SHV Hardware Question SLI

[brandtryan]

Can someone explain to me what SLI is, and if I dropped another 8800GT 512 into my motherboard, whether it would help with SHV? Does the sim have to be written to be able to take advantage of that, a certain directX version or something?

Nforce 680i motherboard (ha, do I recall a Jane's sim called 680i?? from my youth?? Just made that connection lol)
4gb RAM
Core Duo E6750 @ 2.66 Ghz o'clocked to 3.2 Ghz
Nvidia 8800GT 512mb

Thanks for any input--didn't know whether to put this in tech forum, or as it relates to running SHV.

[Arclight]

Shouldn't be a problem if the PSU is up to it, probably 700-750W or more would be a good choice. Keep in mind that you need an SLI bridge to connect the 2, and your CPU will become the new bottleneck, though that one can certainly hold it's own.

I think the biggest problem is getting another 8800GT for a reasonable price; can still get 2 different modeles here, but they cost ~€160,- (well over $200). Not worth it imho.

*without getting into the tech-babble:

SLI is to allow more than one graphics processing units (GPUs) to share the workload when rendering a 3D scene. Ideally, two identical graphics cards are installed in a motherboard that contains two PCI-Express x16 slots, set up in a master-slave configuration. Both cards are given the same part of the 3D scene to render, but effectively half of the work load is sent to the slave card through a connector called the SLI Bridge. As an example, the master card works on the top half of the scene while the slave card works on the bottom half. When the slave card is done, it sends its output to the master card, which combines the two images to form one and then outputs the final render to the monitor.

Doesn't work with every game, depends on engine, impossible to predict. Play at high resolutions for maximum benefit; playing at low res can actually yield worse performance (so basically a monitor capable of high resolution is a must).

[martes86]

From my Copenhaguen logs:

Asked by Haifisch (24th Flotilla member):
Will SLI (ATI) or Crossfire (nVidia) technologies be implemented into SH5?

Answer by the DevTeam:
They probably won't be implemented, because it would have to be done at the native level [very very complicated stuff].

So, no, I don't think dual-card configurations will be supported, they'll probably work just as a single-card system.

Oh, and it was 688, not 680.

Cheers

[brandtryan]

Thanks Arclight!

I guess I'll wait and see when the sim comes out--to see if others get a benefit. I've got a 700W power supply. Would the SLI Bridge come with the motherboard? With a new card? Or is that seperate?

And if you don't mind--what are the two cards I could choose from? I imagine one is the 8800GT.

[brandtryan]

Thanks Martes--I think that resolves the issue for me! Here's to hoping my rig can go to sea with all the bells and whistles

[Arclight]

Martes has the answer here, could only tell you what SLI is.

Think that bridge needs to be bought seperate; didn't come with my card and aparently didn't come with your board. What I meant by models is brands, can get a XFX or Club3D, but too expensive. Instead of spending 150 on another 8800GT, you could get 2 9800GTX (called GTS250 nowadays) for about 200.

But check your prices first, they're so expensive here because of low supply. Maybe there's a retailer in the US that still has a batch of 8800s they want to get rid of for low prices.

At any rate, imo see how it runs first, take it from there. 8800GT should be enough for most bells&whistles.

[jdkbph]

SLi on the nVidia platform is a driver level thing... nothing to do with how a game is "coded". You can take any game and use a tool like nHancer to create a profile which enables one of the AFR (alternate frame rendering) modes... et voila. SLi.

BTW, with newer releases you don't even have to create a profile yourself... if nVidia doesn't release one, there are a million sites on the web such as guru3d.com where you can find them posted.

JD

[fromhell]

Originally Posted by brandtryan

Can someone explain to me what SLI is, and if I dropped another 8800GT 512 into my motherboard, whether it would help with SHV? Does the sim have to be written to be able to take advantage of that, a certain directX version or something?

Nforce 680i motherboard (ha, do I recall a Jane's sim called 680i?? from my youth?? Just made that connection lol)
4gb RAM
Core Duo E6750 @ 2.66 Ghz o'clocked to 3.2 Ghz
Nvidia 8800GT 512mb

Thanks for any input--didn't know whether to put this in tech forum, or as it relates to running SHV.

it is similar to ATI's crossfire. had this with 2 hd3870 cards @512mb each and thought it was going to be great. it was rubbish and unless the game supported xcrossfire it just kept crashing. after 2 years bought a nvidia gtx295 card and never looked back

I've been running SH3 with 2 650MB GTS8800 in SLI mode for a year or so now. I would reccomend you use SLI Anti-Aliasing 8x and multi-sampling rather than super sampling. Also make sure the "enhance application AA settings is UNCHECKED.

It runs very well on my PC, which is very similar to yours. Make sure you use nHancer and yes, the sli bridge will come with the card. Its ajust a long piece of plastic with a connector on each end that connects the cards to each other.

Cheers, UG

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by fromhell

it was rubbish and unless the game supported xcrossfire it just kept crashing. after 2 years bought a nvidia gtx295 card and never looked back

Games in general aren't the issue if supported or not, more like the hardware that you (in general) have in the P.C.
hence the crashes to desktop, or worse, fried hardware......
Xfire-related issues are linked to ctd's and overheating and ultimately wrecked hardware.

ATI Xfire is well worth it......i am...no issues here
2 ati hd 4870's, 1gb each.....2 monsters, side by side, ALL current games maxed to the hilt.....
just need to be aware before xfiring that all bases are covered, ie. PSU, Mobo, CPU, cooling, Gpu's and monitor capabilities.....
Happy xfiring!