To sli or not to sli?

[cybermonk]

Hi all,

I have an athlon x2 4200 processor, dfi lanparty ut4 mobo, 2GB memory and an asus 9600gso (384MB DDR3 memory, core 600mhz, mem 1800mhz).

I'm considering buying another 9600 gso to run in sli mode, and I was wondering if the processor would be a bottleneck, or if the 384 MB memory on my gfx card is. Would I see a large (15% ) improvement if I go sli on games running at 1680*1050 (FEAR / TF2 / Half Life2 and mods)

Cheers
James

 

[bpogdowz]

It's already bottlenecking you'd get more FPS but the processor is still the problem.

 

[cybermonk]

Actually, I just found this link http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2452&p=3 , which was talking about the 4200 processor being overclocked "quite easily" for 2.2 ghz to 2.64 ghz. The mobo I have is (apparently) an overclocking beast (a bargain @ $25), but until recently I've never had the time to test it out.

Would this make much of a difference though (a leap from 2.2 to 2.64 ghz) for gaming to warrant a $50 sli card?

thanks for the reply bpogdowz

 

[bpogdowz]

That CPU doesn't over clock to 3.2.

 

[one-shot]

I had an X2 3800+ and I ran it stable @ 2.5Ghz from 2.0Ghz. I doubt an X2 4200+ would get anywhere near 3.0Ghz and be stable. SLI would be pointless with your current CPU. Upgrade the CPU before you consider SLI.

 

[Mousemonkey]

I had an X2 3800+ and I ran it stable @ 2.5Ghz from 2.0Ghz. I doubt an X2 4200+ would get anywhere near 3.0Ghz and be stable. SLI would be pointless with your current CPU. Upgrade the CPU before you consider SLI.

+1, My 3800 x2 just choked when paired with a couple of 8800GT's.

 

[one-shot]

+1, My 3800 x2 just choked when paired with a couple of 8800GT's.

I gave my brother my old X2 3800+ and an ATI 4850. The card is crying for CPU power. The system seems so slow and unresponsive with any resolution above 1024x768. Too bad he has a mATX case or I'd overclock it a little. I used the video card with an Core 2 Duo @ 3.7Ghz, so of course a 3800 X2 would seem slow. Point being, you would see increased 3D performance with a new CPU rather than a new GPU/video card.

 

[cybermonk]

Oh well, guess I'm just gonna have to convince my wife that a new rig is necessary (wish me gl with that). Thanks for the reply gents, I'm hesitant to part with my athlon, but I guess I am just going to have to bite the bullet in RL as well as online.

Thanks for all the help you've given

James