All the true gamers know that to get the best gaming experience you need speed and smooth graphics. That means you need a video card with the post powerful GPU, tons of dual ported memory and in depth resolution.

Both SLI and ATI GPUs can improve the performance considerably.

NVIDIA’s SLI Performance

NVIDIA’s Scalable Link Interface (SLI) let’s you link multiple video cards together to load balance the processing. It requires PCI-Express x16 graphics cards and motherboards. They are setup in a master slave relationship to better do 3D rendering using parallel processing. What that means is thet one card draws part of the scene while another draws a second part, etc.

With most of the latest motherboards using the latest device drivers you can use up to four video cards. You can overclock them individual and they can be from different manufacturers but all of the cards must be able to use the same chipset.

ATI’s CrossFire Performance

ATI’s CrossFire technology allows a little more freedom because the GPUs don’t have to use the same exact chipset but they must be in the same chipset line. CrossFire requires PCI-Express x16 slots on the motherboard and will work with AMD/ATI or Intel based chipsets.

CrossFire handles its 3D rendering a little differently but will also support two and four GPU configuration under CrossFireX with the latest compatible video and motherboard drivers.

Which One is better?

That depends on the following:

Do you have a specific preference? I personally think ATI provide smoother rendering.

Are you buying new video cards or using the one you already have? If you are using existing cards, ATI’s ability to use different GPUs could save you a lot money.

Can you handle driver problems? Both have decent track records for providing updated drivers but ATI has had fewer problems lately especially with multiple GPU setups

Are you using more than one monitor? ATI’s Eyefinity is remarkable but unfortunately the drivers for Eyefinity are not working well on some Raedon HD crossfire configurations

What games are you playing? No matter which one is technically better if it doesn’t support your games, it’s totally useless. However, most newer games will support both technologies.

Conclusion

Both technologies have a lot to offer and you owe it to yourself to try multiple GPUs so you can experience to maintain a good frame rate with exceptional rendering.