Chipsets and Video Cards

[alanschu]

I'm considering buying a new computer, but I'm hemming and hawing between the two motherboards. They are the ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe and the A8R32-MVP Deluxe.

 

One is an nForce4 chipset, and the other has the CrossFire Xpress 3200 chipset.

 

Are there any concerns that I should have with respect to video cards? If I go with the nForce chipset, should I more heavily favour an nVidia card, or vice versa?

 

Thanks.

[mkreku]

The Nforce motherboard can only do SLI (nvidia dual-GPU) and the Crossfire can only do Crossfire (ATI dual-GPU). Basically, which one you choose is dependant on if you want to support Nvidia or ATI when you buy your video cards.

 

If you're going for a one-card setup, then it doesn't matter much as both motherboards are brand independent on the PCI-X slot. Some say the Nvidia nForce is a slightly faster motherboard solution, but it's usually a negligible difference.

[alanschu]

That's pretty much the concern I had. I guess I'll pick based on which video card I go for, because I'm not entirely against the idea of being able to add a second card a bit down the road to get a boost in performance.

 

Thanks mkreku.

[Bokishi]

What sux about SLI is that you have to replace 2 cards when upgrade time comes.

[angshuman]

... I'm not entirely against the idea of being able to add a second card a bit down the road to get a boost in performance.

IMO (speaking from personal experience here) while that approach sounds good in theory it doesn't work out that well in practice. By the time you want to add in your second card, you'll find that you'll probably get better bang for your buck if you ebay off your existing card and buy a new single card with all your cash. That way, you'll still have your second slot free, so in future you can add a card that matches the capabilities of your new card... and the recursion continues... :D

 

Other than the upgrade path, at any point in time, given a particular price point, you will always see that a pair of cards gives you less performance than a single card.

 

My belief is that SLI/Crossfire serves only one market segment - the ultra high end.

[alanschu]

I have SLI'd in the past for performance boosts (Voodoo2). The thing is, by the time I am needing that performance boost, the card that goes with it can be acquired for particularly cheap.

[metadigital]

Don't forget that the shelf-life of a video card is about 6 months: don't buy an SLi-/CrossFire-ready single card with the intention of buying another, and then wait too long ...