Why is it that in 9/10 SLI rig threads...

[nick1985]

dont these people understand it would be better to get a cheaper 939 non-SLI, or even a cheap 754 setup and have a single 6800GT? even if these people get 2 6600GT's in the future, it still wont be as fast as a single 6800GT.

it seems that all of the "critique my rig" threads with SLI, they almost always are getting a 6600GT. i just dont get it...

 

[DanDrop]

Well... how much is the 6800 or 6800GT in PCI-e?

In most purchases, price and availability is a concern. Some people can not afford a 6800/6800GT in PCI-e but still would like to have the upgradeability and features of Nforce4. Also, you have to keep in mind that not all people have gaming as a priority and are content with the lesser performance of the 6600GT.

 

[ohnnyj]

Some people might be using them temporarily until they can get a 6800GT or Ultra in PCIe as the availablity is next to nothing right now. You have to assume that if someone is buying SLI they most likely have a lot of money to burn and as such a small investment in a couple of $200 cards they can use now just to test the SLI waters is not much in their overall larger budget. Plus they may be able to sell these cards off latter if they get the 6800s and as such get some money back on them.

I do agree on the point being made that a true SLI rig should not have 6600GTs in it, especially seeing how even one 6800GT can meet or beet the performance of the two in most cases.

 

[imported_Computer MAn]

The only thing that really makes me wonder is when people get two 6600GT's right now instead of 1 6800GT.

 

[ohnnyj]

Availabilty

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Computer MAn
The only thing that really makes me wonder is when people get two 6600GT's right now instead of 1 6800GT.

that is my question also.

Let's ask 'em why.
:roll:

it makes total sense to get one 6600gt in a sli MB if you are an extreme budget gamer. It'll run ANY game now at 10x7 with everything 'hi' and 'on' and 'max' and even some AA/AF depending on game (at least my 9800xt does and the 6600 is a bit more capable) . . . and the future upgrade option is obvious.
(unlike with my 9800)

edit: i can't agree that using 2-6600gts is a cheap way to 'test' anything . . . . the people who can afford it already have 2 ultras and GTs aren't that hard to find (~$320 last i looked).

 

[KayKay]

the people probably want to take advantage of sli in the future, but for the time being they just want something affordable and can play games until, say 6800 GT becomes cheaper, where it would make more sense to get 2 of those.

 

[frootbooter]

Whoa, you found a pci express 6800 gt for $320? Link please, I want to buy a few.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: KayKay
the people probably want to take advantage of sli in the future, but for the time being they just want something affordable and can play games until, say 6800 GT becomes cheaper, where it would make more sense to get 2 of those.

Wouldn't it make more sense to buy one 6800GT now, and when they have the money, to only need to buy another 6800GT later. Rather than 2 6600 now, and later needing to sell those 2 6600s, and purchasing 2 6800GTs.

 

[pennhunter]

Simple answer....I'm cheap........
I'm building an SLI PC soon and a 6600GT is good enough for me. The most complex game I ever play is C&C Generals, which I play on my AMD64 3000+ Laptop. I've already purchased Win MCE 2005 because my new rig will be my HTPC. My current desktop has a AIW Radeon (just Radeon no#) so it shows how often I buy video cards. In a year or so I'll buy a second 6600GT and be good to go for another four years or so.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: KayKay
the people probably want to take advantage of sli in the future, but for the time being they just want something affordable and can play games until, say 6800 GT becomes cheaper, where it would make more sense to get 2 of those.

Yeah ,but you're laying out $420 right now (for 2-6600gts) when you could just get ONE 6800GT for $320. You'd have MORE performance now, a MUCH better upgrade path and $100 more in your pocket.
:shocked:



please explain what i missed.

 

[imported_Poozler]

Originally posted by: nick1985
dont these people understand it would be better to get a cheaper 939 non-SLI, or even a cheap 754 setup and have a single 6800GT? even if these people get 2 6600GT's in the future, it still wont be as fast as a single 6800GT.

it seems that all of the "critique my rig" threads with SLI, they almost always are getting a 6600GT. i just dont get it...

agreed with ^

 

[ohnnyj]

You can't find a 6800GT PCIe for $320, you can't even find them for MSRP right now. Be prepared to pay a lot of money as supply and demand works its magic.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: ohnnyj
You can't find a 6800GT PCIe for $320, you can't even find them for MSRP right now. Be prepared to pay a lot of money as supply and demand works its magic.

Winnar.

 

[ohnnyj]

Are you calling me a winer?

If so, that's cool since I already have my two BFG 6800 GT PCIes.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: ohnnyj
Are you calling me a winer?

If so, that's cool since I already have my two BFG 6800 GT PCIes.

Haha...no, it was an intentional misspelling of "winner", indicating that I agree with you.

Sorry, I spend too much time in OT.

 

[ohnnyj]

Sorry, I am not up to speed on all the forum lingo.

 

[Dug]

Originally posted by: nick1985
dont these people understand it would be better to get a cheaper 939 non-SLI, or even a cheap 754 setup and have a single 6800GT? even if these people get 2 6600GT's in the future, it still wont be as fast as a single 6800GT.

it seems that all of the "critique my rig" threads with SLI, they almost always are getting a 6600GT. i just dont get it...

Two 6600GT may not equal a 6800GT but right now a 6600GT works very well and its cheap.
I've seen them for $180 as opposed to ~$500-$560 for 6800GT

So two 6600GT's $360 makes a lot more sense and will be very close to a 6800gt. Or close enough that you won't notice the difference.

Also a lot less power consumption if that is a concern.

Cheap 754 setup = no upgrade path according to AMD's announcement.

Cheap 939 AGP setup = better idea than 754 setup but if you are buying new why get AGP?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Dug

Originally posted by: nick1985
dont these people understand it would be better to get a cheaper 939 non-SLI, or even a cheap 754 setup and have a single 6800GT? even if these people get 2 6600GT's in the future, it still wont be as fast as a single 6800GT.

it seems that all of the "critique my rig" threads with SLI, they almost always are getting a 6600GT. i just dont get it...

Two 6600GT may not equal a 6800GT but right now a 6600GT works very well and its cheap.
I've seen them for $180 as opposed to ~$500-$560 for 6800GT

So two 6600GT's $360 makes a lot more sense and will be very close to a 6800gt. Or close enough that you won't notice the difference.

Also a lot less power consumption if that is a concern.

Cheap 754 setup = no upgrade path according to AMD's announcement.

Cheap 939 AGP setup = better idea than 754 setup but if you are buying new why get AGP?

i didn't realize the PCIe version of the 6800GT was carrying a $200 premium over the AGP version.

What i STILL don't get is why you would get the 2nd 6600GT and not wait a bit for for pciE cards to become available

(but then i am not an "early adopter" and a beta tester for premium-priced cutting edge HW)
:roll:

 

[jvarszegi]

It's because both SLI and the 6600GT appeal to the budget-minded.

To everyone saying how awfully stupid it is for someone to buy two 6600GTs now, you're a pack of idiots. I've only seen one person on Anandtech make that choice. The OP was asking why someone would buy SLI with a single 6600GT. nick1985 is also wrong-- two 6600GTs are actually usually faster than an Ultra, without AA/AF. It's not like they're pieces of crap.

To recap: please don't prattle on about the stupidity of buying two 6600GTs. And please don't stupidly prattle on about how you can get a 6800GT for $320.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: jvarszegi
It's because both SLI and the 6600GT appeal to the budget-minded.

To everyone saying how awfully stupid it is for someone to buy two 6600GTs now, you're a pack of idiots. I've only seen one person on Anandtech make that choice. The OP was asking why someone would buy SLI with a single 6600GT. nick1985 is also wrong-- two 6600GTs are actually usually faster than an Ultra, without AA/AF. It's not like they're pieces of crap.

To recap: please don't prattle on about the stupidity of buying two 6600GTs. And please don't stupidly prattle on about how you can get a 6800GT for $320.

"SLI" and "budget-minded" is an oxymoron . . . . budget minded people do not adopt cutting edge technology and pay premium prices for HW.
:roll:

Please show us where 2 6600s are faster than an ultra.

You can get a 6800Gt for $320 . . . . in AGP . . . for the really budget minded.
(it might be sold out now)
:roll:

 

[jvarszegi]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: jvarszegi
It's because both SLI and the 6600GT appeal to the budget-minded.

To everyone saying how awfully stupid it is for someone to buy two 6600GTs now, you're a pack of idiots. I've only seen one person on Anandtech make that choice. The OP was asking why someone would buy SLI with a single 6600GT. nick1985 is also wrong-- two 6600GTs are actually usually faster than an Ultra, without AA/AF. It's not like they're pieces of crap.

To recap: please don't prattle on about the stupidity of buying two 6600GTs. And please don't stupidly prattle on about how you can get a 6800GT for $320.

"SLI" and "budget-minded" is an oxymoron . . . . budget minded people do not adopt cutting edge technology and pay premium prices for HW.
:roll:

Please show us where 2 6600s are faster than an ultra.

You can get a 6800Gt for $320 . . . . in AGP . . . for the really budget minded.
(it might be sold out now)
:roll:

Sure they do, if they want their system to last a while. It's not an oxymoron just because you said so...


Every single benchmark I've ever seen only shows the Ultra and 6800GT pulling away at higher resolutions when AA/AF are set high. I should be asking you to provide benchmarks at high res w/out those enabled, where the 6600GT SLI loses. I'm tired of this whole thread and topic, though.

Here is just one of the scads of benchmark results on the World Wide Web showing dual 6600GTs spanking an Ultra at UXGA with no AA/AF. Enjoy.
benchie

 

[Nyati13]

Originally posted by: apoppin


i didn't realize the PCIe version of the 6800GT was carrying a $200 premium over the AGP version.

What i STILL don't get is why you would get the 2nd 6600GT and not wait a bit for for pciE cards to become available

(but then i am not an "early adopter" and a beta tester for premium-priced cutting edge HW)
:roll:

The 6800GTs or Ultras are practically impossible to find, and very overpriced.
I got 2 6600GTs because I wanted to play with the SLI bit. Doubling the fairly low price of a 6600GT isn't such a big deal. Once 6800 Ultras are actually available near MSRP I'll buy 1 of those, and 1 more a couple of months later.

 

[nick1985]

yeah, but what happens when i want to play games with some quality? :roll:

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: jvarszegi

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: jvarszegi
It's because both SLI and the 6600GT appeal to the budget-minded.

To everyone saying how awfully stupid it is for someone to buy two 6600GTs now, you're a pack of idiots. I've only seen one person on Anandtech make that choice. The OP was asking why someone would buy SLI with a single 6600GT. nick1985 is also wrong-- two 6600GTs are actually usually faster than an Ultra, without AA/AF. It's not like they're pieces of crap.

To recap: please don't prattle on about the stupidity of buying two 6600GTs. And please don't stupidly prattle on about how you can get a 6800GT for $320.

"SLI" and "budget-minded" is an oxymoron . . . . budget minded people do not adopt cutting edge technology and pay premium prices for HW.
:roll:

Please show us where 2 6600s are faster than an ultra.

You can get a 6800Gt for $320 . . . . in AGP . . . for the really budget minded.
(it might be sold out now)
:roll:

Sure they do, if they want their system to last a while. It's not an oxymoron just because you said so...


Every single benchmark I've ever seen only shows the Ultra and 6800GT pulling away at higher resolutions when AA/AF are set high. I should be asking you to provide benchmarks at high res w/out those enabled, where the 6600GT SLI loses. I'm tired of this whole thread and topic, though.

Here is just one of the scads of benchmark results on the World Wide Web showing dual 6600GTs spanking an Ultra at UXGA with no AA/AF. Enjoy.
benchie

it's isn't not a oxymoron because you said so . . . both of us have clearly differing opinions.

Budget-minded people don't usually pay premiums for new HW. Clearly there are exceptions and i do see where those who are anxious to get into sli might want dual 6600s since they are not at a premium price and aren't likely to drop that much to justify waiting.

Ok, there are a few instances where CPU limitation allows the sli'd 6600s to pull ahead. Again, most of us prefer AA/AF whenever possible (even at higher resolutions). But i do (finally) see where the 6600GT pair might be attractive to some as i did not realize the 6800Gt was $200 OVERpriced.

Thanks for pointing it out.

___________________________________

edit

Originally posted by: Nyati13

Originally posted by: apoppin


i didn't realize the PCIe version of the 6800GT was carrying a $200 premium over the AGP version.

What i STILL don't get is why you would get the 2nd 6600GT and not wait a bit for for pciE cards to become available

(but then i am not an "early adopter" and a beta tester for premium-priced cutting edge HW)
:roll:

The 6800GTs or Ultras are practically impossible to find, and very overpriced.
I got 2 6600GTs because I wanted to play with the SLI bit. Doubling the fairly low price of a 6600GT isn't such a big deal. Once 6800 Ultras are actually available near MSRP I'll buy 1 of those, and 1 more a couple of months later.

OK, i "get" it now.