Motherboard allows 3-way SLI, but affording three video cards is another matter

I consider myself decently educated in the ways of the PC, but what I learned today told me that my current knowledge is nothing compared to what’s out there. I’ve just read that you can now do three-way SLIs if you have the cash to burn.

SLI is an acronym for Scalable Link Interface, a technology by Nvidia which lets you link three video cards together to make your games even more purdy.

Nvidia’s new nForce 780i motherboard lets you do just that. You see, the 780i board is designed specifically for 1333FSB Intel QX9650 (Yorkfield) processors (Core 2 in English). The mere prospect of having a Core 2 processor is making me drool, but combining it with a three-way SLI setup is nauseating.

Having this kind of setup means I can play Crysis with maxed-out detail, and perhaps stare at 3,000 exploding barrels without having the PC crash.

Three-way SLI is said to deliver up to a 2.8x performance boost over traditional single graphics card setups. According to a press release, linking three Nvidia cards lets you ratchet up the resolution to 1900×1200 and 2500×1600 respectively, while partaking in all of that eye candy.

Purchasing the 780i board and a Core 2 CPU is definitely doable, but can you imagine linking three $500 high-end cards? One card alone would set me back for years, so combining a trio is a pipe dream. I think I’ll stick with a PS3, thank you.