9800GT SLI Questions

[Prodigal]

So I have a couple questions. I currently have a BFG 9800GT 512MB running at 1920x1200 and I run most of my games at or near max settings. I've been debating going SLI for a while now and on a whim looked up cards on Newegg for pricing.

The card in my system is very similar to if not exactly http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143186

The card I'm looking at is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143169 (I really like the passive cooling idea).

My questions are these:

First, will these 2 cards work if I were to put them into SLI? It's been probably 5 years since I built an SLI system (right when the technology was first released) and I distinctly remember having the understanding that the cards had to be identical. These have the same chipset and the same amount of ram, is that enough?

Secondly, I have a HDTV connected to the secondary DVI on my current card via a DVI to HDMI cable. I don't use it all the time, and typically only for watching movies, etc. The last time I built an SLI system, I recall that if you wanted to use multiple monitors, SLI mode had to be disabled, and that disabling required a reboot. Is this still the case?

I appreciate any help/thoughts that can be provided.

Thanks

 

[Mousemonkey]

IIRC multiple monitors are now supported by Nv when SLi is enabled in so much as one of the monitors will go blank when an SLi capable app is run.

 

[coozie7]

Should be no problems, SLI is not quite as fussy as it once was but you might want to check the SLI/CF FAQ before proceeding, just to re-familiarise yourself with the pros and cons.
It may be a better option to install a larger, single card with more memory than pair off two 512Mb cards, particularly at such a high resolution.

 

[Mousemonkey]

I'm running a pair of 8800GT's @ 19 x 10 with good framerates so unless DX11 is a must, a second 9800GT is a viable option I reckon. So long as it's cheap that is.

 

[Prodigal]

I've been playing the Star Trek Online Open Beta quite a bit this week, I'm running 1920x1200 like I mentioned above have all settings set as high as they'll go except Anistropic Filtering & AA, and it runs pretty well for the part. When lots of ships are on the screen at the same time (and I mean LOTS) I get a little slowdown occasionally. If I can make it run a little more fluidly all the time, I'm certainly not going to complain for $100