SLI Technology

[Taylor Swift]

Nvidia is working on a new technology for graphic cards calling it "SLI".

SLI is the new way to comunicate for 2 graphics card together.

SLI stands for "Scan Link Interface". It means that 2 cards are better then one graphics card, and it gives more power for your games. But it costs more to have 2 cards instead of one. And if you choose to buy 2 cards you will get a better performance and you will be able to run in higher resolutions. Not so long time ago there was a graphiccards company called 3dfx, they were discovering if there was a new way to put 2 cards together to work. But now half ofthe enginners from 3DFx are working for Nvidia worldwide company. Now you know that next time you want maybye a Pc with higher performance you can buy SLI-craphics card and montain them to your motherboard what needs to be SLI compatiable too. It is not so hard to understand why Nvidia loves SLI, because they can sell 2 times more graphic cards at the same time. And it is good for the processordevelopers - 2 cars needs strong processor power to use from the new technology. The only one who dont like SLI is your money pocket, 2 cards can cost from 500 $ to 1000$ dollars.

But thats what it does today.

Thanks /Nexus

[Tequila]

[Zazi]

Nvidia is working on a new technology for graphic cards calling it "SLI".

I hate to break it to you, but they are not "working" on it, and it is already out. It has been out for nearly 8 months now (or over a year if you get to test Nvidia stuff).

Also, SLI technology is not specifically designed for Nvidia hardware. Take a look at the X series of Radeon cards; they are all SLI cards.

There is no need right now to rush out and buy a new mobo JUST for the SLI technology. Currently, AGP 8x is just as fast (with any graphics card, pretty much) as a SLI 16x card. Reason for this, is that graphic cards have a huge processing bottleneck that is inhibiting most of them to utilize the newer SLI technology. Point being, you do not need to drop everything and get a SLI board before tomorrow.

As for running in higher resolutions... Not true. You can only run as high as your monitor will let you, and for the most part, most newer AGP cards will run as high, if not higher, than your monitor will support. The main advantage of having two linked SLI cards is to boost your frame rate. This happens by essentially cutting the screen in half (top and bottom) in which one card renders the bottom half, and the other renders the top half.

As I said before; this is not a Nvidia only endeavor. Radeon cards work just as well on a SLI bus, so ATI likes SLI too (for the money bit).

Chip makers really don't care, either. All it requires is a faster northbridge, and that is about it. The northbridge can, in some cases, completely bypass your CPU and shunt all video data right out the video ports. Point of this one being, is that your CPU has little to no say on the performance of your SLI bus.

Now... Have you been reading an issue of Tom's Hardware Guide from last year? Honestly here... You'd think that with the game addicts we all are, that we would've heard about this... oh I dunno... maybe when it came out? Plz. Also get some of your facts straight. Grm.

[Jezpuh]

Nvidia is working on a new technology for graphic cards calling it "SLI".

I hate to break it to you, but they are not "working" on it, and it is already out. It has been out for nearly 8 months now (or over a year if you get to test Nvidia stuff).

Also, SLI technology is not specifically designed for Nvidia hardware. Take a look at the X series of Radeon cards; they are all SLI cards.

There is no need right now to rush out and buy a new mobo JUST for the SLI technology. Currently, AGP 8x is just as fast (with any graphics card, pretty much) as a SLI 16x card. Reason for this, is that graphic cards have a huge processing bottleneck that is inhibiting most of them to utilize the newer SLI technology. Point being, you do not need to drop everything and get a SLI board before tomorrow.

As for running in higher resolutions... Not true. You can only run as high as your monitor will let you, and for the most part, most newer AGP cards will run as high, if not higher, than your monitor will support. The main advantage of having two linked SLI cards is to boost your frame rate. This happens by essentially cutting the screen in half (top and bottom) in which one card renders the bottom half, and the other renders the top half.

As I said before; this is not a Nvidia only endeavor. Radeon cards work just as well on a SLI bus, so ATI likes SLI too (for the money bit).

Chip makers really don't care, either. All it requires is a faster northbridge, and that is about it. The northbridge can, in some cases, completely bypass your CPU and shunt all video data right out the video ports. Point of this one being, is that your CPU has little to no say on the performance of your SLI bus.

Now... Have you been reading an issue of Tom's Hardware Guide from last year? Honestly here... You'd think that with the game addicts we all are, that we would've heard about this... oh I dunno... maybe when it came out? Plz. Also get some of your facts straight. Grm.

[mikezilla]

couldn't you do this with voodoo 2's?

[Zazi]

Yup, but it was done in an entirely different way. Hell, you could do it with the entire Voodoo line of cards, and some Riva TNT cards.

[Zacker]

A dual 12 mb voodoo2 card setup along with a Matrox G200 was really something which kicked ass back then:D

[OL]

lol nexus, maybe if you try real hard no one will notice you posted it this late

[DanielAragon]

wtf lag

[Section_Ei8ht]

wtf lag

[Spellbinder]

couldn't you do this with voodoo 2's?

http://www.mac3dfx.com/voodoo2.html

Spellbinder.

[Duff-e]

didnt read any of the posts but im pretty sure its scalable link interface, not scan

[JynxDaddy]

lol, lag alright.

Nvidia should make it work with 4 cards... because that would rule.....

[Zacker]

didnt read any of the posts but im pretty sure its scalable link interface, not scan

It was called Scan-Line Interface back in 3dfx days, but now Nvidia is calling it Scaleable Link Interface.

[Kosmo]

There is nothing innovative with SLI, it was engineered by the brilliant minds behind all 3Dfx technology several years ago, there is nothing innovative in nVidia all together, without the 3Dfx engineers they would have bankrubted.