Would I benfit from SLi?

[carman594]

Currently, I have a single 8800gt and I recently bought a 24" monitor. I used to play on a 19", so now, I am getting noticablely lower fps in my games. With the 19", i was getting steady 60fps in cod4 with max settings, now I am getting steady 45fps. Should I get another 8800gt and SLi it so I'd get more performance? Would I get I nice improvement?

 

[50bmg]

What res you playing at? What are your full specs?

I had just one 3870, so i asked the same question. Everyone told me that 2 cards wouldnt hellp me unless i played at a higher res above 1600.

i got a second card. with one card I was at 1400x???? on medium to high settings getting 60-70fps on COD4. With the second card i am getting 80-90 at worse, usually much high at 1600x1000, 4xAA, 8xAF max setting.

The second card helped me. I would imagine a second card would help, especially with a 24" monitor.

Edit: but wait a week or two and see what happens with prices once the GTX2xxs get to selling and the ATI 48xx comes out. The 8800 prices may drop. Or you might be better off getting a new ATI 4850 for $199, especially if they are 1G DDR3.

 

[rubix_1011]

COD4 benefits from multi card setups. So yes, another card will make a difference in this game.

 

[aevm]

Yes, do get a second video card. A 24" runs at 1920x1200, while a 19" runs at 1440x900. That's 78% more pixels, no wonder your fps dropped.

Your 520HX PSU can easily handle 8800GT SLI, btw.

Two of those 8800GT in SLI can even beat the new $650 GTX 280 in some games. They will probably beat the 4850 too. In CoD 4 they get 0.2 fps more than the GTX 280, for example.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3334&p=12


If you wait until the GTX 260 and the 4850 are out, it might make your 8800GT a few bucks cheaper.

 

[aevm]

Or you might be better off getting a new ATI 4850 for $199, especially if they are 1G DDR3.

Normally I'd say the same thing, but the OP already has an 8800GT and a SLI motherboard and a PSU capable of 8800GT SLI, and his game scales perfectly with SLI. He can just spend $170 or so on another 8800GT and get some serious performance, probably more than a single 4850 can offer. Maybe he should wait until we know for sure how good the 4850 is, then decide. If the 4850 is really good, and he can sell the existing 8800GT, then he should do it, I guess.

 

[Maziar]

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/245454-15-crossfire-faqs

 

[KyleSTL]

Just to play devils advocate, 45fps is still considered fluid and playable by most. On the other hand, a second 8800GT would do very well with your setup.

 

[Mousemonkey]

2 x 8800GT in COD4 =

 

[carman594]

What res you playing at? What are your full specs?

I had just one 3870, so i asked the same question. Everyone told me that 2 cards wouldnt hellp me unless i played at a higher res above 1600.

i got a second card. with one card I was at 1400x???? on medium to high settings getting 60-70fps on COD4. With the second card i am getting 80-90 at worse, usually much high at 1600x1000, 4xAA, 8xAF max setting.

The second card helped me. I would imagine a second card would help, especially with a 24" monitor.

Edit: but wait a week or two and see what happens with prices once the GTX2xxs get to selling and the ATI 48xx comes out. The 8800 prices may drop. Or you might be better off getting a new ATI 4850 for $199, especially if they are 1G DDR3.

Im Playing at 1920x1200.

 

[aevm]

2 x 8800GT in COD4 = [url]http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/299/cod4twocardscb1.th.jpg[/URL]

LOL, I'm not even allowed to bring drinks in the computer room That is a mainframe, in the image, I assume.

235 fps is fabulous, but the monitor will only show 60 of them, or whatever its refresh rate is

 

[Mousemonkey]

LOL, I'm not even allowed to bring drinks in the computer room That is a mainframe, in the image, I assume.

235 fps is fabulous, but the monitor will only show 60 of them, or whatever its refresh rate is

Maybe so, but I know they're there [:mousemonkey:7]

 

[Maziar]

awesome results Mousemonkey, congrats
Btw what resolution are u playing ?

 

[Mousemonkey]

awesome results Mousemonkey, congrats
Btw what resolution are u playing ?

Thank you v.much and I'm at 1680 x 1050, eye candy set to max.

 

[Maziar]

Wow, awesome results

 

[carman594]

Should I buy another 8800GT or should I sell my 8800gt and get a 4850?

 

[aevm]

The HD 4850 is about the same as a single 8800GT in CoD at 2048x1536. Go with the 8800GT SLI.

http://www.pcper.com/images/reviews/579/cod4-2048-bar.jpg
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=579&type=expert&pid=3

 

[Maziar]

I dont think u would need a second card, a single 8800GT is more than enough for 1280x1024

 

[carman594]

I dont think u would need a second card, a single 8800GT is more than enough for 1280x1024

Yes, for 1280x1024, but I'm running at 1920x1200.

 

[Maziar]

Oh i didn't see that u have bought a 24" LCD sorry
So yes definitely go for the second 8800GT, it beats the GTX 280 in almost all games

Also if u read my FAQ i have talked about it in there too
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/245454-15-crossfire-faqs