SLI / CrossFire FAQs - Page 7

Last message on previous page:
I would get HD 4870 over GTX 260 Core 216 they both perform near each other but the ATI card has a lead over its Nvida's rival.

Could you quote some games which are good at Ati and not good at nVidia...???

I have a Windows XP/Pro system, eVGA 780i motherboard, Q6600 processor, and 4GB RAM. In this is a nVidia GeForce 8800GT, 512MB, SLI display, driving a pair of 19" panels (1280x1024). 750W power supply.

Saturday I added a 22"W panel (1680x1050) and am driving it with an DVGA UV Plus UV16 USB display port adapter.

From the motherboard specs, it appears to have 1 x PCIe and 2 x PCI slots. It also says that all three PCIE GPU slots are 16x.

http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/132-CK-NF78-A1.pdf

Performance with the USB port thing sucks.

For the record, I don't do games. So a high frame rate is not an issue.

Can I add a non-SLI display adapter? Will the RAM in the new card reduce the amount of available RAM to my XP (32-bit environment) applications?

I'd like to minimize my cash outlay. Any suggestions?

nuke is right,when you dont game then get a lower end card,by saying non-SLI display adapter you mean a non-SLI ready card? if so then yes but its not really important because most of the cards are SLI-ready.

No,the 9600 card is used as a PhysX card.

I dont think you can(i am not sure though)

From Guru3D Forum:

This driver will help do it possible:
http://www.donotargue.com/dna_hybr [...] .12x64.exe

hello Maziar..
Thanks for all the info on crossfire..very insightful.....I was having problem myself to understand how to get most from my mobo crossfire potential... I need your help to find a good but not very expensive video card from my Asus P5Q Pro...it seems to me you really know this stuff...I have BFG 8400 GS, but i would really upgrade it to something more powerful for my gaming experience....I have a dual CPU, 2GB memory ram ddr2, 300GB hard disk.
Thanks Maz...I appreciate..Decibel

hey thanks....you would not believe but i am registered on that forum! ...Good eh!! But i would like to have your opinion, what you think i should do!!!!Because you mentioned few of the Asus mobos previously, i was wondering if you could gave me an hint of which graphic card would do good on my pc.... i appreciate Maz....Thanks for the heads up about tom hardwareweb.....

to decibel:
I dont know your budget but an ATI HD 4850/4870 would be good for you.

to OMG:
Hello mate
Well first of all,the difference between 1GB cards and 512MB cards aren't much son don't worry much about it.also when you combine 2 HD 4870s cards which both have 512MB memory,you still will have 512MB memory,as multiGPU won't double the memory.


About mixing a 512MB 4870 with a 1GB 4870 ,read this thread:
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?p=2935216

5. What happens when graphics cards with varying memory speeds and engine clocks are paired together?

A. In this scenario, overall performance will be adjusted to match the memory speeds and engine clocks of the lower clocked card. To obtain ideal performance, graphics cards should be paired correctly.

If u alreayd haven't purchased your VGAs,go for 1 HD 4870X2 instead,because it has an overall better performance,i myself have the same monitor like you and went for HD 4870X2,because its basically 2 HD 4870's on one card but it produces less heat,requires one slot and has better performance in some cases.

ok just read the link you gave me.

but i still have a problem, by the sounds of it, if i crossfire 2x4870 512 ill only have 512mb of memory so i still will not be able to go to 1920x1080 with AA and AF on am i correct?

is it going to be worth it for me?

your help would be much appreciated!!!

yeah of course, but because its a 512mb card it cant handle it well. i turn on AA and AF on farcry 2 and my FPS goes out the window >.<

yeah ive got 8.12

well i can play fallout 3 with al the bells and whistles (8xAA and 15xAF samples).

urrr obviously crysis kills my hole system

GRID i ran play on max with everyytihing on.

COD4 i can play on max with AA and AF max @ 1920x1080

it seems to be the newer, more demanding games that my card doesnt handle well.

ok, but my question still remains, will i see noticable difference if i were to crossfire with another 4870 512mb card when playing @1920x1080 with AA and AF on?

Also if i were to crossfire with a 1gb card and use it as my primary card will i then have 1gb of video memory?

So.. 4870 1GB would be recognised as 4870 512MB by its CrossFire partner 4879 512MB???

For crossfire it would only use the first 512MB's of memory. The card would still have all the ram, but not be able to use it

In crossfire BOTH cards always hold the same textures and information. As such it will have to go with the memory of the lowest card(512). If the card was on its own it would have both.

(Sorry if this is mentioned earlier, but this post is extremely long.)

Notes:

1. I would distinguish between the 680i and the 680i lt MB, in regard to the 3-way SLI and duel x16 lanes. The 680i lt has 2 PCI-E x16 slots, so it can't 3-way SLI...but does have the duel x16 lanes.

2. You may or may not want to include a note regarding 8800 GT and 9800 GT video cards being "the same," and thus being able to SLI them together. (I know the difference is in the BIOS... and the manufacturing process of "new" 9800 GTs...thus Hybridpower support.) For the common user, they can't be SLI'ed together. However, if someone wants to risk flashing the bios of one of the cards, they can be SLI'ed. (I am not one of those people to risk it though.)

3. You may want to include a note regarding PCI-E 1.0/1.1/2.0 as well.

Hi;

Can I use this card as SLİ ? because this card's fan is very big. ?
(SPARKLE CALIBRE 9600GT 512MB 256Bit)

Thanks Maziar.
I dont use this card now.just my friend is want will buy this card.but my idea was changed.waste ı want buy a thıs card.(just single).

SPARKLE
Calibre 9800GTX+ GDDR3 512Mb 256Bit Nvidia

what you think ? I will post complete system configuration.Thank you...

well.you think? 9800gtx+ or HD 4850 ?

damn thats a handsome card

sorry for such a noob question but here go;s : i have a 3870x2 -1gig-512 card and was wondering if i could xfire it with a cheaper 3870-512-256 card for a boost ? or will the x2 then lower itself to the 256 mb card ? if i understand the guide correctly then the bigger card will lower itself down to the smaller card ? just need to clarify before i buy a smaller card instead of buying another 3870x2 and then xfire them . also , how stable is sli and xfire ? been browsing ati site and a lot of people seem to be having problems putting 2 or 3 cards together .

once again sorry if i am probably answering my own question but just not realising it .

radeonman .

thanks maziar ,

i think maybe a better thing would be to just get a 2g card and save myself the hassle . seems a lot of folks have trouble getting their xfire/sli setups working easily although i can see the benifit it does present with maybe 2 x medium range cards .

thanks for your help again .

may i inquire about your 4870x2 card ? im not sure wether i should go for the new 295 from nvidia or get a 4870x2 - i like the fact that the 4870 seems to be a full 2g card although many folks have told me to wait until nvidia comes up with its own version of a full 2g card . im sure with such feirce competition the price's will drop on the 4870x2 as they are still darn expensive here in south africa .

radeonman .

hello

I currently have a 9600gt and I´m planning to buy another one next month but first I want to know if the are enough games that support SLI, specially racing, g.e: grid, burnout, nfs undercover. also tomb rider underworld and prince of persia.

Thanks

currently at 1280x1024, but I´m also considering buying a samsung 22", thats my main concern. will the 9600gt put out for that monitor (1680 x 1050).

thanks

may I ask why?