Nvidia will no longer support three- and four-way SLI setups

[lripplinger]

It is indeed the smallest portion of the market but it is also the portion that is most passionate and spends the most money. The guys that buy 3 - 4 cards are the most enthusiastic about the cards they buy, they are banner holders. It essentially the same as a halo product, just having these guys are your side means you are going to get more sales simply because you can output bigger numbers. Would you rather buy SLI 1080s or Quad Crossfire RX 480s? The RX 480s being less than half the price and faster in quad.

The people throwing money at multiple card setups don't make up 99% of the sales. And how is comparing GTX 1080's to RX 480's even a comparison when they are in completely different price brackets and performance, not to mention the RX 480 is not even out yet to test as of this writing. If Nvidia was making their GPU sales from people with multiple card setups then it would matter. But it doesn't because less than 1% of the market uses those multiple card setups. It also feels like your comment is biased toward AMD. My comments are not biased one way or the other. I'm looking at companies making smart business decisions, and Nvidia made it here. And who says AMD wouldn't follow suit.

 

[Evernessince]

The people throwing money at multiple card setups don't make up 99% of the sales. And how is comparing GTX 1080's to RX 480's even a comparison when they are in completely different price brackets and performance, not to mention the RX 480 is not even out yet to test as of this writing. If Nvidia was making their GPU sales from people with multiple card setups then it would matter. But it doesn't because less than 1% of the market uses those multiple card setups. It also feels like your comment is biased toward AMD. My comments are not biased one way or the other. I'm looking at companies making smart business decisions, and Nvidia made it here. And who says AMD wouldn't follow suit.

I think you read a different post and then commented on mine. I'm not going to repeat myself because you decided to talk about something else entirely.

 

[Boilerhog146]

Renders any in game benchmark pretty much useless now don't it. way more simple on reviewer though. no longer have to worry,where to get extra cards..world records in overclocking ,GPUs, whats the point now?..

So .this is what we get? for being loyal to multi gpu , tech for years.2x 6800 ultra,2x 7950 GX2,2x 9800 GX2 (still up)3 GTX 280 tri sli (still up)

I guess AMD gonna abandon us enthusiasts as well,2x 3870 X2,2x 4870 X2, 4x 5770 (untested).I Haven't bought s radeon in a while for obvious reasons.

so no more dual NVidia cards,and I suspect the produo will probably be the last for AMD..too bad.I may do more fly fishing...

 

[Evernessince]

Renders any in game benchmark pretty much useless now don't it. way more simple on reviewer though. no longer have to worry,where to get extra cards..world records in overclocking ,GPUs, whats the point now?..

So .this is what we get? for being loyal to multi gpu , tech for years.2x 6800 ultra,2x 7950 GX2,2x 9800 GX2 (still up)3 GTX 280 tri sli (still up)

I guess AMD gonna abandon us enthusiasts as well,2x 3870 X2,2x 4870 X2, 4x 5770 (untested).I Haven't bought s radeon in a while for obvious reasons.

so no more dual NVidia cards,and I suspect the produo will probably be the last for AMD..too bad.I may do more fly fishing...

What makes you think AMD will stop supporting 3 and 4 card configs? They have been really improving their multiple card setups the last 2 years and have made large improvements with Omega and Catalyst drivers, I don't see them dropping all that progress.

 

[GhostRyder]

This is being blown up over something that really only effects a niche market (coming from a person with a 3 card setup and who has had multiple quad setups). Its become so little on the support side anyway that it really makes so little difference as is. I am just happy as long as dual GPU's still get good optimizations.

I guess the only thing to fret over is the back tracking on what was being stated before. Again, its still a big meh at the end of the day.

 

[Boilerhog146]

Renders any in game benchmark pretty much useless now don't it. way more simple on reviewer though. no longer have to worry,where to get extra cards..world records in overclocking ,GPUs, whats the point now?..

So .this is what we get? for being loyal to multi gpu , tech for years.2x 6800 ultra,2x 7950 GX2,2x 9800 GX2 (still up)3 GTX 280 tri sli (still up)

I guess AMD gonna abandon us enthusiasts as well,2x 3870 X2,2x 4870 X2, 4x 5770 (untested).I Haven't bought s radeon in a while for obvious reasons.

so no more dual NVidia cards,and I suspect the produo will probably be the last for AMD..too bad.I may do more fly fishing...

What makes you think AMD will stop supporting 3 and 4 card configs? They have been really improving their multiple card setups the last 2 years and have made large improvements with Omega and Catalyst drivers, I don't see them dropping all that progress.

I hope not ,maybe that will be the right fly, to get me to rise and bite .buy some Radeons for a change.
I do wonder if that new sli bridge will double the bandwidth on other cards like my dual 4 gig 670's. 4 1080 with the old bridge, losing half the bandwidth..the new 3 way/4 way bridge .would look cool and doubling the bandwidth.now we are getting robbed.only the likes of Kingpin, will get the 3 way /4 way bridge..

buying a second and/or third card later, on the cheap, has allways been a sweet spot..I 'm opting for a third 4 gig 670 now to try../as opposed to 2/3 new cards.. I'm also glad I didn't just go and preorder 3 new cards, unaware they won't jive..

 

[Evernessince]

I hope not ,maybe that will be the right fly, to get me to rise and bite .buy some Radeons for a change.
I do wonder if that new sli bridge will double the bandwidth on other cards like my dual 4 gig 670's. 4 1080 with the old bridge, losing half the bandwidth..the new 3 way/4 way bridge .would look cool and doubling the bandwidth.now we are getting robbed.only the likes of Kingpin, will get the 3 way /4 way bridge..

buying a second and/or third card later, on the cheap, has allways been a sweet spot..I 'm opting for a third 4 gig 670 now to try../as opposed to 2/3 new cards.. I'm also glad I didn't just go and preorder 3 new cards, unaware they won't jive..

From what I've read, those new bridges only get the full speed on Pascal. In addition, old bridges used in conjunction with Pascal card will also get a speed boost.

Personally I'd rather just get rid of bridges all together as they have finite bandwidth. AMD cards use the bus so the questions of bandwidth limitation will never be an issue.

 

[Boilerhog146]

Renders any in game benchmark pretty much useless now don't it. way more simple on reviewer though. no longer have to worry,where to get extra cards..world records in overclocking ,GPUs, whats the point now?..

So .this is what we get? for being loyal to multi gpu , tech for years.2x 6800 ultra,2x 7950 GX2,2x 9800 GX2 (still up)3 GTX 280 tri sli (still up)

I guess AMD gonna abandon us enthusiasts as well,2x 3870 X2,2x 4870 X2, 4x 5770 (untested).I Haven't bought s radeon in a while for obvious reasons.

so no more dual NVidia cards,and I suspect the produo will probably be the last for AMD..too bad.I may do more fly fishing...

What makes you think AMD will stop supporting 3 and 4 card configs? They have been really improving their multiple card setups the last 2 years and have made large improvements with Omega and Catalyst drivers, I don't see them dropping all that progress.

If Developers no longer code for multiple GPU's, why .would AMD keep building supported hardware..For What? the world record benchmark? thats apparently what Nvidia is doing for 3 / 4 way sli..

 

[Evernessince]

If Developers no longer code for multiple GPU's, why .would AMD keep building supported hardware..For What? the world record benchmark? thats apparently what Nvidia is doing for 3 / 4 way sli..

Developers code for what's on the market. We know there is a good market for 3-4 card setups. If AMD is the only vendor that does it, they are now essentially picking up not only their previous AMD guys but now the x-Nvidia 3-4 card guys as well. Let's not forget that AMD also has 2 high end multi-gpu cards to support as well. AMD could very well make a push with crossfire as well to make the RX 480 and 490 all the more compelling against the 1070 and 1080. Improving Crossfire can only heavily benefit AMD at this point.

In addition, if AMD were to put multiple GPUs in the next-gen consoles that could have a huge impact on devs willing to program for multiple card. What we do know right now is that it is very easy to program VR for Crossfire (1 GPU per display).

 

[Evernessince]

If Developers no longer code for multiple GPU's, why .would AMD keep building supported hardware..For What? the world record benchmark? thats apparently what Nvidia is doing for 3 / 4 way sli..

Something I just found

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonev...-campaign-incites-gpu-rebellion/#3002a0c31c8d

Turns out that AMD does intend to double down on their drivers even more.

 

[cliffordcooley]

If AMD is the only vendor that does it, they are now essentially picking up not only their previous AMD guys but now the x-Nvidia 3-4 card guys as well.

Still yet that would be a small market, if any at all. I don't see nVidia worrying about it.

In addition, if AMD were to put multiple GPUs in the next-gen consoles

That would be stupid. They are not even using top of the line single cards. Why would they turn to a dual setup?

 

[Evernessince]

Still yet that would be a small market, if any at all. I don't see nVidia worrying about it.

That would be stupid. They are not even using top of the line single cards. Why would they turn to a dual setup?

They would use two lower-end GPUs that would be high yield and low cost while still delivering allot of performance. What exactly is stupid about that? Lower die size = higher yield and lower cost. The benefits to using multiple smaller chips and connecting them through an interposer is obvious.

In your above post you specifically sited Nvidia as your favored brand and it's apparent that it's shining through in your post above. It's rude to go around and slam other people's posts without even giving it a proper thought.

 

[cliffordcooley]

It's rude to go around and slam other people's posts without even giving it a proper thought.

I did give it a proper thought, else I wouldn't have called it stupid.

 

[Evernessince]

I did give it a proper thought, else I wouldn't have called it stupid.

Then may I see your reasoning and / or a counter to my point? If I'm wrong I want to know why.

 

[cliffordcooley]

The only advantage to your point would be the cost of a single top-tier GPU being higher than two low-tier GPUs. The cost of which I'm sure AMD would be willing to negotiate at the table. Everything else you mentioned is BS. BS because then there would be two of them to consider. Yeah lower this and lower that, but then you have to multiply by two. It would simply be more efficient to have one compact chip.

 

[Evernessince]

The only advantage to your point would be the cost of a single top-tier GPU being higher than two low-tier GPUs. The cost of which I'm sure AMD would be willing to negotiate at the table. Everything else you mentioned is BS. BS because then there would be two of them to consider. Yeah lower this and lower that, but then you have to multiply by two. It would simply be more efficient to have one compact chip.

I don't think you quite get how chips are made and what I said cannot be summarized as "lower this and lower that". Smaller chips are easier to produce. Their small size means that defects in the wafer would only affect one or two cards and even those can likely be salvages as lower binned cards. Compare this to a large GPU where you are likely to get multiple imperfections on the same chip, essentially rendering it worthless. In addition, you simply cannot fit as much on a wafer. Just look at Nvidia's Pascal as an example. GP100 is such a large GPU that they have 3 cutdown versions of it. The GTX 1080, 1070, and 1060 are all cutdown GP100 GPUs.

The point you should have made is that programming for multiple GPUs is hard. The point you tried to make (in misunderstanding) is disproven by existing video card. If crossfire or SLI scaled 100% everyone would simply pick lower end card as they are cheaper in multiples. They are cheaper because they are easier to produce. The increase drastically as you increase the die size.

 

[cliffordcooley]

The GTX 1080, 1070, and 1060 are all cutdown GP100 GPUs.

This is whats stupid, using two of the same cut down chips instead of using only one. What I understand or misunderstand about the fab process or AMD's pricing is not relevant.

 

[Squid Surprise]

I'm not arguing whether this is a sound business decision by Nvidia (it must be, or else why would they be doing it?)... I'm just distressed because I'm one of those "chumps" who shelled out north of $3000 for 3 video cards and it looks like I'm going to be playing games that won't be supporting my setup...

Kind of the way the world is going these days - people who spend for the top of the line don't need to be supported - they're stupid enough to keep buying anyways... Guess I'm feeling pretty stupid...

Gone are the days when you tried to make the people who spent the most on your product feel satisfied with their purchases...

 

[Theinsanegamer]

The GTX 1080, 1070, and 1060 are all cutdown GP100 GPUs.

This is whats stupid, using two of the same cut down chips instead of using only one. What I understand or misunderstand about the fab process or AMD's pricing is not relevant.

You wouldn't be making this "stupid" argument if you understood the pricing and yields of the 14nm process.

Smaller GPUs are cheaper. AMD can provide two smaller GPUs, with the equivalent power for 1 big GPU, for a lower cost. Console OEMs like lower costs. Combined with DX12 and vulkan, dual GPUs in future consoles would let the average computational power rise more quickly without costing an arm and a leg. Ergo, the next consoles would be more powerful for the same price as a console that uses the big GPU. Since yields are higher, more GPUs for said consoles can be manufactured, keeping supply issues at bay. And of course AMD makes more money out of the deal as well.

Especially as future dies become harder to manufacture, multiple smaller chips would be much preferred to fewer bigger chips. Multiple GPUs are the future, just like multiple cpu cores were years ago, the question is when are we going to actually push for dual GPUs instead of this "make 1 GPU bigger" nonsense. It's like chasing higher GHz ratings on a pentium 4, there are so many easier ways to get more performance.

 

[Evernessince]

This is whats stupid, using two of the same cut down chips instead of using only one. What I understand or misunderstand about the fab process or AMD's pricing is not relevant.

You were arguing that two cards means double (even though that's a simplification) the resources. I laid out points as a counter to that. You state that the fab process has nothing to do with this but it ironically just the opposite of this.