What is the deal with SLI and Crossfire technology

maguszxz

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I am confused about Multi-GPU technology. What is the big deal about it? Is it better than a single GPU? It seems like alot of Smoke and Mirriors to me. Could someone explain this new stuff to me??
 

kolemunky

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smoke and mirrors about sums it up.....Only real benifit is in super high res gaming and 3dyank05. There are no games that benefit from sli/cf enough to justify dropping 2X the cash for a card. In most cases the performance decreases. Its smarter and more cost effective to just go out and by the latest and greatest card than to jump on the sli bandwagon. Sry if i offended any of you ......but its the truth.
 

maguszxz

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smoke and mirrors about sums it up.....Only real benifit is in super high res gaming and 3dyank05. There are no games that benefit from sli/cf enough to justify dropping 2X the cash for a card. In most cases the performance decreases. Its smarter and more cost effective to just go out and by the latest and greatest card than to jump on the sli bandwagon. Sry if i offended any of you ......but its the truth.


No offense taken. It just seems like one of those things that Computer nerds and geeks need to show off. It's like a wang-measuring contest to show who has the baddest mod. But, I just didnt see the need for a Multi-GPU technology.
 

Maxiius

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smoke and mirrors about sums it up.....than to jump on the sli bandwagon. Sry if i offended any of you ......but its the truth.

Careful... the SLI Fanboys are watching you with a close eyes...
 

ProHandyman

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The premise of SLI/Crossfire/Dual GPU graphics originally held promise. The thought of doubling your 3D performance now, or latter on when you could afford the second card IS very tempting.

HOWEVER, reality shows that dual card performance is at best 30-40% better then one card, not the imagined 2 Xs. Combine that with the recent hectic release of new generation video cards along with the prior generations quick demise, have made the "upgrade" premise moot also.

Personally, I think multi on-card GPUs makes more since then seperate cards! The board realestate required eliminates any chance of other add ons or upgrades. The other problem with these multi-GPU setups is the huge power requirements they require. Keep things up with inefficient multi-CPU/GPUs will require mini-reactors to power our computers!
 

kolemunky

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Nvidia and Ati are cleaning up on this little fad. They could have made dual gpus on one card, but its a hell of a lot more profitable to sell them as two. Then when the do release a dual gpu card they make it a "limited edition" so they can hose the enthusiast even more. I dont mind dropping huge amounts of cash on the latest and greatest stuff, but this sli/cf crap will never be latest and greatest when I see one single card outperforming dual cards at half the cost.
 

FlyGuy

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Agreed, smoke and mirrors! It's a horrible thing from the price to performance aspect. You spend twice as much for up to 30-40% increase in some games in specific situations.

The problem being I think is that a lot of games are still CPU limited and just can't take advantage of the horsepower. If you look at a lot of the reviews for the dual cards you see no increase and usually a decrease at 1024 or 1280 even with the candy on. You start to see a bump at 12x16 but even then it's not much. Throw in a 19" LCD like mine that maxes at 1280 and it makes no sense.

Now if you have yourself a nice Dell 3007WFP 30" widescreen monitor you're going to need some kick to run that sucker at 2560x1600 native resolution!
 

Maxiius

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the Asus Dual card is a perfect example of how they can release multi GPU on one card yes. And it is alot more profitable for them to sell it as 2 cards yes. I must concur. I wish they would make the junk 1 card, bottom half of my MB is all video cards... kinda blows with you think about it.
 

maguszxz

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I couldn't figure out how come they didn't just come out with a dual GPU card. Power and space couldn't be a factor because single GPU cards are getting bigger and demand more power anyway.
 

Maxiius

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A single card dual GPU even if it is a 2 slot solution would be much better then an SLI'd 4 slot cooling solution. (X1900s & 7800 512s are all 2 slot eatters)
 

kolemunky

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I would rather see dual socket motherboards...... 1 cpu 1 gpu. and continue using the same 4 slot memory setup, but have 2 slots dedicated to each chip. Cooling would be more efficient. Upgrading cost would be a hell of a lot cheaper. Unless the keep pulling this socket switcharoo bs.
 

chuckshissle

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Everyone is right SLI/Crossfire is good :D and bad. :(

Pro's = high resolution gaming with good performance

Con's = it cost from $850-$1000 to aquire

So if you don't care spending you savings for college then go for it.

I am now officially broke by the way. :twisted:
 

RichPLS

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No offense taken. It just seems like one of those things that Computer nerds and geeks need to show off. It's like a wang-measuring contest to show who has the baddest mod. But, I just didnt see the need for a Multi-GPU technology.

In resolutions above 1280x1024, especially at 1920x1200 and above, even the top single cards at max details start to show signs of weakness, but with the same top cards in SLI/Crossfire, those 2 cards handle it pretty well.
That is what enthusiasts are after, and admittedly, it is an awesome gaming experience if you also have the monitor.
 

dvdpiddy

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smoke and mirrors about sums it up.....Only real benifit is in super high res gaming and 3dyank05. There are no games that benefit from sli/cf enough to justify dropping 2X the cash for a card. In most cases the performance decreases. Its smarter and more cost effective to just go out and by the latest and greatest card than to jump on the sli bandwagon. Sry if i offended any of you ......but its the truth.


No offense taken. It just seems like one of those things that Computer nerds and geeks need to show off. It's like a wang-measuring contest to show who has the baddest mod. But, I just didnt see the need for a Multi-GPU technology. A wang measuring contest could'nt said it better my self :lol: <nerds argueing> Oh yeah my wang has 24 pipes and shaders oh yeah my wang has 16 pipes and 48 shader!.
 

virus5877

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agreed, sli and crossfire are for one type of person only: the person with deep pockets who wants more performance than a single badass card can offer...

...oh and i love the wang measuring comment by the way!




Radeon x1900xt FTW!
 

SuperFly03

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it is an awesome gaming experience if you also have the monitor.
What kind of monitor would that be? I'm interested because I could give my monitor to them and upgrade mine :twisted:

There was a debate about this on a thread about 2 weeks ago. The poitn whats trying to determine whether or not SLI was a success. The conclusion drawn was that it was to the extent it can be. It is and will always be a budget limited techonology, thats a given. Add to that the fact nVidia and ATi keep shrinking product life cycles and SLI (not neglecting crossfire, just sli is less to type) is doomed, at least in mainstream.

I game at 1600x1200 on my 20" LCD monitor and I can definately tell a diffrence in frame rates with 4xAA enabled on BF2. It's a situationaly depdent technology, like much of the computer industry. What is good for one, is not for another. I enjoy the high res on my monitor, so it wasn't as unreasonable for me to take the SLi plunge.

However, if you game at 1280x1024, or 1024x768 there is absolutely NO reason for SLi beyond measuring your e-penis or the size of your wallet. No offense meant.

So take SLi as it is, not what some might expect it to be. Its not intended for everyone (though they try), it is intended to cater to the gaming crowd with some extra money to burn, and it does that well.
 

Maxiius

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Ah I meant monitor wise, I have one of those dell 20" LCDs also. Is a bigger monitor and higher resolutions what he meant? Or can I achieve the same effect from my current monitor? Is the gaming experience insane playing on 24+" screen?

I'm looking for a reason to justify why droppin a grand or close to it on a monitor is worth it.
 

SuperFly03

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SLI/Crossfire = e-penis

/sarcasm

THank your for positively contributing to the discussion about SLI

/sarcasm

As the previous poster said, benchies aren't everything. Benchmarks are designed to gauge reletive performance, not absolute. If I can get 10 FPs more with SLI with grenade smoke in my face, planes dropping bombs, tanks rolling by, just to get that sniper before he gets me then its worth it.

Is it the greatest cost/benefit purchase that can be made? No, but then again since when are computer geeks totaly rationale about getting those few extra FPSs. If we were totaly rationale we wouldn't overclock because it voids our warranty.
 

cleeve

Illustrious
/sarcasm

THank your for positively contributing to the discussion about SLI

/sarcasm


Thank you for thanking me for positively contributing to the discussion about SLI!

I will now leave you with the conundrum of trying to figure out if I was trying to be sarcastic or not.
Have I subverted the system by simply omitting the /sarcasm tag? Or do I truly mean what I say? And what exactly did I mean by "e-penis"?

Only the almighty and myself are privy to this sensitive information!