# Sli Question:



## Exploded_Monitor (Mar 11, 2005)

Is it possible to buy an SLI Motherboard, and not run 2 video cards(I need to save up lol..)
Thanks for helping a computer newbie.


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## mgoldb2 (Mar 11, 2005)

Exploded_Monitor said:
			
		

> Is it possible to buy an SLI Motherboard, and not run 2 video cards(I need to save up lol..)
> Thanks for helping a computer newbie.



Yes it will run fine with just one video card in it


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## Charchris (Mar 11, 2005)

Yes it will run one but when you need two it will run two


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## Praetor (Mar 12, 2005)

Without much difficulty you can buy a NF4U board and have it modded to a NF4SLI


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## Livzz (Mar 14, 2005)

What is SLI? does that mean it can handle 2 video cards??? whats the point in that? you only use one screen at a time...
i am very confused!


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## mgoldb2 (Mar 14, 2005)

Livzz said:
			
		

> What is SLI? does that mean it can handle 2 video cards??? whats the point in that? you only use one screen at a time...
> i am very confused!





> Scanline Interleave is a mode in which two Pixelfx are connected and render in alternate turns, one handling odd, the other handling even scanlines of the actual output. Each Pixelfx stores only half of the image and half of the depth buffer data in its own local framebuffer, effectively doubling the number of pixels.



In otherwise it greatly increases the performance in video games by each video card only having to do half the work it used to.

Also it quite possiable for a computer to have 2 screens but that not the point of SLI.


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## Cromewell (Mar 14, 2005)

> In otherwise it greatly increases the performance in video games by each video card only having to do half the work it used to.


To a point, it also increases the load on the CPU so unless you're playing a graphically heavy game that is light on the CPU with graphically heavy settings (ie. 8xAA + 16xAF) there isn't much advantage


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## JasonYu (Mar 15, 2005)

Exploded_Monitor said:
			
		

> Is it possible to buy an SLI Motherboard, and not run 2 video cards(I need to save up lol..)
> Thanks for helping a computer newbie.



There is a card for u to set use dual PCI-Express 8X or PCI-Express 16X. SLI techology change a PCI-Express 16X to dual PCI-Express 8X. When u just use one display card, u use the card to set the motherboard using PCI-Express 16X. When u use SLI, u must set the card to use dual PCI-Express 8X.


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## Blue (Mar 15, 2005)

Yes there really is not much advantage using SLI when it comes to the higher end cards anyway but you can always use 2 lower end vid cards (saving little though) and have it perform "Closer" to a higher end video card. Sli has it's advantages but not really necessary as I say if you purchase a high end videocard at which point it becomes way too expensive.


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## mgoldb2 (Mar 15, 2005)

Cromewell said:
			
		

> To a point, it also increases the load on the CPU so unless you're playing a graphically heavy game that is light on the CPU with graphically heavy settings (ie. 8xAA + 16xAF) there isn't much advantage



Well you would hope if the person spent the money to buy two graphic cards that he would be planning on playing it 1600X1200 with 8XAA and 16Xaf or something close to that otherwise he wasted his money.


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## Cromewell (Mar 16, 2005)

> Well you would hope if the person spent the money to buy two graphic cards that he would be planning on playing it 1600X1200 with 8XAA and 16Xaf or something close to that otherwise he wasted his money.


but even then the gain is almost solely limited to Doom3 and other light CPU games


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## Praetor (Mar 16, 2005)

> There is a card for u to set use dual PCI-Express 8X or PCI-Express 16X. SLI techology change a PCI-Express 16X to dual PCI-Express 8X. When u just use one display card, u use the card to set the motherboard using PCI-Express 16X. When u use SLI, u must set the card to use dual PCI-Express 8X.


SLI isnt the only thing that drops the PCIx16 ... runnning dual cards will do the same



> Well you would hope if the person spent the money to buy two graphic cards that he would be planning on playing it 1600X1200 with 8XAA and 16Xaf or something close to that otherwise he wasted his money.


Individuals are intelligent. People arent


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## mgoldb2 (Mar 16, 2005)

Praetor said:
			
		

> Individuals are intelligent. People arent



It took me a mounth of doing tech support to relize that.  I finally figured out to ask the stupid questions first because things like voulume control on mute was the problem 90% of the time.


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## Praetor (Mar 16, 2005)

> doing tech support to relize that


Thats why i do on-site only  Then you dont depend on someone else for answers


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## 691175002 (Mar 16, 2005)

mgoldb2 said:
			
		

> Scanline Interleave is a mode in which two Pixelfx are connected and render in alternate turns, one handling odd, the other handling even scanlines of the actual output. Each Pixelfx stores only half of the image and half of the depth buffer data in its own local framebuffer, effectively doubling the number of pixels.


While SLI used to stand for scanline interleave, Nvidia has simply taken the acronym but changed its meaning to Scalable Link Interface. Scalable Link Interface is not the same thing as Scanline Interleave.


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## Praetor (Mar 17, 2005)

> While SLI used to stand for scanline interleave, Nvidia has simply taken the acronym but changed its meaning to Scalable Link Interface


Uh .... SLI still stands for scanline interleave .... (i.e., acronyms can have multiple expansions ... consider AC for instance)


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## Rambo (Mar 17, 2005)

> consider AC for instance



Just outta curiosity, what does that stand for?


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## Yeti (Mar 17, 2005)

> Just outta curiosity, what does that stand for?


Unless Praetor's thinking of some computer terms I'm not aware of, it generally means either air conditioning or alternating current
Also:
http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?String=exact&Acronym=ac&Find=Find


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## Praetor (Mar 17, 2005)

AC = autocannon, armour class, area code, adult contemporary, absolute ceiling, air-craft .. but the point is still the same


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## 691175002 (Mar 17, 2005)

Praetor said:
			
		

> Uh .... SLI still stands for scanline interleave .... (i.e., acronyms can have multiple expansions ... consider AC for instance)


It may have multiple meanings but unless he wants a pair of voodoo 2's (lets play doom 3 at 0.5 FPS!!! (if it can even run))  scanline interleave has nothing to do with what we are talking about.


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## Praetor (Mar 24, 2005)

> It may have multiple meanings but unless he wants a pair of voodoo 2's (lets play doom 3 at 0.5 FPS!!! (if it can even run)) scanline interleave has nothing to do with what we are talking about.


Perhaps but it doesnt mean that SLI only means "Scalable Link Interface" (which was the point i was trying to convey) ... now "nVidia SLI" is a different story altogether


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## 691175002 (Mar 24, 2005)

Ok. just making sure he knows.


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