NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX triple-SLI rig benched
By Ryan Block 
posted March 30th 2008 6:14PM
posted March 30th 2008 6:14PM
posted March 30th 2008 6:14PM
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A question, if I'd ever like to go SLI, where does one get the little plate to connect the cards together? Through all the years I bought more or less SLI ready cards, and there wasn't a single sign of this bridge plate in any of the package boxes.
Do you need to buy it separately?
Oddly enough, my GeForce 7300GT is made for SLI, and even that didn't have one of those plates you speak of... my bet is on yeah, certainly! (not sure how much one of those costs, since it's a connector it can't be any more expensive than a simple SATA cable).
I surfed a bit, 'cause I was curious, and the SLI connector comes with SLI ready motherboards, not with the cards - that explains it :). Only the 3 way SLI connector (used in this article) is sold separately.
Yeah, the connectors come with the motherboards- if you need one, but don't have one, you can always buy one as well.
Can It paly Doom what?*@?!Yes!!
We should be asking
"But Can it play crysis....on high?"
benjesuit, its not necessarily useful and its obviously not a need- but people like to purchase what they like to purchase. Are people wasting their money when they buy a 400 dollar iPhones rather than a 50 dollar cheapo player? Maybe its an utter waste and absolutely useless when someone buys a 3000 dollar HDTV rather than a low resolution CRT television?
Let people enjoy want to enjoy. You don't see people criticizing you for your hobbies, and if there are people, well then fuck them- just don't rain on other people's parade. It's their lives and their money, not yours, so how about you screw off?
Even if this doesn't give you the full performance of all 3 cards or takes a small nuclear reactor to power the damned thing, its still their choice, and I personally enjoy this type of thing. Maybe there is no purpose- a lot of people do this JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN.
More idiotic fanboi commentary. I'm not stopping anyone from doing anything. That's silly and undemocratic. There's obviously a market for this. However, I have as much right to lamblaste, ridicule, debase and snicker at those who chose these sort of things as they do to pursue and enjoy them.
Grow up.
Fanboy commentary? You're ridiculous- I know you're not stopping anyone, but that wasn't and never will be the issue- its the fact that you're trolling. You're trying to cause problems, not debate anything or use any logic, you're just trying to get a reaction. If you want to criticize the product or the setup, then by all means, but don't criticize those who do it just because you don't like it.
As a matter of fact, that isn't your right to do so. This isn't America- its the internet, and trolling is against the rules.
You're an utter fool, man.
*shaking head*
Go back and read all I wrote and you will find out that you're so utterly wrong on the notion of trolling on all counts. I used logic a plenty. My argument against is based on reason, economics, social consciousness and basic mathematics.
Like I said, grow up. An adult can tell the difference between trolling and a valid argument against. A fanboi or adolescent can't as they are offended to the core at anything that casts disparagement upon the things which they enjoy without consideration.
All your arguments thus far have been nothing but straw men.
Really, so an adult knows the difference between trolling and valid argument? Are you that blind? You don't even know what trolling is (based on your posts and what you've said), yet you're telling me you know the difference. You don't have a valid argument. You're trying to contest what people do for enjoyment, and in no way has it affected you, yet you still argue that what they spend their money on is a waste.
You don't need to argue mathematics, economy, or any other bullshit of that nature when you're talking about what people like to do.
Like I said, criticize the product/setup all you want. If you think its a waste of money- thats great, thats you, not everyone else.
So far, none of your "arguments" have been valid, because you're arguing a NON-ISSUE. OBVIOUSLY people that buy these things know what they're buying, and they know what they're spending. They don't need people like you trying to tell them how to spend their money or that it's a waste.
Like I said, whatever you like to do, whatever your hobbies are, don't do them, because they're a waste of money and wrong.
"I don't waste money on things which give diminishing performance per dollar. You pay 100%+ (considering additional watts consumed) more for SLI just to get at best 50% more performance for one stupid and poorly programmed game (Crysis) that has limited gameplay repeatability. 1 single 8800GT will play COD4 at 1920x1200 on high with frame rates that exceed 30fps. An ATI Radeon 3870 will do the same.
Because you can install 4 turbochargers instead of two just to shave off .3 secs in a quarter mile doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Expect to get sneered and snickered at for being silly and economically irresponsible.
Yes, it's all relative. But some things are universally extreme."
Alright, I'm not going to defend Zeus directly because he tends to be overly aggressive in his responses to people, but there is a legitimate use for such high-end solutions. It's not just to frivolously gain a few extra FPS. If you own a monitor that is over 1920x1200, ie a 30" monitor, tri/quad sli can make the difference between playable and unplayable at half-decent graphics settings... and a 30" monitor makes a huge difference, not equatable to '.3 seconds in a quarter mile'. Plus you only list 1 game, CoD4. It's as though you're saying that everyone should be content to play CoD4, they shouldn't be able to find Crysis a more complex and enjoyable single player experience.
Anyway, you 'don't waste money on things that give diminished returns per dollar' well that's a flawed statement. Where on the scale do you stop? Everything has diminished returns per dollar! You start off in this world naked and alone, all progress from there has diminished returns.
The statement even more flawed than that one is that "Yes, it's all relative. But some things are universally extreme" That one made me cringe because you use it at the end of your post as though it's the final word... well, 'extreme' is intrinsically a relative term and not universal. EVERYTHING is extreme only relative to something else. Similarly, it can be 'not extreme at all' relative to other things. Two 9800 GX2's or three 9800 GTX's will not forever be extreme, therefore it is not universally 'extreme'.
Once we agree that it's a question of relativity though, I agree that these high-end setups are over the top in expense and energy if we consider the globe's wider problems. In a world of rising food prices with global famine potentially on the horizon, excessive pollution because of reckless use of the energy produced by burning carbon, such comparatively excessive solutions can easily be labelled as a part of the problem. ...... at least until you look at the huge price barrier. The culprits are not the tiny minority that invest in such excess, it's the masses; the billions of single card 8400gt's, 5200FX's, 9200pro's and similar setups. The numbers of those, combined with bad usage habits (leaving the computers on etc) and the factories themselves (coal/petrol burning vs. wind/nuclear/solar) that cause the problems. So there's no point attacking an extreme but ridiculously tiny minority when it's the wider problems that really need addressing.
Anyway, it's sort of green in that with tri or quad sli you can switch off your central heating and cuddle up to your PC for warmth =P
Look, key phrase which you probably too offense to was, "waste money foolishly."
Make the case that it's not a foolish waste of money in order to invalidate my case as well as many other posters who echoed the same thing. Otherwise stop wasting time trying to press the ridiculous notion that including the fact that relative to the additional performance you get versus the amount you pay is trolling.
There was only one trolling comment in this entire section and it was the one which stated "get a life." Everything else is valid commentary.
Learn the difference.
And stop with the incessant straw man arguments and improper equivocation.
No, you were trolling initially, and now have proceeded into petty arguement with no real possible outcome.
The fact that you're trying to (as you have stated before) ridicule and debase those that do buy these (as a hobby) is more than enough proof of your trolling.
You think its a waste of money, right? Great- I'm not arguing that, I think it can be a waste of money as well- however, I'm not being negative about it and trying to press my views on everyone else.
Again, whatever you spend money on, whatever you enjoy- whatever your hobbies are- don't ever spend money on them; don't do it. Someone else must consider it a waste of money.
Come here to discuss it, not argue your point in which no one will take into consideration.
cool
fire hazard!
Am I the only one that misses the good ol' days: when one video card was not only the norm, but it would've been considered over-the-top to even consider buying two/four video cards to get 50%/100% extra performance? The numbers don't add up...except to show that ATI and Nvidia obviously are not innovating enough if they can't make a single slot card that can keep up with gaming today
There are more graphic cards being released than games now.
Shouldn't manufacturers be more concerned with getting drivers and games out that utilize the SLI capabilities? It's like having 16 cores with software designed for 1. The software will run on 1 core... just one awesome core, but still only one.
I find the progress being made in hardware is great, but it's almost going too fast for people to determine how to develop their software. How many cards should they plan on their software utilizing. How many settings should there be in order to accommodate those with one card and those with many. etc... I wouldn't mind seeing the same advancement in software and task distribution as what companies are doing with graphics cards and CPU's
lmfao!!! it couldnt play Crysis at max setting i beat ^_^, it and would take a week to render a 500k poly low light setting mental ray image
@ Ted
The reply function is murder... anyway... you said:
"Alright, I'm not going to defend Zeus directly because he tends to be overly aggressive in his responses to people, but there is a legitimate use for such high-end solutions. It's not just to frivolously gain a few extra FPS. If you own a monitor that is over 1920x1200, ie a 30" monitor, tri/quad sli can make the difference between playable and unplayable at half-decent graphics settings... and a 30" monitor makes a huge difference, not equatable to '.3 seconds in a quarter mile'. Plus you only list 1 game, CoD4. It's as though you're saying that everyone should be content to play CoD4, they shouldn't be able to find Crysis a more complex and enjoyable single player experience."
As to legitimate use for such a solution for a 30" monitor which tends to require a dual DVI input and has a resolution of 2560 x 1600, well sure I suppose. But again, in the grand scope of the computing word, that's the very definition of extreme is it not? If you were to lay out a bell curve of installed base of systems, that monitor size would be at the far right end. Hence, universally extreme.
And yeah, I only listed one game as an example. I picked Crytek's as an example of marketing hype which attempts to justify these outlandish setups.
"Anyway, you 'don't waste money on things that give diminished returns per dollar' well that's a flawed statement. Where on the scale do you stop? Everything has diminished returns per dollar! You start off in this world naked and alone, all progress from there has diminished returns.
The statement even more flawed than that one is that "Yes, it's all relative. But some things are universally extreme" That one made me cringe because you use it at the end of your post as though it's the final word... well, 'extreme' is intrinsically a relative term and not universal. EVERYTHING is extreme only relative to something else. Similarly, it can be 'not extreme at all' relative to other things. Two 9800 GX2's or three 9800 GTX's will not forever be extreme, therefore it is not universally 'extreme'."
Not so friend. Diminishing returns per dollar is a purely economic term in which an additional unit of variable input yields less and less additional output. SLI by its very nature falls into diminishing returns. There's no way to argue around that. Each additional Card yields less of an increase in additional performance. for it not to be so, each additional card would have to yield 100% increase in performance.
"Once we agree that it's a question of relativity though, I agree that these high-end setups are over the top in expense and energy if we consider the globe's wider problems. In a world of rising food prices with global famine potentially on the horizon, excessive pollution because of reckless use of the energy produced by burning carbon, such comparatively excessive solutions can easily be labelled as a part of the problem. ...... at least until you look at the huge price barrier. The culprits are not the tiny minority that invest in such excess, it's the masses; the billions of single card 8400gt's, 5200FX's, 9200pro's and similar setups. The numbers of those, combined with bad usage habits (leaving the computers on etc) and the factories themselves (coal/petrol burning vs. wind/nuclear/solar) that cause the problems. So there's no point attacking an extreme but ridiculously tiny minority when it's the wider problems that really need addressing.
Anyway, it's sort of green in that with tri or quad sli you can switch off your central heating and cuddle up to your PC for warmth =P"
I mostly agree with that. So it's all good.
@ Zeus,
"No, you were trolling initially, and now have proceeded into petty arguement with no real possible outcome.
The fact that you're trying to (as you have stated before) ridicule and debase those that do buy these (as a hobby) is more than enough proof of your trolling."
Again, prove it. You haven't once proved it. I said I have every right to ridicule and debase.Never sai dthat I was trying to ridicule. Not that I had. If I were trying to ridicule someone, I'd pick a target(poster) and call them a fool directly. Like you did from the get go. I said IT (this particular SLI setup) is a foolish waste. I never said that any person is a foolish waste. Did I? Like I said, if anyone rasied objections to this subject, they are invariably raising objections to the economics of it. Just read all the "negative" comments.
"You think its a waste of money, right? Great- I'm not arguing that, I think it can be a waste of money as well- however, I'm not being negative about it and trying to press my views on everyone else."
Press views? Get off it. Everyone who comments is expressing their view. Legislating a view would be pressing a view on everyone else.
"Again, whatever you spend money on, whatever you enjoy- whatever your hobbies are- don't ever spend money on them; don't do it. Someone else must consider it a waste of money.
Come here to discuss it, not argue your point in which no one will take into consideration."
You have to realize that this is senseless. Every comment posted is someone's opinion and position on a matter. And they will argue their view/position/opinion if challenged/questioned/rebuffed. You do it all the time. I read some of your posts.
You're being hypocritical. Perhaps a nerve was struck by calling into question your preference for high end setups?
Like I said before, you really don't seem to know what trolling is.
I think he comes on engadget purely to get into fights... Watch him battle it out in a pointless argument in the reply chain to my comment on this page http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/27/vias-upcoming-isaiah-chip-can-run-crysis/
It's actually kind of amusing to watch him get so worked up...
So seriously, sure he's got a nice clean rig there, but anyone notice he isn't running any audio? He's used any available space for the video cards and it looks so clean because there is nothing else in there. But the results can not be trusted as he isn't running any audio. Oh well, not to say it isn't amaizing though. I can run crysis at full quality and I get about 20-50 fps average on very high and drop to about 5-12 when the ice textures show up. Not sure why that drops it so much, but its fine for me.
intel core 2 quad 6600
2GB ddr2 800
8800 GT in dual SLI
750 watt power supply
audigy 2 platinum external to a 5.1 surround set.