muiltple gpu

[DarkWhisper]

Just a quick question.
My mates building a extream gaming rig. and theres something he told me that dont make sence.
He will be running this
Intel Core i7 975 3.33Ghz (Nehalem) Extreme Edition (Socket LGA1366) - Retail
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5870 XXX 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5870 XXX 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5870 XXX 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Asus P6T7 WS Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard
Corsair Dominator GT 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C7 1866MHz Triple Channel Kit
Corsair Dominator GT 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C7 1866MHz Triple Channel Kit

The thing that he says is, if he runs more than one card his pc power will last a lot longer and play all the lastest games for years to come. if he ran one card he would have to change every couple of years to stay ahead of good frame rate.
Is this true or is he dreaming. and just wasting his money as always.. he running 1920/1080

 

[Martini1991]

We can't see the basket..
If he has more than one card, I.E crossfire/SLI, then it'll perform better, so last longer...

 

[reflux]

You can't link to your shopping cart

He's basically saying that he has more power now which means games will run better in the future, but what he isn't considering is that newer cards have more efficient architectures and generally better drivers. In addition, he risks the incompatibilities and nuisances of multi-gpu gaming where some games just won't recognise the second card at all.

Overall, the best approach to take is not to multi-gpu unless it's significantly cheaper than buying a single card of similar power.

 

[DarkWhisper]

Changed first message.
so you think that having a max of two cards is better then 3-4 cards?

 

[Orcvader]

If he doesn't mind upgrading every now and then, then 2 cards will do. 3 - 4 cards will be a lot of power though, what res is he playing at?

 

[DarkWhisper]

1920/1080

 

[V4nger]

he could get 2 Powercolor HD 5970s for the same price as 3 5870s. dont know what the performance difference would be but you'd save space in the case.

 

[arc@css]

Three gpu's are better supported than four. Two / three card config is the sweet spot.

 

[Final8y]

3 indeed is the sweet spot.