Upgrade to SLI

[Remorsed]

If I upgrade to SLI, which computer parts would I also need to upgrade. Since I've seen many SLI-ready parts such as RAM. Wondering if I could still use my current RAM but change the motherboard + add another 8600 GT. Or get 2 8800 GT/GTX.

[Suzuka]

you can use whatever ram you have as long as your new motherboard accepts the same frequency. and one 8600gt can run crysis already according to my friend, so buying two whole 8800's aren't necessary at all. so unless i really had that THAT MUCH money to blow on a system, i'd be cheap and just get one more 8600gt. as for the ram, i didn't know about that until just recently, but i don't see it as being such a huge necessity, yet at the same time i don't even know which ones are SLi capable.. so i can't help you there.

what motherboard are you thinking about getting?

[Remorsed]

I'm thinking of getting the nForce 780i SLI. I'm trying to upgrade all this within a minimum of 600$, not including the video cards, just the motherboard alone + other crap if the RAM needs to be SLI ready, Etc.

[Hotshot]

it possible in a way if u know where u get the parts at

[Mr.Lucifer]

9800GTX = Cheaper than 8800gtx and about same performance.

Also just a little bit more expensive than 8800gt.

[PlatanoStyle]

Originally Posted by Mr.Lucifer

9800GTX = Cheaper than 8800gtx and about same performance.

Also just a little bit more expensive than 8800gt.

he right

[Remorsed]

Originally Posted by Mr.Lucifer

9800GTX = Cheaper than 8800gtx and about same performance.

Also just a little bit more expensive than 8800gt.

But it doesn't require a SLI motherboard does it? If I could just get the 9800 GTX and replace it with my 8600 GT without buying a new motherboard just for SLI, would save a lot of money.

[Mr.Lucifer]

Originally Posted by Remorsed

But it doesn't require a SLI motherboard does it? If I could just get the 9800 GTX and replace it with my 8600 GT without buying a new motherboard just for SLI, would save a lot of money.

A single 9800GTX does not require a SLI motherboard.

[Abstract]

Originally Posted by Remorsed

I'm thinking of getting the nForce 780i SLI. I'm trying to upgrade all this within a minimum of 600$, not including the video cards, just the motherboard alone + other crap if the RAM needs to be SLI ready, Etc.

i did this and it came to about 5 bills

[Unisane]

8800gtx still best card out

sli 2 8800gtx's and you are good for about another 5 years (my estimation) without any need of upgrading

[Suzuka]

$600 minimum eh? the i780 is definitely a nice board, but if you have the money and want to future-proof it, you can bump up to the i790: that'll support the higher fsb/ram frequencies with THREE pci express 2.0 slots (if you were ever deciding on steroiding up your computer haha)

as for the cards, none of them require SLi. it's only there if you ever decide to get another one of the same card (you can't have two different cards like ati, since they render images differently)

if you want to save money, another 8600gt will do you good for a few more years, two 8800's will be good for another half a decade or so.. as long as they don't come out with anything outrageous in the next few years. it's gonna cost a lot more if you get sli, just depends on how smooth you want your games to be/how long you want it to last (but how long it lasts is only an assumption, which is why i'd just get another 8600gt for the meantime)

the 9800 that some people were suggesting is damn good, but expensive and requires quite a bit of juice (600 Watt Power Supply (with 28A on the +12V Rail)) if you have the money for the 9800, it's definitely much stronger than two 8600gt's. Micro Center Online - e-GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB GDDR3 PCIe 2.0 Graphics Card damn, $600... lol

edit: forgot to say that getting that 9800 card is basically getting 2 video cards already.

[Remorsed]

Originally Posted by Suzuka

$600 minimum eh? the i780 is definitely a nice board, but if you have the money and want to future-proof it, you can bump up to the i790: that'll support the higher fsb/ram frequencies with THREE pci express 2.0 slots (if you were ever deciding on steroiding up your computer haha)

as for the cards, none of them require SLi. it's only there if you ever decide to get another one of the same card (you can't have two different cards like ati, since they render images differently)

if you want to save money, another 8600gt will do you good for a few more years, two 8800's will be good for another half a decade or so.. as long as they don't come out with anything outrageous in the next few years. it's gonna cost a lot more if you get sli, just depends on how smooth you want your games to be/how long you want it to last (but how long it lasts is only an assumption, which is why i'd just get another 8600gt for the meantime)

the 9800 that some people were suggesting is damn good, but expensive and requires quite a bit of juice (600 Watt Power Supply (with 28A on the +12V Rail)) if you have the money for the 9800, it's definitely much stronger than two 8600gt's. Micro Center Online - e-GeForce 9800 GX2 1024MB GDDR3 PCIe 2.0 Graphics Card damn, $600... lol
an
edit: forgot to say that getting that 9800 card is basically getting 2 video cards already.

That's the x2, I'm just planning to get ONE Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX. But I can also get the nForce 790i Motherboard and another 8600 GT, but I hope that'll come up to around 600$.

So either SLI 790i + 8600 GT
or just One Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX.

[Suzuka]

there's really no reason to get a new powerhouse gpu atm, two 8600gt's will do you good, while you also build up ready for even newer future powerhouse cards with the tri-sli i790 board. i don't know exactly which 8600gt card you have, (since there are quite a few brands and memory size differences and what not) but i suppose that should bring you close to $500, unless you find a good deal somewhere. i wouldn't get the 9800 gtx simply because you don't need it, plus i believe it's better money spent to get the motherboard for better equipment all around in the future, whether it's a new cpu, gpu or even ram.

[Mr.Lucifer]

Originally Posted by Unisane

8800gtx still best card out

sli 2 8800gtx's and you are good for about another 5 years (my estimation) without any need of upgrading

No. New generations are coming. Plus, 8800GTX are beat by 3870 X2, 9800GTX and 9800GX2, and 8800 ultra if you count that in. I would buy a 9800GTX/8800GTS 512 MB and instead upgrade to 9900GTX with the GT200 core which will come out in summer.

Edit: I noticed someone were talking about 9800 GX2. 9800 GX2 is basically two 8800GTS' (512mb version) slapped together. 8800 GTS 512 MB is almost as good as 8800GTX, two of them is way better. According to newegg.com you get:

9800GX2 @ $529.99
9800GTX @ $289.99
8800GT 512MB @ $174.99
8800GTS 512MB (G92) @ $219.99

If you are willing to go SLI you might want to invest in 2x GTS' instead. It costs less. The bad part is that you need to get a mobo supporting it and some games might not work as good on normal SLI as fabric SLI.

If I could get that low prices I would get the 9800 GX2 ez. The prices are so high that 8800GTS costs like 400$ and 9800GX2 costs at least 800$.

[Mr.Lucifer]

Originally Posted by Remorsed

That's the x2, I'm just planning to get ONE Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX. But I can also get the nForce 790i Motherboard and another 8600 GT, but I hope that'll come up to around 600$.

So either SLI 790i + 8600 GT
or just One Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTX.

9800 GTX is better. Plus, you will be sure that all games work well with it. There are still some games with SLI problems.