Single NVIDIA 7800 GTX vs SLI 6800 Ultra/6800 GT

sireternal

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Well, I'm currently in the process of trying to plan a new computer I'm going to build. Purpose is mainly gaming. Likely internet, music, MP3s, and other stuff, but mainly gaming and the rest is just a luxury that I could do on a cheaper computer, so I want what's best for gaming.

Anyway, I was a bit ago considering going SLI with two GeForce 6800 Ultras or GTs, but the performance increase in the benchmarks didn't seem to really justify the price. (As SLI is commonly viewed, anyway.)

On the other hand, instead of $846 for dual GTs or bit more for Ultras, I could get a 7800 GTX for a considerably amount cheaper and I could always go SLI with another one soon after if I really wanted.

Simply put, does the 7800 GTX work as good or around as good as SLI 6800s to justify getting a single 7800 GTX at $200 cheaper than two of the latter?

Also, will it be likely for 512MB video cards to require a different motherboard from the current ones that support SLI? (Haven't looked into motherboards as much, but I might be leaning towards the Abit FATAL1TY AN8 SLI Socket.)Just wondering. :p

Thanks in advance!
 
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1st off, performance should be, most of the time, superior with 1 7800GTX, than with SLIed...so that is a obvious choice.

512 card wont require anything else, if not a tad more power for the ram...

stay away from ABIT this round, simply put it sux...Go with DFI/EPox/MSI in this order, you can skip DFI if you dont OC

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TheRod

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I vote for 7800GTX.

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mozzartusm

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There are many reasons that the single 7800 would be the wiser choice, but the biggest reason IMO is that the single 7800 gives you the ability to increase your overall system performance by later adding another 7800. With the other cards you will be locked in to that setup. If $850.00 is the price you would pay for the GT's then it just doesnt make sense to go that route when you could spend $150.00 more"Probably less in a month" and have the 2 7800's.

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addiarmadar

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Think for the long run, get the 7800GTX. You wont miss that extra 256mb per card.

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Gamer_369

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*Agrees with everyone else...

From the benchmarks I've seen, a Geforce 7800GTX almost performs just as good if not better than the 6800 Ultra in SLI. What's the only difference??? Price, and the fact that it's drastically cheaper to buy the 7800GTX that performs just as you are seeing from the benchmarks.

There is no reason whatsoever, that I can conjur in my mind, that anyone should purchase two 6800 Ultra or GT's in SLI vs. one Geforce 7800GTX.
 

sireternal

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Noted. Thanks a lot everyone!

As for the Mobo, I haven't done any OCing before, but after I look into it I might try something... so, as long as DFI boards are just as good as the rest of the Mobos in every other aspect, I'll probably look into it. But OCing capabilities don't take priority for me. Processor is probably going to be an Athlon 64 somewhere around a 3800+, but of course I'll want to upgrade eventually.

EDIT: Not sure about the processor anymore. Still probably going to stay in the Athlon 939 group, but maybe a 3800+ is too low of a processor to justify the video card? Anyway, I'm assuming that the Athlon FX57 is in the lead concerning gaming.. but it's quite expensive. I'll consider it, of course, but I should research Athlons all I can.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by sireternal on 08/04/05 10:02 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
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You should go with a 4000+ or something along those line, that is if you want strong singel threaded performance. You could also grab a slower CPU and OC it, the FX-57 is not really worth the extra money!

Asus P4P800DX, P4C 2.6ghz@3.25ghz, 2X512 OCZ PC4000 3-4-4-8, MSI 6800Ultra stock, 2X30gig Raid0
 

Gamer_369

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Get the Athlon 4000. That was my original choice when I was going to be buying my computer. The FX-57 is too expensive. If getting the money is going to be too strenous, it's not worth it. The 4000 is an excellent choice.
 

sireternal

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Yeah, I think I'll probably look along the lines of the standard Athlon 64 series. I wasn't really paying much attention to CPUs at the time, but now looking at the prices, yes, $700 is a lot extra to pay over the Athlon 4000+, and not worth it for sure.

Luckily, Athlon CPUs are easy to upgrade so I can just put in something better when prices on CPUs go way down.

And even though the 'CPU guide' on the CPU board suggests against 4000+ (on the basis it's too similar to 3800+), the THG benchmarks seem to show a noticable enough difference in games.

By the way, what's the deal with the BFG Tech cards? I haven't seen any retailed overclocked cards before.. And it's only more confusing when I saw an advertisement for a 6800 Ultra card from BFG Tech for over $800 and now an OCed BFG Tech NVidia 7800 GTX for less than the retail price. (Apparently $50 under suggested price from the place I looked at. And lifetime warranty?) Maybe I'm missing something? Or is it actually as good as it sounds?

Anyway, thanks to everyone who's helped thus far!

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by sireternal on 08/06/05 06:14 AM.</EM></FONT></P>