Good cheap SLi solution?

[DivideBYZero]

Been out of the loop with video cards for a while. What I'm after is essentially two 6600GT level cards for an SLi setup.

Open to all suggestions, no flaming.

 

[thilanliyan]

The 7600GTs maybe??

 

[Cookie Monster]

7600GT SLi.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Hhahahahah! Thanks for the replies! Since posting I've been doing some research and guess what I came up with.....


Two 7600GT's!

 

[aka1nas]

You would get better performance with a single high-end card than with two mid-range cards.

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: aka1nas
You would get better performance with a single high-end card than with two mid-range cards.

Suggestion?

 

[lopri]

7900 GT (You can buy a new retail for ~$250 on eBay which will more than likely OC to 7900 GTX speed) or X1900 XT (Just a little more expensive but the return is more than worthwhile. Faster overall, and 512MB of fast GDDR3 is really nice.) But this dual-card thing is not just about performance/price. It has its own fun in that building an SLI/Crossfire rig. 7600 GT SLI will roughly match 7900 GTX @1280x1024, so the cost for trying out SLI isn't too bad as it used to. Look for FS/FT threads. There are many of aforementioned cards. 7600 GT SLI is definitely competitive even compared to similarly-priced single card solution.

 

[Cookie Monster]

I agree, going 7900GT is better than 7600GT SLi. Sli/Crossfire/dual GPU setups only makes sense in the high end market really.

 

[Mingon]

I have 2 x 7600gs (xfx xtreme's running 500/900) which are pretty cool (literally as they are passive) which on games that are sli aware gives performance around the 7900gt level for less price. On games that dont run well with sli a 7900gt would be quicker but I like to play with technology and my case has only a 240 watt psu.

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: Mingon
I have 2 x 7600gs (xfx xtreme's running 500/900) which are pretty cool (literally as they are passive).

Heh, if they don't have an GPU fan then they're probably hot, not cool! Nevertheless, the silence must be nice.

 

[Sonikku]

SLI is only for those who are not satisfied with the performance of the single best card available and want to expand upon it, no matter what the cost. For anything other then the ultra high end, SLI is a waste of money. I'd suggest going with a X1800XT. It's cheaper then any 7900 series card at $219, and it's faster too.

 

[aka1nas]

The main issue with SLI'ing mid-range cards is that they usually will be using narrower memory buses than the high-end series and will not scale as well to higher resolutions/AA/AF as the higher-end cards with their 256-bit memory buses.

 

[Noema]

Originally posted by: Sonikku
SLI is only for those who are not satisfied with the performance of the single best card available and want to expand upon it, no matter what the cost.

I agree. I will be better to get a single high-end card. That will probably perform better, and will give you the option of adding another one later on.