nVidia??

Al_Vampyre · Jan 5, 2008, 12:49 PM

On the basis of this what do we all think of the current state of play in the gfx card market?

I'm a little surprised that they have chosen this route and it probably means that my next choice will just be another 8800GTX to SLI with the one I already have. I'm just hoping that AMD can pull off another 9700pro and get the competition back into the gfx card market again.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

CDsDontBurn · Jan 5, 2008, 05:01 PM

Quote:

The 9800 GX2 is said to be at least 30% faster than a 8800 Ultra. While it is not clear from the pictures below, we are told it will support "Quad SLI."

why wouldn't it support 6-way SLI? ie: 3x9800gx2 gfx cards?

Al_Vampyre · Jan 6, 2008, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

why wouldn't it support 6-way SLI? ie: 3x9800gx2 gfx cards?

Mmm....good point, not sure, power considerations maybe?

kris23 · Jan 6, 2008, 04:41 PM

weve already got 1300w to 1600w PSUs lol all 3 cards can be run off of just the excess 600w off 1000w

lol

CDsDontBurn · Jan 6, 2008, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kris23

weve already got 1300w to 1600w PSUs lol all 3 cards can be run off of just the excess 600w off 1000w

lol

1.3Kw to 1.6Kw PSUs IMO would be ineffective. you can only put out so much power over 110v to 120v of your standard home power outlet.

idk what i'm really saying here on that, but i read somewhere that PSUs with extremely high wattages are not very effective.

kris23 · Jan 6, 2008, 09:22 PM

true, but people are crazy enough to build their own home circuits to run these massive things

all you need is a 20A+ breaker, single pole or dual, depending on what is needed

and 12-10AWG to keep good power flowing...... assuming they can use that type of serious wire.....

too bad hardly anyone has 20A outlets in their homes around here..... or has the patience to install the whole mess...... i want some.... but im lazy

Judas · Jan 7, 2008, 12:40 AM

standard 110v (120v) homes run off 15amp breakers... mathamatically..... maximum draw is anywhere form 1500-2000 watts on a single breaker... (some houses are wired in with 20 amp breakers)

I have ran 2x1000 watt UPS, pretty much fully loaded without tripping them... but it doesn't take much more... to make them overload... or cause the breaker to trip..

IMO, I think i'll be waiting at least a full FULL generation before purchasing any form of dual gpu card.... nvidia has issues, and will likely continue to have issues...... meanwhile ati is likely to run into a few obstacles.... both companies of which have previous experience with dual/quad gpu configurations (ATI rage fury maxx2 and nvidia's 3dfx aquired dual/quard Voodoo 5 series )

IMO, i'm hoping tat the R700 will have dual Core GPU's instead of dual gpu's on a single board.. actually i think it would be wise for ati to scrap dual core and jump straight into quad core gpu's.... if they can pack 4 of the HD3870 cores onto one GPU with the nessary updates to meet the requirements of spec of the r700 capabilities.... and then get it fully working in tandom.... i think they'd have a killer on thier hands)

kris23 · Jan 7, 2008, 12:53 AM

they need to completely redesign multi-GPU technologies in order to make them competent as parts of multiple systems....

if they can make a way for the chipset to route data natively to a high number of GPUS in sections, with minimal driver necessities......

that would be niiice.....

Judas · Jan 7, 2008, 01:17 AM

directX10 is saposed to be able to fully operate in multi gpu configurations....

but it's i think programs that need to make better use of it... Standards are NEEDED to be set, and so far it still looks like there is specific coding to be done for both companies which is imo a bad way to run things.

Like AMD or Intel, the graphics hardware needs to have common ground on multiple gpus.... instead of relying on the gpu and drivers to handle the loads more accurate and figure it out on thier own, the programers should start setting up methods and ways in which they can dictate which portions of the sceens and objects each gpu should do work on... not only that, but in the process, they then should be able to make use of physics working as well.

There is only so much a driver can do aside from completely optimising the driver to such an end it's pointless (as you'd be creating even more work in the end beyond reason)...