1 8600GT vs. 1 or 2 9600GSO in a Penryn1600SLI-110dB

Hey all,

I have a PCIe x16 EVGA 8600GT with 512MB DDR2 RAM. I have an ASRock Penryn1600SLI-110dB LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157120

equipped with a 2.2 GHz Pentium Dual Core and 4 sticks of 1GB PC800 DDR2 RAM.

I am thinking of getting two PCIe 2.0 x16 EVGA 9600GSO with 384MB GDDR3 RAM (dual slot), but I know that
1. My MoBo is only PCIe 1.0, and
2. It's SLI capability is limited to both running at x8

So, I'm wondering...will I notice any better performance out of the two 9600GSOs than with the one 8600GT, especially considering my MoBo? If I were to consider selling my MoBo and picking up one that could handle 2 PCIe 2.0 at x16, would that make enough of a difference to be worth the trouble? If so, anyone have any cost-effective recommendations?

On a side note, I also have 2 7300GT cards, so I'm curious if I'd get anything worthwhile out of SLI'ing them or if I should just give them to friends.

Thanks for the help!

Luke

2 9600gos will blow away one 8600gt. Even single 9600gso is enough to give you a significant boost over 8600gt.

and the 8x link speed wont make a difference either. i have the same mobo 650i SLI and had 2 9800GT. they ran at 8x link/bus speed. i found a forum where a guy explained the difference between 8x and 16x and he said that 16x is 100% and 8x speed is 95%, so your ok with SLI at 8x speed it run just as good as 16x speed SLI because you wont/cant notice 5% difference.

Yeah, that deal on NewEgg is precisely why I'm thinking about it. That, and with the coupon code VGA92613 you get an additional $14 off. So, yeah, I can have a pair of these for $72 (assuming I get a friend to get me the second one and give me the rebate check).

Well in SLI, those things will be pretty quick. Expect GeForce 260-like performance. To be honest, those cards are architecturally superior to the 9600GT, 32 more shaders. The reason that it under performs the 9600GT becuase of its memory bandwidth limitation. It has a 192-bit memory bus, while the 9600GT has 256-bit one. The only time this limitation really comes out is when you enable anti-aliasing, otherwise the 192-bit bus should cut it... along with the 384 MB of ram. Just keep that in mind when you are analyzing this purchase.

Running anti-aliasing at any level when the resolution breaks 16xx x 10xx is just silly to me. But, I guess I could on my 8800GTX Ultra if I need to (which I don't ever, except for GRID... which is the reason I am trying to sell my card for an ATi 48xx series).

Not to rain in your parade, but rebates ar generally 1 per household.

Your better off getting a 4850, or 4870.

^this

When it comes to rebates, there is always a way around it. Jump on those 2 GSO's Julian. Just make sure your PSU can handle it as a final note.

Or if you have it, I think I saw a deal the other night for 2 9600gt cards, pny brand in a combo for like 160 after rebate, might be another option as well.

If you SLI those two 7300GT it will be about the same as that 8600GT. Big whoop. Anyway I don't think that 9600GSO will be too limited by the 8x bandwidth. Unless you're going to get them really cheap though, you're better off just getting a single 8800GT. Two 9600GSOs mighnt be slightly faster, but unless you can get them dirt cheap it would cost more than a single 8800GT and you can add another 8800GT latter and SLi them.

He will get them dirt cheap if he jumps through hoops to get both rebates, and if both rebates actually come someday. Rebates arent a garantee. Most noobs cant even install a Intel heatsink let alone fill out the damn rebate correctly.

If you got $200 to spend today you should buy the best card $200 can afford.

Not to mention its already been discussed as to how hes gonna get around the "1 rebate per household" thing. The OP has his bases covered, and im sure he knows how to fill out the "damn rebate correctly".

Sorry if i hit a nerve. I didn't know you didn't know you didn't know how to install a Push pin cooler, my bad.

Heh. No offense taken. Rebate forms do suck; they're practically engineered to screw people. ****, I got an OCZ product once on rebate that required the form to be postmarked within 12 calendar days of the purchase date.

I'm somewhat of a noob. I'm a computer professional (tech, software, and engineer), but I've never played with pimping out machines for gaming. I've put together a decent system and plan to overclock it some, which is something else I'm going to have to figure out (and yes, I already got a better power supply [a 700W modular Thermaltake] and CPU heatsink [an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 pro]).

Dont go with the single slot one, its not worth the noise and extra heat.