Veridian3

Crossfire, SLI, X2's... plenty of options out there now... do you use/like multi GPU systems or is single card the way to go?

Zelig

Single card.

On my current SLI-supporting motherboard, I've gone from a 6600gt to a 7900gt to a g92 8800gts. On each upgrade, I considered going SLI, but it's always been a better deal, with better overall performance, to just buy a new card and sell my old one.

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|2A|N

I ran dual 7800GT's back when I built my FX55 system years ago but to be honest with today's newer cards a single slot solution seems like the realistic way to go these days.

Zardon

only if I get them as samples to play with. if I was buying my own hardware id probably have a single 8800GTS or something.

Mousey

I would like to run a crossfire setup, but my board doesn't support dual x16s and i can't afford another 3850

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Lowfat

Definitely considering it. If the 9800GTX doesn't play out as a top performer, I will definitely be moving over to SLI/CF.

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sushrukh

Single card.No money 4 multi-GPU setup.

Matth

Single, never had or wanted support for multi... there will always be a better single card along soon.

Not quite sure if dual GPU cards are usable in systems without SLI or crossfire capability.

Anyway, there are 3 possible targets for multi-GPU.
1. Money no object, 2, 3, 4 of the best you can get, though this means even more investment that will depreciate meteorically when the next model comes out.
2. Pair of middle cards beating a top one and coming in cheaper - this is generally an anomaly that will be corrected as the price of the better card slips.
3. Upgrading to a pair - this can often be difficult to match up, but can be anything from a good bang for buck upgrade to a complete waste.

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SFOSOK

Only reason I would I would go dual card (only SLI) would be if I were building a top of the line rig for someone with the newest hardware.

Dual card solutions are usually obsolete every 6 months to a year. Especially if they keep doing that DX 10.1 10.2 crap. And also, like everyone else said, for a 600-800 solution it will cost about 200-300 for a single card in a year or so for better performance and more features.

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METAL!!

CDsDontBurn

i would like to go SLI myself with my next build. primarily only for work reasons so i can play around with the settings and know where things are moving to as newer drivers come out.

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Zardon

Yes I agree, however its more for the power of the cards rather than the DX10.x incremental support, nothing really uses DX10 right now apart from a handful of games, .1 really only adds a few aspects and no one has touched it yet.

People who buy SLI tend to want the best of everything really so another 10fps at 2560 res means a lot to them. seems a mad amount of money mind you.

BlueMak

Agreed 100%. By the time you NEED to buy another card, your whole system is obsolete. Even buying a top of the range card at any time near its release seems like a waste of money, not to mention 2 or more.
If you buy a good mid to high range card every year or perhaps 2 depending on the resolution you run your games at, you should be fine.

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Lelisevis

Pair of BFG 8800GTS 640mb's. Timing is the key, combined i've paid about the price of a GTX on launch. Just about watching and waiting for special offers.

Just for reference and yes I know it's only a benchmark but with a single card in 3dmark 06 I was getting about 8200. With dual cards i'm getting 14,500.

Mind I must admit if I didnt have a 24" monitor at 1920x1200 I wouldnt have bothered but I need all the pixel pushing power I can pack in (try saying that after a few beers).

SLI is a definite necessity at those resolutions with games like NWN2, LOTRO with DX10, Supreme Commander and Microsoft FSX, all of which I primarily play.

Guess the final thing i'll add is it really depends on how long you keep your build for, I intend on getting another 2-3 years from this on top of the 1.5 years i've already had it. After that it'll get handed on to my brother or father.

OmegaRED

In my opinion, SLI/CF is only really needed if your monitor is running a really high res and you need that power, I'll stick with 1 GPU until I get a monitor big enough to require that resolution.

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IvanV

From several other people's experiences I've heard, that's generally the case: people build a SLI/CF capable system, but unless they go multi-GPU right away, they almost never do so later.

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CDsDontBurn

adding to that; if one plans on going SLI/CF later, it is much more difficult to do so because by the time s/he wishes to do so, that particluar card they have is likely to have been EOL. then, you would need to buy the product from eBay or something, and that can't always be guaranteed to work, or the warranty procedures may be different or non-possible.

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niceguyrichy

single card. obviously.
not really a gamer, can't see myself bothering with dual/quad whatever anytime tbh

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MIG-31

Only a single card im afraid..

Just wish i could afford to go to a sli setup..this won't be happening for some time.

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Judas

10fps boost from a single card @ 2560x1600 is not worth it..... if it was only that marginal of a gain.. i would never have had crossfire....

the gains are more significant then that. So long as the games/programs make use of crossfire properly.....

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mike2h

at this time i dont see the point. the best sinlge cards out there are more than capable of playing any game.
i do see it as a possible uprade path - buy a great card now, in a 1-2 years when it starts to 'slow down' buy a 2nd for prolly 60% of the price.
of course its a non issue for me as i am a intel chipset/nv fan. though the nv thing may change on my next upgrade.

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Zardon

Which they rarely do and its not the game makers fault either.

Zardon

I dont know Mike, ive seen huge gains with SLI in games like world in conflict making a res like 1680 or 1920 playable with max settings whereas with a single card you need to lower the res or IQ settings. SLI has much better support than Crossfire, our findings over the last year have certainly verified that. People condemn the TWIMTBP regime but it really does work.

Even games like crysis with SLI can make an unplayable resolution playable. Is it good value for the majority of gamers? no. However I do see a situation where a gamer could buy one 8800 GTS, then 3 months down the line when funds were available could add another, both cards would cost around the same as an ultra. A system now comprising 8800 GTS in SLI should be capable of powering anything for a good 18 months+.

Its not logical for quite a few people but I do see the benefit.

ChaosMinionX

Yep, dual HD3870 X2's here.... just waiting on drivers now

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dipstick

If I could run SLI on my Intel board or if ATi had something worthy I'd probably be running a dual card setup as there are some good deals going around these days. Still, I have no complaints towards my single card; the thing is a total beast and handles 1920 in all games quite well.

deadeyeselh

HAHA I still have AGP...

Vampyromaniac

I use multiple GPU's on my PC at work: AGP + on-board

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RebeLone

I work part time and go to school. So most of my money goes towards gas, food, and necessities. What money I do get saved up, would probably go toward a single card. I'm actually building my little brother a rig for school and light gaming, so I don't actually get any money saved up. lol. BUT, I have started a savings account for a new card haha. My 8800GTS 320mb just does not cut it anymore.

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PC_Inquisitor

Well... I would like to have a SLI gaming PC, but I use a pretty old mobo... I still use AGP!!!

Maybe someday,PCI-Express!!!

lol

GeneralClaymore

one gpu is enough, it not worth the hassle of using dual gpus. so I just fine with one gpu.

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grilledduck

None now but maybe CrossFire later.