So, I currently have a dated 6800GT in my computer. A friend of mine was given two 8600GT cards which he doesn't need and so offered to me.

Would two 8600GT cards be better than my single 6800GT? I've heard arguments that the 6800GT is still faster than an 8600GT. Is this true? Does it hold true for an SLi configuration?

8600GT is faster than a 6800GT, but an 8800GT would be a better bet...

About 8600GT 512mb (wich i own) i cant tell good and bad words. Its enough good, it plays GTA IV with stable 30fps. But u gotta check the cooling on it, because if its Heatpipe system then better dont take it. Heatpipe is really sucky. Good Luck, ask questions if needed

2x8600GT would defitnly beat the 6800GT. No problem. Back in the days when i had 2x6600GT in sli it was as fast as your 6800GT. Not ineverything off course but was rather close. However getting those in SLI means you need a new mobo aswell. Unless you have already a SLI mobo offcourse.

Quote from niels1 :

2x8600GT would defitnly beat the 6800GT. No problem. Back in the days when i had 2x6600GT in sli it was as fast as your 6800GT. Not ineverything off course but was rather close. However getting those in SLI means you need a new mobo aswell. Unless you have already a SLI mobo offcourse.

Yea I've got an SLi mobo. Maybe I'll do it then.

Why would you use a 6800GT when you got the chance to use 8600GT's in SLI?

Quote from Takumi_lfs :

Why would you use a 6800GT when you got the chance to use 8600GT's in SLI?

Because the 6800GT is actually faster than the 8600GTs in some regards, or so I've heard. And since I've also heard that SLi doesn't always boost a graphics card(s) performance in every scenario, I was wondering whether it was worth the extra power-consumption, driver installation annoyances, etc if I was only going to gain 5 FPS...

Quote from Stang70Fastback :

Because the 6800GT is actually faster than the 8600GTs in some regards, or so I've heard.

Don't even think about it... the 8600GT is way faster than the 6800GT... in some cases a single 8600GT outperforms 2x6800GT in SLI

Quote from Stang70Fastback :

Because the 6800GT is actually faster than the 8600GTs in some regards, or so I've heard. And since I've also heard that SLi doesn't always boost a graphics card(s) performance in every scenario, I was wondering whether it was worth the extra power-consumption, driver installation annoyances, etc if I was only going to gain 5 FPS...

There is no driver installation issue. Just as normal as a single card install. It just does it twice. Those 8600GT`s wont suck up that much power anyway. Maybe in LFS you wont gain much but certainly in several other different games. Get them