Cross fire X question using XP Pro

[topper743]

Hi all. I'm not sure if this has been posted; I'm wondering how the Crossfire X will work with XP Pro. I have a HD 3850 256mb card and want to pair it with a HD 3870 512. I use widows XP Pro. Here is a link to the Anandtech new article about the driver and setup. It seems to be very thorough in the "how to" of paring the cards.

http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3256&p=1

After reading the article I didn't see whether this function will work with XP, no mention of XP as far as I could tell. Will Cross X work in XP?

Also does anyone find it odd that the very best current and projected hardware ( 2x of the best CPUS and 2x GPUs) can is some cases barely run some of the new games? I read the article and I understand that Skulltrail is not fully ready for primetime but some of these games seem to be like pushing a square wheel. Even the best single CPU+GPU on a mature driver at lower resolutions with the AA and AF off still only get lower frame rates. Here's a link to Tom's VGA charts. IE check out Nvidia 7900GTX 16 frames.....ATI 1950XTX 22fps.....Nvidia 8800 Ultra 45fps...

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=1060&model2=853&chart=296

Does anybody else think that game makers should write for the more commonly found hardware and less bias to Nvidia?

 

[Soul59]

Will Cross X work in XP?

No.

 

[sailer]

could tell. Will Cross X work in XP?

Does anybody else think that game makers should write for the more commonly found hardware and less bias to Nvidia?

I don't see why CrossfireX wouldn't work with XP, although you wouldn't have DX10 capability. That said, I'm not sure why you might want that much power in a video card setup.

I do wish the game makers would write with less bias towards Nvidia. I think they whould write a standard code, that could be equally used by ATI and Nvidia. But unless they feel the need or pressure to do so, they won't.

 

[technogiant]

at the present time crossfire X definitely does not work with windows XP for more that 2 gpu's. I have the 8.3 crossfire X driver installed on my XP system and it is working fine with my 3870X2 card but the only thing that is preventing me from adding another GPU is that I don't want to go to vista. I do hope they intend to include XP support in future driver releases.

 

[Soul59]

I'm in the same boat. I refuse to buy Vista so that I can utilize Crossfire X.

 

[sailer]

Ok, after looking into it further, it appears that I was misinformed about CrossfireX working in XP. It will not. I still wonder about how many people would actually need it or, to put it differently, how many people have large enough monitors to use all the power it offers.

 

[jnava121]

i believe i read that ati specifically said the drivers were only developed to work for vista

Don't quote me lol...

 

[amd_fanboi]

it was said so in some anandtech review... and also in Xtremesystems

 

[topper743]

So as it stands.... to setup CF on a system using XP Pro one must use two of the exact same cards using driver 8.3? Or will it allow as in my example 1 3850 and 1 3870? If not do you think that in the future ATI might enable XP?

 

[amd_fanboi]

maybe in the future, but from what i read i hold little hope...

and yes, you need the same card, so for you, you'll need another hd3850 256

 

[Mousemonkey]

Disappointing, but to be expected I suppose, what with Tri-Sli being Fista only CFX kind of had to fall in line so that either way the end user gets a Fista'ring. I don't know about the rest of you, but my ringpiece just isn't ready for that.

 

[jnava121]

just sell the 3850 and get a 3870x2 !!

 

[San Pedro]

Amd_fanboi is wrong. You do not need the same cards for crossfire. You can pair a 3850 with a 3870.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/663/1/
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5607&Itemid=34

 

[Wolfshadw]

From ATI's Hybrid CrossfireX web page: http://game.amd.com/us-en/crossfirex_hybrid.aspx

ATI CrossFireX™ enables two or more discrete graphics processors to work together to improve system performance in both Windows® XP and Windows Vista®. ATI Hybrid CrossFireX™ specifically refers to the ability to boost system performance by allowing a discrete graphics processor and an integrated graphics processor to work simultaneously in a Windows Vista® environment.

I think there is some confusion in this thread.

To break it down. CrossfireX (using two different discrete graphics cards) will work in either XP or Vista. Hybrid CrossfireX (1 discrete graphics card and the onboard graphics on the 780G) will only work in Vista.

-Wolf sends (but can't spell)

 

[amd_fanboi]

note, though, that Crossfire was rebranded crossfireX to explain pairing up multiple GPUS, not just 2

 

[topper743]

Wolf Shadow that is a very goood catch on your part. I didn't want to go to vista. ATI should make very clear what their cards and drivers will do and how they work together. The XP cross x info can be found hiding at the bottom of the page. This is sort of a big deal for them, I would think the PR guys would make a better effort to get the word out. Koodos to you!