a pair of Point Of View 320MB GTS Cards.

I have tried them both out in an Asus A8N-SLI along with 4MB of OCZ 3200 and in XP 32 and 64Bit, and as well as Vista32, I can honestly say without fear of reprisals that at 1280x1024 ( Also my preferred choice of screen mode, ( crappy Monitor ) ) that it was in fact a complete and total waste of my ****** hard earned cash.

Now...

I have tried these cards on said machine downstairs on my main screen and sure enough, it helps a fair bit.

But at lower modes ( lower??? Hell, I remember when I was able to up to 800x600 FFS ! ) its really not worth bothering with.

I now have the cards in seperate machines and my the A8N-SLI PC is once again, running only a pair of 6600GT cards ( Its fun so dont knock it )
 
I have just that - 1280x1024 native and 2x 8800GT.
There is an improvement in FPS in SLI, but yeah - not much. More notciable on a game like Crysis tbh.

I keep saying I'm gonna get a bigger monitor mind, just never have the cash.
My advice to anyone else considering it would be to not bother - spend the money on something else, like a nice case, or perhaps a decent monitor. Still toying with the thought of 'baying mine.
 
With my 7 series card (7950GX2) I play mostly at 1440x900 which is basically the same as 1280x1024, and see a good 70+% overall fps gain in SLI mode in most recent titles... with 8 series I wonder if the GPU isn't the bottleneck but infact other parts of the system hence why you don't see huge gains.
 
8igdave said:
If you got the money for sli you should ahve for a bigger screen though surely?
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You offering to get me a Christmas prezzie Dave? :p

edit: I had the money for 2 cards or 1 card and a new monitor. I'm hoping the money for a new monitor will come along, but it isn't looking likely. lol
 
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Will be intresting to see the price of GTX's when the 9 series comes out. If you could pick a pair up for £280/90, thats very good performance for the money!
 
8igdave said:
It would be far more benefishal to get a 9800 GTS id imagine.
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Beneficial :D Sorry, couldn't resist :)

I Run a 8800GTS 320 SLI setup my self, wouldnt be too excited about going SLI again. Next time I probably will get a faster single card and maybe get a second one to match later when they drop in price.

But still in saying that, overall performance wise - its kickass ;)

Hj
 
Well, due to being messed about by a certain supplier, I have gone elsewhere to buy my latest PC setup... Which might I add, I chose the most ridiculously fastest 8800GTX Card I could afford ( Chose the BFG OC version )
Anyway, I got messed about by the second supplier too, and so, I went to a third.

The trouble is, that both cards are on their way, and the first supplier has told me that I cannot get a refund unless there is a problem with the order.

I have decided that I cant be arsed and that by the end of the week, I will be running a pair of the fastest cards on the market in SLI mode.

I will be definitely running a shoot load of benchmarks and getting my name up there with the big boys for sure.

The snag is, that my only SLI PCs are AMD Socket 939 and my fastest CPU is the Opteron 285 so I sure hope that I wont get a CPU Bottleneck... I might just get an SLI Mobo for the conroe however and give them a re-trial but I will run them on their own first ... I hate it when I buy stuff for no other reason than I am being a tit.
 
Hungryjoey

I Run a 8800GTS 320 SLI setup my self, wouldnt be too excited about going SLI again. Next time I probably will get a faster single card and maybe get a second one to match later when they drop in price.
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Yer that sounds good to me, in fact thats such a good idea i might have to get one right now, o wait.....
i just spent 666.00 quid on my B&Ws and now have no money to get Christmas present of any one !!!
 
FatRakoon said:
Well, due to being messed about by a certain supplier, I have gone elsewhere to buy my latest PC setup... Which might I add, I chose the most ridiculously fastest 8800GTX Card I could afford ( Chose the BFG OC version )
Anyway, I got messed about by the second supplier too, and so, I went to a third.

The trouble is, that both cards are on their way, and the first supplier has told me that I cannot get a refund unless there is a problem with the order.

I have decided that I cant be arsed and that by the end of the week, I will be running a pair of the fastest cards on the market in SLI mode.

I will be definitely running a shoot load of benchmarks and getting my name up there with the big boys for sure.

The snag is, that my only SLI PCs are AMD Socket 939 and my fastest CPU is the Opteron 285 so I sure hope that I wont get a CPU Bottleneck... I might just get an SLI Mobo for the conroe however and give them a re-trial but I will run them on their own first ... I hate it when I buy stuff for no other reason than I am being a tit.
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Undert the 7days distance selling act you can send it back regardless and just pay postage. But there is no reason why you cant cancel your preorder due to lack of stock.Tell them your not having it.
 
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