9600GT and 7600 GT together?

[gwalschl]

I am currently building a new computer for a gaming system.

My old computer has a BFG GeForce 9600GT overclocked graphics card.
My son's computer currently has an EVGA 7600 GT graphics card.

What I would like to ideally do, is build my son a new case/mobo/cpu that will reuse these two video cards in tandem thus reducing the cost of his system. I'm thinking of a lower end i5/i7 system.

Can these two work together to give him more functionality than just the 9600GT OC card alone?
The EVGA 7600 GT explicitly states on the box that it supports SLI, but the BFG 9600 GT box doesn't mention SLI support. Does anyone know if I can SLI these together? If not, any other suggestions as to how to best combine the two?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ozzman24]

I am currently building a new computer for a gaming system.

My old computer has a BFG GeForce 9600GT overclocked graphics card.
My son's computer currently has an EVGA 7600 GT graphics card.

What I would like to ideally do, is build my son a new case/mobo/cpu that will reuse these two video cards in tandem thus reducing the cost of his system. I'm thinking of a lower end i5/i7 system.

Can these two work together to give him more functionality than just the 9600GT OC card alone?
The EVGA 7600 GT explicitly states on the box that it supports SLI, but the BFG 9600 GT box doesn't mention SLI support. Does anyone know if I can SLI these together? If not, any other suggestions as to how to best combine the two?

Thanks in advance!

No they can't be in SLI. They must both have the same GPU. For example, both cards must use a 9600GT (for SLI) or two 7600GT's (for SLI). The brand of the cards doesn't matter, XFX with an EVGA, EVGA with BFG. An i5/i7 system will cost you a pretty penny so I can see why you wanna save a buck. In your case you can't, not with those video cards. Your gonna have to buy another one, may be 2 since you 9600GT doesn't specifically say SLI. Check your card for a little tab on top with those "gold fingers." That ought to mean it's SLI ready. In the case you have to buy two. Go for two 9500GT cards if your on a budget. They have 1080p support, DDR3 or DDR2. Go HERE for the 9500GT. Not a bad budget card. Some games benefit from SLI and some don't. SLI may be beneficial in higher resolutions. It's almost a personal preference really. To me, I think I would rather split the load between two cards but a PSU of prolly 600W or more would be needed. You may also checkout the GTS 250 but 2-way that thing will cost you more than $200, easy.

 

[gwalschl]

Thanks Ozzman. You said that you'd rather split the load between two cards rather than use SLI because only some games take advantage of SLI. I'm pretty new at the new graphics cards. I thought to use two graphics cards at all for any game, you had to have something like SLI to get them "coordinated" so to speak. Are you saying that if you use two graphics cards without SLI, that they will give you more frames per second than either card separately...all without a "connecting" technology like SLI? I guess there's more to SLI than I thought?

Thanks!

 

[ozzman24]

Thanks Ozzman. You said that you'd rather split the load between two cards rather than use SLI because only some games take advantage of SLI. I'm pretty new at the new graphics cards. I thought to use two graphics cards at all for any game, you had to have something like SLI to get them "coordinated" so to speak. Are you saying that if you use two graphics cards without SLI, that they will give you more frames per second than either card separately...all without a "connecting" technology like SLI? I guess there's more to SLI than I thought?

Thanks!

Sorry for the misunderstanding but in order to get them "coordinated" you must use both cards which must be linked with an SLI bridge usually included with your motherboard but they can be bought from other places too. Your motherboard also has to feature SLI technology or Hybrid SLI. Yes you are right,

I thought to use two graphics cards at all for any game, you had to have something like SLI to get them "coordinated" so to speak.

It's really quite simple. You need an SLI motherboard, two video cards with the same GPU i.e. a 9600GT that is SLI ready, and an SLI bridge to connect the 2 cards. Since you know for sure your 7600GT is SLI ready you could get another 7600GT and connect'em both and you could have a little better graphics, and frame rates. What I meant by splitting the load on the system would be using the SLI in 2-way. You'll get mixed reviews about what to do. It's really all up to what your budget will allow. Myself, right now I am having trouble figuring out if I should go with 2-way SLI with a GeForce 8 or 9 series versus a single high-end card like a GeForce 200 series. SLI is certainly not a bad feature to utilize but your 7600GT lacks features that a cheap 8 series could bring you. An 8600GT will give you PhysX which is supposed to enhance game play and such.

 

[ill b ben]

Hey,

I have to disagree here with ozzman, i wouldnt go for SLI on a budget and most certainly not 2 9500gt's. The lowest a ''gamer'' wants is a at hd 4670 or Nvidia 9600gso. But best (price wise) would be a 4850 or a gts 250. Id rather set for the 4850 since its a newer tech.

But then again i wouldnt go for a i5 nor i7 tbh, The cheapest gaming system imo is still a LGA775 mobo (with some nice overclock features) and a cpu like the e5200 or the newer pentium dual cores like e6400 and overclock the crap out of it.

Or go AMD wich is the best path upgrade wise (when on a budget) compared to the 775 build *seeing as its been declared ''dead''.

GoodLuck

 

[ozzman24]

See, I told you mixed answers. Then what the hell is the multi-gpu good for? I've gone over the spec's of the 9500GT and the 9600GSO and there's not much difference. While the 9600GSO is a better card, I could settle for a 9500GT.

 

[ill b ben]

Well im sorry if i mixed things up but tbh cant rly see where.. And well heres the thing. 2x 9500gt cost round the same as one gts 250, 4830-50 etc. but still give less gpu power. Sli and crossfire is more of a high end segment if youd ask me. theres no point in sli'ng a 9500gt when you could buy a 4850

and the 9600 gso and 4670 are quite a bit better, if i recall correctly the 9500 gt is a rebranded 8600gt. I my self had a 8600 GTS wich is bout 10% better then the 8600gt .. and it was ***. Atleast by today standerts.

Thus why i say buy a nice 9600gso or 4670 if ur on a rly tight budget and still want to game a bit

 

[ozzman24]

Well im sorry if i mixed things up but tbh cant rly see where.. And well heres the thing. 2x 9500gt cost round the same as one gts 250, 4830-50 etc. but still give less gpu power. Sli and crossfire is more of a high end segment if youd ask me. theres no point in sli'ng a 9500gt when you could buy a 4850

and the 9600 gso and 4670 are quite a bit better, if i recall correctly the 9500 gt is a rebranded 8600gt. I my self had a 8600 GTS wich is bout 10% better then the 8600gt .. and it was ***. Atleast by today standerts.

Thus why i say buy a nice 9600gso or 4670 if ur on a rly tight budget and still want to game a bit

You have a valid argument. I've been checking reviews and the GTS 250 is also a budget card, though it's still not cheap. I was pumped about getting a GTS 250 and eventually going SLI with 2, but now I don't know what to do. I'm an NVIDIA fanboy so ATI's outta the picture for me. What would you do on a budget? It's not a small budget but it's not like I can afford 3-way SLI setup with the GTX 295's? gwalschl and I could use some other opinions.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey