Gaming nVidia SLI

[Deleted User]

Is it possible to use a Scalable Link Interface, or SLI between a nVidia GeForce 6600 card and a 8500? As far as I am aware, they are both SLI capable, but are they compatible with each other?

 

[Jiggah]

No.

 

[Deleted User]

Seriously?

 

[juggernaut911]

Seriously?

SRYSLY.

Must be same model (8800GT with 8800GT). Brand doesn't matter as far as I know.

 

[demon33]

^^
+1

Must be of the same serie

ciao

 

[Scorpei]

^^
+1

Must be of the same serie

ciao

Unless you have a hydra chip on your motherboard, they have to actually be the exact same GPU core.

 

[FAST6191]

Personally I am in the SLI is way overrated camp and even if you ignore performance (or lack thereof) the hassle it causes is not worth the effort. If you want confirmation check the driver changelogs; almost invariably a good amount of fixes will be for SLI and they will be of the "game crashes regardless" variety rather than a bit of slowdown.
Instead enjoy having a bunch of screens (with http://www.kegetys.net/SoftTH/ if necessary).

 

[Velveteer]

Yes, the cards need to be the same model and should really have the same memory size. Crossfire is a little more lenient, with ATI cards, but it doesn't scale (get close to 2x performance) as well.

If you already have a card, then a new one can be a good upgrade path, but when buying new, just get a single card. That said, if you want nVidia Surround, then you WILL NEED 2 cards, unless you have a special GT 295, as you need 3 ports.

Scorpei, the Hydra chips are shit and present such big overheads, they're not worth the hassle AT ALL.

 

[Deleted User]

I currently have a 6600GT SLI System. So if I got a 6800GT and stuck it in SLI (2-way, replacing the 6600GT), it wouldn't work, but if I had 2x 6600GTs in the same 2-Way SLI system, it would work...

 

[myuusmeow]

I currently have a 6600GT SLI System. So if I got a 6800GT and stuck it in SLI (2-way, replacing the 6600GT), it wouldn't work, but if I had 2x 6600GTs in the same 2-Way SLI system, it would work...

That would work, but I wouldn't bother. Those cards are ancient now. You could probably get a 9800GTX+ or GTS 250 for under $75 and get much better performance. The new GTX 460 is at only $200 so that will probably drive the prices of the rest of GPUs down too.