EVGA GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video CardItem#: E145-8832  |  Model#: 512-P3-N801-AR

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Advanced PC Build-It-Yourself Guide
Not too long ago one had to be eligible for the Genius IQ Club (Mensa) in order to build a computer. That is no longer the case. Today’s computer manufacturers have made it much easier for the enterprising do-it-yourselfer to create a great system.
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PCI Express 2.0 - High End Graphics Have Arrived
PCI Express Base 2.0 specification doubles the interconnect bit rate from 2.5 GT/s to 5 GT/s in a seamless and compatible manner. The performance boost to 5 GT/s is by far the most important feature of the PCI Express 2.0 specifications. It effectively increases the aggregate bandwidth of a 16-lane link to approximately 16 GB/s. The higher bandwidth will allow product designers to implement narrower interconnect links to achieve high performance while reducing cost.

A number of optimizations and improvements have been made to the protocol and software layers of the PCI Express architecture in the PCI Express Base 2.0 specification. These include:

• Dynamic link speed management – to control the speed at which the link is operating
• Link bandwidth notification – to notify software (operating system, device drivers, etc) of changes in link speed and width
• Capability structure expansion – to expand the control registers to better manage devices, slots and the interconnect
• Access control services – optional controls to manage peer-peer transactions
• Completion timeout control – to define a required disable mechanism plus related optional enhancements
• Function-level reset – optional mechanism to reset functions within a device
• Power limit redefinition – to redefine slot power limit values to accommodate devices that consume higher power

What is SLI Technology?
NVIDIA® SLI™ technology is a revolutionary platform innovation that allows you to intelligently scale graphics performance by combining multiple NVIDIA graphics solutions in a single system with an NVIDIA nForce® SLI media and communications processor (MCP).

How Does SLI Technology Work?
Using proprietary software algorithms and dedicated scalability logic in each NVIDIA graphics processing unit (GPU) and MCP, NVIDIA SLI technology delivers up to twice the performance of a single graphics solution.

SLI GPU Graphics Cards
NVIDIA SLI GPUs deliver powerful, elegant and super-rich graphics for games and other graphics-intensive applications. Combining two NVIDIA SLI-Ready certified graphics cards (with the same GPU) in a single system with an nForce SLI MCP results in up to double the graphics performance.  NVIDIA SLI-Ready GPUs feature dedicated, built-in SLI hardware logic and take advantage of the additional bandwidth of the PCI Express bus architecture. Connected by the SLI connector (which ships with all SLI-Ready motherboards), each GPU has a maximized connection pathway, and can leverage the second card for reaching top-speed performances. SLI Technology can scale both geometry and fill rate performance for multiple GPUs and output in both digital and analog formats for the highest image quality.

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Will Your Motherboard Support the Video Card You're Purchasing? Here's the Answer...

Before you buy - make sure your motherboard is compatible with this video card. For example, PCI Express video cards won't work with motherboards designed only for AGP or PCI video cards, and vice versa. Please read the specifications carefully or call us for expert advice.

Close-Up: PCI, AGP, and PCI-E (PCI Express)

Check your motherboard and make sure you are purchasing the correct cardbus type.

There are 3 types of cardbus slots currently available: PCI, AGP, and PCI Express (PCIe 2.0 is compatible with PCIe slot)

PCI - The most widely used I/O bus, it provides a shared data path between the CPU and peripheral controllers, such as network, display, SCSI and RAID cards. Though limited in terms of performance, they are considered the best value when you upgrade your video capabilities on a PC. The PCI interface can be found and used in nearly any motherboard.
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AGP - The AGP slot is next in line of higher graphic performance. It was designed especially for the throughput demands of 3-D graphics. It offers up to 8x improvement over a PCI card, is 32 bits wide and runs at 66 MHz. It provides a direct connection between the card and memory, and only one AGP slot is on the motherboard. The motherboard must be equipped with an AGP bus slot for an AGP card to be compatible.(AGP 1x provided a data transfer rate of 264 Mbytes/sec. AGP 2x is 528 Mbytes/sec. AGP 4x is 1 Gbyte/sec. AGP 8x is 2 Gbytes/sec.)
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PCI Express - PCI Express is the newest technology that is superior to both PCI and AGP, in terms of graphic performance. It offers performance as much as 4x faster than the fastest AGP 8X slot. PCI Express connections can support fast data transfer rates, which can be used to connect high-speed devices such as high-end video cards. The slots come in different variations and speeds, such as x1, x4, x8, and x16. Presently, most high-end motherboards meant for design, video production, or gaming come with PCI express slots. To use a PCI Express card, your computer must have at least one available PCI Express slot.
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