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SLI / CrossFire FAQs - Page 14

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Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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a b Î Nvidia
a c 124 U Graphics card
May 13, 2010 3:41:19 PM

Quote:
I have an NVIDIA 9800GT in my crossfire based motherboard (BAH!) and I wish to use 4 displays (3monitors 1tv). What do you suggest:

I may not want to use the crossfire technology at all, just the fact that I can put 2 VGA cards in my systems (without crossfire). I want separate extended windows desktops on all displays, no cloning.

1. Keep my current NVIDIA card and buy another (for driver's sake: NVIDIA but not necessary 9800GT) card so i'll have 4 outputs, is that good?
2. Sell my current card and buy 2 ATI cards like 2 HD4850, this is crossfire friendly and I will be able to use 4 indepentent displays? Even during gaming?

Obviously the second option is better but would the nr1. work? And did I understand the situation of the nr 2.?

Thanks!


If you use that many displays with extended desktop, you're talking about a HUGE amount of pixels. It would take a fairly beefy set up to run games like that with decent graphic settings. You'll have to review benchmarks at the highest resolution settings to figure out what'll work, but I don't think you can get away with 2 9800GTs in SLI (Crossfire is the ATI version) and game, but it should work fine for desktop and maybe movies, or running games on 1 or maybe 2 monitors. If you really want to game with all 4 monitors going, well you're going to have to shell out for maybe crossfire 5850s or 5870s to still use high graphic settings in games like Crysis or Metro 2033.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 13, 2010 3:51:26 PM

I would go with number 2 but change it a little,i mean i would sell the 9800GT and get a HD 5770(or a HD 5850 if your budget allows)
Anonymous
a b U Graphics card
May 13, 2010 4:05:20 PM

Um, I meant playing only on the TV (1920x1080) while seeing windows on the rest. Or is that what you mean? I would even sacrifice-disable the second(slave) card's outputs for gaming ( I believe this was the old method of SLI/Crossfire.) My budget is $300 max. (2 4850 cards are around $250 here in Hungary)
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a b Î Nvidia
a c 124 U Graphics card
May 13, 2010 4:10:47 PM

Quote:
Um, I meant playing only on the TV (1920x1080) while seeing windows on the rest. Or is that what you mean? I would even sacrifice-disable the second(slave) card's outputs for gaming ( I believe this was the old method of SLI/Crossfire.) My budget is $300 max. (2 4850 cards are around $250 here in Hungary)

In that case, 2x 9800GT should work fine as the resolution isn't all too high. However, there's sometimes issues with multi display, like if you have the internet open on 1 display and a movie in fullscreen on another, by selecting the internet window it will make the movie go back to windowed mode. I only have limited experience with multi display tho so I'm not entirely sure what's possible but I have had that happen. The 4850s should be a bit of an upgrade over the 9800GTs, but you can save some cash and just get the 9800GT.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 13, 2010 5:22:09 PM

Quote:
Um, I meant playing only on the TV (1920x1080) while seeing windows on the rest. Or is that what you mean? I would even sacrifice-disable the second(slave) card's outputs for gaming ( I believe this was the old method of SLI/Crossfire.) My budget is $300 max. (2 4850 cards are around $250 here in Hungary)

Sorry i think i am missing something here,you want to play games on a TV and seeing windows on another monitor right ?
Anonymous
a b U Graphics card
May 13, 2010 9:48:44 PM

yeah only 1 display would be used for gaming, I don't want to sorround myself with 180° of gaming monitors :)  Those are mainly for work. I'd like to extend windows desktop.. Currently I'm using a dual monitor setup, when I play a game it's only running on my main monitor that's fine. I'd like to extend this setup with +2 displays. With the most effective price/value solution.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 14, 2010 7:06:43 AM

Well you can do that by getting a HD 5850 and setting up eyefinity(if your monitor supports it).
So you can do whatever you want in each display or you can do a single task on both dispalys.
Anonymous
a b U Graphics card
May 14, 2010 7:46:49 AM

2 9800GT's would work? The mobo supports Crossfire only.

HD5850 is too expensive. More expensive than 2 4850's.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 14, 2010 10:42:56 AM

If your motherboard's support CrossFire,you can't use 2 9800GTs on it,they require a SLI board.
How much do you want to spend ?
Anonymous
a b U Graphics card
May 14, 2010 8:17:20 PM

up to $300 ~ 60000HUF.


Maziar if I don't need the crossfire feature just the 2 cards as separate cards, it won't work no matter what?
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 14, 2010 9:37:32 PM

It will work,but you have to use one as a PhysX card,so one will operate normally for games/apps and the other one will perform as a PhysX card.
And with that budget,take a look at HD 5830
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Anonymous
a b U Graphics card
May 15, 2010 12:42:44 PM

Hm, seems very nice. That has 2 DVI 1HDMI 1Displayport?, and can use all 4 at the same time for indepentent extended desktops also while gaming? If yes it's a deal :) 
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 15, 2010 1:58:32 PM

Yes,but i think you need to setup Eyefinity
Anonymous
a b U Graphics card
May 16, 2010 12:07:40 PM

Maziar said:
Yes,but i think you need to setup Eyefinity

How do I tell if a card supports eyefinity? Does it have to be "eyefinity edition" or if the tech specs says so on ati-amd's site that a particular card supports it then it's a go?

What do you mean by setting up eyefinity? That isn't a bad thing, just a little time in the driver or not?
Anonymous
a b U Graphics card
May 17, 2010 9:01:15 PM

Guys, I don't fully understand the screen with compatible motherboards chipsets:
Eg. I saw ASROCK motherboard with chipset 785G, supporting ATI™ CrossFireX™.
does it mean that I will be able to run only HD34XX on it in crossfire ? (from the picture it looks like it)
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 18, 2010 6:09:24 AM

Quote:
Guys, I don't fully understand the screen with compatible motherboards chipsets:
Eg. I saw ASROCK motherboard with chipset 785G, supporting ATI™ CrossFireX™.
does it mean that I will be able to run only HD34XX on it in crossfire ? (from the picture it looks like it)

What is the exact model ?
Anonymous
a b U Graphics card
May 18, 2010 6:56:37 AM

Maziar said:
What is the exact model ?


Mainboard: ASRock M3A785GXH/128M
GPU I want to CF: 2x HD5770
Anonymous
a b U Graphics card
May 18, 2010 1:34:25 PM

Thanks a lot Maziar, appreciate your answer.
As a general guideline for me - what needs to be written in motherboard spec to be sure it supports CF according to your chart (cards section) ?

If motherboard spec says "Supports ATI™ CrossFireX™" does it mean we can CF cards as you specified in on the chart (upper section with cards) ?

a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 18, 2010 2:44:04 PM

You are welcome :) 
And the answer is Yes,if it says it "Supports ATI CrossFire(X)",it supports CrossFire
May 29, 2010 11:26:01 PM

Does a dual GPU card count as one or two cards?
If I put two 5970s on a motherboard that only supports 3-way Crossfire, will it use all four GPUs or will one 'not be noticed'?
May 30, 2010 5:15:35 AM

Quote:
One. To answer your question, if you put 2 5970's together, there should be 4 GPU's running simultaneously.


Neat. So I've technically cheated my 3-way SLI/CrossfireX motherboard into taking four GPUs.
So I assume, if it didn't work, I'd only see three GPUs in the device manager. Hm...

Thanks much!
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 30, 2010 5:59:25 AM

dogman is right
A HD 5970 is a single card which has 2 downclocked HD 5870 cores on it,but it only requires one slot,so if you use 2 HD 5970's on one board,then you will have 4 downclocked HD 5870 GPUs running simultaneously.
May 30, 2010 8:50:47 PM

Am I right in assuming that when a motherboard says '3-way SLI/CrossfireX ready' that it COULD support 4 cards, but it doesn't have sufficient PCI-e slots for it? So it's not related to the capability lacking, but that there's no space for it?
From what I know, CrossfireX is three or more cards, so if it supports CrossfireX at all..
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 30, 2010 9:40:43 PM

asaguda said:
Am I right in assuming that when a motherboard says '3-way SLI/CrossfireX ready' that it COULD support 4 cards, but it doesn't have sufficient PCI-e slots for it? So it's not related to the capability lacking, but that there's no space for it?
From what I know, CrossfireX is three or more cards, so if it supports CrossfireX at all..

When it says that it supports 3-way SLI/CrossFireX,it means that you can use up to 3 cards on it.
As an example,if you use 3 HD 5850's on it,you will have 3 GPUs in CrossFire,but if you use 2 5970's on it(or cards that have 2 graphic cores),then you will have 4 GPUs in CrossFire.
June 3, 2010 5:56:15 PM

will the multi-display ATI Eyefinity technology work with NVIDA cards also? I actually expect the answer to be no but what the hell don't ask a question you never get an answer. Matrox can NOT handle the Hi-Resoultions that 3 24" HDMI 1080p HD Wide Screens. I asked and they have no plans on doing so at this point. I just bought the Geforce CTX 260's and really really don't want to replave them just to play Eve across 3 really nice big screens
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
June 3, 2010 6:52:44 PM

No Eyefinity currently works only with ATI cards.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 124 U Graphics card
June 10, 2010 4:34:20 PM

Hi Maziar, I was just briefly looking over your FAQ again and I thought of a possible addition to be added. Although not an officially supported feature, hybrid ATI/Nvidia systems for running a dedicated PhysX card with ATI rendering might be a valid topic in the FAQ. True, it's not actually in crossfire or SLI, but it is a multi GPU set up... and it definitely works (personal experience :) )
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
June 10, 2010 4:59:24 PM

Hey :) 
You mean like using a Nvidia card as a PhysX card and use an ATI card alongside it ?
a b Î Nvidia
a c 124 U Graphics card
June 10, 2010 5:06:07 PM

Maziar said:
Hey :) 
You mean like using a Nvidia card as a PhysX card and use an ATI card alongside it ?


Yeah exactly. I decided to give it a go, bought a GT 240 ($40 mail in rebate :D ) and followed a guide online... it was very easy just install Nvidia drivers, install latest PhysX, install the GenL patch... reboot and bam good to go. I made a little thread on it, I posted a link to the instructions and near the bottom a pic of now the cards all look in my PC as well as a bit of info on how it's running
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/290283-33-dedicated-p...
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
June 10, 2010 7:16:17 PM

That's a good idea,but there is an important factor to consider,and its that Nvidia once dropped support for having a Nvidia card as a PhysX card with an ATI card as the main one.
http://www.ngohq.com/graphic-cards/16223-nvidia-disable...
So if things go OK for some months,I'll add it that time,because for now,Nvidia may again drop its support.
But,overall it was a great suggestion,I'll definitely consider it in the main post if things go well.
Thanks again for you recommendation :) 
June 14, 2010 10:13:57 AM

thanks for the loads of information
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
June 14, 2010 10:45:44 AM

You are welcome,glad you found it useful :) 
June 15, 2010 2:40:56 AM

I have an nForce 750i sli motherboard and a E7500 2.93 Ghz dual core processor.

Will the HD 5770 run perfectly on an nforce motherboard.

I want to play all games at max on a 1440*900 resolution.

if I want to add another card to my SLI board, will I be able to add another HD 5770 card or do I need to go with the nVidia cards.

One last question. will a HD 5770 crossfire be better than a GTX 260 SLI (2*896 MB) configuration.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
June 15, 2010 6:10:28 AM

You asked it already in a thread that you created before, and i told you that you can't add another 5770 to your motherboard, because your motherboard supports SLI not CrossFire.If you read the first page, all of this facts are covered.
And as for 2 5770s vs 2 GTX 260s,2 GTX 260s perform better,but for your resolution either SLI or CrossFire is a waste, and a single 5770 or GTX 260 can handle everything fine
June 15, 2010 6:53:27 AM

thanks for the help.
June 15, 2010 7:05:44 AM

Nice Artical..........lots of info available.................thnx
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
June 15, 2010 8:09:29 AM

You are welcome :) 
a b U Graphics card
June 18, 2010 3:02:05 PM

i cant find any SLI slot on the top of my GTS250...
it says its SLI ready...
how can i connect it to SLI bridge? or is there no need to connect a bridge to use it in SLI?
a b U Graphics card
June 19, 2010 4:45:04 AM

m gonna change it soon....may be in a month.. will b goin for sli... but i cant see any sli slot(i mean the place where v connect the bridge) on the top of my gfx card
a b U Graphics card
June 19, 2010 9:38:03 AM

ohk...thanks :) 
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
June 19, 2010 9:39:10 AM

You are welcome :) 
June 20, 2010 11:22:57 AM

I would like to be able to use 3 displays. 2 monitors, and the 3rd would be my projector. Currently I have a x1900xt 512MB card installed on a ASUS P5WDH Deluxe board. I am running the 2 monitors in extended mode, and I would like the projector to be an independent monitor. Can I install a 2nd card, that supports HDMI if possible, (like a HD5670) to accomplish this? I am not really concerned with crossfire.
Thanks in advance!!!!!
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
June 20, 2010 2:58:52 PM

You want to get a 5670 to use it with a projector ? if so,then yes its possible
June 20, 2010 5:51:18 PM

Basically I want to add it so I can use the projector and the 2 monitors at the same time. Is the 5670 a good card for this use? (Bang for buck so to speak)
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
June 20, 2010 6:12:42 PM

I think i misunderstood at first.You can't use a X1900XT with a HD 5670 on a same motherboard.The cards have to be the same.
June 20, 2010 9:03:29 PM

Hey folks,

This one's been driving me nuts for two days now Googling the 'Net, and I can't find the answer to my Q...

Simply, does a motherboard HAVE to be "Crossfire ready" or "Certified" in order for me to run two Crossfire GPU's, i.e. two Radeon HD 5850 cards, on a board, and run them well? And what could be the possible implications/complications? ;) 

Thanks to all.

Cruzan
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