SLI/Crossfire & Single/Dual

[Selenarious]

1) How is GTX 485M different from 485M SLI, and HD 6970 from 6970CF (other than cost of course)?

2) Why is it when looking at laptops' specs their GPU never seem to offer the SLI or CF options?

3) What is the difference (in terms of performance for a laptop etc.) in having a single GPU compared to a duo GPU?

4) Are the increase in performance, if any, usually worth the extra costs?

Thanks in advance. New to the forums btw~

 

[WR2]

1) 485M SLI = two GTX 485M graphics cards. 6970CF = 2x HD 6970s.
2) Most laptops chassis don't have the physical capacity to have twin graphics cards installed and keep them cooled.
3) If CF/SLI scaling were perfect you'd get up to double the graphics performance. Actual performance differs due to a number of factors - like a specific game, the graphics card, the LCD resolution and the CPU being used.
4) Yes/Maybe/No
Yes / If you 'need' to play Metro 2033 or Crysis 2 @ 1920x1080 resolution @ ultra settings. And you want a good shot at playing games released in 2013 on ultra settings.
Maybe / If you can afford it.
No / If you play COD: Black Ops or older games like CoD 4 @ 1366x768 resolution and your budget can't handle a GTX 485M price tag.

3a) Crysis 2 6970M CF scales 45% Mafia 2 GTX 460M SLI scales 89% Metro 2033 GTX 485M SLI scales 95%.

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[Selenarious]

Best answer selected by Selenarious.