2 PCI-E Motherboard with CrossFireX and SLI

[marathawarrior]

Hi,

I am looking for a motherboard with 2 PCI-E slots which supports CrossFireX and SLI, also I want to know how the CrossFireX Technology works, does it require a same graphic card for CrossFireX? I have a XFX ATI Radeon 5770 HD 1 GB GDDR5, Corsair 600 GS, H55M-P33, i5 550, 8 GB RAM and a 1 TB Hard Disk. Also if I use the CrossFireX will it need better cooling (CPU Case) and power supply than the 600 GS?

 

[jaquith]

First LGA 1156 is EOL and an i5-550 on games that are CPU bound will be bottlenecked by that processor. I'd recommend a 4-core i5 Ivy Bridge for gaming e.g. Intel Core i5-3350P Ivy Bridge - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116782

If you want a budget MSI MOBO that supports both CF/SLI then I'd consider the MSI Z77A-G45 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130645

What I recommended above are budget components and for a little more the following:
$220 Intel Core i5-3570K - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
$200 ASUS P8Z77-V PRO - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

You can CF the HD 5770 but that GPU series is EOL; some refurbished might be for sale. CF is pretty simple in that it combines the processing of two or more GPU's, both the MOBO and GPU must support it, and in particular the GPU must have a 'bridge' connection in most situations. There's generally not a 'doubling' of GPU (FPS) and there's some amount of 'scaling' 50%~90%+ added rendering per GPU added. Therefore, ideally it's best to have one (1) one GPU vs (2) two or more GPUs unless the requirements and the desired render surpasses that of a single GPU.

PCIe Scaling - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Intel/Ivy_Bridge_PCI-Express_Scaling/
Example CF Scaling 1 - http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_radeon_hd_7970_crossfire_review,1.html
Example CF Scaling 2 - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7970_CrossFire/

The power requirements entirely depends on the sum of all of the components, but typically a 600W PSU isn't adequate for multiple GPU's.

PSU Calculator - http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/

 

[marathawarrior]

First LGA 1156 is EOL and an i5-550 on games that are CPU bound will be bottlenecked by that processor. I'd recommend a 4-core i5 Ivy Bridge for gaming e.g. Intel Core i5-3350P Ivy Bridge - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116782

If you want a budget MSI MOBO that supports both CF/SLI then I'd consider the MSI Z77A-G45 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130645

What I recommended above are budget components and for a little more the following:
$220 Intel Core i5-3570K - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
$200 ASUS P8Z77-V PRO - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131819

You can CF the HD 5770 but that GPU series is EOL; some refurbished might be for sale. CF is pretty simple in that it combines the processing of two or more GPU's, both the MOBO and GPU must support it, and in particular the GPU must have a 'bridge' connection in most situations. There's generally not a 'doubling' of GPU (FPS) and there's some amount of 'scaling' 50%~90%+ added rendering per GPU added. Therefore, ideally it's best to have one (1) one GPU vs (2) two or more GPUs unless the requirements and the desired render surpasses that of a single GPU.

PCIe Scaling - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Intel/Ivy_Bridge_PCI-Express_Scaling/
Example CF Scaling 1 - http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_radeon_hd_7970_crossfire_review,1.html
Example CF Scaling 2 - http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7970_CrossFire/

The power requirements entirely depends on the sum of all of the components, but typically a 600W PSU isn't adequate for multiple GPU's.

PSU Calculator - http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/

Hi there,

Thanks a lot for your reply can you please help me with 1 question which I have in mind? In the Indian Market the Asus Formula V z77 , i.e. the Formula series are yet to come in the meantime I've been told to wait for that. I am having plenty of cutscenes issues with my current motherboard and I am scared that it may damage the Radeon 5770, can you please suggest me a better motherboard than MSI H55-P33 for my i5 650 First Generation processor. Thanks a lot for your time and response.

 

[jaquith]

I haven't a clue what's for sale in the "Indian Market," but for LGA 1156 any ASUS, Gigabyte, or MSI (in that order) should work. To be on the safe side find the MOBO then go to the OEM sites to verify that your CPU is supported.

Your BIOS might be corrupted and the first step is to properly Clear the CMOS:

Unplug the PSU for ~5 minutes, move the CMOS Jumper into the 'clear' position <or> hold the 'Clr CMOS' button in either case for 5+ seconds, boot into the BIOS and 'Load Optimal Settings' and then SAVE = 'YES.' In addition, by now you should have replaced the CMOS battery.

Nice video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdHH9KrceR0

Further 'IF' the cost of an older (EOL) MOBO is expensive then I'd look at a new Z77 and if needed a cheap LGA 1155 CPU; pretty much most new CPU's will be faster.

 

[marathawarrior]

Best answer selected by marathawarrior.