Dual 6600 256 or Dual 6600 GT 128MB PCI-E

[Kyle W]

Is it worth the extra 100 bucks for the Dual 6600 GT 128MB DDR3 cards? I'm planning on buying the system from PC Club for under $1000 (not bad). Also do anyone know if the 6600 or the 6600 GT can over clock much? Also is it a good idea to overclock on SLI? One more question I will only play RTS games and afew RPG games so if I get the 6600GT how long will it last me? Two years maybe more? Thank you in advance for advice and input!

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

i think in SLI, they'd both have to OC to the same clocks to do any good.

I'd go with 1x whatever card you can afford though, not SLI since you lose lots of performance in SLI overhead that way.

 

[themusgrat]

6600GT is great, and it will last you a while, though not with all the good eye candy. For the price of 2 6600GTs, I would get the 6800GS, since it is 210 shipped and will blow even the 6800GT out of the water. BTW, you can sell the 6600GTs on ebay for ~ 110, then you have the better 6800GS for nothing.

 

[jlbenedict]

I assume you have a budget of $1000 for this prebuilt rig you are purchasing?

What are the other specs of this rig? For $1000 you can put together a ver nice system on your own that is very respectable

 

[Kyle W]

I just dont feel like building it myself. I guess I could go lower and forget the whole SLI thing and get 6800GS

 

[SPARTAN VI]

Originally posted by: unfalliblekrutch
i think in SLI, they'd both have to OC to the same clocks to do any good.

I'd go with 1x whatever card you can afford though, not SLI since you lose lots of performance in SLI overhead that way.

In SLI, you don't have a choice. With coolbits, you OC both cards at the same time.

And why are SLI 6600GT's under consideration? You'd be better off with a single card solution.

 

[Kyle W]

because at the site I was thinking about getting it from the 6600GT were only 100 bucks more. i just want a system to play RTS/RPG games on . i really dont wanna build it myself though. i might just get an HP and get the 6800GS.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Kyle W
because at the site I was thinking about getting it from the 6600GT were only 100 bucks more. i just want a system to play RTS/RPG games on . i really dont wanna build it myself though. i might just get an HP and get the 6800GS.

sli gives off more heat, degrades performance(cpu cycles are used in sli top sync the cards), uses more power, adds noise, decreases reliability, buy custom if you want, but go fro a custom 1 card solution, unless you have a situation where the perfromance of the top of the line card is not enough, it onyl makes sense to go sli when you need 2 top of the line cards or nearly top of the line cards where there isnt a single card solution to fill the gap.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: mwmorph

Originally posted by: Kyle W
because at the site I was thinking about getting it from the 6600GT were only 100 bucks more. i just want a system to play RTS/RPG games on . i really dont wanna build it myself though. i might just get an HP and get the 6800GS.

sli gives off more heat, degrades performance(cpu cycles are used in sli top sync the cards), uses more power, adds noise, decreases reliability, buy custom if you want, but go fro a custom 1 card solution, unless you have a situation where the perfromance of the top of the line card is not enough, it onyl makes sense to go sli when you need 2 top of the line cards or nearly top of the line cards where there isnt a single card solution to fill the gap.

Sorry dude, as a 9800Pro user you aren't qualified to say this. I've had four different SLI rigs over the course of the year, and problems have been practically non-existent.

Performance is always increased unless the game is so cpu limited the tiny amount of SLI overhead doesn't matter anyway, and even then it's increased by the ability to do SLI AA.

You shouldn't post stuff like this, you have no experience with the hardware, and no links to back this obviously ridiculous FUD.

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: Kyle W
because at the site I was thinking about getting it from the 6600GT were only 100 bucks more. i just want a system to play RTS/RPG games on . i really dont wanna build it myself though. i might just get an HP and get the 6800GS.

an hp/compaq is going to have a very cheap 250 or 300 watt psu. you will be pushing your luck with a 6800gs.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: mwmorph

Originally posted by: Kyle W
because at the site I was thinking about getting it from the 6600GT were only 100 bucks more. i just want a system to play RTS/RPG games on . i really dont wanna build it myself though. i might just get an HP and get the 6800GS.

sli gives off more heat, degrades performance(cpu cycles are used in sli top sync the cards), uses more power, adds noise, decreases reliability, buy custom if you want, but go fro a custom 1 card solution, unless you have a situation where the perfromance of the top of the line card is not enough, it onyl makes sense to go sli when you need 2 top of the line cards or nearly top of the line cards where there isnt a single card solution to fill the gap.

Sorry dude, as a 9800Pro user you aren't qualified to say this. I've had four different SLI rigs over the course of the year, and problems have been practically non-existent.

Performance is always increased unless the game is so cpu limited the tiny amount of SLI overhead doesn't matter anyway, and even then it's increased by the ability to do SLI AA.

You shouldn't post stuff like this, you have no experience with the hardware, and no links to back this obviously ridiculous FUD.

so yuo really think that a therotically, a 8 pipe, 3vs in sli 500mhz core card 1ghz ram would be just as efficent as a 16 pipe, 6vs 500mhz core card, 1ghz ram card by itself because sli magcally runs without cpu support? Maybe i should've used the word effiency instead. is performance increased? yes, but there is of course still a overhead. It's simply not as efficent as a single card situation and at lower resolutinos where you benchmark primarily the cpu, there is a overhead associated sli. unless you do not have a single card solution you can use, sli just does not make sense. Try to read my whole post and understanding what i'm trying to say instead of selectively taking parts out of context and then calling ti all fud. Unless of course, you think all people with 6600les should do SLI too because it's a good idea?


alos do you really think 2 or god forbid 4 fans(on the older BFG 6800nus) is more reliablile than 1 or 2 fans(BFG 6800nu)? Is there not a doubled chance of failure? I mean sure the chance is low, but it's still doubled. What's more reliable? 1 500gb hard drive or 2 250gb hard drives in Raid 0? The difference may be between 1 and 2% but it's still a difference.

 

[Munky]

Seriously, there's no reason to get dual midrange cards unless they can offer better performance for the price than a single card. In most cases dual 6600gt's are no better than a single 6800gt, sometimes even slower, so just get a single decent card. A 6800gs is similar in performance than a 6800gt, and costs a little over $200. Seeing how you dont like to play around with hardware and tweaking/modding stuff, then the 6800gs is your best choice.

 

[Kyle W]

Wish PC Club did offer 6800gs on their prebuilt customs...maybe ABS does.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
so yuo really think that a therotically, a 8 pipe, 3vs in sli 500mhz core card 1ghz ram would be just as efficent as a 16 pipe, 6vs 500mhz core card, 1ghz ram card by itself because sli magcally runs without cpu support?

1. I don't have to "think it" - I own a 6600GT SLI rig and a 6800GT SLI rig, so I can and have tested it. There are situations a 6600GT SLI outperforms a single 6800GT.
2. A 6800GS does not have 16 pipes, 6vs it has 12 pipes, 5vs. You don't even know the specs of the cards.

Maybe i should've used the word effiency instead. is performance increased? yes, but there is of course still a overhead. It's simply not as efficent as a single card situation and at lower resolutinos where you benchmark primarily the cpu, there is a overhead associated sli. unless you do not have a single card solution you can use, sli just does not make sense.

For the most part this is true, but, for example, 6600GT SLI walks all over a single 6800GT at 20X15 0X16X.

Try to read my whole post and understanding what i'm trying to say instead of selectively taking parts out of context and then calling ti all fud. Unless of course, you think all people with 6600les should do SLI too because it's a good idea?

Nope, it's hard to make a case for anything below 7800GT SLI these days, but with the choice of 6600GT SLI and 6800GS single, I'd take the GT SLI and limit myself to 2X AA.

alos do you really think 2 or god forbid 4 fans(on the older BFG 6800nus) is more reliablile than 1 or 2 fans(BFG 6800nu)? Is there not a doubled chance of failure? I mean sure the chance is low, but it's still doubled. What's more reliable? 1 500gb hard drive or 2 250gb hard drives in Raid 0? The difference may be between 1 and 2% but it's still a difference.

There are no 2 fan 6800GSs or 6600GTs AFAIK

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: mwmorph
so yuo really think that a therotically, a 8 pipe, 3vs in sli 500mhz core card 1ghz ram would be just as efficent as a 16 pipe, 6vs 500mhz core card, 1ghz ram card by itself because sli magcally runs without cpu support?

1. I don't have to "think it" - I own a 6600GT SLI rig and a 6800GT SLI rig, so I can and have tested it. There are situations a 6600GT SLI outperforms a single 6800GT.
2. A 6800GS does not have 16 pipes, 6vs it has 12 pipes, 5vs. You don't even know the specs of the cards.

Maybe i should've used the word effiency instead. is performance increased? yes, but there is of course still a overhead. It's simply not as efficent as a single card situation and at lower resolutinos where you benchmark primarily the cpu, there is a overhead associated sli. unless you do not have a single card solution you can use, sli just does not make sense.

For the most part this is true, but, for example, 6600GT SLI walks all over a single 6800GT at 20X15 0X16X.

Try to read my whole post and understanding what i'm trying to say instead of selectively taking parts out of context and then calling ti all fud. Unless of course, you think all people with 6600les should do SLI too because it's a good idea?

Nope, it's hard to make a case for anything below 7800GT SLI these days, but with the choice of 6600GT SLI and 6800GS single, I'd take the GT SLI and limit myself to 2X AA.

alos do you really think 2 or god forbid 4 fans(on the older BFG 6800nus) is more reliablile than 1 or 2 fans(BFG 6800nu)? Is there not a doubled chance of failure? I mean sure the chance is low, but it's still doubled. What's more reliable? 1 500gb hard drive or 2 250gb hard drives in Raid 0? The difference may be between 1 and 2% but it's still a difference.

There are no 2 fan 6800GSs or 6600GTs AFAIK

For the most part I agree, and I see we ar both on the same page. I stated I dont believe non top of the line cards or nearly top of the line cards should be slied since similar perfromance can be had awith a singkle card for comparable price. I was commenting that sli is not ideal for his situatios and so many others asking to do 6600gt sli or 6800nu sli. The problem with a 6800gt is that at 20x15 16xaf, it's unplayable anyway so the difference between 20 and 22fps isnt all that large. Dont get me wrong, SLI is a grat idea and so is Xfire, but noly in certian situations, for him, and others like him, and those that want to use sli/Xfire as a upgrade path, it just dosent make a lot of sense.

 

[MustangSVT]

go with single card that's stronger