Just a quick question (I've had a quick google for it, but didn't seem to find anything).
I'm getting another GTX tomorrow, and just wondered if there is anything driver related or XP related I need to do when I install the other card?
I've never had or set-up SLi so don't really know about anything like that!
I assume there are no dedicated Nvidia drivers, but is there anything else I need to think about?
Thanks in advance

Anyone??    
 
 

An SLi motherboard and a big T-shirt with the words  
 
I PWNED THE 3870X2  on the back

It seems like u have everything u need hardware-wise. Just remember not all games allow u to run sli.

Ha ha, thanks dev1se!    
So just drop the card in, put the bridge on and you're good to go?
So nothing in BIOS or the nvidia control panel that needs changing/enabling etc.?
Thanks!  

If nTune is installed it'll ask if you want to enable SLi the first time you boot up windows.  
 
The BIOS sometimes needs changing, and some SLi mobo's have a 'SINGLE / DUAL GPU' chip actually on the motherboard that need's to be swapped around (Looks like Laptop Ram)... but other than this, you should have no problems since SLi is really great and your PC will now be eat benchmarks for breakfast, and small children if they get close enough.

Thanks, I particularly liked the last point!    
I'll double check the BIOS when I boot after inserting the extra card. I don't have nTune installed (and I haven't since I messed around OCing my old 6800GS)is there any other benefit to having it?
Thanks for the help, I just don't want to piss anything up!  

I find nTune essential... so best to install it before you add the SLi setup. Whilst I dont rate nTune too highly for its O.C settings (doesnt really test it), it's good for all the other settings.  
I think I prefer ATi's catalyst though because it shows you the actual real-time 3D Image differences.

IMHO nTune = poo, I just go with Rivatuner.

I don't have any desire to OC though, so is there any point in having such a tool?
At best I would probably just OC them to see what sort of increase they gave in 3Dmark or something. Other than that, I wouldn't have any desire, because they're going to be quick enough anyway!

 
I would love to see some stock (8800GTX) 3DMark06 scores on two 8800GTX's, don't believe I have ever seen scores for two before. Here is one 3DMark06 score for one 9800GTX though.
 

By Systemlord at 2008-03-02

OC'ing is not compulsory but there may be times when you might wish for an on screen display showing the FPS's, CPU temps, GPU temps and various fan speeds.

 
Its there for the AA & AF settings, aswell as being the tool used for turning on SLi .  
 
Rivatuner is for O.C,  nTune is for nVidia based motherboards / GPUs etc...  

Well I have benched my current set-up in 3DMark06 and it gave me 10.5k so I can bench with stock GTX's after, if you like
I really have no idea what sort of score I'm going to get, as I'm obviously CPU bottlenecked!  

Oh and dev1se & mousemonkey, thanks, I'll have a look into those later.
I just popped hom from work and it's here, so I'll see what sort of score I get in a few hours!

have you checked your PSU to make sure that it has 2 6 pin connectors available for the other 8800GTX???? < thats the only thing stopping me going to SLI, my PSU only has 2 6 pin connectors which my first 8800gtx is using.

Yeah, that was one of the first things I checked (and part of the reason why I bought the PSU) it has 4 6-pin connectors and 2 8-pin PCI-E connectors.
I know it's not as highly rated as some of the PSUs, but has been utterly reliable.
A fantastic set of cables, 6 12V rails and 1000W peak load with 850W continuous!    
It's a CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 850W, btw
I can't wait to see what they'll do in SLi.
Just need an enormous monitor now!

Just install it, plug in the power and the bridge, make sure you have the latest drivers and chekc to make sure SLI is enabled in the nVidia control panel.

Thanks for the help everyone!
I'm running 3DMark06 Pro Edition 1.0.2 now with the current set-up (as in my sig, except using 2Gb RAM not 4Gb)
I'm running default settings at 1280x1024, I'll report back later with the results
Once again, thanks for the help!