SLI/Crossfire - worth for today's and tomorrow's games?

[Black Panther]

I'm planning to build a new rig within a couple of months or so.

However I'm undecided as to whether to put 2 video cards or one.

For once, budget isn't really a problem here (I'm gonna receive a tax refund of $3000 ) but I don't want to 'waste' it on stuff I could do without.

What are the advantages of having 2 video cards (apart from higher 3dmark scores)?

Unless I'm mistaken, vram doesn't add up so if I get 2 cards with 1GB vram each I'd still have 1GB vram.

Will it make a difference in games like Oblivion and Crysis whether you have one 8800GTX or one 2900XT or whether you have two? (Keeping in mind that complimenting them there'd be a core2quad which I'd hope to OC to at least 3Ghz like my present rig, and 4GB of RAM).

 

[J-Man]

I always say one high end card will max any game anyway.

 

[JrRacinFan]

No offense panther, I think your question entails whether you should SLi your current 8600GTS or purchase a brand new single card.

IMHO, It is all dependent on which monitor you currently have and what it's max resolution is.

If your monitor will do 1600x1200 or higher then I say go for it. But the question in my mind, are you thinking of SLi with your 8600GTS?

Unless I'm mistaken, vram doesn't add up so if I get 2 cards with 1GB vram each I'd still have 1GB vram.

Yes that is true but it's also comparable performance analogy to a dual/quad core. 2 cores @ 3 ghz do not equal 6 ghz. Basic analogy: Cars, 4 cylinder versus 8 cylinder engine. Let's say both cars have a max mph of 125. The 8 cylinder would not take as long to get to top speed as the 4 cylinder.

In other words, 2 cards pushing frames would IN THEORY double your horsepower.

 

[DaMulta]

I always say one high end card will max any game anyway.

But not with all the extra eye candy


I'm liking my super aa 16x in games

Nvidia has the same thing.

 

[Black Panther]

No offense panther, I think your question entails whether you should SLi your current 8600GTS or purchase a brand new single card.

But the question in my mind, are you thinking of SLi with your 8600GTS?

Definitely not.
Re-read my first post.
I'm planning to build a new rig with a core 2 quad (still to decide), 4GB Ram using Vista as an OS to have it ready for DX10.... (as soon as I get the money).

My present rig has XP (no dx10), only 2GB RAM and I doubt how greatly an 8600GTS can deal with dx10 games anyway.

Apart from that, to SLi my 8600GTS I'd have to get a new motherboard as well, and I'd still remain with one pc.
I need having 2 computers because we're spending half the week at one place and half the week at another. If I'm going to build one I might as well aim to make it better than my current one... That means definitely not putting an 8600GTS inside, whether SLi or not, because now there are much better options.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Ok cool.

I say it's all dependent on your monitor and whether or not you feel like paying for 2 cards.

Oh BTW , nice build!