SLI or more RAM?

Hammer137 · Post by **Hammer137** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 2:16 pm

I'm ready to upgrade my PC again

What should I do? add 2GB of ram or add another Geforce 7900 GS KO?

Post by **madmaz** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 2:59 pm

You already have a Geforce 7900 installed, or want to upgrade to one? Of course it depends on what you want the upgrade used for, gaming or regular PC stuff. If reg PC stuff go with the ram but if for graphics and gaming go for the Geforce. But if you can afford it do both.

Hammer137 · Post by **Hammer137** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 2:43 pm

You already have a Geforce 7900 installed, or want to upgrade to one?

I already have 1 installed but I was thinking about adding another 1 to make it SLI.

Post by **-999-** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 3:52 pm

Generally not worth it to sli. More power requirements, more heat, and the extra performance is only so much, depending on the resolution you're running and your processor/ram. If you don't have 2 gigs of matched ram, I'd go for that. If you're not running atleast 1600x1200, you're not likely to see enough of a performance improvement for the money. Not sure how much mem you have now, but if you already have 2gigs, and you're not planing on upgrading to vista soon, just save the money for a better single card solution in the near future.

Hammer137 · Post by **Hammer137** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:02 pm

Right now I am running on 1024MB of 667mhz DDR2 Dual Channel RAM

Post by **-999-** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 4:05 pm

2GB is really the "sweet spot" for xp, unless you're running something that could require 2gb of memory space, it's all you need. Just make sure it's a matched pair.

TAR · Post by **TAR** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 6:47 pm

I completely agree with -999- Don't bother with the SLI b/c you will more-than-likely have to buy a new power supply to run it. The matched pair of ram is key here b/c if they aren't then you are losing performance in the faster ram. What is the max speed ram for your board? You may want to buy some faster ram is possible. Keep in mind that 800mhz ram at 5,5,5,15 timing is going to be slower then low latency (2ish) 667mhz, but if you can 800mhz at low latency that would be pretty nice!!!

This may all be a mutt point... are you running DDR or DDR2?

You could always do a mild fsb/ram speed overclock.

My 2 cents. Any thoughts/comments on my suggestions -999-?

Hammer137 · Post by **Hammer137** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 7:26 pm

I dont think there would be any power issues

620W SLI Modular

surfgeko · Post by **surfgeko** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 7:54 pm

oooo, detachable cabels!! nifty

im running a Trio! 650 watt true power elite SLI PSU.

and i have a Geforce 6600

Post by **FragginOne** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 8:42 pm

I would definitely say more RAM now. Then save your money for a DirectX10 vid card.

ano1 · Post by **ano1** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:06 am

FragginOne wrote:I would definitely say more RAM now. Then save your money for a DirectX10 vid card.

yep

Post by **-999-** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:47 am

Hammer137 wrote:I dont think there would be any power issues

620W SLI Modular

You can't go by the wattage of a power supply, as wattage in dc is either sound or heat. You need to know the amps on the +12v rail(s).

Post by **Nerdy** » Sat Mar 03, 2007 8:58 am

-999- wrote:
Hammer137 wrote:I dont think there would be any power issues

620W SLI Modular
You can't go by the wattage of a power supply, as wattage in dc is either sound or heat. You need to know the amps on the +12v rail(s).

Agreed. Either one +12v rail with a high amp count, or multiple +12v rails with 18 amps or more is good. The 700w ThermalTake Toughpower modular that's going in my new rig has 4 +12v rails with 18 amps each.

As for SLI or RAM, I would get the RAM. SLI is picky with certain games, and sometimes the performance increase isn't enough to justify buying a second card. When it comes to video cards, I would buy a single card solution that is more powerful than SLI'ed 7900 GSes. Right now a single card from the 8800 series goes way beyond what two of your cards would be capable of.

Post by **M13** » Sun Mar 04, 2007 7:35 pm

RAM!!!

SLI/Crossfire is for those who want to play at VERY high res and with lots of AA.

Or SAVE up for a DX10 card, Qwake Wars is just around the corner. Until it comes out and we can see for ourselves what is needed to play I am not upgrading.