PC Buying Guide 2011- Q4

[d3p]

^ are you talking about the 3D Rig or something different ???

 

[Extreme Gamer]

We can suggest AMD setups for 3D too. User can use display config and 3D software implement of his choice.

Skud, unless your mobo has an NF200 chip, never use more than 2 GPUs (even then I wouldnt recommend it because of added latency and the fact that you are still intefacing with an x16 bus on the SB chips).

 

[Skud]

What about 990FX?

 

[Extreme Gamer]

990FX is OK. It has 32 lanes

 

[Skud]

Last one: Any chance, Z77 (or whatever Ivy Bridge will bring out) will get some more lanes over Z68?

 

[Extreme Gamer]

Possibly 16 lanes of PCIE 3.0.

SLI suffers at x8/x8 2.0 speeds by at least 10% across all games.

 

[Skud]

CFX doesn't suffer that much. But 16 lanes ain't gonna solve the tri-card problem, I guess.

 

[MegaMind]

SLI suffers at x8/x8 2.0 speeds by at least 10% across all games.

There isn't a diff. between x8/x8 & x16/x16 SLI/CFX atleast till 2560x1600...

 

[vickybat]

^ Yes, that's correct info.

What about having a CFX setup and a third card for PhysX? I know its not the aim of this thread, but was curious if this is a common syndrome of Z68 chipset.

What you are suggesting is a physx setup with primary cf setup. Our forum member cilus has a similar setup i.e 6870cf +8800gt physx on an asus 990fx sabertooth motherboard and phenom 2 x6 1090t.

Its pretty powerful and will satisfy most serious gamers. But here we want 3d and nvidia is the easiest option due to easy availability of 3d hardware.

 

[Extreme Gamer]

There isn't a diff. between x8/x8 & x16/x16 SLI/CFX atleast till 2560x1600...

There is. Not much in single GPU and previous generations. But its there.

 

[MegaMind]

There is. Not much in single GPU and previous generations. But its there.

Nope.. I can only find GTX480 tested.. Even if there is(in current gen.), there might be a 0.1% diff.

If you are running on a 30" display at 2560x1600 or below, an x8/x8 SLI or CFX configuration will perform the same as a x16/x8 or x16/x16 configuration. The only time that you should even be slightly concerned about running at x8/x8 is when you move up to a multiple display setup. When we pushed the GTX 480 SLI at 5760x1200 we saw up to a 7% difference in performance between x8/x8 and x16/x16, in favor of x16/x16, but that was in one game only.

Source

 

[Extreme Gamer]

In SLI there is a big difference.

It depends on how much data you send. HardOCP NEVER truly maxes out any configuration.

A guy I know who has 2 470s (not in this forum/country) sees an 8% loss vs. 16x/8x mode and 10% loss vs 16x/16x mode SLI.

 

[MegaMind]

In SLI there is a big difference.

I don't see any comparison that shows a diff.

It depends on how much data you send. HardOCP NEVER truly maxes out any configuration.

Well, in the link i gave all games are at highest possible with 4xAA &16xAF.

A guy I know who has 2 470s (not in this forum/country) sees an 8% loss vs. 16x/8x mode and 10% loss vs 16x/16x mode SLI.

I'd rather take the word from a reviewer(w/proof).. No offence..

 

[Extreme Gamer]

I don't see any comparison that shows a diff.



Well, in the link i gave all games are at highest possible with 4xAA &16xAF.

4xAA, but which AA? I run 16xQ CSAA, 4x MSAA and 8x SSAA, of which 8x SSAA is the best but most expensive and 16xQ CSAA, 4x MSAA are very close with 16xQ being quite a bit better.

There are other kinds like FXAA (not very common), MLAA (AMD exclusive and better quality vs. CSAA), Ubersampling (only found in Witcher 2 atm) etc.


I'd rather take the word from a reviewer(w/proof).. No offence..

None taken. But that is hardly proof. There is insufficient data to conclude convincingly. They do not mention their driver settings and tweaks (if any). They also do not mention if they used software like Nvidia Inspector.

Replies in bold.

 

[thetechfreak]

@Jaskanwar
See this for our Workstation rig
Razer Cyclosa Bundle- Lynx India

 

[Extreme Gamer]

^Seriously? You must be kidding, because in workstations you need a quality board, not a toy. Should also be ergonomic, like the Wave.

 

[MegaMind]

@EG, Not all game provides the option to select from AA types..
So u say insufficient data.. Maybe but, there there should be hardly 1% diff.(at max.) between x16x16 vs x8x8 SLI at single monitor resolutions..

 

[Extreme Gamer]

Which is why I mentioned drivers and tweaks. Most games go upto 16xQ CSAA which I find smoother than 4xMSAA and 4x CSAA (the latter is rare).

In the drivers you can force lower texture quality, AF levels AND AA levels.

I should have the opportunity to verify in a week or two when my mobo gets back from RMA and if the GPUs arent damaged (hopefully).

 

[MegaMind]

^^I rem. u were facing a lot probs with each of ur pc comp. lately... Hope they get along soon

 

[MyGeekTips]

Guys What is better vfm combo?

Razer Deathadder + Microsoft X4 Sidewinder vs Razer cyclosa Gaming Bundle