Does anyone know if two 8800GTS's in SLI could equal or come real close to the perfomance of a single 8800GTX or possibly a Ultra? I can't find a article anywhere for this.

Here's what you're looking for. Short answer is yes.

2x8800GTS VS 1x8800GTX
HWbot.org - Compare Hardware

thats the 640mb, the 320 will do just fine as well

HWbot.org - Compare Hardware

I like the hwbot compare feature!

the actually truth it the ultra only steals two benchmarks from the dual 320's

HWbot.org - Compare Hardware

Yeah they will. But even though SLi was launched two years ago some games still don't support it - take for example Need For Speed Carbon. And then you add buggy drivers...if you're considering purchase, IMO, it would be better to buy one 8800GTX. I had a good think about this a couple of months ago when I was considering the replacement for my X1950 Pro....2x8600GTSs or 1x8800GTS....in the end I went with the option that was the least hassle.

Quote: Yeah they will. But even though SLi was launched two years ago some games still don't support it

Thanks y'all. That is a good point, reflux. I never really thought about SLi support among games. With an Ultra, the scores do come close in 3dMark 06. I could get one 8800 Ultra for the price of two high-clocked GTS 640s and save on power becasue I figured out there's no doubled wattage.

Out of thought, SLi support isn't that bad is it? I mean, games made right now should support it.

Yeah. There are a few exceptions but they're becoming rarer. Still it would be much more sensible to go with 1 8800Ultra. It's much more overclockable and down the road you can add in another one quite easily.

Sounds good to me, i didn't think of SLI support in game either, hell i thought it just worked like back in the day when you had a graphics card and then plugged it into a graphics accelerator. I don't even know how that works but I had that setup in my first machine.
I think ill just order an XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra Extreme from tiger and call it good.
After all if you want SLI you can just add another one later.

Need For Speed: Carbon is the only recent major title I can think of that doesn't support SLi, but I think that's because its based on the Need For Speed Underground engine which must be about 5 years old. Oh, and did I mention, SLi doesn't support a multimonitor setup?

Support is growing as the technology becomes more refined, but it's pretty clear to me that its more of a marketing checkbox feature for nVidia than something they genuinely care about. No need for the hassle from my POV.

Yeah go on Spatha, get an 8800 Ultra
In fact, you and Raydub should both get one.

EDIT: Make sure your PSUs have teh ub3r skillZ0rz though, those cards require some serious juice.

I'm going to follow your advice Reflux, thanks man. Spatha, I've also kept my eye on a XFX card.

XFX PVT80USHE9 GeForce 8800Ultra 768MB

I'm just off the find the PSU now.

Quote: Originally Posted by raydub I'm going to follow your advice Reflux, thanks man. I'm just off the find the PSU now.

No problem Need any PSU advice?

What i hat is theirs like 5 that named dam near the same thing
XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra
XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra XXX
XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra Extreme

I'm leaning twords the 8800 Ultra XXX but i want the best one. I'm assuming they all support vista, even though i don't want to change but if direct x 10 is only Vista

Quote: Originally Posted by reflux No problem Need any PSU advice?

Sure, I can use some. I found this article thing yesterday, and it really helped me out. Turns out you dont need a 1KW PSU for most setups (according to this guy). Tell me what you think.

How much PSU power do you REALLY need?

Quote: Originally Posted by spatha I'm leaning twords the 8800 Ultra XXX but i want the best one. I'm assuming they all support vista, even though i don't want to change but if direct x 10 is only Vista

Spatha, I'm just gonna get the EXTREME and buy like a 20" regular or widescreen monitor and be done. 20s have a nice resolution.

EDIT: Yup, all the 8 series supports Vista.

Well now that your on PSU as a topic.... I have herd enough flaming on ultra's gear that I'm think i may just forget they exist. As far as my PSU go's I got this baby sitting at home in the box just waiting to perrr. PC Power & Cooling. I hope thats sufficient. But I have been leaning twords one of thease, Thermaltake VGA-Dedicated PSU, I think it might not be a bad idea to have a power supply just for the graphics cards. Is their a better manufacturer then Thermaltake (i don't know how good they are) also dose it matter if your main power supply supports sli or not if have a VGA Dedicated PSU

On a side note can i use the VGA Dedicated PSU to power a water pump and other components instead?

I'd skip the VGA power supply. That PC Power and Cooling is one of the best on the market and can easily handle your graphics cards without any problem at all. And I'd be wary of trusting almost a grand of graphics cards to a thermaltake power supply.

Quote: Originally Posted by eascarface I'd skip the VGA power supply. That PC Power and Cooling is one of the best on the market and can easily handle your graphics cards without any problem at all. And I'd be wary of trusting almost a grand of graphics cards to a thermaltake power supply.

True. PCP&C is one of the best. I like Cooler Master's Real Power line of PSUs also. I think Thermaltake has the best modualar cabling system though.

Quote: Originally Posted by Spatha Well now that your on PSU as a topic.... I have herd enough flaming on ultra's gear that I'm think i may just forget they exist. As far as my PSU go's I got this baby sitting at home in the box just waiting to perrr. PC Power & Cooling. I hope thats sufficient. But I have been leaning twords one of thease, Thermaltake VGA-Dedicated PSU, I think it might not be a bad idea to have a power supply just for the graphics cards. Is their a better manufacturer then Thermaltake (i don't know how good they are) also dose it matter if your main power supply supports sli or not if have a VGA Dedicated PSU On a side note can i use the VGA Dedicated PSU to power a water pump and other components instead?

How many watts are you looking for?

Quote: Originally Posted by raydub How many watts are you looking for?

Actually i wasnt sure about watts. 1k im sure would be fine
Quad core overclocked
2-5 hard drives (depends on dual boot OS or not, XP-Vista)
audio card
mobo
XFX 8800 Ultra XXX sli eventually may even overclock
DL-DVD RW drive Blue-Ray Burner possible
eventually 8 Gigs of Crucial 800 MHz Ballistics ram
the basics essuntualy
I always go with a little elbow room in my CPUs so I have expendability.
The PSU i have was originally intended for my 10 TB machine Im building but if need be i can get another.
I was looking at a separate PSU for the GPU because i figured giving them their own was a good idea because they are quite carnivorous when it comes to juice. Andi I figured it would make them safer and more stable. Just seemed like a good idea.

Quote: Originally Posted by Spatha Actually i wasnt sure about watts. 1k im sure would be fine Quad core overclocked 2-5 hard drives (depends on dual boot OS or not, XP-Vista) audio card mobo XFX 8800 Ultra XXX sli eventually may even overclock DL-DVD RW drive Blue-Ray Burner possible eventually 8 Gigs of Crucial 800 MHz Ballistics ram the basics essuntualy I always go with a little elbow room in my CPUs so I have expendability. The PSU i have was originally intended for my 10 TB machine Im building but if need be i can get another. I was looking at a separate PSU for the GPU because i figured giving them their own was a good idea because they are quite carnivorous when it comes to juice. Andi I figured it would make them safer and more stable. Just seemed like a good idea.

Brandwise, PCP&C, Enermax, Cooler Master, Thermaltake, and possibly Antec when they get their 1KW out should do you fine. So many reviews are out there on google if you type the name in there.

I'm thinking about doing QX6700 or QX6800 and 4 gigs ram. IMO, 8 gigs ram is overkill.

The Silverstone Olympus is another good choice if the PCP&C one doesn't do it for you.
I am going to be getting a Silverstone 850w Decathlon for my mATX rig and is one of the best choices if you want a modular PSU.

Regarding PSUs, brand and 12v rail specification are probably the two most important considerations. I would make sure you steer clear of anything cheap as an absolute priority. The best brands on the market are Enermax, Power PC & Cooling, Seasonic and Corsair (they use Seasonic innards) AFAIK.

Remember that the 8800 Ultra isn't really much more than a speed-bumped 8800GTX, and I think Anandtech called it 'shockingly bad value for money'. So if you want to save some $$$ remember that and the following; there's no game on the market that will make an 8800GTS really break sweat, so you're not going to be in hot water with 'just' a GTX.

Anyways, its your decision, I say blow the whole lot, but then spending other people's money is so easy