Geforce 8800GTX and SLI

[realwraith]

Hey guys I have a question.
I have an Asus Striker Extreme mobo with a MSI NX8800GTX sitting on it.
I want to put another 8800 GTX on it and run SLI. Problem is I am having difficulty finding another plain vanilla MSI 8800 card. They are out there but they are all over 600 bucks. I paid $540 for mine and I would like to get another one around the same price. I usually buy from ZIpZoomFly because they have free shipping and good prices.But they dont carry the plain msi 8800 anymore. So here is my question

Can I use a plain vanilla 8800 gtx from someone else as my second card???

I have not run sli since the voodoo card days and then the cards had to be identical.

Thanks for the help

realwraith

 

[EXT64]

I THINK that you just have to run two similar cards (both 8800GTX at the same speeds). And even if they run at different speeds, SLI will slow down the faster one to the speed of the slower. It is always preferable to have two identical cards, but I believe it is perfectly OK to use two "vanilla" GTXs from different brands. Just try to make sure the core/ram clocks are the same.

 

[prozac26]

Any 8800GTX will work.

They don't need to be same brand or same speeds.

 

[swifty_morgan]

I read this on a couple of sites. This is direct from EVGA's website

http://www.evga.com/support/faq/afmviewfaq.aspx?faqid=359&topicid=2

Gotta be the same card !

 

[azimuth40]

I read this on a couple of sites. This is direct from EVGA's website

http://www.evga.com/support/faq/afmviewfaq.aspx?faqid=359&topicid=2

Gotta be the same card !

Hmmm. If I am reading that faq correctly then that is not the same question being asked. OP is about the same chipset different vendors and speeds where as evga's answer is about different chipset solutions like a 8800 and a 7800 in SLI mode.

 

[lostandwandering]

You are mis-reading that. You can mix any GTX, but cannot mix a GTX with a GTS. As long as they are both 8800GTXs clock speed doesn't matter. I believe you have to put the slower card in the first PCI-e slot so that the seconds speeds get clocked down.

 

[Ninjaz7]

I've always understood it as you had to have the same gpu reguardless of the cards brand,wait for someone more inclined on the subject(if greatgrapeape posts he'll give you the correct answer,or pm him)gl .

 

[swifty_morgan]

disregard

 

[senor_bob]

Straight from nVidia:
http://www.slizone.com/page/slizone_faq.html#c3

Can I mix and match graphics cards?
In order to provide optimal symmetric scaling, SLI technology requires the NVIDIA GPUs to match. For example, a GeForce 7800 GTX must be paired with another GeForce 7800 GTX. Likewise, a GeForce 6600 GT must be paired with another GeForce 6600 GT. However, using the latest Release 80 or later graphics drivers, NVIDIA GPUs sold by different manufacturers can be used together in an SLI configuration. For example, a GeForce 7800 GT from vendor ABC can be matched with a GeForce 7800 GT from vendor XYZ.

Can I mix and match graphics cards is one of them is overclocked by the manufacturer?
Yes. A GeForce 7800 GTX that is overclocked (for example BFG GeForce 7800 GTX OC) can be mixed with a standard clocked GeForce 7800 GTX.

 

[Ninjaz7]

Thanx Bob,nice post...Straight from the horses mouth.