SLI / CrossFire FAQs - Page 5

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That issue you said, if its only with Voodoo then the problem is with Voodoo but if happend in other system manufacturer then its the Nvidia's fault.

Also i will edit this FAQ with new informations about SLI/CrossFire

Just wonder do PC games that support multi-gpu configuration (SLI or Crossfire) really experience better Visual Graphics then PC games using single graphics card. Looking for anyone that can give me real world experience answer in this area.

Edited.

I think it would be nice to have a bit about multiple monitors as well.

1) You have 2 or three monitors and two GTX 260s or 3870 X2s . Lets say your middle monitor is 30" and the side monitors are 20-24". Let's also say you have three 20" full screen.

What are the possibilities for gaming? For gaming, will the side monitors be disabled and both cards will power the single monitor? Will all three monitors remain active with the primary monitor getting a boost from the second card? Can all three monitors be used in any game without a solution such as TripleHead2Go?

2) What about dual monitor support? How do these multi card solutions work with them?

I've been told that ATI supports triple monitors by allowing the side monitors to be disabled automatically, whereas Nvidia makes it a pain.

I don't know any of these answers, but sure would like to know. I think it would be a great addition to your fantastic FAQ.

But doesn't crossfire and SLI have variances in their support for multiple monitors, which would influence the decision to use one or the other? Or is your focus to be whether or not to use a single card or multigpu and not crossfire vs. sli?

Edited
Now i put both Deskop and Notebook's "MultiGPU Compatible" cards.
For AMD/ATI,there isn't still a card capable of MultiGPU support.

hi im new to this but i need some help, i have just bought another evga 8800 gts 640mb acs3 ko edition and ran 3dmark06 (Full version) with a single card i get 9724 but when i sli them i get 9089 thought thats abit strange. here is my rig

e6850 x2 3.0ghz
6gb adata ddr2 800 6400
evga 680i mobo
2x 8800gts ko sli
500gb hdd
coolmaster 650w psu

i thought with sli i should be pushing 12k
the sli is all setup ok

What about 3870,and 3850,how do they work together ?

Can you have more than one 3870 or 3850 when there is a 3870 and 3850 crossfire in your computer?

Actually, with Cat 8.1 and newer, you can mix a 3850 and 3870 in crossfire. If I ever get a crossfire mobo I plan on giving it a try.
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php? [...] &task=view
http://www.cpu3d.com/index.php?opt [...] 16&limit=1

BTW, same goes for mixing a 4870 with a 4850.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/for [...] iew-2.html

The chart is not the clearest in saying it, but I think it does show exactly that. The "." (dot) is what they recommend. But, any combination in a red box will work (and uses the internal crossfire connection). So 2600 pro with 2600xt, 3850 with 3870 or 3870x2, 4850 with 4870, etc.

I have a Triple SLI Nvidia "SUPER PC" and it's really awesome. Most of the time
I turn off the SLI because I have a Quad Multiple Monitor Display with four LCDs.
During the day, it is my Day Trading Computer, but at night, I crank up that SLI
and hook it into my 60" LG Plasma and play the heck out of some video games!
Man, it makes those graphics so smooth because I have three 512MB GDDR3
Graphics cards that combine into one giant monster video card. Unfortunately, you
can't use multiple monitors when the SLI is on. However, I think they have a
new breed of SLI coming out that can support the multi-monitor function.

No problems mate glad you found this useful.
Well what is your budget? what resolution do you play at ?

oops forgot to paste it.

<a href="http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Sum-of-FPS-Benchmarks-1680x1050-AA,799.html">Tom's Hardware - Benchmark Sum of FPS Benchmarks 1680x1050 AA</a>

On the ATI cards, i cant figure out how do tell if they are single or dual.

Hello
Something's been keeping me up.
I have "ga 965p ds4" MB, with 16x 4x crossfire support.
I was planning to get 4870 1gb card, and then later another one. But your report raised some questions.
16x 4x is NOT recomended you say.
So, should I buy 4870 1gb, and then later when getting another one also change MB? What exactly happens if I push 4870 into 4x pcie?
Should I go with 1gb now and worry about crappy 4x slot later? Or should I save some more juice and just get 4870 X2?
What's the estimated performance difference with two 4870 16x 16x vs 16 4x? I'm handling 42' so prefered resolution is 1920*1080.
Thank you in advance.

hi there

First of all congtatulations on this exellent topic!

for my first question:
On the previous post you recomend X38 board, why not x48 ou even a p45?
I think the X38 is becoming a bit out of date.

My Second question and motive for my reading of this topic:

Im am building a new rig, and after all the investigating i've found out that the 4870 1Gb card is the card to get if you are into 1600 resolution gaming (correct me if im wrong).
The motherboard im eyeing is the Asus P5Q Delux, and i have a doubt about it.
in the specs it says:
2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots, support ATI CrossFireXT technology at x8 link
(PCIe x16_1 blue, PCIe x16_2 black*)
so if i understand well it has 2 16x pci slots, just one thing confuses me, what does the x8 link mean?

And why i want to know this, is because im thinking of the future and so i will probably invest in a second graphics card to pair up with my 4870 1Gb. Also would like to know if its is possible and if it is a good idea do eventualy pair a 4870x2 (that will be much more afordable in like 6 to 8 months) with my 4870 1Gb?
because when i will upgrade my rig it will be with a better 30" or 32" screen beeing able to do much higher resolutions than 1600.

Thanks in advance for any tips or advice.

XiZeL

i think you meant "both cards will run at 8x" ?

maybe i put it wrong but i was asking if it was a good ideal to eventualy pair up a HD4870 with a 4870X2

since now the X2 is much to expensive and maybe in 6 to 8 months would be more affordable.

so for the same price i shoud get a ASUS P5E ?

Ok thanks for the tip, Maximus Formula is a hard to find here, can find it from 190€ to 250€.

Im not to aware of what capacitators are and what they do?

I also stumbled apon the ASUS P5E DELUXE, its x48 board. what u think about that? its at an afordable 215€.

Also noticed that all these cards have SupremeFX II Audio Card is this card any good? is it onboard or does it take up one of the PCIe slots?

And you havent answered my other question about eventualy
pairing a HD4870 1Gig with a HD4870X2 ? (which is the most on topic question )

i can get the P5E Delux for 214€ and the RAMPAGE FORMULA is 241€.
I didnt want to pass the 200€ margin on my board, i got to see what kind of prices i can get ton the MAXIMUS FORMULA.

The HD4870X2 is way over budget for me at the moment, why dont you recomend puting a 4870 with a 4870X2?

Edit:
Just found a
ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA for 185€
and a
ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA for 219€

what do you think is the best deal?

Also i have a doubt about my HD4870 1Gb
I can get a Sapphire for 256€
or
POWERCOLOR OC version for 264€
problem is that im not to familiar with POWERCOLOR but i know the OC version has improved cooling
And i know Sapphire is a good reliable brand

Thank you verry much man you were a big help, i will go for the MAXIMUS FORMULA, its the best option. For the Graphics card im not shure yet... i would love to get a HD4870X2 but its way over budget for me.

once again contrats for the topic, real helpfull i will defenatly be cheking it out again when i upgrade my Rig

thanks again
XiZeL

Thanks its what i intend to do
today i went with a firiend and he bought a Sapphire HD 4870X2, Im jeaolus .
But i told him it was a mistake because his LDC is 1680 max resolution, so he wont be taking full advantage of it

I have two separate HD4870s which have been in use in separate computers. Now one of the machines is upgraded to a 4870x2, and I want to do Crossfire with the two single 4870s. The problem is that I think I've lost my ribbon cables. I may be able to find one of them, but I think finding both may be impossible.

My question, Will full blown Crossfire work with 1 cable and not have a performance degradation ? I ask because all the crossfire setups I see use 2 cables. Also, if all else fails can I buy the crossfire ribbon cables anywhere?... I have upgraded to an X48 mobo so I will have full x16 crossfire support

Thanks in advance

Do you want to CrossFire 2xHD 4870s ? or do you want to CrossFire
2xHD 4870 with your HD 4870X2?

Yes i think you need both

Thats bad,so take a look @ ASUS P5E its exactly the same like MAXIMUS but doesnt have solid capcitors.

P5E DELUXE is a X48 board which i dont recommmend over X38 because the difference isnt much.
Between P5E and P5E WS PRO,both are good,P5E has a little better cooling and P5E WS PRO has solid capacitors.