7600gs help please

[ta56636]

Hello,

Can anyone help me with a question...

I have the following setup

3700+ AMD
DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D
1GB Geil CAS 2.5
WinFast PX7600 GS TDH http://www.leadtek.com.tw/eng/3d_graphic/overview.asp?pronameid=258&lineid=1&act=1

running on a native 1280x1024 monitor


Now as you might expect everything runs as well as I would like it to, except oblivion!

However oblivion is not a million miles away from where I'd like it to be, and I was considering buying a second 7600gs to sli it (which should almost double the framerates I believe), but I have a few questions...

I'm considering this card - WinFast PX7600 GS TDH Classic Edition http://www.leadtek.com.tw/eng/3d_graphic/overview.asp?pronameid=280&lineid=1&act=1

* It does not seem to have an SLI bridge connector despite supporting SLI - does it work without the bridge and will there be a performance loss?
* This card is overclocked to 490 as apposed to the 400 of the original card - is this a problem?
* My motherboard manual seems to imply that running to graphics cards in SLI mode will reduce the express pci slots to 8x each - will this counteract the benefit of the sli?
* My motherboard didn't come with an sli bridge - should it have done?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[asdasd123]

Well if i were you, I would have gone for the $199 x1800xt http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102007
well worth the money, and since you said u were far from oblivion, this would give you the chance to actually play it decently.

 

[ta56636]

Sorry for confusion - Oblivion is almost playable while looking decent. If I was starting from scratch I'd probably buy a higher priced card, but with DirectX10 round the corner, and as I able to get another 7600gs for around £70 I'm tempted with that. Also since my pc is very quiet, the passive cooling is a big boon. (any gpu fan would be by far the loudest thing in my case)

 

[asdasd123]

Well since you said dx10 is right around the corner, why not save up those £70 and add them to your budget when buying the dx10 card.

 

[ta56636]

you're right those are my two options - spend £70 or stay as I am. Since I am playing through Oblivion now I had thought I'd try SLI, but if you don't think it'd make a significant performance increase I may just save the money. However, if only out of academic interest, I'm still curious about the answers to my questions - anyone out there know?

 

[dokk]

Hello,

Can anyone help me with a question...

I have the following setup

3700+ AMD
DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D
1GB Geil CAS 2.5
WinFast PX7600 GS TDH http://www.leadtek.com.tw/eng/3d_graphic/overview.asp?pronameid=258&lineid=1&act=1

running on a native 1280x1024 monitor


Now as you might expect everything runs as well as I would like it to, except oblivion!

However oblivion is not a million miles away from where I'd like it to be, and I was considering buying a second 7600gs to sli it (which should almost double the framerates I believe), but I have a few questions...

I'm considering this card - WinFast PX7600 GS TDH Classic Edition http://www.leadtek.com.tw/eng/3d_graphic/overview.asp?pronameid=280&lineid=1&act=1

* It does not seem to have an SLI bridge connector despite supporting SLI - does it work without the bridge and will there be a performance loss?
* This card is overclocked to 490 as apposed to the 400 of the original card - is this a problem?
* My motherboard manual seems to imply that running to graphics cards in SLI mode will reduce the express pci slots to 8x each - will this counteract the benefit of the sli?
* My motherboard didn't come with an sli bridge - should it have done?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

One of two things either you do not have a SLI board,thus no sli bridge or
you need to bug DFI for said bridge??? )

 

[paybax]

ANY mobo capable of doing SLI will always supply an SLI bridge with it. Check the goodies that came with your mobo and you'll see

RIG specs
Antec P180 PerformanceSeries Mid-Tower Case
SeaSonic S12 600 watt power supply
Asus A8N32 SLI mobo socket 939 AMD N-Force 4 SLIX16 (bios 1103 V02.58)
RealTek 97 onboard digital 5.1 Surround
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Toledo Core, 2 X 1mb L2 cache (AMD driver 1.3.1.0 w/MS hotfix & AMD Dual Core Optimizer)
2 gigs of Corsair TwinX3500LL Pro @ 437Mhz 2-3-2-6-1T
2- BFG 7900 GT OC 256mb in SLI (nvidia driver 91.31)
Western Digital RAPTOR 74.3 gig 10-K rpm HDD for XP & Apps
Maxtor SATA II 250 G HDD for gaming, movies, MP3's
Maxtor SATA II 250 G HDD for document backup (unplugged)
Sony CDrom 52X
Plextor 708-A DVD/CD rom
Logitech Z-5500 Digital 5.1 THX 500watts

 

[asdasd123]

I dont get it, is that a sig? if so, it's so damn long, but if not, it's kinda foolish for you to put it along your post every damn time.

 

[ta56636]

ok - I'll have to contact DFI as it's definately an SLI motherboard and definately didn't come with an sli bridge. Thanks for the help: any thoughts on my other questions?

I'm considering this card - WinFast PX7600 GS TDH Classic Edition http://www.leadtek.com.tw/eng/3d_graphic/overview.asp?pronameid=280&am...ineid=1

* It does not seem to have an SLI bridge connector despite supporting SLI - does it work without the bridge and will there be a performance loss?
* This card is overclocked to 490 as apposed to the 400 of the original card - is this a problem?
* My motherboard manual seems to imply that running to graphics cards in SLI mode will reduce the express pci slots to 8x each - will this counteract the benefit of the sli?

 

[prozac26]

which should almost double the framerates I believe

Don't hope for it.

You'll probably see increased framerates, but not double.

 

[ta56636]

This was my source

http://tomshardware.co.uk/2006/07/10/can_your_rig_run_oblivion_uk/page7.html

and since I believe the 7600gs has a very similar gpu to the 7600gt I had expected similar performance increase...

14 fps to 26 fps i would consider almost double...

 

[ta56636]

Anyone out there able to help with these questions?

I'm considering this card - WinFast PX7600 GS TDH Classic Edition http://www.leadtek.com.tw/eng/3d_graphic/overview.asp?pronameid=280&am...m...ine

* It does not seem to have an SLI bridge connector despite supporting SLI - does it work without the bridge and will there be a performance loss?
* This card is overclocked to 490 as apposed to the 400 of the original card - is this a problem?
* My motherboard manual seems to imply that running to graphics cards in SLI mode will reduce the express pci slots to 8x each - will this counteract the benefit of the sli?

 

[paybax]

So I guess you don't have anything constructive to say to help this guy out except to flame me because I post my SLI hardware to show him what kind of set up I have???? :roll:

Get a Life :roll:

 

[ta56636]

/bump

Anyone with any ideas on my questions?

 

[paybax]

Well ta,
If you read my post in REPLY to you, I DID mention that if you did not receive an SLI bridge with your mobo...then A your mobo does not support SLI...or B it DOES support SLI and you did not receive a bridge with your mobo, in which case contact the manufacturer and they will send you another one. Or you can get one at a comp store in your area.

As for the bios, you seem to say that it "defaults" to 8 X. PCI express is currently capable of 16 X . Try restarting your rig, go into bios, and browse to that area of bios and see what options your bios is offering. I shoudl say something like "Auto, disable, 8 X, 16 X.

Lemme know what you come up with K ?
Mike

 

[ta56636]

Sorry Mike - I was reffering to the 3 unanswered questions: From your answer I assume that the sli bridge was missing from the motherboard and I'll have to get one off dfi.


This is the reason why I believe my motherboard will only work at 8x pci-e for sli:

According to the manual:

Bandwidth of pci-e when in sli mode:

PCI2 x4
PCI1 x8
PCI3 NC
PCI4 x8

compared to single vga mode:

PCI2 x4
PCI1 x16
PCI3 x1
PCI4 x16


and I was wondering how much that would curb performance...

EDIT - the sli mode is set with jumpers between the two pci-e vga slots (1 and 4)

 

[13thmonkey]

My understanding is that PCI-E 2x8 has plenty of bandwidth, and even with very high end cards in SLI at very high res there is only a minor increase from the 2x16 motherboards, although I have no direct source for this.

 

[Anoobis]

However oblivion is not a million miles away from where I'd like it to be, and I was considering buying a second 7600gs to sli it (which should almost double the framerates I believe), but I have a few questions...

Negative, you might be able to play at a higher resolution, but there's no way you'll see double the framerates especially with budget cards like 7600GSs. You'd be better off scrapping the 7600GS and get yourself an X1800XT, 7900GT, or an X1900GT. They'll easily outdo a 7600GS SLI setup. However, if you like to experiment and just like to see how things work, then I'd say go for it.

* It does not seem to have an SLI bridge connector despite supporting SLI - does it work without the bridge and will there be a performance loss?

SLI will not work without the bridge as far as I know, but I could be wrong.

* This card is overclocked to 490 as apposed to the 400 of the original card - is this a problem?

Not sure. Generically speaking, I believe you need identical cards to work nVidia SLI. ATI Crossfire doesn't require identical but they will only run as fast as the slowest card. An overclocked 7600GS will still not perform as good as a 7600GT because the GTs memory simple pwnz the GSs memory, unless you've picked up the rare 7600GS that the manufacturer modded with GDDR3, but from your links I'd call that a negative too.

* My motherboard manual seems to imply that running to graphics cards in SLI mode will reduce the express pci slots to 8x each - will this counteract the benefit of the sli?

This is normal for most SLI boards and nothing to worry about as 8X bandwidth is plenty. A few of the newer expensive SLI boards are now coming out with the ability to perform at full 16X with SLI. Tests have shown that the difference between SLI16X and SLI8X is almost nil.

* My motherboard didn't come with an sli bridge - should it have done?

Hmmm, like others have said you should check with DFI. You might get something off of eBay.

 

[ta56636]

Thanks - that was just the kind of info i was looking for... guess I'll see if I can pick something up cheap, or simply enjoy oblivion with slightly lack-luster visuals (it's still a great game!).

 

[pauldh]

I have the same mobo. It unoffically supports SLI but doesn't come with the bridge. Read up before planning on going SLI.

http://www.lostcircuits.com/motherboard/dfi_lp_nf4ud/

 

[ta56636]

wow - you find something new out every day. The place I bought it from were saying it was SLI, but I guess this explains the lack of a bridge...

So, did you have to solder something as well as changing the jumpers between the two 16x SLI slots?