Thread: SLI? Gimmick or performance?

  1. #16
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    I kind of doubt that SLI will become that popular. Seems like too much of a hassle to have two cards. Also, having two of anything doubles the probability of something going wrong, cuz if one hits the high road the whole system doesn't work.

    I'm honestly satisifed with the high end nvidia and ati cards anyway. I honestly don't think I will be needing an upgrade for a while. I'd rather companies just produced good games instead of worrying about this proverbial pi$$ing contest about which game has the prettiest graphics. Doom3 and HL2 weren't *that* fun, I've played a lot of amateur games that cost nothing to make with relatively bad graphics that were more satisfying.
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  2. #17
    5|-|1+|-|34|) ober's Avatar
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    Wrong. If one hits the high road, you remove the bad one and switch out of SLI mode. It's not that hard.

    And there are already people I work with that are talking about upgrading to it. And we've already had one member in the Tech Board that bought the hardware and will most likely get the second card to use it.

    It is only a matter of time before more people start snatching them up. I'd also like to reiterate a point someone else made: You can buy two really nice low-end PCIX cards that will trump a high-end, more expensive single AGP card, so cost is not really the issue here.

  3. #18
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    Wrong. If one hits the high road, you remove the bad one and switch out of SLI mode. It's not that hard.
    Yeah, true. It would still be a pain, and you'd still be left with a PCI card, but you are right you'd survive.

    Well, hmm, maybe it'll catch on somewhat more than I initially thought but I still don't think it will become that popular. We shall see.
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  4. #19
    5|-|1+|-|34|) ober's Avatar
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    It might be a pain... but what are the chances of it happening? You have as much chance as your single AGP card going down.

    And still... it seems like you think AGP is faster than a PCIX card. I have a low-end 128mb 6600 PCIX card that benchmarks evenly with my co-worker's high-end (6800GT?... I don't know the model number) 256mb ATI AGP card. I paid about $120 for mine... he paid close to $400 for his. Both are running at stock speeds.

    No offense, but your statements are uneducated at best.

  5. #20
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    No offense, but your statements are uneducated at best.
    How? I happen to do a lot with graphics and I actually do know quite a lot about video cards, I've even been able to fiddle with the code from some old drivers. I didn't say the chances of a failure were HIGH, I just said it's twice as likely

    oh well whatev

    edit: and i still don't think sli will become mainstream
    Last edited by Darkness; 03-24-2005 at 10:37 AM.
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  6. #21
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    SLI is not really a new concept, its actually quite old. It was first used if i remember correctly by another gpu company, 3dfx if im not mistaken. But it did not get very popular due to the technology back then, the card were very large combining 2 monster cards made it extremly difficult to use, no mainstream user would buy something that would not fit in their case. Later on when Nvidia bought 3dfx they got the rights for SLI too, and they improved on it, they made smaller cards with more power so this time SLI is here to stay, and the motherboard companies know this and support SLI with their PCI-E motherboards.

    edit: i was unsure if it was 3dfx or some other company so i did a little search and came up with this. Its a good read, it explains how the 3dfx SLI(Scan Line Interleave) and how Nvidia SLI(Scalable Link Interface) work. http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...s/nvsli/2.html
    Last edited by InvariantLoop; 03-24-2005 at 12:41 PM.
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  7. #22
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    >> using a cooling system reminiscent of a refrigerator

    say it like its a bad thing :P

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by InvariantLoop
    Where did you come up with all this info? Have you even searched or read anything about SLI? Not all PCI-Express cards are more expensive than AGP cards. You can buy 2 6600 PCI-E cards for the price of 1 6800GT AGP card.
    I never said anything that equated to "SLI = expensive". I said that given that you were this type of person:-
    Code:
    if (p4_3ghz_at_4ghz && fridge_cooling && muchos_wonga)
       printf("D00d, my dad's your dad's boss! LOLOLOLORZ!!1!");
    You would buy expensive.

    As you later said, the cheapest option for "SLI" are actually a couple of 3dfx Voodoo2s. I have a magazine somewhere showing a guy running Doom3 on them.

    Fridge cooling might be a decent option (Particularly if you have space in your case for a six-pack), but the problem with heat pumps like that is that while it's very cool inside, it's a fair bit warmer outside, although I suppose if it's only coming out on your feet that's fine.

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by SMurf
    I never said anything that equated to "SLI = expensive". I said that given that you were this type of person:-
    Code:
    if (p4_3ghz_at_4ghz && fridge_cooling && muchos_wonga)
       printf("D00d, my dad's your dad's boss! LOLOLOLORZ!!1!");
    You would buy expensive.

    As you later said, the cheapest option for "SLI" are actually a couple of 3dfx Voodoo2s. I have a magazine somewhere showing a guy running Doom3 on them.

    Fridge cooling might be a decent option (Particularly if you have space in your case for a six-pack), but the problem with heat pumps like that is that while it's very cool inside, it's a fair bit warmer outside, although I suppose if it's only coming out on your feet that's fine.
    No offence but it seem that you dont know much about cooling in general, whether its aircooling, or water cooling. I will not mention LN2 because that is done in another level for bragging rights, experimentation and not practical reasons.

    I did not say anything about 3dfx sli being cheaper or more expensive. I said that even though the concept back then had potentials as it has already been proven now by the nvidia SLI, back then it lacked the technology to give the performance.

    To conclude, i suggest you go read about watercooling, how it works, and what it can give you. A quieter system thats for sure.

    edit: btw you are confused, people that overclock generally dont have $$$. Thats the reason why they buy smart and overclock even smarter. Why would i get a P4 3Ghz when i can OC my 2.6ghz to 3GHZ. or why would i buy 6-8 fans when i can buy a watercool kit, make my OC potentials even higher, have a quieter system and in the end pay less and have the same performance as an Alienware. Anyway read up on stuff, maybe go build your own system, OC a little and see why people do it.
    Last edited by InvariantLoop; 03-24-2005 at 04:42 PM.
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  10. #25
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    My brother has a water-cooled Cube. Sure, when it's not doing anything it's silent, but do even the slightest thing to cause a CPU usage jump (Say, open a few Explorer windows very quickly) and you'll hear something akin to a vacuum cleaner suddenly come on. I prefer my system to be a bit more consistent with noise levels.

    And btw, when I say "fridge cooling", I mean by chemicals, not water. As in... a fridge.

    Also, my point about this "hypothetical person" was that they do things like overclocking because they can, not because they make sense.

    But you're right, I don't much about SLI, or cooling in general. Plus I don't think I could find much info on overclocking a P3 these days.

  11. #26
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    I did not say anything about 3dfx sli being cheaper or more expensive. I said that even though the concept back then had potentials as it has already been proven now by the nvidia SLI, back then it lacked the technology to give the performance.
    Wrong.

    I used to run two Voodoo 3 3dfx cards in SLI mode. Their size was not an issue and the performance was great. It was better than one card at the time, but I'm not so sure that SLI is such a benefit today given the power we have on one card.

  12. #27
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    You sure you had voodoo 3 SLIed? I had dual voodoo 2 SLI, and i was under the impression that the voodoo3 lacked SLI capability.
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  13. #28
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    Yes you are right Clyde. It was two Voodoo2's I had SLIed. Man its been a long time since then. My 3 fried inside of my ASUS rig - a known problem with ASUS and 3dfx Voodoo 3 at the time.

    Thanks for the correction.

  14. #29
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    Guys why are you questiong voodoo's sli? Perhaps you have forgotton that the people making these cards are from 3DFX, and 3DFX started SLI and its concept....

  15. #30
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    also if his watercooling was done right you wouldnt hear ANYTHING, time for him to redesign.

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