2 8800 GTS in SLI or a single GTX/Ultra?

[timehopper]

I currently own an 8800 GTS 640 and i'm considering getting another and running SLI, i've heard that SLI gives about a 30% performance gain. On the other hand i can sell the GTS and get a GTX or Ultra instead, which option would give me better performance?

 

[vonwombat]

Definitely the GTX/Ultra. Same performance with less power consumption.

 

[timehopper]

So no SLI, huh? in that case ill probably grab a GTX. By the way, what's the word on the next gen of nvidia cards? Is it worth to upgrade at this point or its better to wait?

 

[Heyyou27]

So no SLI, huh? in that case ill probably grab a GTX. By the way, what's the word on the next gen of nvidia cards? Is it worth to upgrade at this point or its better to wait?

There's no real news on the 9800 series, but we'd be foolish to think they won't be faster than an 8800 series card. With the money you saved on an 8800GTX over the 8800GTS pair, you can save it towards the 9800 when it comes out late this year.

 

[timehopper]

Agreed, but do we know for a fact that 9800 series will be out by the end of this year? Furthermore, i've heard that the new cards will adhere to the PCI-e 2.0 standard and will need an 8pin PSU connector to work. will i be able to use one of these with my current mobo (Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5) and PSU (PC P&C Silencer Quad 750W with with 4x 6 pin PCI-e)?

 

[rodney_ws]

I'm having a hard time picturing anyone outgrowing an 8800 GTS 640 MB card right now... couldn't the OP just wait for a next-gen card to come out? Going up to a GTX/Ultra at this point wouldn't be a huge upgrade.

 

[timehopper]

It was just a thought, and that's why brought up the question about the next series of cards, anything known about their specs yet?

 

[cb62fcni]

Agreed, but do we know for a fact that 9800 series will be out by the end of this year? Furthermore, i've heard that the new cards will adhere to the PCI-e 2.0 standard and will need an 8pin PSU connector to work. will i be able to use one of these with my current mobo (Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5) and PSU (PC P&C Silencer Quad 750W with with 4x 6 pin PCI-e)?

Part of PCI-e 2.0 standards is the ability to deliver a great deal more power through the actual slot, so I would assume the amount of external 12V would be reduced instead of increased, but that's just speculation.

I highly, highly doubt there will be an entirely new series from Nvidia before year's end. I could be wrong. Fact is we're almost to September and there's no official news of any kind. I'd imagine a refresh is a strong possibility, but I can't imagine why they'd intro a new series when there's such paltry competition to their current top-of-the-line. Time will tell.

 

[orientalhero]

I've only found one site that does a full benchmark of Crossfire/SLI high end cards.
That's at www.firingsquad.com (http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/diamond_radeon_2900_xt_1gb/)
The full link is an article about the Diamond Radeon x2900XT 1024MB card. They do the full comparison between all the high end cards in single or dual configs. Very interesting results.
It's still very driver dependent between the games and their rendering (directx vs OpenGL).
But at least that will give you some actual numbers behind the decision. Don't forget to factor in your maximum gaming resolution!
Too often people get blindsided by the fact that "x is the best card", when in 1280x1024 (a standard res for 19" flat panels), all the high end cards aren't very different for most games.

But there are some excellent games coming out Sept/Oct/Nov that should really let whichever setup you go for shine... I'm right in the middle of specing up a dual graphic card machine in anticipation...!

 

[Heyyou27]

WOW! I completly missed that you have an 8800GTS already; I own an 8800GTX, and while it's nice, my first impressions of Direct X10 on Vista x64 tell me that my card won't be able to play Crysis "The way it's meant to be played".

 

[aevm]

==== It was just a thought, and that's why brought up the question about the next series of cards, anything known about their specs yet? ===

No. It's all speculation with no proof so far. If I were you I'd enjoy the 8800 GTS 640 MB until at least January - let the new cards show up, be reviewed, be tested by hundreds of unpaid guinea pigs, have at least the worst driver bugs fixed, then upgrade.

 

[fpdoc]

I run a 8800 GTS 640 SC'd and rather than SLI, I upgraded my monitor to 24" so I can run it at higher rez. I physically cant accomodate a GTX in my case (Gigabyte 3D Aurora) cause it's too long. I get great framerates now at 1600+ resolutions which from what I understand is where the 8800 series really shines. My last 20" flat could only run 1280 max and this any card can run fairly well. If I really wanted I could SLI for a small performance boost. Hopefully the 640 GTS' prices will continue to come down. Plus, I figure by the time I need a new card or am looking at a new series, I'll probably need a full system rebuild.