How many users have SLI/Crossfire?

[Stublerone]

Originally Posted by jimbop

Would have been good to see 'How many would get SLI if it worked properly'. It is the cheapest way to upgrade GPU performance for older cards but only if the game correctly scales performance.

No!!!!! Not true. Nothing to do with the scaling in pruority. It could only be a cheap upgrade, if the game you are running is already performing well or at least have all feature supported or the game makes no problem on gpu clock speed and vram usage.

Otherwise using sli has not the wished effect.

And when you think, that in general sli only uses 50% or 70% from the second gpu in average, the costs are not that low. Add the power consumption and the problems, you usually have and a new single card will be the better upgrade.

Sli is a method for enthusiasts or for people with very high resolutions due to triple monitor, for example. To upgrade an insufficient card with an additional insufficient card is not a very genius idea. Sorry, but I always recommend buying a sufficient new card, preferrably a single gpu.

Let us see, what future techniques can change on that. I personally think, that no business related company would grant you a sufficient upgrade with a phased out and cheap card, where tjey do not earn money on! Think about that. Ati and nvidia have no priority to give you such an opportunity. They would like to make money and as long as games are also working closely together with them, they will also do not have this as priority. They recommend some support from the card producer and the give support on sales of new products.

I am going so far to say, that game devs know, how to program a game bad enough to let you buy a new card.

[335th_GRDedalos]

Originally Posted by Stublerone

Sli is a method for enthusiasts or for people with very high resolutions due to triple monitor, for example.

I think that is the first and only reason so far! If you want to have a good time in a triple monitor with a decent FPS you have to have a SLI or XFire configuration (although I think the new 6xx series from nVidia and 7xxx from AMD can do this by a single GPU at least in 3xHD. For 3xfullHD you have to have a GTX690 or so)

To upgrade an insufficient card with an additional insufficient card is not a very genius idea. Sorry, but I always recommend buying a sufficient new card, preferrably a single gpu.

+1

Correct. A new generation of a card is better that two or even 3 of the old ones together.

[Cataplasma]

I have SLI for a 3D hardware too, which is the future, and present, of video games. Luthier posted some 3D images of CLOD (never worked on my nvidia hardware) few months ago...
What a strange marketing strategy...

[Stublerone]

Originally Posted by Cataplasma

I have SLI for a 3D hardware too, which is the future, and present, of video games. Luthier posted some 3D images of CLOD (never worked on my nvidia hardware) few months ago...
What a strange marketing strategy...

I have 3d with one of the currently best and most suffient ways: shutter! It is old technique but the one with the best results, although passive methods are getting better.

Most annoying in my eyes and as long as the viewer cannot focus what he wants on images and the image reacts accordingly by focussing as well, it produces even more unnatural effects for the eyes and causes weird eye behaviour. This is definetly not the future or not the near future. U need some devices tracking where you look at on the image and react in realtime with natural focussing effects, so that the eyes cannot see a difference to real focussing. Just with such techniques, u can get good 3d without damaging your eyes. Better look on a 2d screen, because we are used to it and it causes no weird eye malfuctions or brain malfunctions causing easier epileptic breakouts.

Sorry: n1 effect for sometimes, but decades from being sufficient. That is a gimmick. You will switch off 3d after several sessions. But it looks cool, especially in flying simulators, no doubt. But your eye cannot do what it wants to do: look around and focussing different things in high speeds. You make your eyes even more weird, because your brain simply knows, that there is something going wrong.

[Cataplasma]

everything in a 3D image without depth of field is on focus, you are talking about a convergence problem, or a shutter/framerate problem, wich are different problems.
3D is a quite new ultra-immersive way of playing, that's all about my sentece "3D is the present and the future of videogames". 3D is not a new technology but a technology now widely avaible, because now it's time to make money with it and a lot of people are trying to solve that problems you're talking about.
3D viewing and HDR monitors are definitely the future of gameplay and video enterteinment.

[335th_GRDedalos]

Originally Posted by Cataplasma

everything in a 3D image without depth of field is on focus, you are talking about a convergence problem, or a shutter/framerate problem, wich are different problems.
3D is a quite new ultra-immersive way of playing, that's all about my sentece "3D is the present and the future of videogames". 3D is not a new technology but a technology now widely avaible, because now it's time to make money with it and a lot of people are trying to solve that problems you're talking about.
3D viewing and HDR monitors are definitely the future of gameplay and video enterteinment.

It might be so but we are talking about now. And for the time being it seems that SLI/XFire is needed the most in Hi-Res gaming with multiple monitor setup!

[Klabo]

SLI/XFire support is needed. I haveGTX 280 AMP! in SLI Can play many new games only in SLI (with decent setting) I will be lucky sell this card for $80 each. Single 570 or 660 Ti with 2Gb+ $ 300 +.
95% of games in last 3 years support SLI/XFire So what is The really question? Shout by standard.
-=FA=- Klabo

[zakkandrachoff]

where is the option, " i play clod with on board"???

[Bokononist]

Originally Posted by 335th_GRDedalos

I think that is the first and only reason so far! If you want to have a good time in a triple monitor with a decent FPS you have to have a SLI or XFire configuration (although I think the new 6xx series from nVidia and 7xxx from AMD can do this by a single GPU at least in 3xHD. For 3xfullHD you have to have a GTX690 or so)



+1

Correct. A new generation of a card is better that two or even 3 of the old ones together.

I run two 460's, and can run games that are properly optimized for SLI at damn close to or matching 580 framerates. I bought my first one at full price when it first came out at 200 quid and the second one some time later after the 500 series came out at 115. Consider that to buy a 580 at the time would have cost 500, it's the best value upgrade I ever bought.

[Stublerone]

Originally Posted by Bokononist

I run two 460's, and can run games that are properly optimized for SLI at damn close to or matching 580 framerates. I bought my first one at full price when it first came out at 200 quid and the second one some time later after the 500 series came out at 115. Consider that to buy a 580 at the time would have cost 500, it's the best value upgrade I ever bought.

But will not run with clod, as it potentially needs more ram. And as long you are not able to double vram with sli, such games will run bad. The sli needs development, and that is simply not the future for business, as they do not earn money in supporting it -> So is also the gamedeveloper. If they would like to get sufficient cooperation with the card manufacturer, they are also involved in that method. So, if I would have the goal to maximize my win situation and the income, I would be dumb to actively support selling old trash and let it produce longer than necessary. The business looks like this, even stronger in such a fast developing technology sector. The card lifetime is calculated to be produced for a certain period. Afterwards the card gets a non focussed object and is obsolete.

Perhaps we soon see that also in the lifetime, which will be designed to break after some years or a certain amount of hours. Mobile phones are already designed in that direction. They will break after 3 or 4 years. That is business.

Concerning 3d: Okay I know, what you want to say. Infinite depth without focus is used in 3d games. In films you often have to follow the focus of the producer and other scenes behind it are washed out. Both, infinite and producer customized depth and focus, are not sufficient and natural methods to solve the problem. The eye simply behaves other ways. In infinite depth, your eye can look on all details, bit the surrounding do not get washed oit or out of focus. That is the same problem, only vice versa. And all the lies, which your eye needs to manage, is so high, that it is a very big problem.

I talked to some specialists from frauenhofer institute and they also introduced technology like eye tracking and and eye focus tracking, but this is decades away and still not working sufficient, because our eye is so damn fast. So, simply gimmick for the next 10 or 20 years. Fact!