SLI DDR2 & GDDR3, 1 of each?

[jlf2n]

I ordered a desktop from CyberpowerPC and they stuck a 7600GT DDR2 in instead of a GDDR3, which from what I hear the DDR3 is quite a bit better. Can I run one of each in SLI? or should I scrap the 7600gt ddr2 for a better card, or will 2 7600gt DDR2's in SLI be pretty good?

 

[airblazer]

You're see some improvement all right (probablyy only a few fps.,as for the two of them working together I've never heard of it..most gamers get identical cards and if not from the same manufacture ensure that both are either ddr2 or gddr3.
Would go for the GDDR3 as it's faster

 

[ragemonkey]

You can get the one with DDR3 by all means, but remember with SLI it will always come down to the lowest common denominator, which in this case, is the DDR2 card. You will, in effect, get the SLI performance of two models with DDR2 regardless of whether you get a DDR2 or a DDR3 card. The best rule of thumb here is to SLI two cards that are as similar as possible for best results.

 

[Anoobis]

If you paid for two GDDR3 7600GTs, then you should have gotten two GDDR3 7600GTs. This sounds like it is Cyberpower's screw up and they should fix it no charge.

However, if you didn't pay careful attention when buying and the system was originally spec'd with one GDDR3 7600GT and one GDDR2 7600GT, then you either wasted your money or are the victim of marketing.

 

[jlf2n]

Sorry Anoobis, I guess I wasn't clear enough. They only sent one in the system, I am personally going to buy a new card to go along with the existing card for the SLI performance gain. Also, how much faster is GDDR3 than DDR2?

 

[Anoobis]

Whoops! Actually that's my bad as I mis-read your post.

A 7600GT with GDDR2 is a severely crippled 7600GT indeed. The 7600GT's high memory speeds are what give it it's edge when it only has a 128-Bit memory interface. Right now you have a 7600GS on steroids, weak ones.

Sell the GDDR2 7600GT on eBay and grab yourself an X1950Pro with the money you make combined with the money you were going to spend on the GDDR3 7600GT and forget about all this SLI mumbo jumbo. Unless you're gaming at high resolutions, SLI with 7600GTs is pointless. You won't regret the X1950Pro purchase.

 

[jlf2n]

Yes, I play @ a high res, 1650x1080

 

[4745454b]

Thats not high res.

 

[Anoobis]

Like 4745454b said, that's not hi-res and at that resolution an X1950Pro will still outperform 2 GDDR3 7600GTs in SLI in nearly all games while only requiring one card and consuming less power. The X1950Pro can be had for about $180 on Newegg.

 

[bjmarler]

Just be sure you powersuppy can handle the x1950 pro requirement. I think your powersupply needs to be able to output 30amps on the 12v rail to be safe of running the x1950 pro.

 

[outlw6669]

$189.99 and in stock.
That would be the way to go.

 

[bjmarler]

$189.99 and in stock.
That would be the way to go.

I do agree on the x1950 Pro as a great card for the price, however due the the TONS of "heat related problems" it has I would recommend the "ultimate" verson of the x1950 Pro instead. The good about the Ultimate verson is the heat problem is fixed. The bad - the Ultimate verson now causes the video card to take up 2 slots.

Either get the ultimate verson. or do what I did. Use ATI Tray Tools, and create a new profile so that the video cards fan runs faster than normal. This is not a problem to do, just something to keep in mind.

Why does this problem exist on the x1950 pro? The "VRM" chips on the card are not cooled by the oem heatsink/fan. The RAM chips are, but the VRM chips are not. So, they get hot and it flakes out. The new Ultimate version puts a passive heat sink on th VRM'sm and it is now fine.