SLI pro's cons

[chipper]

ok so it kinda got brought up in another topic and i didnt want it to get off that topic so ill start a new one

im getting a 8800GTS 512 G92 core and also in the next couple of months a 22" monitor

now i hear alot of arguments sayin sli is not really worth it unless you are running high resolutions im wondering if 22" comes under that

im askin this cos im torn on motherboards the p35 is a great chipset but it only supports crossfire and the nvidia ones are pricey at even low end

its been a long time since ive had a good computer im still runnin a athlon 2400+ and a 6800 GS and i want to make sure i have a good system thats future proof (for whatever thats worth these days) ive seen some benchmarks for the 8800GTS in sli and its very good and for £150 quid for another card its not a huge problem

so to stop babbling it basically comes down to what chipset do i go for

 

[inactionman]

SLI is only worth it for 24"+ in Crysis. A 8800GTS (I suggest you buy a pre-overclocked one like those from BFG, which makes it basically a cheaper 9800GTX) will do 22" no problems.

Overclocking on Nvidia mobo's is crap, as the north bridge has problems with high FSB's, which isn't the case on the good intel chipsets (P35 up).

 

[Kryten]

Nail on head already.
SLI's biggest negative is having to use an nVidia motherboard. And they're not exactly fantastic. They're not *bad* to extent, but not good either.

 

[Raven]

SLI is only worth it for 24"+ in Crysis. A 8800GTS (I suggest you buy a pre-overclocked one like those from BFG, which makes it basically a cheaper 9800GTX) will do 22" no problems.

Couldn't agree more

 

[Jonty]

Hi chipper

As the others have said, don't worry about SLI. The main benefit is running games at very high resolutions (1920x1200, 2560x1600 etc.). 22" monitors are mostly 1680x1050, so the benefit would be minimal. You can use SLI to increase image quality (e.g. very-high antialiasing), but this isn't a stellar improvement, nor will it work in every game.

Even though nothing's future proof, the 8800 GTS should last a while, and it will certainly be a step up from your last system. That combined with a P35-based motherboard (or X38 if you need more enthusiast options) should make a nice system. Note that the 9800 GTX is now out, and you may be able to get a stock version for a similar price to an overclocked 8800 GTS, and the 9900 series will also be out around July.

Kind regards

Jonty

P.S. Although we're focusing on SLI, ATI/AMD's Crossfire has largely the same advantages and disadvantages.