GTX 590 SLI or not?

[F22Raptor]

Hi,

I read through a few post on here and saw that many on here have very good knowledge about multiple graphics card setups and 3D Studio Max.

I am putting together a new system and can't decide whether to go for one or two GTX 590, and wheter I should SLI them. Maybe two GTX 590 is overkill? Perhaps it's a waste of money.

I would be very grateful if someone could give help me decide whether to go dual or not.

Below are the questions, and if they sound stupid, it's because I have read so many conflicting views on this and haven't got that much of a clue yet.

My questions:

Does 3DS Max use both dual cards in the viewport and does it help with modeling and geometry heavy scenes in viewports.

Does 3D studio max take advantage of SLI? Or do the cards have to be non sli in order for 3DS max to take advantage of multiple cards?

Help is greatly appreciated, Many thanks guys!!

[Da_elf]

riiiiight below this section is the hardware section created so that the rest of the forum doesnt get clogged with hardware questions and can remain open for V-Ray questions seeing as this is a Vray forum

[F22Raptor]

I can't post in the hardware section. Nevermind, a moderator can close this thread.
Thanks anyway.

[Franx]

Only VrayRT, Iray or other GPU renderers will take advantage of multiple graphic cards. If you dont use those, a pair of 590s in SLI essentially means you have three 580 doing absolutely nothing except heating up your box and consuming electricity.

[F22Raptor]

Many thanks Franx.

Your answer correlates with my recent research on the subject on the matter, and I ordered a single 590 card. I don't render that much with a GPU enabled engine, so I figured saving the money and then upgrading to a newer card in the future would be a better investment.