How Much is Too Much?

GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
edited July 2006 in Science & Tech
Dual graphics cards in an SLI configuration, plus a physics card. Quad-CPU cores. Seven hundred-plus watts of PSU power. Such a PC could handle anything, but it will cost you. How much is too much? When do we cross the boundary between common sense and overkill?
Two cards for graphics will cost you and a third one for physics might not be super expensive but it won't be cheap either. Of course, it all depends on what you want, as the top ATI physics chippery comes with the top ATI graphic card.

That’s why you'll need a third PCIe slot.
The Inquirer is reporting on an upcoming ATI chipset for Conroe that will provide 3 PCIe 16X ports. This is, of course, to accommodate two graphics cards and a dedicated Physics Processing Unit. Both AMD and Intel will be releasing quad-core CPUs within the next year. The performance possibilities seem limitless... and so does the cost. All of this raw potential is going to require power, and lots of it. Dual-rail power supplies that put out upwards of 700W are a start, and your electric company will love you for it.

Yet, does it even make sense to continue to follow this technology curve to the very top? Can the average consumer afford it? Will anyone but the stereotypical power gamer even need it? When does the technological trend cross the line from a logical progression to a profit-fueled farce? And will someone please give me several thousand dollars so I can judge firsthand if these technologies are worth the price of admission?

Comments

  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited July 2006
    It looks like the computer hobbyist field is going the same route as that of the high-end audio crowd. There will always be someone out there who doesn't mind paying a premium for an improved bit of hardware, even if the improvement lies more in the theoretical than the practical. These new graphics card capabilities look like the real deal, but it's only a matter of time before we have the computer equivalent of $9,000 6' Speaker Cables. ;)
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    You know this is why I think NVIDIA’s solution is going to win the Physic's race. As it will run on any SLI setup on the 2nd GPU. which means for under $285.00 you can get 2 6600GT's & a New Mobo for SLI and run nVIDIA physics... that is allot cheaper then ATI's route. And who in the high end market has an extra slot for a PCI card to run physics? that cost $250 to boot?

    I do think the PC market is growing to fast, and there will be a huge slow down in the near future... but as of now Intel and AMD have everyone so hyped-up everyone wants a new PC every other month. The problem is I am one of them.. High end gaming on a high end systems are my hobby, and as long as I am breathing I will always want the best of the best and will want to be on the bleeding edge of the market.
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    Ageia's PhysX card ran on straight PCI though the prototype card had a PCI-E 1x connector as well. How much bandwidth are we talking here?

    -drasnor :fold:
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    Its not Bandwidth I am concerned with it is the Extra $250 on top of my 2 high end Graphic cards already I am concerned with. Sure I love to buy the best things but a money savings is a help here and there. Also NVIDIA’s new 590 open more lanes for the Physics card, I think I heard something about a 22 lane PCI -E bus...
  • drasnordrasnor Starship Operator Hawthorne, CA Icrontian
    edited July 2006
    I was trying to cast doubt on the "you need a new motherboard to play with the big boys" sales pitch. It isn't like I'm going to ever see anything better than what I have more my platform of choice (double socket 940).

    -drasnor :fold:
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