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SLI / CrossFire FAQs - Page 9

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Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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March 29, 2009 1:00:16 AM

So a GeForce 9600GSO wouldn't do Hybrid SLI with a Onboard 8-series?
I'm just curious. o 3o
I did read the whole first post by the way.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
March 29, 2009 9:40:58 AM

D3vil_hsa2w said:
Hi guys
How is this CF for this resolution ?
2x4830 HIS iceq + 1024x1280?
MSI x58 Pro
if i do it can i see any more performance?!


For that resolution,i recommend a single HD 4830,CrossFire ins't needed.
As i have talked about in the first page,i don't say you won't see any performance increase with multiGPU in lower resolutions,i said it will shine in high resolutions.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
March 29, 2009 9:43:02 AM

skreenname said:
So a GeForce 9600GSO wouldn't do Hybrid SLI with a Onboard 8-series?
I'm just curious. o 3o
I did read the whole first post by the way.

No you cant
Related resources
Can't find your answer ? Ask !
March 31, 2009 4:33:39 PM

I'm still confused on this whole crossfire thing. I have a Radeon X1900 GT and am beginning to upgrade my system. How do I tell if my processor is crossfire ready (aka where do I see my chipset number)? Also, do I have to get another identical Radeon x1900 GT or what other options for cards could I get? I'm thinking at this time it might be better to just buy a whole new card rather than crossfire with my x1900.

From my dxdiag if it helps:

Machine name: MICHAEL-DESKTOP
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.080814-1236)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: GATEWA
System Model: GT5238E
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6300 @ 1.86GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 2038MB RAM
Page File: 631MB used, 2762MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
April 1, 2009 7:14:24 AM

1_We don't have "Certificated CPUs for multiGPU",you can CrossFire your X1900GT and it doesn't have any relations with your CPU,your motherboard must support CrossFire inorder to add another card.

2_Unlike X1900XT and X1900XTX which require a Master card to run in CrossFire,X1900GT can be paired with antoher X1900GT.

Good read:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/powercol...
The Radeon X1900 GT can work in a CrossFire tandem, and you don’t need a Master card with a Compositing Engine for that. All you have to do is to install two Radeon X1900 GT cards into your CrossFire-compatible system (based on a CrossFire Xpress 3200 or Intel 975X chipset, for example). Then you just enable the appropriate option in Catalyst’s Control Center. The two cards will communicate via the PCI Express bus.

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/powe...

However, with their release two weeks ago, anyone is capable of putting together a dual X1900 system without the hassle of purchasing a seperate, more expensive master card. While X1900 XT cards still require a master and slave setup, the word still stands that R600 cards should be able to run in a dual setup without cables when they ship sometime by the end of this year.
April 9, 2009 9:20:15 PM

Gud job man very detailded
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
April 10, 2009 8:53:07 AM

Thanks :) 
April 14, 2009 5:30:06 PM

Thanks a lot for this thread, lots of information!!!
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
April 15, 2009 8:21:25 AM

No problem mate ;)  glad you found it useful :) 
April 30, 2009 8:44:29 PM

gracias mate!
April 30, 2009 8:49:59 PM

Hi Maz!..

Quick question?

Would a Samsung t260hd 26 inch lcd monitor benefit from a crossfire,,in terms of from daily computing to gaming? regular resolution is 1920 x 1200

thank s for your time Maz.

--------------------------------
CPU: Phenom II 940 @ 3.6GHZ (1.47v)
MB: ASUS M3A78-T
PSU: Antec Quattro 1000w
GPU: Sapphire Toxic Edition 4870 1gb
RAM: Corsair 8gb 800MHz DDR2 pc6400 twinx
OS: Vista Business Upgrade 64bit
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 1, 2009 7:58:17 AM

Hello and welcome to the forums mate :) 

Yes it will :)  1920x1200 is one of the resolutions that benefit from multiGPU in most games.
May 1, 2009 4:28:53 PM

THATS great Sir!

Thank you so Much Mazz!

Have a great weekend you guys!

creepy!
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 1, 2009 6:57:10 PM

No problems mate :)  glad i could help u :) 
May 2, 2009 2:22:55 AM

why is the gtx 295 so fast if its core clock speeds and memory clock speeds are no faster than that of a gtx 260. the gtx 285 has a faster core and memory clock speed than the gtx 295. im guessing it has something to do with stream processors...or no? im new to all of this and it is alot to take in and understand. anybody able to lead me in the direction of an article that could help me to better understand how this technology works?
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 2, 2009 7:11:05 AM

Good question :) 
Well core clock and memory clock speeds are important for a video card but they aren't the most important factors,there are some other important things to consider too like stream processors,memory bandwidth....

GTX 295 is basically 2 downclocked GTX 260s attached to one card.
May 6, 2009 4:55:59 PM

i hav sme doubt..wts da basic requirements for crossfiring two cards???
shld v hav motherboard supporting it???if yes can u pls list down da motherboards supporting crossfire??also is der ny particular card in every series for crossfiring..i mean in HD4830 is der ny special 4830 tat hav to b used for crossfiring???
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 7, 2009 9:02:53 AM

Did you even read the FAQ mate ? :)  plz read the first page and you will get all of your answers :) 
May 14, 2009 3:32:13 PM

Hi,
I have a crossfire bridge question, that I couldn't find the answer to, on a skim read of this mega thread (which is great btw, thanks Maz and others).
Do I need one or two crossfire bridges? It is my understanding from various forum posts that I have read, that for lower resolutions (?what resolutions) you may need only one bridge?
I have just ordered a second 4770 that comes with a CF bridge (my previous Sapphire card did not) so have one bridge but will i need another for my 1650X1050 2232bw monitor?
I am going to upgrade my monitor soonish for one with a better res before I get told off by my learned friends that I dont need CF with a monitor like that.
Sorry if this a total noob question!
Many thanks for your help. Be gentle ;) 
Andy

a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 15, 2009 1:28:44 PM

Hello and welcome to the forums mate :) 
You have to use 2 CrossFire bridges since HD 48xx/HD 4770 series have 2 place for bridges :)  (38xx series have 1 only)
Also its not a noob question mate :)  asking isn't a noob thing :) 
May 15, 2009 2:58:05 PM

You're a diamond, cheers Maz.
Andy
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 15, 2009 4:14:42 PM

No problem mate :)  Glad i could help u :) 
May 18, 2009 8:27:34 AM

Hey, Maziar, do those new Radeon HD 4850X2 cards show a Crossfire/Crossfire X tab in Catalyst control centre? And how can I tell if both the GPU's are working?
May 18, 2009 9:08:21 PM

Hi Sir,

MAN SORRY TO BUG YOU AT A BAD TIME..

How are you doing Maz!

I apologize for bothering you again.

I just have some retarded situation on my crossfire set up.

I know honestly for my self that you are a THE EXPERT when it comes to these complex stuff.

I finally made this Sapphire Toxic 4870 1gb and one more of the same into a crossfire mode running with just default /factory oc settings and yey I did it, did some generals games one hour or so and it blew me away( awesome!!!! ) then I played some Tom Clancy Vegas 2 1st person shooter , came after 2 to 5 minutes PC SHUT DOWN ALL POWER GONE , ITS OFF ,,, by golly what Id do...so I got this antec quattro 1000 watts and asking myself what happened.

I was thinking its getting to be a defective power supply on its 5th/6th month,, or my mobo battery is dying. There could be a million ways that this is happening isnt it. So I am pleading for your scrutiny ,,, If I get another psu, If i get another Thermaltake lets say 1200 watts, would this be super mega enough/sufficient to power my whole system and this shut down will not bother me..

take care MAZ

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME..

--------------------------------
CPU: Phenom II 940 @ 3.6GHZ (1.47v)
MB: ASUS M3A78-T
PSU: Antec Quattro 1000w
GPU: Sapphire Toxic Edition 4870 1gb plus Sapphire Toxic Edition 4870 1gb CF
RAM: Corsair 8gb 800MHz DDR2 pc6400 twinx
OS: Vista Business Upgrade 64bit
CASE: Antec 1200
OPTICAL DRIVE: Pioneer blueray
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 19, 2009 9:11:29 AM

madass said:
Hey, Maziar, do those new Radeon HD 4850X2 cards show a Crossfire/Crossfire X tab in Catalyst control centre? And how can I tell if both the GPU's are working?


Yes it will show,right click on ATI CCC icon then select ATI HD 4850X2,CROSSFIRE X settings and click on "Show CrossFire X icon".

To know that if both are working,u can test your FPS in games.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 19, 2009 9:18:22 AM

creepy_maverick said:
Hi Sir,

MAN SORRY TO BUG YOU AT A BAD TIME..

How are you doing Maz!

I apologize for bothering you again.

I just have some retarded situation on my crossfire set up.

I know honestly for my self that you are a THE EXPERT when it comes to these complex stuff.

I finally made this Sapphire Toxic 4870 1gb and one more of the same into a crossfire mode running with just default /factory oc settings and yey I did it, did some generals games one hour or so and it blew me away( awesome!!!! ) then I played some Tom Clancy Vegas 2 1st person shooter , came after 2 to 5 minutes PC SHUT DOWN ALL POWER GONE , ITS OFF ,,, by golly what Id do...so I got this antec quattro 1000 watts and asking myself what happened.

I was thinking its getting to be a defective power supply on its 5th/6th month,, or my mobo battery is dying. There could be a million ways that this is happening isnt it. So I am pleading for your scrutiny ,,, If I get another psu, If i get another Thermaltake lets say 1200 watts, would this be super mega enough/sufficient to power my whole system and this shut down will not bother me..

take care MAZ

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME..

--------------------------------
CPU: Phenom II 940 @ 3.6GHZ (1.47v)
MB: ASUS M3A78-T
PSU: Antec Quattro 1000w
GPU: Sapphire Toxic Edition 4870 1gb plus Sapphire Toxic Edition 4870 1gb CF
RAM: Corsair 8gb 800MHz DDR2 pc6400 twinx
OS: Vista Business Upgrade 64bit
CASE: Antec 1200
OPTICAL DRIVE: Pioneer blueray


Hello mate :) 
No need to applogize for anything i am glad to help :) 

Well your PSU is good for 2x HD 4870s.
Can you test both cards in single mode ? i mean take 1 card out and test with the other one and play some games and see if it works well or not.
May 19, 2009 1:16:05 PM

Maziar said:
Yes it will show,right click on ATI CCC icon then select ATI HD 4850X2,CROSSFIRE X settings and click on "Show CrossFire X icon".

To know that if both are working,u can test your FPS in games.



If the Corssfire thing doesn't show, does it mean the card is defective or is it a driver issue? And howw can it be fixed? I've read on the AD forum of some people having this problem.

Anyway, thanks for the fast reply....:) 
May 19, 2009 6:21:34 PM

Maziar said:
Hello mate :) 
No need to applogize for anything i am glad to help :) 

Well your PSU is good for 2x HD 4870s.
Can you test both cards in single mode ? i mean take 1 card out and test with the other one and play some games and see if it works well or not.


THANK YOU Sir!

Ill try to do that!
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 20, 2009 6:05:11 AM

madass said:
If the Corssfire thing doesn't show, does it mean the card is defective or is it a driver issue? And howw can it be fixed? I've read on the AD forum of some people having this problem.

Anyway, thanks for the fast reply....:) 


If it doesn't show,then there MAYBE a problem,update your drivers also check your FPS in games,if you are not getting good frames,then something must be wrong.
May 20, 2009 1:23:50 PM

Maziar said:
If it doesn't show,then there MAYBE a problem,update your drivers also check your FPS in games,if you are not getting good frames,then something must be wrong.

Does the crossfire option come for all ATI X2 cards? I read on the AMD FAQ that it should not come at all...or is the 4850 a special case siince its not really a true X2?
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 20, 2009 6:12:48 PM

Well ATI HD 4850X2 is like HD 4870X2 and i have a 4870X2 nad it has that CrossFire option,but maybe you are right and maybe some don't come with it,as i said check your FPS in games.
May 20, 2009 6:20:47 PM

Maziar said:
Well ATI HD 4850X2 is like HD 4870X2 and i have a 4870X2 nad it has that CrossFire option,but maybe you are right and maybe some don't come with it,as i said check your FPS in games.

Thannks
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 20, 2009 6:51:07 PM

No problem :) 
May 21, 2009 1:57:36 PM

Damn, I feel stupid asking this but I don't know anyone else crossfiring and google hasn't been my friend on this occassion!

I've recently added a second 4870 onto my little rig, which is working fine. My problem is during boot up, both card's fans spin up for the POST then the card in the main slot quietens down to idle but the one in the second slot doesn't and stays loud. Once the Windows drivers load, the second card's fan quietens down to idle too and then it all works as expected from there.

The card in the second slot works fine when running on it's own (I ran it solo for several months before buying it a companion). I've examined the BIOS using the ATI Bios Editor and the fan speeds are identical for both cards.

My question is - is this normal under crossfire, that the motherboard/BIOS can only control one fan and the other fan isn't controlled until Windows kicks in? The only reason I'm worrying is that my motherboard has ExpressGate built in, so I can boot into a quick, tiny Linux build instead of Windows if I want, but the constant loud-ish fan noise from card 2 gets grating after a while.

I'm using an Asus P5Q-E with Q6600 (o/c to 3.4), Kingston 8GB DDR2-1066, XFX 4870 1Gb crossfired with Sapphire 4870 512Mb, 76Gb Raptor and 500Gb WD HDD, Hiper 880W Type-M PSU, Zalman CNPS9900, Antec 900 case and Vista 64. Currently running dual 20 inch 1600x1200 monitors.

Thanks for reading, and sorry it turned into a long post! :) 
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 21, 2009 4:28:20 PM

If you can change your fan speed in windows then there is no problem here.
I'm not sure why BIOS only allows you to work with one of the cards fan speed,maybe a BIOS update allows it,as i said i'm not sure but as long as you can change the fan speed in windows then there is no need to worry :) 
May 21, 2009 4:38:29 PM

Maziar said:
If you can change your fan speed in windows then there is no problem here.
I'm not sure why BIOS only allows you to work with one of the cards fan speed,maybe a BIOS update allows it,as i said i'm not sure but as long as you can change the fan speed in windows then there is no need to worry :) 


Thank you for the quick response. :) 

As you quite rightly pointed out, I can change the fan speed within Windows so I know that's not a problem. My problem lies BEFORE Windows boots up - does everyone's second card spin faster/louder, or is that just a quirk of my motherboard?

I know this sounds like nit-picking, but if I want to pop online for 10 minutes, it's quicker to use the built-in ExpressGate than wait for Windows to boot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expressgate The problem there is that because I'm not booting into Windows, the fan on the second card never slows to idle so it's constantly running loudly while I'm in ExpressGate, which gets annoying!

Thanks again.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 21, 2009 8:13:36 PM

No problem :)  you may want to ask about the seconds card fan being faster in the graphic forum so if someone has a configuration like you can answer about it.
May 23, 2009 2:52:29 PM

You are wrong about "two mid range cards performing worse then one high end" - that is not always true.
May 23, 2009 5:18:58 PM

philipV said:
You are wrong about "two mid range cards performing worse then one high end" - that is not always true.

I kinda agree-You will probably thrash the high end card completely around 70-80 % of the time.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 23, 2009 7:41:03 PM

philipV said:
You are wrong about "two mid range cards performing worse then one high end" - that is not always true.


You didn't read the whole review ;) 

2 midrange card sometimes beat 1 high-end card but not always,it depends on most settings(like drivers,resolutions and so)

May 25, 2009 12:31:24 AM

Question: Do two Graphics cards in CrossFire X on PCI-E x16 buses have to be right next to each other? For example, If you have two x16 buses separated by 1 standard PCI bus could you still use the non-adjacent buses for CrossFire?
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 25, 2009 10:32:29 AM

Well you have to connect them,so they can't be far away from each other.
May 26, 2009 12:54:06 AM

Maziar said:
Well you have to connect them,so they can't be far away from each other.


Yes, but how far away? Can the "band" that connects the CrossFire connectors stretch across 1 expansion slot, to connect with a Card in a slot not immediately next to it?
a b Î Nvidia
a c 118 U Graphics card
May 26, 2009 3:12:02 AM

Yes, some boards(P5W DH) have slots farther apart(to allow for better airflow or even 3 pci-e slots on some boards) and use a flexible or longer crossfire or SLI connector bridges that makes it easier to use if the cards are close or far.

I am sure there is a limit on how far they can go(losses.noise), but lets say you have

PCI-E x16 - Xfire/SLI card
PCI - covered by card as well
PCI-E x4 - Raid card
PCI-e X16 - Xfire/SLI card
PCI-covered by card
PCI-Sound card :0

Then a cable bridge should connect them with ease.
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 26, 2009 8:54:37 AM

longer SLI/CF bridges nuke ? aren't all of them the same size ?
a b Î Nvidia
a c 118 U Graphics card
May 26, 2009 10:37:48 PM

By bridge I mean the connector from card to card.

Since some boards have there PCI-E slots only 2 slots away

PCI-E(Top Card)
PCI(Blocked)
PCI-E(Next Card))

Others have
PCI-E(Top Card)
PCI(Blocked)
PCI-E X4 Usable or left clear for cooling
PCI-E(Next Card)

There are different length bridge connectors. Maybe they are all longer and flexible now, so it may not matter anymore since a longer flexible one will do all configs. The one for my P5W is too long(and is a solid one) for some boards.
Something like this.

May 26, 2009 11:37:24 PM

Okay, I get it now, thanks!
When you go to hook up your system to the monitor (with 2 graphics cards in CrossFire for example), do you just simply plug it (VGA DVI, ect.) in either card, or do you need some sort of Y cable (I've seen those in use in pictures)
a b Î Nvidia
a c 118 U Graphics card
May 27, 2009 12:18:51 AM

In the old days you had to connect the screen to the master card(To be honest, i am not sure about how it works now[Maziar can answer that one for sure :) ], I guess the top card).

The external cable you saw was a cable ATI used to use to allow the slave card to send its images(partial/alternating frames) to the master card to have the images/frames incorporated(portions placed to make a full frame or alternating frames put in the right order) with a composting chip on the master card then sent to your screen for you to see.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ati-puts-nvidia,104...
a b Î Nvidia
a c 169 U Graphics card
May 27, 2009 10:13:12 AM

thanks for the tip about the CrosFire cable nuke :) 

About hooking your system to the monitor,not sure about it,but when nuke says that it was needed to connect to the master card in order to work,and since newer cards like HD 48xx series dont have this slave/master card things,i think its safe to say you can connect it to either cards.
May 29, 2009 1:52:01 AM

how to setting crossfire X dual GPU in Ati 780V chipset with integrated HD3100 with discreet vga HD 4350 because when i tried to put them both nothing happened....is it within BIOS setup or maybe they just not fit to each other as crossfireX? can u help me...thanks
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