slix2 gfx vs 1Xpci e question

[c4jax]

first of all hello everyone.
i would like to know the real benefit of a sli motherboard with two gfx cards over a normal pci express, with a single card. i play now then on the internet with call of duty 1 ,but i am about to build a new rig to play call of duty 2 on the internet.

 

[fenderbass86]

First of all, welcome to the message board!

The idea of two graphics cards is to effectively give you double the power. This isn't always the case, but when using very high resolutions, two gfx cards become more apparent than one. I'm building a new pc soon but have opted for one mid/high end card (X1800XT), SLi'ing or crossfiring two cards is a very expensive hobby.

 

[TaKeN]

Basically if you have a mahoosive screen and play at very very hig resolutions the crossfire or SLi setup if for you, if you play with a 17" or 19" TFT Then you are better off with a single card..

 

[c4jax]

thanks that just made my new set up a lot cheaper

 

[man_from_uncle]

Though it is generally true that a single card will beat any two cards of the same price in SLi/crossfire there are the occassional odd exceptions. Certain versions of the 7300gt for example which cost £60-£70 per card will be faster in SLi than any single card you can get at the same price.


It's also worth considering getting a single card now and a second one 4-12 months down the line. Sadly this works much better in theory than in practice, as by the time you want to get a second card, a) they no longer make it, b) selling your old card and putting the money towards a single faster card often makes more sense financially; and c) for ATI you are often left needing to buy a mastercard which costs even more than your original and doesn't boost performance in accordance with the cost (relative to SLi).

As the others have suggested a single card solution generally makes more sense unless you're playing a very high resolutions where no single card is powerful enough. Do have a look at the 7300gt SLi option though.

 

[fenderbass86]

Two 7300GT's are only faster than a single 7900GT when they are seriously overclocked. But they do work out a fair bit cheaper than a single 7900GT.