8800m gtx single vs. SLI.

how much better would sli be for this card?

 

40-50% better, but you have to find games that actually support SLI, and there aren't all that many.

 

For the current games though I hear the SLI isn't that much better, considering the huge price spike. I mean it's personally your choice, in the end it will be better, but for right now it's great if you have a 8800m gtx single.

 

thanks guys i was just looks at a benchmarks chart on this sight of 3d mark 06 ( i think but i might be wrong). i saw a single 7950 gtx got a rating of around 5,000 while dual got 7,500.

 

yeah, sad thing eh? Two graphic cards, only 50% performance increase

 

8th series SLI Geforces can score almost twice as a single card(8600M Gt 3000-6000, 8700M GT 4000-8000.)

 

Take SLi if you have the cash to spend and the games which actually support it properly. Otherwise most of the time only one of the cards will be utilised during games.

 

That's if the game supports SLI, otherwise you won't see much of a difference.

In synthetic benchmarks, but not in in-game tests. You won't get more than a 50% increase in real world tests.

Also, SLI is most effective at high resolutions. At lower resolutions, it doesn't really do anything.

 

Every game can utilize SLI or do utilize it. But some games worse than others of course. Go with SLI instead if you want to play in extreme resolutions and with lots of AA and AF.

 

So a game where the performance drops using 2 cards or locks-up in SLi would "under-utilizing SLi" rather than not working?

 

SLi has come a long way. The performance gains are noticeable, 50%+ is common in virtually any modern game. It's harder to find extensive reviews for laptop SLi but for desktops it's very simple (checkout www.firingsquad.com and you can see 2 new 9600's in SLi). SLi isn't for budget gamers, it's for having the best that's out and you bleed for bleeding edge technology.

Also 3dmark is not some "synthetic" benchmark. It's just like any other game benchmark. It's based on a 3d engine just like crysis or UT3 or COD4. It's a fairly good indicator, no better or worse than comparing video cards using only a single game. 3dmark is just simple and easy to use and delivers a quantifiable result, unlike trying to run a demo and using a secondary program like FRAPS to score it.

To the OP...there is considerable gain, but IMO the cost in size, money, heat, and portability far outweigh the gains.

 

Uneral Engine 3 gives me 0 FPS in SLI and thats considered Modern gaming, in COD4 i get 5 FPS (from 50 to 55) still not worth it

 

Haha

3DMark is nice for comparing cards, but honestly, ONLY the real world tests (actual games) matter. Who cares if SLI scores twice as high in 3DMark compared to a single card if in games SLI only provides up to a 50% increase? Don't get me wrong, 3DMark has its usefulness as do other benchmarks, but what really matters is how the cards perform in games, not synthetic benchmarks.

 

These guys say 9100 for 8800m GTX.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-8800M-GTS.6934.0.html

 

for oblivion SLi gives me 7 extra frames, on a lucky day...(both interior and exterior). definitely no where near 50% increase, and oblivion is one of the most graphic intense games out.