295 vs 260s SLI Which is better
Hi guys,
I generally do not post; however, after doing research on rather I should go with a single 295 card or SLI two 260s; here is my conclusion. I just hope the details of my conclusion helps others with this debate and their own decision. I truely doubt you will find more information than I have found. I do not have a degree in computer science (criminal justice); however, I have been building gaming and other consumer machines for 10+ yrs. The reason I post in this forum instead of the SLI forum is that I know the primary reason for upgrades at the moment could be attributed to getting a rig for 3d vision (like myself). I would have saved allot of time with an informative post in here.

So lets face it, this is actually a trick question. The answer to which is better is neither, so it comes down to personal opinion & budget. The 295 is better; however, by such a fraction it does not matter. Here are the hard facts and how I condensed all my findings...I wanted a benchmark that pitted the two against each other with 3D and in L4D; however, I had to get creative.

Benchmarks
Crysis *This game is very heavy for Quads, so do not let the low Frames Per Second effect you

[u]2,560 x 1,600 // 0xAA // 16xAF // DirectX 10, Very High Quality[/u]
Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-295-1,792MB Highs=22.9 Lows=9.0 (32)
Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-260-216-896MB-SLI Highs=21.8 Lows=8.0 (30)
Nvidia-Geforce-GTX-280-1GB Highs=13.8 Lows=7.0 (21)
[b]The 295 is about 6.25% faster than the 260s SLI[/b]
[i]The 260s SLI are about 20% faster than the 280[/i]

[u]1,280 x 1,024 // 4xAA // 16xAF // DirectX 10, Very High Quality[/u]
Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-295-1,792MB Highs=52.6 Lows=33.0 (86)
Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-260-216-896MB-SLI Highs=50.6 Lows=31.0 (82)
Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-280-1GB Highs=31.4 Lows=18.0 (50)
[b]The 295 is is about 4.66% faster than the 260s SLI[/b]
[i]The 260s SLI are about 39.02% faster than the 280[/i]

[b]Totals[/b]
The 295 is about 5.08% faster than the 260s SLI
The 260s SLI are about 36.61% faster than the 280

I would have liked to find another controlled test on a different rig that benchmarked the 260 SLI and 295; however, I could not find one. The results of these benchmarks on Crysis was consistent on all other games, including L4D. Before finding this information, I was expecting the 295 to be 5-10% faster than the 260s SLI; however, I wanted the facts.

The reason I showed how the 280 performed was to find an estimated frame rate for 260s SLI with Nvidia 3D vision. The only benchmark I could find was with a 280. So I used the total from above (36.61%) to calculate how the 260s SLI would do.

[b]FPS on L4D with 260s SLI[/b]
1680 x 1050 // 0xAA // 0xAF // Very High Quality // No 3D
147.67 Frames Per Second

1680 x 1050 // 0xAA // 0xAF // Very High Quality // with 3D
89.58 Frames Per Second

1680 x 1050 // 4xAA // 8xAF // Very High Quality // No 3D
140.25 Frames Per Second

1680 x 1050 // 4xAA // 8xAF // Very High Quality // with 3D
62.34 Frames Per Second

[b]Pros vs Cons[/b]
-The 295 will cost around $550/The 260s SLI will cost around $400. As you can see a $150 price tag on a 5.08% performance increase.
-The 260s SLI will require more power and distribute more heat.
-As of right now, the 295 drivers are not as stable as the 260s.

[b]Conclusion[/b]
Make the decision based on your wallet and situation.
-If you already have a 260, I would just get another 260. If you don't have an SLI board you can use the extra money to purchase one while planning for future upgrades.
-For newer system builders always look for that price jump when considering what to upgrade..when it comes to the nvidia 200 series, this price jump takes place after the 260s and you will pay more for minor performance improvements when SLI is an option.

I have decided to order 2 260 cards and SLI. I am not going to pay $150 for such a small performance increase. Also, I do not know the answer to my final two questions...
1. Does Frames Per Second increase while using 3D vision with SLI cards versus a stand alone card? I am thinking it is possible that one card would produce the image for your left eye and the other card will produce the image for your right. If this is the case, I would expect the 260s SLI to have a great advantage over a 295 while playing in 3D. I could not find benchmarks that had an SLI vs a single card while using 3D vision. If this is not the case, no big deal the results of the performance stays the same.
2. Does SLI add to your video cards lifespan and performance after extended use versus one card doing all the work?

I am actually going to try and find the answer to my first question and will repost.

For anyone who disagrees, I welcome your response; however, please try and provide facts and the sources you obtained the facts from...I could have easily just said that the 295 was better by 5% and left out the hard work of showing how I decided that. Also, dumb it down for folks if your going to go w/a technical reply. It is pretty hard to argue with frame rates though when a controlled test is conducted and the only variable is the graphics cards.

If this post helped you on your thoughts on upgrading...let me know LOL I just spent 5 hrs gathering all the information I can on this debate and another 3 hours to share my results. If you find the answer to question 1..you are my new best friend.

Sources used:
[url="http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/01/08/nvidia-geforce-gtx-295-quad-sli-review/9"]http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/...ad-sli-review/9[/url]
[url="http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/3d-vision-stereo,2121-7.html"]http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/3d-vis...reo,2121-7.html[/url]
[url="http://www.newegg.com/"]http://www.newegg.com/[/url]

Happy Gaming
Angry Chicken

I am to tired to provide all the specs of my new PC thats shipping...
Phenom 2-X4-955
DDR2-1066-8GB
2x-260-216-XFX-
Hi guys,

I generally do not post; however, after doing research on rather I should go with a single 295 card or SLI two 260s; here is my conclusion. I just hope the details of my conclusion helps others with this debate and their own decision. I truely doubt you will find more information than I have found. I do not have a degree in computer science (criminal justice); however, I have been building gaming and other consumer machines for 10+ yrs. The reason I post in this forum instead of the SLI forum is that I know the primary reason for upgrades at the moment could be attributed to getting a rig for 3d vision (like myself). I would have saved allot of time with an informative post in here.



So lets face it, this is actually a trick question. The answer to which is better is neither, so it comes down to personal opinion & budget. The 295 is better; however, by such a fraction it does not matter. Here are the hard facts and how I condensed all my findings...I wanted a benchmark that pitted the two against each other with 3D and in L4D; however, I had to get creative.



Benchmarks

Crysis *This game is very heavy for Quads, so do not let the low Frames Per Second effect you



2,560 x 1,600 // 0xAA // 16xAF // DirectX 10, Very High Quality

Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-295-1,792MB Highs=22.9 Lows=9.0 (32)

Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-260-216-896MB-SLI Highs=21.8 Lows=8.0 (30)

Nvidia-Geforce-GTX-280-1GB Highs=13.8 Lows=7.0 (21)

The 295 is about 6.25% faster than the 260s SLI

The 260s SLI are about 20% faster than the 280



1,280 x 1,024 // 4xAA // 16xAF // DirectX 10, Very High Quality

Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-295-1,792MB Highs=52.6 Lows=33.0 (86)

Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-260-216-896MB-SLI Highs=50.6 Lows=31.0 (82)

Nvidia-GeForce-GTX-280-1GB Highs=31.4 Lows=18.0 (50)

The 295 is is about 4.66% faster than the 260s SLI

The 260s SLI are about 39.02% faster than the 280



Totals

The 295 is about 5.08% faster than the 260s SLI

The 260s SLI are about 36.61% faster than the 280



I would have liked to find another controlled test on a different rig that benchmarked the 260 SLI and 295; however, I could not find one. The results of these benchmarks on Crysis was consistent on all other games, including L4D. Before finding this information, I was expecting the 295 to be 5-10% faster than the 260s SLI; however, I wanted the facts.



The reason I showed how the 280 performed was to find an estimated frame rate for 260s SLI with Nvidia 3D vision. The only benchmark I could find was with a 280. So I used the total from above (36.61%) to calculate how the 260s SLI would do.



FPS on L4D with 260s SLI

1680 x 1050 // 0xAA // 0xAF // Very High Quality // No 3D

147.67 Frames Per Second



1680 x 1050 // 0xAA // 0xAF // Very High Quality // with 3D

89.58 Frames Per Second



1680 x 1050 // 4xAA // 8xAF // Very High Quality // No 3D

140.25 Frames Per Second



1680 x 1050 // 4xAA // 8xAF // Very High Quality // with 3D

62.34 Frames Per Second



Pros vs Cons

-The 295 will cost around $550/The 260s SLI will cost around $400. As you can see a $150 price tag on a 5.08% performance increase.

-The 260s SLI will require more power and distribute more heat.

-As of right now, the 295 drivers are not as stable as the 260s.



Conclusion

Make the decision based on your wallet and situation.

-If you already have a 260, I would just get another 260. If you don't have an SLI board you can use the extra money to purchase one while planning for future upgrades.

-For newer system builders always look for that price jump when considering what to upgrade..when it comes to the nvidia 200 series, this price jump takes place after the 260s and you will pay more for minor performance improvements when SLI is an option.



I have decided to order 2 260 cards and SLI. I am not going to pay $150 for such a small performance increase. Also, I do not know the answer to my final two questions...

1. Does Frames Per Second increase while using 3D vision with SLI cards versus a stand alone card? I am thinking it is possible that one card would produce the image for your left eye and the other card will produce the image for your right. If this is the case, I would expect the 260s SLI to have a great advantage over a 295 while playing in 3D. I could not find benchmarks that had an SLI vs a single card while using 3D vision. If this is not the case, no big deal the results of the performance stays the same.

2. Does SLI add to your video cards lifespan and performance after extended use versus one card doing all the work?



I am actually going to try and find the answer to my first question and will repost.



For anyone who disagrees, I welcome your response; however, please try and provide facts and the sources you obtained the facts from...I could have easily just said that the 295 was better by 5% and left out the hard work of showing how I decided that. Also, dumb it down for folks if your going to go w/a technical reply. It is pretty hard to argue with frame rates though when a controlled test is conducted and the only variable is the graphics cards.



If this post helped you on your thoughts on upgrading...let me know LOL I just spent 5 hrs gathering all the information I can on this debate and another 3 hours to share my results. If you find the answer to question 1..you are my new best friend.



Sources used:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/...ad-sli-review/9

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/3d-vis...reo,2121-7.html

http://www.newegg.com/



Happy Gaming

Angry Chicken



I am to tired to provide all the specs of my new PC thats shipping...

Phenom 2-X4-955

DDR2-1066-8GB

2x-260-216-XFX-

#1
Posted 05/23/2009 07:57 AM   
I have not found the answer to question one and I do not think I am going to...little help if you can guys. I am really curious now.

I do have a good guess though,

[i]"SLI offers two rendering and one anti-aliasing method for splitting the work between the video cards:
Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR), the second rendering method. Here, each GPU renders entire frames in sequence – one GPU processes even frames, and the second processes odd frames, one after the other. When the slave card finishes work on a frame (or part of a frame) the results are sent via the SLI bridge to the master card, which then outputs the completed frames. Ideally, this would result in the rendering time being cut in half, and thus performance from the video cards would double. In their advertising, Nvidia claims up to 1.9x the performance of one card with the dual-card setup. "[/i]

Leads me to believe that if you have two cards in SLI, one will produce the picture for the left eye and the other for the right eye. Every other frame for the left and the others for the right.

I imagine this would simplify the process of going 3d utilizing 2 cards and make the process complex for a stand alone....of course this is yet to be seen until a benchmark is located...help lol

[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface[/url]

[b][/b]FYI[b][/b]
I have read people complaining about no performance improvements after switching to SLI. If I am on the right track, you would see no improvements with 3D enabled when dropping a 2nd card in (if its the same make). [b]If you plan to drop another graphics card in[/b](same make), and want to know what your frames would be while running 3d w/SLI...Look-up the recommended settings for 3d (resolution & whatnot) and run the game with thoughs settings with your card. If your satisfied with your frames per second than you can drop that 2nd card in and get the same frames (with the same settings) while running 3D.

Serously off to bed now, let me know your thoughts.

AngryChicken
I have not found the answer to question one and I do not think I am going to...little help if you can guys. I am really curious now.



I do have a good guess though,



"SLI offers two rendering and one anti-aliasing method for splitting the work between the video cards:

Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR), the second rendering method. Here, each GPU renders entire frames in sequence – one GPU processes even frames, and the second processes odd frames, one after the other. When the slave card finishes work on a frame (or part of a frame) the results are sent via the SLI bridge to the master card, which then outputs the completed frames. Ideally, this would result in the rendering time being cut in half, and thus performance from the video cards would double. In their advertising, Nvidia claims up to 1.9x the performance of one card with the dual-card setup. "




Leads me to believe that if you have two cards in SLI, one will produce the picture for the left eye and the other for the right eye. Every other frame for the left and the others for the right.



I imagine this would simplify the process of going 3d utilizing 2 cards and make the process complex for a stand alone....of course this is yet to be seen until a benchmark is located...help lol



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface



[/b]FYI[b]

I have read people complaining about no performance improvements after switching to SLI. If I am on the right track, you would see no improvements with 3D enabled when dropping a 2nd card in (if its the same make). If you plan to drop another graphics card in(same make), and want to know what your frames would be while running 3d w/SLI...Look-up the recommended settings for 3d (resolution & whatnot) and run the game with thoughs settings with your card. If your satisfied with your frames per second than you can drop that 2nd card in and get the same frames (with the same settings) while running 3D.



Serously off to bed now, let me know your thoughts.



AngryChicken

#2
Posted 05/23/2009 09:33 AM   
You have to remember that whilst the 295 is a single card it has two GPU's on it, whilst not called SLI it is doing the same job as SLI.

I think comparing the 295 to sli 260's you have to realise that the GPU in the 295 was supposed to be on par with the 280 anyway and as your 260s were the 216 pipes version you were always going to see fairly similar numbers when comparing it to a 295.
You have to remember that whilst the 295 is a single card it has two GPU's on it, whilst not called SLI it is doing the same job as SLI.



I think comparing the 295 to sli 260's you have to realise that the GPU in the 295 was supposed to be on par with the 280 anyway and as your 260s were the 216 pipes version you were always going to see fairly similar numbers when comparing it to a 295.

Built

Asus Striker 2 Extreme
QX9650 @ 3.0ghz
Black Windowed Silverstone TJ09
BFG GTX 295
24" BenQ FP241W
4GB DDR3@1333mhz OCZ
Galaxy 1000w PSU
G15rev2 Keyboard
150gb Raptor Sata with Vista64 Ultimate

Work In Progress

Asus Rampage Extreme
E8500 @ 3.16ghz - Watercooled with OCZ Hydroflow
Black Windowed Silverstone TJ07 - ThermoChill PA 120.3 Radiator
BFG GTX 295 - Watercooled
24" BenQ FP241W
8GB DDR3@1600mhz Corsair
Corsair 1000w PSU
G19 Keyboard 3.02 drivers
120gb Vertex SSD with Windows 7 64bit Ultimate RC (Build 7100)

#3
Posted 05/23/2009 01:38 PM   
I just bought a new system and I did a lot of research about geforce 295. When i ordered my system the 295 was out of stock and I found this article:
[url="http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-sli,2298.html#xtor=RSS-182"]Tom's hardware: when 2 are better than one[/url]
I found it really interesting.
I dont know alot about the 260 sli cost and performance but for people deciding on spending more this is a good article.
Performance: 275 sli> 295
Cost: 275 sli < 295 ( if it hasn't changed)

Finally I decided to buy one 285 and might add another one depending on fps with 3D. I will keep you informed on this soon.
I just bought a new system and I did a lot of research about geforce 295. When i ordered my system the 295 was out of stock and I found this article:

Tom's hardware: when 2 are better than one

I found it really interesting.

I dont know alot about the 260 sli cost and performance but for people deciding on spending more this is a good article.

Performance: 275 sli> 295

Cost: 275 sli < 295 ( if it hasn't changed)



Finally I decided to buy one 285 and might add another one depending on fps with 3D. I will keep you informed on this soon.

#4
Posted 05/23/2009 04:59 PM   
Wow, that's quite a mouthful. lol

I can answer one question posed above, though... Yes, going SLI does give you a substantial fps increase when using 3d Vision. I went from a single 285 to dual 285s and saw a noticeable increase in fps and performance when using SLI. You don't quite get back all of the fps that 3d Vision eats up in stereoscopic mode, but you get back enough that you won't notice a decrease in performance in stereoscopic mode unless you're looking for it.

Also, I didn't read everything above, but I can tell you a single 295 is definitely better than dual 260s. A 295 is basically dual 275s, just on a single PCB.
Wow, that's quite a mouthful. lol



I can answer one question posed above, though... Yes, going SLI does give you a substantial fps increase when using 3d Vision. I went from a single 285 to dual 285s and saw a noticeable increase in fps and performance when using SLI. You don't quite get back all of the fps that 3d Vision eats up in stereoscopic mode, but you get back enough that you won't notice a decrease in performance in stereoscopic mode unless you're looking for it.



Also, I didn't read everything above, but I can tell you a single 295 is definitely better than dual 260s. A 295 is basically dual 275s, just on a single PCB.

Asus RIVBE • i7 4930K @ 4.7ghz • 8gb Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133 C8
2xSLI EVGA GTX 770 SC • Creative X-Fi Titanium • 2x 840 SSD + 1TB Seagate Hybrid
EVGA Supernova 1300W• Asus VG278H & nVidia 3d Vision
Phanteks Enthoo Primo w/ custom watercooling:
XSPC Raystorm (cpu & gpu), XSPC Photon 170, Swiftech D5 vario
Alphacool Monsta 360mm +6x NB e-loop, XT45 360mm +6x Corsair SP120

#5
Posted 05/23/2009 05:35 PM   
Thanks for a detailed post on your new system. It will definitely help someone with an upgrade plan. Mine is a little different, ie. slowly supplanting my old Dell XPS410 with a PSU and a GTX 285 for now. In another 6 mos I will replace the motherboard with a i7 mobo and another 285 when the price drops. After 2 decades of getting the latest and fastest gears I now prefer throttling back and content with 2nd or even 3rd to latest gen. /yes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':yes:' />
Thanks for a detailed post on your new system. It will definitely help someone with an upgrade plan. Mine is a little different, ie. slowly supplanting my old Dell XPS410 with a PSU and a GTX 285 for now. In another 6 mos I will replace the motherboard with a i7 mobo and another 285 when the price drops. After 2 decades of getting the latest and fastest gears I now prefer throttling back and content with 2nd or even 3rd to latest gen. /yes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':yes:' />

Xeon X5675 hex cores @4.4 GHz, GTX 1070, win10 pro
i7 7700k 5GHz, RTX 2080, win10 pro
Benq 2720Z, w1070, Oculus Rift cv1, Samsung Odyssey+

#6
Posted 05/23/2009 06:59 PM   
"The 295 is about 5.08% faster than the 260s SLI"
I would think dual 275s would be about the same amount faster...The thing I am hooked on now which someone posted that they received an increase in performance w/SLI...If I have 3d enabled would the 295 still be 5.08% faster than the 260s SLI? The way I am thinking is that it would not and the 260s would receive a noticable difference in speed. I understand that the 295 has 2xGPU onboard; however, would the 3d create a bottleneck or something on the 260s or 295. I am not a fanboy of 260s, just curious which is faster and by how much w/the 3d enabled...if there is even a change.

When my parts come in...I am going to drop a single 260 in and set all of my settings to what I would run 3d in and see where it performs...then I am going to drop the other card in, turn on 3d, and see if the performance stays the same or if there is an increase. However, then I will have to find a benchmark online w/a similar rig running a 295 w/3d to compare....not the best way to do it.

[quote name='Chris-NYC' post='544470' date='May 23 2009, 01:35 PM']Wow, that's quite a mouthful. lol

I can answer one question posed above, though... Yes, going SLI does give you a substantial fps increase when using 3d Vision. I went from a single 285 to dual 285s and saw a noticeable increase in fps and performance when using SLI. You don't quite get back all of the fps that 3d Vision eats up in stereoscopic mode, but you get back enough that you won't notice a decrease in performance in stereoscopic mode unless you're looking for it.

Also, I didn't read everything above, but I can tell you a single 295 is definitely better than dual 260s. A 295 is basically dual 275s, just on a single PCB.[/quote]
"The 295 is about 5.08% faster than the 260s SLI"

I would think dual 275s would be about the same amount faster...The thing I am hooked on now which someone posted that they received an increase in performance w/SLI...If I have 3d enabled would the 295 still be 5.08% faster than the 260s SLI? The way I am thinking is that it would not and the 260s would receive a noticable difference in speed. I understand that the 295 has 2xGPU onboard; however, would the 3d create a bottleneck or something on the 260s or 295. I am not a fanboy of 260s, just curious which is faster and by how much w/the 3d enabled...if there is even a change.



When my parts come in...I am going to drop a single 260 in and set all of my settings to what I would run 3d in and see where it performs...then I am going to drop the other card in, turn on 3d, and see if the performance stays the same or if there is an increase. However, then I will have to find a benchmark online w/a similar rig running a 295 w/3d to compare....not the best way to do it.



[quote name='Chris-NYC' post='544470' date='May 23 2009, 01:35 PM']Wow, that's quite a mouthful. lol



I can answer one question posed above, though... Yes, going SLI does give you a substantial fps increase when using 3d Vision. I went from a single 285 to dual 285s and saw a noticeable increase in fps and performance when using SLI. You don't quite get back all of the fps that 3d Vision eats up in stereoscopic mode, but you get back enough that you won't notice a decrease in performance in stereoscopic mode unless you're looking for it.



Also, I didn't read everything above, but I can tell you a single 295 is definitely better than dual 260s. A 295 is basically dual 275s, just on a single PCB.

#7
Posted 05/23/2009 09:10 PM   
[quote name='Angrychicken' post='544533' date='May 23 2009, 05:10 PM']"The 295 is about 5.08% faster than the 260s SLI"
I would think dual 275s would be about the same amount faster...The thing I am hooked on now which someone posted that they received an increase in performance w/SLI...If I have 3d enabled would the 295 still be 5.08% faster than the 260s SLI? The way I am thinking is that it would not and the 260s would receive a noticable difference in speed. I understand that the 295 has 2xGPU onboard; however, would the 3d create a bottleneck or something on the 260s or 295. I am not a fanboy of 260s, just curious which is faster and by how much w/the 3d enabled...if there is even a change.

When my parts come in...I am going to drop a single 260 in and set all of my settings to what I would run 3d in and see where it performs...then I am going to drop the other card in, turn on 3d, and see if the performance stays the same or if there is an increase. However, then I will have to find a benchmark online w/a similar rig running a 295 w/3d to compare....not the best way to do it.[/quote]

I think what you're really asking is whether 3d Vision itself makes particularly efficient use of SLI? That's a very good question, and one that I'm not sure we really know the answer to yet. I can tell you, however, that the performance increase from SLI is still dependent on the game's code and whether or not THE GAME can make use of multiple gpu's, not whether the 3d Vision drivers can. Even in stereoscopic mode, the performance increases you see in various games are largely tied to how compatible those games are with SLI. Thus, I would theorize that you'd see about the same % benefit from dual 275s (or a 295) over dual 260s as you would see in non-stereoscopic mode.

It would be very interesting, though, to see somebody do an objective comparison of single vs dual gpu's including single and dual 260s, 275s, 285s, and a 295 used in conjunction with 3d Vision. Since nvidia tech support for 3d Vision has all but evaporated, a 3rd party comparison would prove objectively to what extent 3d Vision makes use of SLI vs how much SLI's benefit it is still game-dependent.

In any case, though, I can guarantee that you can't go wrong with dual 285s. My system cuts through Crysis in 3d like butter. ;)
[quote name='Angrychicken' post='544533' date='May 23 2009, 05:10 PM']"The 295 is about 5.08% faster than the 260s SLI"

I would think dual 275s would be about the same amount faster...The thing I am hooked on now which someone posted that they received an increase in performance w/SLI...If I have 3d enabled would the 295 still be 5.08% faster than the 260s SLI? The way I am thinking is that it would not and the 260s would receive a noticable difference in speed. I understand that the 295 has 2xGPU onboard; however, would the 3d create a bottleneck or something on the 260s or 295. I am not a fanboy of 260s, just curious which is faster and by how much w/the 3d enabled...if there is even a change.



When my parts come in...I am going to drop a single 260 in and set all of my settings to what I would run 3d in and see where it performs...then I am going to drop the other card in, turn on 3d, and see if the performance stays the same or if there is an increase. However, then I will have to find a benchmark online w/a similar rig running a 295 w/3d to compare....not the best way to do it.



I think what you're really asking is whether 3d Vision itself makes particularly efficient use of SLI? That's a very good question, and one that I'm not sure we really know the answer to yet. I can tell you, however, that the performance increase from SLI is still dependent on the game's code and whether or not THE GAME can make use of multiple gpu's, not whether the 3d Vision drivers can. Even in stereoscopic mode, the performance increases you see in various games are largely tied to how compatible those games are with SLI. Thus, I would theorize that you'd see about the same % benefit from dual 275s (or a 295) over dual 260s as you would see in non-stereoscopic mode.



It would be very interesting, though, to see somebody do an objective comparison of single vs dual gpu's including single and dual 260s, 275s, 285s, and a 295 used in conjunction with 3d Vision. Since nvidia tech support for 3d Vision has all but evaporated, a 3rd party comparison would prove objectively to what extent 3d Vision makes use of SLI vs how much SLI's benefit it is still game-dependent.



In any case, though, I can guarantee that you can't go wrong with dual 285s. My system cuts through Crysis in 3d like butter. ;)

Asus RIVBE • i7 4930K @ 4.7ghz • 8gb Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133 C8
2xSLI EVGA GTX 770 SC • Creative X-Fi Titanium • 2x 840 SSD + 1TB Seagate Hybrid
EVGA Supernova 1300W• Asus VG278H & nVidia 3d Vision
Phanteks Enthoo Primo w/ custom watercooling:
XSPC Raystorm (cpu & gpu), XSPC Photon 170, Swiftech D5 vario
Alphacool Monsta 360mm +6x NB e-loop, XT45 360mm +6x Corsair SP120

#8
Posted 05/23/2009 09:44 PM   
Thanks for the informative post, I did not think about how a particular game uses SLI. I am going to shoot an email to some various Tech reviewers(TomsHardware) and see if they would run some comparisons for us.


[quote name='Chris-NYC' post='544539' date='May 23 2009, 05:44 PM']I think what you're really asking is whether 3d Vision itself makes particularly efficient use of SLI? That's a very good question, and one that I'm not sure we really know the answer to yet. I can tell you, however, that the performance increase from SLI is still dependent on the game's code and whether or not THE GAME can make use of multiple gpu's, not whether the 3d Vision drivers can. Even in stereoscopic mode, the performance increases you see in various games are largely tied to how compatible those games are with SLI. Thus, I would theorize that you'd see about the same % benefit from dual 275s (or a 295) over dual 260s as you would see in non-stereoscopic mode.

It would be very interesting, though, to see somebody do an objective comparison of single vs dual gpu's including single and dual 260s, 275s, 285s, and a 295 used in conjunction with 3d Vision. Since nvidia tech support for 3d Vision has all but evaporated, a 3rd party comparison would prove objectively to what extent 3d Vision makes use of SLI vs how much SLI's benefit it is still game-dependent.

In any case, though, I can guarantee that you can't go wrong with dual 285s. My system cuts through Crysis in 3d like butter. ;)[/quote]
Thanks for the informative post, I did not think about how a particular game uses SLI. I am going to shoot an email to some various Tech reviewers(TomsHardware) and see if they would run some comparisons for us.





[quote name='Chris-NYC' post='544539' date='May 23 2009, 05:44 PM']I think what you're really asking is whether 3d Vision itself makes particularly efficient use of SLI? That's a very good question, and one that I'm not sure we really know the answer to yet. I can tell you, however, that the performance increase from SLI is still dependent on the game's code and whether or not THE GAME can make use of multiple gpu's, not whether the 3d Vision drivers can. Even in stereoscopic mode, the performance increases you see in various games are largely tied to how compatible those games are with SLI. Thus, I would theorize that you'd see about the same % benefit from dual 275s (or a 295) over dual 260s as you would see in non-stereoscopic mode.



It would be very interesting, though, to see somebody do an objective comparison of single vs dual gpu's including single and dual 260s, 275s, 285s, and a 295 used in conjunction with 3d Vision. Since nvidia tech support for 3d Vision has all but evaporated, a 3rd party comparison would prove objectively to what extent 3d Vision makes use of SLI vs how much SLI's benefit it is still game-dependent.



In any case, though, I can guarantee that you can't go wrong with dual 285s. My system cuts through Crysis in 3d like butter. ;)

#9
Posted 05/24/2009 07:57 AM   
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