Nvidia, anyone?

[PA_Willy]

Originally Posted by Flyby

seems inefficient. I wonder if SoW will benefit from a single card with 2mb of ram versus two separate cards with 1mb each? I'd better read up on how SLi and Crossfire work. maybe the ram is shared as in a series circuit?
FLyby out

VRAM is not shared. Each GPU needs its own VRAM to load information. In SLI and CF, you get two GPU (doubled computing power). That's the advantage.

There are two ways to work:

- SFR (split frame rendering): Each GPU renders half frame (frame generated in half time than with one only GPU).

- AFR (alternate frame rendering): Each GPU renders a frame, and the next is being rendering by the other GPU (you get 2 frames in same time you got one only frame with one GPU).

In both ways, each GPU needs its VRAM to read/write and generate the new frame.

Of course, all is in theory. You don't get double of frames with SLI/CF. But in some games with decent drivers you can get upto 80% more (usually, the figure is near to 40-50% more).

I have got two dual GPU systems (SLI, Nvidia).

[Flanker35M]

S!

Waiting for the updated 2Gb 5870HD, later CrossFire when SoW is released Was interesting to read that the 5850HD in CrossFire beat the crap out of both 480GTX and ATI 5970HD! And the XFire setup costs about the same as one 5970/480GTX, uses less power than either of them and runs cooler too..huh! Interesting times!

[JG27CaptStubing]

Yeah cearly Nvidia missed the boat on this one... Their DX 11 part comes out six months after ATI launched their card. To boot it requires a ton of voltage it runs very hot and it's marginally faster than the 5870.

The only thing that has me interested at this point is the fact Nvidia supports 3d gaming much better. I tested in it out on a buddies rig and it has a lot of potential for games especially if SOW supports it. I had a chance to use it with FSX and wow it really adds to a game.

Meanwhile it looks like I will have to wait for a refresh from Nvidia. This round is a loss.

[Flyby]

thanks for the tech info, PA_Willy. I must admit I haven't really been a fan of either Crossfire or SLi because of the low return on the investment for the sims I like (having read the reports of others who have tried two video cards and not been satisfied with the scaling in sims like IL2 and LockOn).

Still, 40% improvement might be acceptable if one were to see that in SoW using two 5850s in Crossfire as Flanker35M suggested. The cost of that setup might be worthwhile!

Captn_Stubbing, I agree with you about Nvidia. The what-ifs are something to dream for: a 512bit bus, lower power consumption, and lower heat signatures. That would have made it a killer single-GPU card, far and away better than the 5870. But it just wasn't so. Maybe next time. Meanwhile I'm reading that ATI/AMD is in no hurry to lower the prices of their top 5xxxx series. They are just waiting to see how the demand for Nvidia's new cards come to pass. I imagine if that demand is underwhelming then people won't get much of a price break from ATI. I was looking forward to some friendly competition making the 5870 more affordable for me.
Flyby out

[Flanker35M]

S!

Some healthy competition would do good for the industry. Seems that these 2 rivals are too concentrated on their "GPU crown hunt" that the average buyer is left out. What use is of any kind of technical gimmick or feature if the average joe can not afford nor get their hands on these new cards?

I could get a 5870HD here for less than 400€ and the estimated price for 480GTX for example is 500-600€, in the range of the 5970HD. Add to this I would have to buy a new GOOD and quality PSU for the Fermi, talking about 100€ or even more and possibly a new case with wind tunnel built in for 200€..hmm..not very appealing for me for the meager FPS gain I would get. Not everyone has the money tree growing in the backyard

[Flyby]

Flanker35M, I read you loud and clear. If I narrow my GPU focus to SoW, as I assume many here will do, I am always wondering how much GPU will be required. Many have asked Oleg this question. One day we will know the answer. For the sake of the many I hope something no more powerful than the 5850 is required to render it in all it's Glory. I'm sure that card is more agreeable to many more budgets than the 5870 or the GTX480. Further still, I'm hopeful SoW scales well enough to played satisfactorily on much lesser cards. I personally prefer a card that supports DX11, though I am not sure that DX11 will be a huge factor in SoW, at least not in the sort run of that graphics engine. (who knows? Maybe by the time SoW_Korea or SoW_VietNam DX11 will finally dazzle our socks off.) ATI has several less powerful DX11-capable cards. Time will reveal Nvidia's competitive reply. Let's hope so
Flyby out

[Thunderbolt56]

Higher power consumption wouldn't be an issue for me if the performance payoffs were there. The wacky temps? a definite no go for me. It's already hot enough here in Florida.

Hopefully a refresh will bring the temps down a bit and make all the other stuff (i.e. power consumption, Vram frequency and overall performance) better as well (Just like G92 did for G80).

Even with the somewhat lateral performance comparison with the 5870, I'd take the NV offering if those other things weren't there.