Which do you feel is the more efficient solution?

amd_inside · Apr 21, 2006, 11:40 PM

I, da nub with few posts, shall have his input...

Between SLI and Crossfire, it's an iffy deal. For the moment, I would have to say that SLI has the upperhand. However, with new ATI cards no longer needing the dongle, it'll be pretty equal. It'll be more a matter of who can get game support out before the other. However, speaking of what's here now, I have my reservations about both technologies.

Whether you're running SLI or Crossfire, performance efficiency takes a hit when running two cards. From what I've seen, adding a second video card into the mix rarely means twice the graphics performance. I think I saw it once in a review on the TheINQ and it was with Doom3. Aside from that, performance boosts float in the 80% range. I find it a pretty shoddy deal to have spent a lump sum of cash on a 2nd card, but only get 80%'s worth. That just sucks. And this is shared amongst both platforms. It's been shown that having two 16x slots doesn't do much to remedy this. Well, that may not be entirely true. I remember an ATI slideshow picture about this. I think with two X1600 cards (and maybe even two X1300 cards, I'm not sure) running in Crossfire without the dongle on an Xpress3200 board boosts performance over running the same two cards on an Xpress1600 board...

Then there's the issue of support. Both of these technologies require that the drivers work with the game/application in question to be able to take advantage of two cards. Otherwise, it's wasted, and you have to wait. Now, for most of us, uninstalling and installing update drivers isn't such a huge deal. We know how to do it properly. However, I always feel at risk when doing it. It's happend several times in the past year that I run into trouble installing drivers, whether they be Catalyst, Omega, or DHZeroPoint. That being said, what about those who don't understand how much of a postive impact updating drivers can have? Moreover, what about those who simply don't know how to properly do it? It's already a hassle as it is when I update drivers to make sure my games run properly with my 9800, but I skip on drivers for sometimes months at a time. Imagine having to update them every time there's a driver release (WHQL or otherwise) just to make sure your SLI or Crossfire setup is running up to speed.

Personally, I don't care for either of them due to the costs involved, the lack of value in getting two cards, and the upkeep. Like Vikingod said, a single, faster card is probably the best way to go. You don't deal with lost performance, and power usage will likely be lower (at least when idle).

It comes down to dollar value. A good example is the 7600GT and 7900GT. The 7900GT is almost twice as powerful as the 7600GT after overclocking and all that jazz. I can get my hands on a 7900GT for $320 CAN before tax and a 7600GT for $220 (also before tax). Two 7600GT in SLI would give me 7900GT performance, but at $120 more. Where's the value in that? We have DX10 on the horizon. For those who follow it, DX10 won't work on any GF7 or X1k card. You need a new card for DX10, no questions asked. Even DX10 cards will need emulation to run DX9. This is how different DX10 and DX9 are. I question those who got the 7600GT thinking they'll buy another when they need the performance. It's a horrible idea; there's absolutely no value in such a setup. Not only will they have wasted at least $120 CAN for having simply not bought a 7900GT, but the chances of selling those two 7600GT cards are slim to none! Anyone in their right will steer clear from anything DX9. It's at this point where one would realize they have two really pricey paperweights.

Anyways... that's my take on it...

wee017 · Apr 22, 2006, 02:22 AM

SLI all the way. It came first!

Judas · Apr 22, 2006, 02:57 AM

no....

3Dfx came first.... nvidia cheated

Sonata · Apr 23, 2006, 08:50 PM

SLI is caught in the Crossfire - rat a tat tat they're gone!

merlinxi · Apr 24, 2006, 01:49 PM

Ati has had more problems with there cards and the skipping problem, Nvidia all the way baby. I wil sacrifice a little power for more efficiency.

Blacklash · Apr 25, 2006, 06:55 AM

I've owned overclocked 7800GTs in SLi and now I own X1900 XTXs in Crossfire. I vote Crossfire.

Oblivion is a good example of how Crossfire is going to do in shader heavy games. If you look at the Firingsquad review they did of Oblivion performance you will see X1800s in Crossfire at 1600x, with and without AA|AF, beating 7900GTXs in SLi save in indoor situations where things are far less demanding.

I don't know too many folks that buy dual card set ups to play below 1600x and with no AA|AF.

Also poke around some reviews that show Crossfire Super AA vs SLi AA. Crossfire 14x Super AA is always as fast or faster than nVidia 8x.

I think the way they handle dual card AA, HQ AF, and the shader decisions ATi have made make them more efficient. Many times folks looks at things like 3dmark05 at 1024x with no AA|AF and declare nVidia a winner. Well again, you don't need dual card setups for that! Also when you cut off nVidia's aggressive optimizations that cause shimmering in many titles, quite a few of their "wins" go away.

In my opinion dual card set ups are for 1600x and up with some level of AA|AF.

Once ATi gets the SB600 out the door to mate with their NB things should really pick up.

BTW I might add some folks have been spreading the rumor X1900 master cards down clock XTXs in Crossfire. I think people are confused because when it first came out mating a X850 master with something like a X800XL would down clock the master. If you want dual XTXs all you need do is bump up the master's clocks to XTX speed and it's a done deal.

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=260783

Hellbent · Apr 26, 2006, 01:50 AM

At the moment, it seems to me SLI is the best two card solution. But give ATI a year or so to catch up, and I'd bet on ATI. And yes, nVidia did buy that technology from 3DFX. I remember when 3DFX and two Voodoo 2's (I think) working together on one motherboard, and that was quite some time ago now.

anechka12345 · Apr 30, 2006, 06:57 PM

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BWX · Apr 30, 2006, 07:27 PM

ýëåêòðîííûé × åðòåæè âèä ïåðåâîäèì â

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Shaga · May 1, 2006, 10:56 AM

Results of vote looks pretty equal.

BWX · May 1, 2006, 03:57 PM

Nvidia's SLI 4144 50.35%
ATI's Crossfire 4086 49.65%

Yeah that is really close (as of May 6 2006)

CoolBugg · May 5, 2006, 06:17 PM

Hi, I'm new here, jus doin a lil research before I get my new setup.

I'm from South Africa & dont have the budget for 2 X1900 XT's

so if I do go CrossFire I'll get 2 Asus X1600 along with the Asus MB with the Xpress 3200
any advice?

I also wanna ask which would be more efficiant now that ATI brought out it's new Xpress 3200 Chipset..?

thanx

Judas · May 5, 2006, 06:24 PM

i'd highly suggest NOT getting an asus a8r32-MVP board....or a8r-mvp

Apr 24, 2006, 01:49 PM	#35
merlinxi The Paranoid Cook Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 655 Rep Power: 0	Ati has had more problems with there cards and the skipping problem, Nvidia all the way baby. I wil sacrifice a little power for more efficiency. __________________ 700 Watt Toughpower Cable Management Power supply -- Asus P55 LE Motherboard -- Intel Core i7 860 2.8GHZ Quad Core -- 6Gb Dominator Ram DD3 8 Latency Timings -- Windows 7 64bit -- Gigabyte GTX470 Superclocked Video Card -- 1.5 TB Hard drive, 1TB hard drive, 250GB Hard drive, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Apr 25, 2006, 06:55 AM	#36
Blacklash Che cazzo stai dicendo? Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Old Vizima Posts: 117 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I've owned overclocked 7800GTs in SLi and now I own X1900 XTXs in Crossfire. I vote Crossfire. Oblivion is a good example of how Crossfire is going to do in shader heavy games. If you look at the Firingsquad review they did of Oblivion performance you will see X1800s in Crossfire at 1600x, with and without AA\|AF, beating 7900GTXs in SLi save in indoor situations where things are far less demanding. I don't know too many folks that buy dual card set ups to play below 1600x and with no AA\|AF. Also poke around some reviews that show Crossfire Super AA vs SLi AA. Crossfire 14x Super AA is always as fast or faster than nVidia 8x. I think the way they handle dual card AA, HQ AF, and the shader decisions ATi have made make them more efficient. Many times folks looks at things like 3dmark05 at 1024x with no AA\|AF and declare nVidia a winner. Well again, you don't need dual card setups for that! Also when you cut off nVidia's aggressive optimizations that cause shimmering in many titles, quite a few of their "wins" go away. In my opinion dual card set ups are for 1600x and up with some level of AA\|AF. Once ATi gets the SB600 out the door to mate with their NB things should really pick up. BTW I might add some folks have been spreading the rumor X1900 master cards down clock XTXs in Crossfire. I think people are confused because when it first came out mating a X850 master with something like a X800XL would down clock the master. If you want dual XTXs all you need do is bump up the master's clocks to XTX speed and it's a done deal. http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=260783 __________________ AMD Phenom II X6 1055T @ 4.0GHz (1.45v)\|GeIL Black Dragon DDR3 1600 (4x2Gb) ASUS Crosshair IV (AMD 890FX)\|Powercolor Radeon HD 5870 1Gb (x2)\|Acer GD235HZbid WD VelociRaptor 150Gb HD (x2)\|Pioneer DVR-2920Q\|LG GH22LS30\|Klipsch Groove PM20 2.0 SilverStone OP1000-E\|SilverStone TJ10-B\|Xigmatek HDT-S1284EE\|Vista Home Premium x64 SP2 Last edited by Blacklash; Apr 25, 2006 at 07:03 AM.

Apr 30, 2006, 06:57 PM	#38
anechka12345 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	×åðòåæè ïåðåâîäèì â ýëåêòðîííûé âèä Ïåðåâåäåì ÷åðòåæè ëþáîé ñëîæíîñòè â ýëåêòðîííûé âèä.Ñ áóìàãè, ïî ôîòîãðàôèè. Îïëàòà âåáìàíè èëè íàëè÷íûìè ïðè âñòðå÷å (Ìîñêâà, îáëàñòü).ICQ 332 237 495 Àííà îíëàéí â áóäíè

Apr 30, 2006, 07:27 PM	#39
BWX unplugged Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: USNY Posts: 19,669 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	ýëåêòðîííûé × åðòåæè âèä ïåðåâîäèì â -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ïåðäåì ÷ ëþáîé (ìîñåâåêâà, îáëàñòü) âèä.ñ áóìàãè, íàëè ïî àííà ôîòîãðàôèè. î âåáìàíè èëè ÷ïëàòàíûìè ïðè âñòðå÷å ñëîæíîñòè â ýëåêòðîííûé îíëàéí â áóäíè åðòåæè __________________

May 1, 2006, 10:56 AM	#40
Shaga Intelligent Life Form Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Nordic Region Posts: 383 Rep Power: 48 System Specs	Results of vote looks pretty equal. __________________ Server: Currently Offline

Apr 21, 2006, 11:40 PM	#31
amd_inside DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 7 Rep Power: 0	I, da nub with few posts, shall have his input... Between SLI and Crossfire, it's an iffy deal. For the moment, I would have to say that SLI has the upperhand. However, with new ATI cards no longer needing the dongle, it'll be pretty equal. It'll be more a matter of who can get game support out before the other. However, speaking of what's here now, I have my reservations about both technologies. Whether you're running SLI or Crossfire, performance efficiency takes a hit when running two cards. From what I've seen, adding a second video card into the mix rarely means twice the graphics performance. I think I saw it once in a review on the TheINQ and it was with Doom3. Aside from that, performance boosts float in the 80% range. I find it a pretty shoddy deal to have spent a lump sum of cash on a 2nd card, but only get 80%'s worth. That just sucks. And this is shared amongst both platforms. It's been shown that having two 16x slots doesn't do much to remedy this. Well, that may not be entirely true. I remember an ATI slideshow picture about this. I think with two X1600 cards (and maybe even two X1300 cards, I'm not sure) running in Crossfire without the dongle on an Xpress3200 board boosts performance over running the same two cards on an Xpress1600 board... Then there's the issue of support. Both of these technologies require that the drivers work with the game/application in question to be able to take advantage of two cards. Otherwise, it's wasted, and you have to wait. Now, for most of us, uninstalling and installing update drivers isn't such a huge deal. We know how to do it properly. However, I always feel at risk when doing it. It's happend several times in the past year that I run into trouble installing drivers, whether they be Catalyst, Omega, or DHZeroPoint. That being said, what about those who don't understand how much of a postive impact updating drivers can have? Moreover, what about those who simply don't know how to properly do it? It's already a hassle as it is when I update drivers to make sure my games run properly with my 9800, but I skip on drivers for sometimes months at a time. Imagine having to update them every time there's a driver release (WHQL or otherwise) just to make sure your SLI or Crossfire setup is running up to speed. Personally, I don't care for either of them due to the costs involved, the lack of value in getting two cards, and the upkeep. Like Vikingod said, a single, faster card is probably the best way to go. You don't deal with lost performance, and power usage will likely be lower (at least when idle). It comes down to dollar value. A good example is the 7600GT and 7900GT. The 7900GT is almost twice as powerful as the 7600GT after overclocking and all that jazz. I can get my hands on a 7900GT for $320 CAN before tax and a 7600GT for $220 (also before tax). Two 7600GT in SLI would give me 7900GT performance, but at $120 more. Where's the value in that? We have DX10 on the horizon. For those who follow it, DX10 won't work on any GF7 or X1k card. You need a new card for DX10, no questions asked. Even DX10 cards will need emulation to run DX9. This is how different DX10 and DX9 are. I question those who got the 7600GT thinking they'll buy another when they need the performance. It's a horrible idea; there's absolutely no value in such a setup. Not only will they have wasted at least $120 CAN for having simply not bought a 7900GT, but the chances of selling those two 7600GT cards are slim to none! Anyone in their right will steer clear from anything DX9. It's at this point where one would realize they have two really pricey paperweights. Anyways... that's my take on it...

Apr 22, 2006, 02:22 AM	#32
wee017 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Behind you. Posts: 241 Rep Power: 0	SLI all the way. It came first!

Apr 23, 2006, 08:50 PM	#34
Sonata DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hot as hell in summer Posts: 284 Rep Power: 0	SLI is caught in the Crossfire - rat a tat tat they're gone!

Apr 26, 2006, 01:50 AM	#37
Hellbent DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 48 Rep Power: 0	At the moment, it seems to me SLI is the best two card solution. But give ATI a year or so to catch up, and I'd bet on ATI. And yes, nVidia did buy that technology from 3DFX. I remember when 3DFX and two Voodoo 2's (I think) working together on one motherboard, and that was quite some time ago now.

May 1, 2006, 03:57 PM	#41
BWX unplugged Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: USNY Posts: 19,669 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	Nvidia's SLI 4144 50.35% ATI's Crossfire 4086 49.65% Yeah that is really close (as of May 6 2006) __________________

May 5, 2006, 06:17 PM	#42
CoolBugg DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	Xpress 3200 Hi, I'm new here, jus doin a lil research before I get my new setup. I'm from South Africa & dont have the budget for 2 X1900 XT's so if I do go CrossFire I'll get 2 Asus X1600 along with the Asus MB with the Xpress 3200 any advice? I also wanna ask which would be more efficiant now that ATI brought out it's new Xpress 3200 Chipset..? thanx