SLI: A waste of time and money?

Hi all I'm new to this so hello to everybody.
I have two Nvidia graphics cards set up to run in SLI mode but here's the rub.
The PCI Express 1 slot is capable of running 16 lanes but the number 2 slot only runs at 8 lanes, if both slots are occupied then both run at 8.
Are we better of running one good card in the number 1 slot?
tia in advance for any info.

 

it depends what card you are planning on getting...8x SLI will definitely still be a big improvement over a single card but if you are going to SLI something like 2 7600GTs it would be a better idea to invest in a better single card such as an 8800GTS/GTX and then wait until later to add another. I dont really think that even the 8x PCI-E bandwidth is completely full with modern cards so im not sure how much of an improvement full 16x SLI would be over 8x SLI

welcome to the site :major

 

Thanks for that reply.
You must be psychic!!! That is exactly what I've installed: 2 x 7600 GT cards.
I bought these thinking that they would run Flight Sim X...WRONG.
It shuts down and reboots all the time if I try to use fairly decent settings.
Ah well back to the drawing board and the wallet.

 

sounds like a weak PSU. is it SLI certified?

dont get me wrong, those cards in SLI are quite the powerhouse but i wouldnt invest in something like that with the new DX10 cards coming out

 

Thanks viper for your replies, I think I'm fairly well configured.
Here's a config list

Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe Mobo
AMD 64x2 4600+ 2.41 Ghz
2 Gig DDR2 667 running as Dual Channel.
Sata 160 HDD (150 Transfer rate) I've got Vista on a 300, unusable at the moment, nothing much works on it.
Windows XP Home SP2
Hyper PSU 580 Watts.
2 x Nvidia 7600GT Graphics cards
Antec case.
All the other usual stuff, sound DVD Rom, etc etc.
I think men got to the moon and back with less!