Is Quad SLI the right move?

[garpizzle]

Hi fellas,

I am currently using a BFG 9800 GX2 in my system. I still qualify for BFG's step up program to a 280 if need be.
I was thinking about purchasing another GX2 since they are dirt cheap now...Does anyone have any experience with GX2's in a quad SLI setup, or should I trade up and go with a 280? I have done mounds of research and it seems like the GX2's are on par or surpass the 280's in most cases, although most of the reviews were when the cards first surfaced and there haven't been any recently that would give a heads up as to how they perform with recent drivers in quad sli. Any assistance is appreciated!

 

[spathotan]

Quad SLi scales like.....well it dosent scale well what-so-ever. But I think L1qu1d here Quad's his two 9800GX2s, so he would be the professor on that subject.

As far as the stepup goes, keep the GX2. Unless Nvidia stops supporting the GX2 like they did with the 7950GX2 once the 8800's came out, then the card SHOULD see some improvements with drivers, even if its very minor. I doubt they will stop supporting it, but they could stop selling it, Newegg only carries about 10 of them now, a few weeks ago it was over 30. Its sort of a bad spot for Nvidia, has an "older" card is currently basically canibalizing the company as it out paces the 260 and 280 for less money, so making the card dissapear isnt out of the question. If youre gonna buy another one, strike soon.

 

[dagger]

Quad SLi scales like.....well it dosent scale well what-so-ever. But I think L1qu1d here Quad's his two 9800GX2s, so he would be the professor on that subject.

As far as the stepup goes, keep the GX2.

Yep, keeping single 9800gx2 is probably the smart move. As for quad sli not scaling at all, that's not true. It's just unpredictable. 9800gx2 quad scales like a champ on some games, and almost none on others.

Example:
http://www.guru3d.com/category/vga_2/
First chart for Crysis,
46-64 increase on low resolution, 42-50 on high, 25-50% scaling, which is somewhat poor.

Scroll down to second chart for Call of Duty 4,
111-197 on low resolution, 104-56 on high. On high resolutions, it's an astonishing near 100% scaling!

http://www.guru3d.com/category/vga_3/
Ghost Recon 2,
96-133 in low, 85-120 in high. Somewhat decent.

Scroll down to Fuel for War,
65-64 in low, 65-55 in high. Absolutely horrible scaling.

It's hit or miss, depending on games.

As for driver support, drivers are already mature, with all the kinks already worked out. On the one hand, this means future drivers are unlikely to deliver any significant performance increase. On the other, the existing optimizations already done won't just undo itself, so even if Nvidia stop supporting it, impact won't be big. It's not the same as 7950gx2, which Nvidia stopped supporting before all the kinks were worked out, leaving a buggy card.

 

[garpizzle]

is it possible to combine an evga or xfx 9800 gx2 along with the BFG card? It seems as though bfg is still charging 600 + a card while evga and xfx are sub 300 dollar range.

 

[dagger]

is it possible to combine an evga or xfx 9800 gx2 along with the BFG card? It seems as though bfg is still charging 600 + a card while evga and xfx are sub 300 dollar range.

It's fine. Brands don't matter.

And here's factory oced version for $280.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133231

 

[garpizzle]

!!! Oh man, that is an awesome deal.

 

[garpizzle]

Alrighty...Im not gonna chance it with the PSU. Ill probably go with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817379007 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153062

As for cards will the stock bfg card slow down the faster card to its clock speed? Should I just go with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130338 ?

I know I'm full of questions guys and I greatly appreciate any light you could shed on the subject to assist me in completing my journey to gamer nirvana.

 

[garpizzle]

Bump for advice

 

[dagger]

Alrighty...Im not gonna chance it with the PSU. Ill probably go with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817379007 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153062

As for cards will the stock bfg card slow down the faster card to its clock speed? Should I just go with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130338 ?

I know I'm full of questions guys and I greatly appreciate any light you could shed on the subject to assist me in completing my journey to gamer nirvana.

Yes, the stock card will slow down oced card to its own level when put into sli/cf. If you oc the slower card, it should then work on par. Not sure if there are any special difficulties in ocing quad configuration. But since the stock card you listed is more expensive, there is no point. Might as well just get the oced one for cheaper.

For psu, consider an expansion instead of replacement if your existing 700w psu is still high quality and in working order. High range psus outside the mainstream are notoriously expensive. When you reached a certain level, an expansion may be better bang for the buck.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153069

 

[garpizzle]

Dagger, you are truly a wealth of information. I had no idea power supply expansions even existed. I will absolutely look into getting one. I did some more research on the internet today and spoke with some reps at evga & bfg.
Apparently with the trade up program with BFG I can get into an GTX280OCX for 10 bucks and then SLI it further down the road. According to them it will take 2 GX2's to beat a 280 gtx..."cough"...I'm pretty sure I dont believe that...but never the less...10 bucks for a 280 OCX...I hate these kind of decisions lol.

 

[dagger]

Dagger, you are truly a wealth of information. I had no idea power supply expansions even existed. I will absolutely look into getting one. I did some more research on the internet today and spoke with some reps at evga & bfg.
Apparently with the trade up program with BFG I can get into an GTX280OCX for 10 bucks and then SLI it further down the road. According to them it will take 2 GX2's to beat a 280 gtx..."cough"...I'm pretty sure I dont believe that...but never the less...10 bucks for a 280 OCX...I hate these kind of decisions lol.

I didn't know BFG had a trade in program...

It's only $10 more because you paid for the overpriced 9800gx2 earlier. It'll technically be a downgrade. But since dual gtx280 outperforms quad 9800gx2 due to quad scaling giving less average return, you'll be planning for the future if going with gtx280, for possible gtx280 sli upgrade later on.

 

[blackhawk1928]

well if you already have 1 gx2 then I would say go for it and get that other gx2. two 9800gx2 are beast.

 

[garpizzle]

Yeah I dont know...The 9800gx2 is pretty stout...But...After viewing some videos on youtube and some additional research it seems as though the 280's have a much more stable frame rate than the gx2...Especially in SLI which is where I will end up eventually. So I think I'm going to have to go with the 280's...unless someone tells me otherwise in the next few hours or so. I would love to hear from l1qu1d on this since he runs quad sli atm.

 

[megamanx00]

If your getting lower minimum frame rates then you would like then you should step up to the 280 and add another 280 latter. You should know though that generally the 280 will get lower maximum framerates than the 9800GX2. Quad SLi doesn't seem to scale to well but I think it would be cool just to do it anyway ^_^.

 

[monsta]

Got Quad SLI here and it runs like a dream, get another 9800GX2 , especially now that they are cheap.