SLI, is 2 lesser better than 1 greater?

[Bakato]

I am getting ready to build a new computer as my old one is getting quite ancient, I am looking at one of the dualcore AMDs and I was wondering if I would be better off getting 2 nice graphics cards or 1 really good one with the possibility of adding another down the road when I need it.

So basicaly I am wondering is will 2 $200 cards outperform 1 $400 card and if so is it by enough to make it worth getting them instead of getting the one card and plan to add a second later when the need for more power happens?

[Yawgm0th]

Re: SLI, is 2 lesser better than 1 greater?

I'd say $200 and $400 cards have nothing to do with it.. You're talking about dual 6600GTs vs a single 6800GT, which is more like $160 and $340, respectively, although I've seen GTs go as low as $300 after rebates in PCI-E.

I'd suggest a 6800GT over two 6600GTs. Performance will be very similar, but the overall cost will most likely be lower when using a 6800GT and performance will be higher if anything. It will also be better in terms of longevity than dual 6600GTs. The option to upgrade to a second one isn't really the greatest one, but it's there, and may be worth it when they become mid-range and drop to around $200.

[Bakato]

Re: SLI, is 2 lesser better than 1 greater?

Thanks for the info. With that in mind would I be better off going AGP or PCI-E? For the most part I have heared PCI-E is the way to go it's the future, it's here it's now, if you can afford it it's worth it to be compatible in the future.

However I have a friend who says the PCI-E is mostly Intel directed at this point and with a AMD you won't find much reason to go with it. Is he misinformed?

[Yawgm0th]

Re: SLI, is 2 lesser better than 1 greater?

However I have a friend who says the PCI-E is mostly Intel directed at this point and with a AMD you won't find much reason to go with it. Is he misinformed?

He's way off. There was a point in time in which no AMD motherboards supported AMD, but now it's the standard. When building a new machine that it anything other than a budget desktop, PCI-E is the way to go. For gaming, a socket 939 nForce 4 Ultra (or SLI) board, which will support PCI-E, is the way to go.