Nvidia went SLI because they can't compete?

[bigz]

And let us not forget that this is only the first iteration of SLI and I am sure that the NVidia drivers department know that there is still plenty of room for improvement when it comes to SLI.

What's the deal with the 70 series beta. Anybody had a chance to test?

It sucks in SC: Chaos Theory with a single card

 

[digitalwanderer]

Is that the 71.xx or 75.90 set? I'm actually LIKING the 75.90 set quite a bit so far. :?

 

[bigz]

the latest official beta's from NZone - 71.84

 

[Dave Baumann]

Incoming....

 

[digitalwanderer]

Incoming....

The Dig dives under his desk and assumes the "duck and cover" position!

 

[WaltC]

Don't forget how important it is to have that top benchmark score. It's not about selling that product, but the whole range of associated products. Overclocking is deemed to be trickery, but running two cards in parallel can help you score the outlandish frame rates that are necessary to sell your product.

Yes, we know that having the top benchmark score has always been of paramount importance to nV, don't we?.... It's far more important than routine gaming performance with appropriate levels of IQ--at least to nV.

Looking at nV SLI in terms of cost per frame-rate gained, however, produces a much lower "benchmark score" in that regard. nV SLI is great for nV, no doubt, but not so hot for the SLI consumer in terms of price-performance...

This can be done completely transparently. Readers will know that they are seeing the score of two cards working in unison, but they will still make that important mental connection with the product, perhaps thinking "I'll get one for now and maybe add another in the future." By the time some are looking to couple up their single board with a second, a new generation may be out and the cycle (probably) begins anew.

When you say "connection with the product," which "product" are you referring to--the *pair* of 3d-cards required, the dual-slot motherboard, the increased power supply and the other thermal-reduction products necessary--which "product" of all of those required for "SLI" do you mean, I wonder?...

The Scalable Link Interface is certainly interesting and I am sure it will find a permanent home in workstations with Gelato and others to help designers. Game acceleration should be good, but you always end up getting that extra performance above the current generation single board configurations without the features of the next generation.

Frankly, I will be surprised if nV is doing SLI for very long in any capacity worth noting. It seems like a stop-gap, short-term measure designed to shore up the company's bottom line on a temporary basis. It is so cost ineffective that I cannot believe it is here to stay.

It worries me to think that this modular design may impact game development. The last thing we need to see on a box is a dual GPU requirement before that is considered standard. The point I am trying to get across is that SLI somewhat artificially inflates the performance barometer. Then again, we had the same thing with Voodoo 2 and then the Geforce came out of left field and absolutely smashed it to pieces.

Considering that no 3d-gaming API on earth supports nV SLI in any way, shape, or form, I think you can rest easy on that score as there is nothing there to worry about... Rather, I think the worry is for nV SLI purchasers that nV will do custom driver support for all of their present games of the type necessary for nV SLI to function. That's what I'd worry about if I was one of them.

 

[DemoCoder]

nV SLI is great for nV, no doubt, but not so hot for the SLI consumer in terms of price-performance...

I wonder if you have the same criticism for those $700-800 Platinum Editions floating around. Nah, we couldn't expect fair criticism from you, could we?

 

[ANova]

nV SLI is great for nV, no doubt, but not so hot for the SLI consumer in terms of price-performance...

I wonder if you have the same criticism for those $700-800 Platinum Editions floating around. Nah, we couldn't expect fair criticism from you, could we?

$700-800 is still less then the $1000+ required for SLi. Of course, you can find X850s for under $500 if you look hard enough.

 

[trinibwoy]

Question for all the peeps decrying SLI's cost - if you were given a free SLI mobo and two 6800 Ultra's - would you still take a PE over that setup? If you would, why?

 

[Joe DeFuria]

If a company wants to put SLI, 5 way, 10 processors at $5000 cost...more power to 'em. More choice is good.

My main "gripe" with nVidia's solution is how limiting it is...given that you need a "SLI supporting" chipset. That's the main reason why I don't consider it a particularly "hot" solution.

 

[ANova]

Question for all the peeps decrying SLI's cost - if you were given a free SLI mobo and two 6800 Ultra's - would you still take a PE over that setup? If you would, why?

I would accept it, use it for a couple months, then sell it and get an R520. Why?

6800U SLi - 10k in 3dmark05
R520 - theoretical 7-10k and a couple hundred extra in cash plus less power consumption/heat generated. Works with all games.

 

[trinibwoy]

I would accept it, use it for a couple months, then sell it and get an R520.

Haha.

 

[ANova]

I would accept it, use it for a couple months, then sell it and get an R520.

Haha.

Makes sense doesn't it?

 

[hovz]

people here bashing sli are ridiculous. who cares if it doesnt have a good fps to cost ratio. it doesnt hurt you or the industry in any way. its available for those who have the money and want the highest performance available now and probably until wgf launches. r520 will not perform better than sli nv40s in a game that supports them.

 

[ondaedg]

Question for all the peeps decrying SLI's cost - if you were given a free SLI mobo and two 6800 Ultra's - would you still take a PE over that setup? If you would, why?

I would accept it, use it for a couple months, then sell it and get an R520. Why?

6800U SLi - 10k in 3dmark05
R520 - theoretical 7-10k and a couple hundred extra in cash plus less power consumption/heat generated. Works with all games.

uhm, is the R520 available? Where did you get your specs? I don't know how you can argue based on the hypothetical or even speculated. There is no doubt that ATI will put out one heck of a card. It doesn't change the fact that you are still speaking without facts. What if I wanted something now? Can you tell me when the R520 will be available? I sure as heck don't know.

The argument to wait til next generation comes around rather than spend the money now is old and fruitless. I buy when I want to buy. Right now, I want to buy.

The SLI chipset and video card power appeals to me. The combination of the Nforce4 chipset and two video cards looks like one sweet rig. After looking at the list of games soon to be supported, all the games I currently play are in there.

 

[trinibwoy]

Makes sense doesn't it?

Yeah it does. But one solution exists now

 

[Sxotty]

Joe is right though. Nvidia have screwed any potential long term benefit by making it proprietary. If you could use it on any motherboard with 2 pci express slots it would be better.

 

[Joe DeFuria]

Joe is right though. Nvidia have screwed any potential long term benefit by making it proprietary. If you could use it on any motherboard with 2 pci express slots it would be better.

Or even better, if a single, dual chip "SLI card" could be used in any motherboard with a single PCI-E slot....or single AGP slot for that matter.

 

[trinibwoy]

Joe is right though. Nvidia have screwed any potential long term benefit by making it proprietary. If you could use it on any motherboard with 2 pci express slots it would be better.

I guess they figure the demand for their chipset is sufficient to support the SLI market. I'm sure if they didn't have such a strong foothold in the enthusiast motherboard market they would have chosen another solution or may never have introduced SLI at all.

 

[ANova]

uhm, is the R520 available? Where did you get your specs? I don't know how you can argue based on the hypothetical or even speculated. There is no doubt that ATI will put out one heck of a card. It doesn't change the fact that you are still speaking without facts.

theoretical 7-10k

Is that so hard to believe considering an X850 does about 6k at stock? I also said in a couple months, as I'm sure it's not far away from a paper launch considering all the little hints that have been turning up lately.

What if I wanted something now? Can you tell me when the R520 will be available? I sure as heck don't know.

I didn't say an R520 now, I said in a couple months when it's available.