SLI vs crossfire

[PuluPulu]

I have been planning to get 2 cards for 2 computers, but I want it to be able to be put into the same computer in the future to save some $$.

My problem is that I don't know that much about SLI vs crossfire... any suggestion? Thx in advance.

Which perform better? Or is that determined by the card? Say crossfire radeon 2900 vs 8800gts (320mb or 640 i dont know)

 

[b1gapl]

In my opinion, don't consider SLI unless you plan on playing games with a 30" LCD. Anything smaller than that, and a single 8800GTX or Ultra, can take care of it.

 

[mattsesar]

In my experience, SLi seems to be more important for people who are trying to post big numbers in 3dmark06 than those who are just trying to game. The visual difference between a 12,000 and a 22,000 is (and I say this as a theoretical statement because I've never seen how a 22,000 runs) most likely indistinguishable.

 

[nhlrocker]

I would go with crossfire, ive heard good stuff about it.

 

[mgcook]

as b1gapl said, a single GTX or Ultra will take care of anything on the market..

SLI is for big monitors or people trying to achieve over a 20k 3d06

 

[saltynay]

simple maths to prove the pointlessness of dual cards:
sli = 20-40% performance gain 200% of cost of single card
single overclocked card = 10-30% performance gain for 100% of cos of single card

So you gain a definite 10% extra performance for double the cost of a single card

 

[PuluPulu]

The thing is, I have 2 pc that I need to upgrade. I can't afford $500 on each one of them.

What I plan is now I upgrade them both around [$300~400]x2, then in the future I get another card for upgrade. When I upgrade, the 2 $300ish card can go into the same computer for a cheap upgrade. However, if it is completely inefficient both $$ wise or quality wise, then... =X I guess I would just have to spend another [$300~400]x2 in the future.

 

[maroon1]

Get two 8800GTS 320MB

 

[mgcook]

Get two 8800GTS 320MB

a single GTX would destroy those.

 

[maroon1]

a single GTX would destroy those.

Did you read the first post ?

He wants 2 video cards for two computers