SLI vs non SLI in hardware chart

c2d 2.4@3.2
4gig ram
680i
8800GTX

I have no other plans to upgrade unless it's a CPU or more ram, the motherboard won't be changed so Nvidia stuff is where I'm looking because I can do SLI if needed.

My major plan was SLI 260s, I looked over the idea of gettinga second 8800GTX but for some reason I don't feel it would be worth it.

My other option was a 4780X2 because it's a single slot solution and costs about the same as 2 260s.

please don't reference Tom's charts they are completely mixed up and inaccurate.

here are Guru3D VGA charts
http://www.guru3d.com/category/call_duty_4_pc/

1 4870 X2 would be the better choice in this situation if costs are the same.

A. more room in your case
B. 1 gig RAm and also 4870 X2 outperforms 2 260 GTXs slightly.
C. DX 10.1 and SM 4.1
D. If you ever change your mind about upgrading, a second 4870 X2 is possible in the future.
E. Reliable drivers.



The second 8800 GTX would give your performance around the 9800 GX2 while the 4870 X2 would give you a 20-30% higher performance than the 9800 GX2.

how are they not consistant? Just becuase a card is good @ 1 game doesn't make em good at all games. Thats why you buy a card that plays the game you like better.

If nvidia drives are all that your worrying about it, thats a pretty bad way of choosing your hardware.

Plus to make a call on the 260 GTX Sli just look at the 280 GTX sli and just subtract 10-20 fps (give or take) to have a good estimation.

If the prices are the same you'd be crowding your case for no reason with 2 260 GTXs. Thats my opinion.

Either way both options are great, but you do get your money's worth more from the 4870 X2. Just because your saving room, getting new technology and have an overall lower consuming card.

But if your going to go with the 260 GTX just because you like Nvidia or just because the drivers are already installed on the computer....like I have nothing to say, its not rocket science

Sorry, I swore on certain tests that they left out certain cards but they are all there I just need to weed through them all again. (they need sorting options on these things...)

For example, I thought the stalker/quakr wars was missing the 4870X2 and one other card but they are there now that I look over it in fine detail again.

This is what I meant by inconsistant. I know the scores themselves won't be across everything

hmm..
never considered these, wont this possibly run into some kind of issue because of the limited 256bit path and only 512megs per core??

crazy price spread on these btw, newegg jumps from 279 to 389....

also don't the X2 type cards use thier own special drivers where as regualr SLI doesnt?

260s are also the cheapest option and I could technically 3 way them if I ever wanted to go that far (doubt it though)

bigbacon just keep in mind that adding additional cards do not double, then triple your performance. i gained about 30% adding a second card and that isnt across the board. some things you are not going to see any benefit. you may add a third card and squeeze another 15% or even less. additional cards can also bring to light bottlenecks you didn't even know you had.

Like I said if it were me, I'd go with the X2 cuz its faster than 2 260s or with the 9800 GX2 quad which is faster than the X2 faster than the 260s sli.

9800 Gx2 quad sli> 4870 X2 > 260 GTX sli

No X2 cards don't need their own drivers, its just the regular driver just like sli and everything.
If the quesiton is do they need to be optimized for sli use ? yes, but that goes with any dual GPU system

what board do you have bigbacon?
for the guys recommending the ATI cards, i totally understand the x2 is a beast but also understand some Nvidia boards puke all over themselves when you put an ATI card in them.

the 9800 GX2 drains less power than 2 8800 GTXs and its a little more powerful lol

600 Watt minimum for 1 9800 GX2 and 850 should be enough for 2

I also have an eVGA 680i board, mine is the "lt" a few less gadgets and OC options, but it has been bullet proof. As stated, I recently added another 8800 GTX in SLI, as roofus states, I noticed an increase in the range of 25% in 3Dmark06. However the real noticeable difference is in gaming, more consistent FPS, no stuttering, and detail never noticed prior to the addition of the second card. I have a 22" Samsung monitor at 1680 x 1050. Regardless of what direction you choose to take, the second GPU is the ticket, IMHO, and that is all it is, MHO.

the gtx260 in sli scales very well. im pleased with the performance gains. usually games like crysis, cod4, ut3 scale well around 45-65% depending on the game.
(crysis scales 50% in sli not to bad)
if u plan to do sli u will need a fast cpu to fully utilize the cards 3.0ghz+
=]

well the gtx260 can be found as low as 215$ these days so doing sli will cost under 450$. the 9800gx2 is a powerful card but it will cost around 550$ for 2. if u have the money go for the 9800gx2 but if ur on a budget the gtx260 would be the way to go.

liquid for 2 9800gx2 (4gpu) i think u would need at least 4.0+ghz to run it effectively lol.