Video Card Lovers Rejoice: Sli Has Returned!
DOOManiac
Worst. Critic. Ever. Join Date: 2002-04-17 Member: 462Members, NS1 Playtester
Worst. Critic. Ever. Join Date: 2002-04-17 Member: 462Members, NS1 Playtester
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">wallets beware!</div>With the advent of PCI Express, <a href='http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjMz' target='_blank'>SLI is back</a>!!!
For the nubs who weren't around for those old school days:
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->SLI (Scan Line Interleaving) created by 3dfx six years ago was all about pure performance and higher resolutions. Back in those days whoever had the fastest graphics solution won. The idea was that if you could add multiple 3D accelerators in one system you could speed up 3D rendering on that PC. 3dfx conquered this challenge by creating SLI or Scan Line Interleaving technology. SLI technology from 3dfx worked by having one card render the even number of lines on the screen while the other card worked on the odd number of lines. This basically "doubled" frame rate performance and allowed resolutions up to 1024x768.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yes, that is right, you buy TWO of those $500 video cards, and yes it is expensive, but you will get the absolute fastest most OMG fps available!
Hooray!
(Now if only I had $1000 laying around)
For the nubs who weren't around for those old school days:
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->SLI (Scan Line Interleaving) created by 3dfx six years ago was all about pure performance and higher resolutions. Back in those days whoever had the fastest graphics solution won. The idea was that if you could add multiple 3D accelerators in one system you could speed up 3D rendering on that PC. 3dfx conquered this challenge by creating SLI or Scan Line Interleaving technology. SLI technology from 3dfx worked by having one card render the even number of lines on the screen while the other card worked on the odd number of lines. This basically "doubled" frame rate performance and allowed resolutions up to 1024x768.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yes, that is right, you buy TWO of those $500 video cards, and yes it is expensive, but you will get the absolute fastest most OMG fps available!
Hooray!
(Now if only I had $1000 laying around)
Comments
Unfortunately, no. You'd be able to do multimonitors (for supported games) that way, but not SLI to speed up rendering on one monitor. SLI on cards such as 3DFX's Voodoo2 required a ribbon cable similar to those used for hard drives to be connected from one video card to the other, in addition to the regular connection each card had to the motherboard. Modern SLI will very likely require a similar cable arrangement, and no ATI card I know of even has the plug for it, much less driver support.
Indeed. Since they bought up all of 3Dfx's IP they have all the magic and wizardry to accomplish this.
Personally, I think this is a very fine double edged sword. On one hand, if NVidia keeps up with ATI in kickass performance in a single card configuration like they do w/ the Geforce 6, then this will be absolutely cake for those that can afford it. On the other hand, I hope NVidia does not get lazy like 3Dfx did and start to depend on customers going in an SLI configuration just to only slightly outpace the competition...
Get a Mac. Hardware OpenGL compositing of everything - be it 3D, 2D, video, or whatever. It can scale windows, distort them, fling 'em around - with the contents updated in real time.
And in the upcoming Mac OS X Tiger (dribble), you get all that <a href='http://www.apple.com/macosx/tiger/core.html' target='_blank'>with shaders as well</a>...
Okay, there won't be any actual <i>games</i> to play, but your desktop will look utterly awesome. <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' /><!--endemo-->
holographics man, where have you been?
too bad you can't get graphic cards from suprnova >_>
holographics man, where have you been?
too bad you can't get graphic cards from suprnova >_> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
OGM I DOWNLAWDS TEH NEW GRAPHIX CAWERD FAWR MAI XBAWKS!
Oh how I love inside jokes from the somewhat old days of the NS forums.
holographics man, where have you been?
too bad you can't get graphic cards from suprnova >_> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
?_?
Do I really have to answer that?
<!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif' /><!--endemo-->
(makes sound of a duel outboard motor)
<a href='http://www.alienware.com/alx_pages/main_content.asp' target='_blank'>Clicky</a>
Theres more info out there somewhere including some benchmarking results, that showed about a 50% performence increase, i'll post them up later, But i'm sure you can google for them anyway.
Hopefully they'll realize that they've driven the company into the same outhouse, and will pull up short before they go under as well. After all.. if nVidia wasn't there, ATi card prices would go through the roof. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Hopefully they'll realize that they've driven the company into the same outhouse, and will pull up short before they go under as well. After all.. if nVidia wasn't there, ATi card prices would go through the roof. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Hmm...so if history really were to repeat itself (as it often seems to), this would mean:
Step 1: nVidia goes under
Step 2: ATI buys it out
Step 3: Matrox comes out of nowhere and suddenly makes good cards again, and the two compete normally until ATI proceeds to do Step 1
Hopefully they'll realize that they've driven the company into the same outhouse, and will pull up short before they go under as well. After all.. if nVidia wasn't there, ATi card prices would go through the roof. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--><!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I would have to disagree with you there. I am by no means a fanboy.. but in my opinion ever since the nv3x "hickup" they've been doing everything right.
Have a read of <a href='http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=2097' target='_blank'>http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=2097</a> What I find most exciting is the bit at the end, nvidia quote 1.87x performance increase over a single card. Also, there is the possibility of them making each generation backwards compatible, so you'd be able to bolt on additional speed for "free". Would make upgrading so much nicer <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Shouldn't they have the one in the back facing outward? Seems like having the fan blocked by the front card would make it get really hot.
Shouldn't they have the one in the back facing outward? Seems like having the fan blocked by the front card would make it get really hot. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ya, I was gonna say something involving the frying of eggs and what not, but you beat me too it.
Aww, the voice of reason and logic just killed all the fun. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Can you breathe?
Aww, the voice of reason and logic just killed all the fun. <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
And add in the cost of a new mobo/case/powersupply to FIT 2 massive power-hog noisemaker cards... thats a very expensive video upgrade.
/me agrees with Talesin