On Sun, 2006-01-15 at 01:29 -0600, michael hast wrote:
> Hey, all!
>
> One of the motherboards I'm looking at to build the new box is
> Gigabyte's GA-K8N Pro-SLI. The coolest thing about this jewel is that
> it's got 2 PCI-E x16 slots! (I gather that's what the SLi means.) I
> also understand that in order to use it properly, it should be used with
> two SLi video cards connected with a little bridge. Do any of you know
> how this works with Linux, and if you can use two regular PCI-E cards to
> operate more heads under Xinerama? I want to go dual right off the bat,
> but the cool factor of having more would be great. Plus, I found a
> source on 21" CRT's that I can get for about $20.00/ea. (Government
> surplus is great!)
> If this isn't a great option, I'll probably just get a
> less-expensive AGP-slotted MoBo and if I want more heads later, I'll get
> them by way of a PCI card. I know that they are still out there, and I
> don't need the lightning-fast responsiveness on the periferal monitors.
> Thanks in advance!
>
Unless you have an application that takes advantage of SLI, it is a
waste of money.
SLI is a link between two cards that allow the Graphics Processor Units
(GPUs) to communicate. In certain (not all) 3D graphics applications,
this can (but might not) increase performance. Certain games do take
advantage of this, but little else does. Most CAD packages use OpenGL
to talk to the card, and you'll need a version of OpenGL that supports
SLI for it to work. 3D applications like Blender can (or will soon) take
advantage of SLI.
One of the key features of SLI, is the ability to have two cards share
the processing for output to ONE monitor. If you have two monitors,
this feature is not needed. You have a couple of options to consider:
AGP card driving two monitors - good bang for the buck. If you don't
have a 3D application, this may be all you need.
PCI-Express card driving two monitors - 3D apps may run faster, but I
doubt you'll see any difference in most apps. Not much more money, so
this is worth considering.
PCI-Express card with twin GPUs - More power, only needs one slot. ASUS
makes these and I cannot see any downside to them, other than cost.
Again, no benefit for most apps, but much more expensive.
Twin PCI-Express cards via SLI - Requires more exotic motherboard, more
cards, more money, etc.
Frankly, if you don't need SLI, I'd save my money and let them have time
to work the bugs out. By the time it's pretty bug-free and have lots of
application support, the current cards will be close to obsolete. I'd
rather have a 939-socket motherboard with AGP or PCI-Express on twin
monitors for the best bang-for-the-buck, and spend the cash on a dual
core CPU. Keep in mind that the 939 socket will soon be replaced by the
Socket-AM2 (with DDR2 support) in about 3-6 months. So I would not be
thinking about spending extra money for a longer life.
Here's a good link for prices and card advice:
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2667
Ken Elliott
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