Question about video card and SLI

[pous]

Hey there, I've been making up a list of what I might like to build for a computer and I just came up with a question for someone that knows more than me (pretty much everyone here)...

Anyway, here it is:

Is it more efficient to get one high end video card, such as the 8600gt or the 8800gtx, or would it be better to get two older ones, like 7600 or so and SLI them... I was just wondering about that, because it seems like two would be better, but I know that newer cards have newer pixel shader versions and things like that... so I wasn't sure.

Please to help (= And thanks as always in advance to anyone who posts.

 

[haywood]

One high powered card generally > two lesser cards in SLI/XFire.

 

[pous]

One high powered card generally > two lesser cards in SLI/XFire.

Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to know.

 

[akahuddy]

One high powered card generally > two lesser cards in SLI/XFire.

And in the case of any 8800, it will completely own SLI'd 7600GT's.

A good rule of thumb for you to keep with video cards is to buy the most powerful single card that you can afford.

 

[Hatman]

Well you said either 2x 8600gts's or a 8800gtx, if your looking for something in between how about a 640meg 8800gts

 

[VFighterX]

Single video cards.

 

[pous]

Thanks for the posts.

Here's what I've been looking at...

The 640Mb 8800 I found was $340 (Roughly)

and I've found the 8600 with 256Mb for $130

so for $260 I could have 512 video memory and SLI them... if I'm reading all this correctly, (that's DDR3, here's the link to the card: GPU)

But you're all saying that to get an 8800 would out perform that?

The cheapest 320Mb 8800 I found was $270 or so, so only 10 more, but less overall mb... and the cheapest 640 one was more... so I guess I'm just confused.

Some more advice/thoughts/comments would be excellent. Thanks in advance.

 

[mario2008]

do you have big lcd monitor? if not dont wast buying sli rig, its wast of money. I would go with single card get 8800gt 640 mb for $310 from newegg. or if ur budget is low dont bother getting 8600 gt its ripoff what i hear u can get SAPPHIRE 100186L Radeon X1950XT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 VIVO HDCP Video Card - $179.99

from new egg way faster then 8600 gt.

 

[FallenSniper]

so for $260 I could have 512 video memory and SLI them... if I'm reading all this correctly, (that's DDR3, here's the link to the card: GPU)

But you're all saying that to get an 8800 would out perform that?

The cheapest 320Mb 8800 I found was $270 or so, so only 10 more, but less overall mb... and the cheapest 640 one was more... so I guess I'm just confused.

Some more advice/thoughts/comments would be excellent. Thanks in advance.

I wish that's how it worked. The memories of each card are not added to each other. You get the same memory as one card. 2 8600's in SLI = 256Mb of Memory.

Either way, an 8800 will wipe the floor with that setup. Unless you are running a resolution of 1600x1200 or higher, you could get by with the 8800GTS 320Mb version. It's an option.

Here is an advantage (I think the only one) of going with an Ati card. You can buy a good card now, perhaps the one mario suggested. Since Crossfire uses a Master/Slave system, you could buy a newer gen. card when it comes out, and slave your other card to it.

But still, this is a waste of money if you aren't running a huge resolution.

Just my $.02

 

[deadhead_matt]

If you get the 8800 you will need a good power supply!!!!!!

 

[pous]

Thanks for so many replies!!

Here's the PSU I've been looking at: FSP AX500-PN (500W)

As for resolution, the max supported by the monitor I'm fixing to buy is 1440x900.

I'll look into the 8800, and also that ATI card that the other guy mentioned, although I'd rather prefer nVidia because I've heard much better reports on their cards lately.

Thanks again for all the help

 

[haywood]

Any 8800 GTS with 320 or 640Mb RAM will be fine with that resolution. The more RAM, though, the better so if you can afford the 640 g for it.

Do not go cheap on the power supply, look here for a good one. I would recommend a minimum of 32 amps on the 12 volt rail to give you some wiggle room.

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/PSU-Refrence-List-ftopict222154.html

 

[pous]

Any 8800 GTS with 320 or 640Mb RAM will be fine with that resolution. The more RAM, though, the better so if you can afford the 640 g for it.

Do not go cheap on the power supply, look here for a good one. I would recommend a minimum of 32 amps on the 12 volt rail to give you some wiggle room.

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/PSU-Refrence-List-ftopict222154.html

Thanks for the info, I'll probably end up with a 320mb 8800 due to lack of overall funding... and that's the same list I picked the other one from, before I knew if I'd use the 8800 or not... I'll be sure to pick out a better PSU

Thanks for all the help!!

 

[deadhead_matt]

If you go with EVGA they have a step up program.

 

[FallenSniper]

I would definitely go eVGA. Not only is the step up program great, they are also very high quality cards.

 

[VFighterX]

This is the newer version of the list!!!

PSU Ref. List (US) V2.0