two cheap cards in SLI or one good one?

[DrAwesomePhD]

Hi,

 

I've been out of the scene for a while but am now looking at upgrading my system to full 64 bit, which means an overhaul of graphics card. The whole idea of SLI is after my last upgrade (its been a while )...

 

Basically, wondering, what is better, 2 $150 graphics cards in SLI or a $300 graphics card? Looks like the $150 graphics cards dont look half bad ... and the $300 your paying premiums for latest and greatest.

[hardnrg]

my 7800GT SLI is about the same as a single 8800GTS

[DrAwesomePhD]

but what about the directx10 hardware compatability... i dont plan on upgrading my card for another 4-5years

[jammin]

If you are going SLi, anything less than the 8800 series at the moment generally isn't worth it from what I've seen.

 

SLi is about improving performance at the top end rather than giving you the same performance for less money.

So yes, I'd be pretty confident in saying in most cases 2 $150 cards aren't going to match a single $300 card.

[Verran]

One high end card.

 

It's an age-old question. One high-end card gives you the capability to upgrade if you want to, will generally create less heat, require less power, and is easier to set up. On top of that, with things the way they are right now, a high-end card will do DX10, and two low ones will not. If you don't plan to upgrade for a long time, then I'd think that makes the choice pretty simple.

[DrAwesomePhD]

thanks guys. quick and simple.

[coolcat97]

And, you'll save unneeded heat by using only one card.