GPU advice

Weaver

I have an Asus M2N-E board sporting an AMD X2 5200+ CPU with 4Gb memory. I've been using a 320Mb 8800gts card for a long time now, but today I picked up a 1Gb 9500Gt on the cheap. I currently have the 9500 in the upper slot SLI connected to the 8800.

I know that idealy you would want the same card ar at least the same GPU in both slots, but so far I've noticed absolutely no drop in performance on anything and I'm wondering if this should be a working configuration or if something needs to be swapped around.

All drivers and firmware versions are the latest available.

Apogee

... I'm pretty sure you just downgraded. And those cards won't SLI with each other; they need to be of the same family (e.g. you'd need a second 8800GTS to do SLI). You're not going to see a drop in performance by hooking up two different cards, but they aren't SLI-ing. They're independant, so you could run two monitors (and potentially two games) almsot independantly.

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with SLI at all; it costs more, it is fraught with incompatibilities, and is a general pain in the ass. Tried it, didn't like it. Regretted it. I sold, my second card shortly after I got it to a friend who needed a new computer.

Frankly, you're being held back by your CPU anyway. If you upgrade to something recent (a GTX260 w/ 216 cores is a great buy), you'll need some more CPU power. Remember that you're generally limited by the weakest component on the computer.

*edit* Just to clarify, a 8800GTS is better than a 9500 - alot. You'll notice that the 9500 isn't even on that benchmark - it's too slow.

tsmvengy

Considering how crappy the 9500GT is, it is providing no help to your other card.

PeregrineFalcon

Weaver wrote: »

I have an Asus M2N-E board sporting an AMD X2 5200+ CPU with 4Gb memory. I've been using a 320Mb 8800gts card for a long time now, but today I picked up a 1Gb 9500Gt on the cheap. I currently have the 9500 in the upper slot SLI connected to the 8800.

I know that idealy you would want the same card ar at least the same GPU in both slots, but so far I've noticed absolutely no drop in performance on anything and I'm wondering if this should be a working configuration or if something needs to be swapped around.

All drivers and firmware versions are the latest available.

What in the holy hell would you do that for?

Take it back, unless you plan on keeping it as a backup card if your 8800GTS ever fries.

Weaver

Ok, I'll return it. Thanks.

Weaver

Took it back, went down the road and saw a private little shop I'd never noticed before and picked up a 512Mb 9800GT for $20 less so guess it all turned out ok. I'll grab a new proc in a month or two.