SLI / CrossFire FAQs - Page 12 - Graphics-Cards

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Mazier:

Will the following setup work? -

3 24" monitors, 2 plugged into 1 card and the 3rd plugged into another that will be the primary (both 5850 graphics cards).

I'll keep Crossfire off so I can use all 3 screens, but if I want to game will it be possible to have both cards in Crossfire mode to game on my primary display (i.e. the monitor plugged into the primary card only). I think the 2 other monitors wont work w/ Crossfire enabled but that's totally fine.

Also, if this is possible can I just switch Crossfire off through CCC or does it require a reboot? Thanks a ton.

Reply to blotkis

Register or log in to remove.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/ati- [...] l-review/2

"For those that are wondering, would it be possible to use say two Radeon HD 5870 cards with each driving three monitors ? That's a no. CrossfireX will not support/allow this, so you'll need one primary cards from which all monitors lead."

About your last question,well you can disable CrossFire from CCC but i am not sure whether it will require a reboot or not

Reply to Maziar

hey friend the information is very useful and informative. i think the message will be not useful to me but to the beginners to graphics.

Reply to austinkarl

Thanks

Reply to Maziar

I know this was more then likly posted somewhere in the last 11 pages of this post but i really dont want to read all that if somone can answer it for me

can SLI or crossfire be done with cards of different generations meaning can you crossfire a 4870 and a 5870 or a GTX 260 and a GTX 360 or GTX 460

well i guess the GTX 300's are not out yet but somone should atleast know if like you can put a GTX 260 with a 9800GT and from that be able to draw a conclusion

Reply to brandonvi

You can't crossfire a 4890 with 5870 for also GT 300/400 series aren't out yet but i don't think you can SLI them or combine them with GTX 260 since they have different architectures.

Message edited by Maziar on 10-12-2009 at 12:08:32 PM

Reply to Maziar

I liked the information, though I think I was generally aware of most of what I needed from what you provided already. I am looking for information on how your CPU can bottlenecks (technically) a GPU SLI configuration. How can you figure whether or not your CPU will factor into your planned SLI setup? I didn't see anything about that here. Thanks for redirecting me to a post or answering my question in advance!

Reply to Anonymous

Well CPU bottleneck depends on which games you play and also the resolution that you play at,as an example most FPS shooter games are GPU-limited but there are some games which benefit from a great CPU too,so for example when you play a game (which benefits from a good CPU) with a good VGA card and a slow CPU then you won't get the performance you need

Reply to Maziar

Very informative, but one thing I would have elaborated on a bit more was the fact about having two cards in SLI/Crossfire modes, and how that setup doesn't mean doubling the memory. I admit, I've had a misunderstanding on how that worked, up until I read this here. But, doesn't having that two card setup improve how graphics perform, and isn't the memory from both cards still used across (or from the) two cards anyway?

Otherwise, it would (seem) to be a moot point and a complete waste of one of those cards to have that set-up.

Reply to tommy6860

When you use 2 cards in either SLI or CrossFire,the memory of both cards are used but it doesn't double the memory,let me tell you with an example,when you use 2
ATI HD 4850 cards in CrossFire,both 512MB RAMs of both cards are used so it means you have 2 cards and they use the 512MB of memory so you won't have 1GB memory

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Maziar

Maziar wrote :

When you use 2 cards in either SLI or CrossFire,the memory of both cards are used but it doesn't double the memory,let me tell you with an example,when you use 2
ATI HD 4850 cards in CrossFire,both 512MB RAMs of both cards are used so it means you have 2 cards and they use the 512MB of memory so you won't have 1GB memory

Thanks for the reply, and I am not trying to sound daft, but your reply basically says the same thing to which I inquired initially. Doesn't both cards total 1g of memory. As I ask before, what is the point of having (as in your example) two cards of 512mgs for a total of 1g, if all of the memory from both cards isn't going to be used? It also makes moot even the x2s.

Reply to tommy6860

Can you SLI a 9800+ and a GTX 250?

Reply to Mereel

Nope, the cards for SLI must be the same.

But you can use the 9800+ for physx
EDIT

@ Maziar, grats on mod status!!

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by nukemaster on 10-19-2009 at 03:39:29 AM

------------------------------

http://tinyurl.com/26uxxb - C2/i7 Temp? http://tinyurl.com/cj3pw - VGA power?
http://tinyurl.com/5v55wk - C2 Mem performance? http://tinyurl.com/6pmbke - SLI/Xfire?
http://tinyurl.com/yfmxdc9 - Part Guide?
Reply to nukemaster

Thanks. I just thought since they were so similar...

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Mereel

Mereel wrote :

Thanks. I just thought since they were so similar...

They are both die shrunk G92's but i think the only way one could remotely do it would be to flash them both to 9800GTX+'s, but i would not recommend it, incase there are other side effects.

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------

http://tinyurl.com/26uxxb - C2/i7 Temp? http://tinyurl.com/cj3pw - VGA power?
http://tinyurl.com/5v55wk - C2 Mem performance? http://tinyurl.com/6pmbke - SLI/Xfire?
http://tinyurl.com/yfmxdc9 - Part Guide?
Reply to nukemaster

There are some 65nm 9800GTX+ cards. You'd have to be certain that you have a 55nm one or the flash will simply screw up the card. In fact, it may screw up the card even if it is 55nm, it just depends if the GTS 250 uses the same BIOS.

Reply to randomizer

nukemaster wrote :

Nope, the cards for SLI must be the same.

But you can use the 9800+ for physx
EDIT

@ Maziar, grats on mod status!!

Thanks nuke

------------------------------ Q6600@3.4+ TT V1 Cooler,SAPPHIRE HD 4870X2,ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA,4GB OCZ DDR2 800,LG W2452V 1920x1200
Reply to Maziar

nukemaster wrote :

They are both die shrunk G92's but i think the only way one could remotely do it would be to flash them both to 9800GTX+'s, but i would not recommend it, incase there are other side effects.

Agreed,although both are based on G92 architecture but you can't SLI them because they have to be the same model,however there are some ways which aren't recommended like flashing them both as "nuke" said or the method that "randomizer' said,these ways aren't recommended since they are risky

------------------------------ Q6600@3.4+ TT V1 Cooler,SAPPHIRE HD 4870X2,ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA,4GB OCZ DDR2 800,LG W2452V 1920x1200
Reply to Maziar

THANK YOU very much!!!!!!!!! This was just the info I was looking for!!!

Reply to Scooter69

No problem glad you found it useful

Reply to Maziar

Hey would you recommend me (im a real noob at hardware and software i just own games )
to use a ATI HD4870 T2D1G card with a geforce 8800 GTS 512 on a X58 motherboard
the ati's memory is like double of the geforce one and the clocks differ alot too...
plz plz plz help me

Reply to Anonymous

If you read the first page you will find your answer there
"Do the cards have to be same model?
I answer it with an example:
You have a NVIDIA Geforce 7800GTX 256, and you want to add another card , the second card has to be 7800GTX exactly."
So you need two exact cards to run the in mutiGPU configuration.

Reply to Maziar

Thanks for the info, you have improved my knowledge by a huge leap! :-)

Reply to army_ant7

No problem I'm glad you found it useful

Reply to Maziar

Hi guys, I know that it is impossible for SLi to work on CF boards..but what if I have 2 Nvidia cards and I want to run one of em' as Physx? can i do such thing? GTX 275 main card + 8800gs physx on a 790x amd chipset mobo? I should've bought a SLI mobo in the first place but ahh..maybe later..

Reply to redkachina

Hello
Yes you can use one card and the other one as a PhysX card

Reply to Maziar

Holy Smokes Maziar, thanks for the info. You are right when it comes to FSX, Multi GPU wont do any good. Mabey, if they do M-GPU on a single card, many programs will fly out the roof! Do you have any Posts on Procrssors as well?
Please help dogman_1234!

Reply to dogman_1234

Thanks dogman yes i post in other sections like CPU,RAM,Laptops,Smartphones too

Reply to Maziar

Thanx

Reply to dogman_1234

thanks~

Reply to blackeric

No problem Glad you liked it

Reply to Maziar

Well, I'm glad I read through all this! I'm building a new system and due to $ I had to buy the Diamond Multimedia 4670PE31GDTSB Radeon HD 4670 1GB GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 Video Card. I have a xf system so from what I understand here..if I want to install a 2nd card it has to be another Radeon HD 4670 with the same clock/ram speeds. Also a quick question...is the higher the number of the card series the better cards (re Radeon) for example is the 5700 series better than the 4600 series etc. Next month I'll be either replacing the 4670 card with a higher end card or just buy another 4670 so I was wondering which was the smarter choice.

P.S. The link to the chart on 1st post doesnt work

Message edited by SmallTown on 11-05-2009 at 06:40:07 PM

Reply to SmallTown

Well about the numbers,its not always like that i mean for example HD 5700 series performs lower than HD 4800 series so you have to look for benchmarks,however in this case HD 5770 is faster than HD 4670,about the link,it's strange because it works for me,here is the original link:
http://ati.amd.com/technology/crossfire/charts.html.
Tomshardware wrote a review about 5770 and 5750 and it compares them with 4770 and 2 4770s in CrossFire mode:
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2446.html

Reply to Maziar

this was a damn good thread! thanks for the info!

Reply to pinoynobello

I'm glad you found it useful

Reply to Maziar

yeah I did the same thing xfx 260 ADF9 standard with a EVGA 260 overclocked. The weird thing is the standard would link up with the OC only when the OC was in the bottom slot. Big difference in graphics.

Reply to Anonymous

I bought a saphire card that's capable of crossfiring. Is crossfiring suitable only for gaming. What if I'm watching streaming HD videos. Would it make the videos much clearer?

Reply to toyotascionxd

No,its effect is on gaming.

Message edited by Maziar on 11-13-2009 at 09:33:24 AM

Reply to Maziar

I love this thread you made.

But how can you tell if a game is better with 2 mid-range video card's in crossfire or 1 high-end card?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to nammerduong

I would start with the Toms graphics charts

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts [...] rds,1.html

Its a bit outdated sometimes(it takes time to test all new cards), but should be updated often enough to give you an idea. It also helps you to see what games do and do not take advantage of SLI/Xfire.

You can also google reviews all over the web with detailed info for certain games.

------------------------------

http://tinyurl.com/26uxxb - C2/i7 Temp? http://tinyurl.com/cj3pw - VGA power?
http://tinyurl.com/5v55wk - C2 Mem performance? http://tinyurl.com/6pmbke - SLI/Xfire?
http://tinyurl.com/yfmxdc9 - Part Guide?
Reply to nukemaster

ya Nukemaster is right thats a good way to look things up keep in mind that there is a new generation of vid cards that is much faster ever 6 months to 1 year at most so buying crossfire or SLI systems is not really that great of an idea since the whole system will be out done in 1-2 years by a single card

Reply to brandonvi

nammerduong wrote :

I love this thread you made.

But how can you tell if a game is better with 2 mid-range video card's in crossfire or 1 high-end card?

Thanks
As nuke said check charts/reviews also it depends on the game and the VGA's that you are considering.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.4+ TT V1 Cooler,SAPPHIRE HD 4870X2,ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA,4GB OCZ DDR2 800,LG W2452V 1920x1200
Reply to Maziar

Edited with some new information about X58/P55 and new VGA cards.

Reply to Maziar

Maziar is right, y'know

------------------------------ -Wolf
Reply to dogman_1234

Does anyone know what the status of Eyefinity under Crossfire support is? I'm going to be building a new system and want to do an Eyefinity setup. I'd love to use a ATI 5870, but those are soooo hard to find right now. Can I do it with a pair of 5770's?

Reply to aurik

Currently only HD 5790 supports CrossFire with eyefinity,cards like 5750/5770/5850 and 5870 still doesn't support CrossFire with eyefinity

Reply to Maziar

Maziar wrote :

Do the cards have to be same model?
I answer it with an example:
You have a NVIDIA Geforce 7800GTX 256, and you want to add another card , the second card has to be 7800GTX exactly.

Could you clarify/update this section. This is not accurate for AMD cards now as you can do mixed crossfire (ex: 4850+4870). Not sure about SLI.

Reply to Pwndeta

SLI / CrossFire FAQs - Page 12

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - SLI / CrossFire FAQs