ASUS p5e mobo, 8800gtx card. Crossfire + SLI Question

[lacross]

I have just received all of the parts to build a PC for my friend. He wanted a SLI capable motherboard, and an 8800gtx graphics card, so i got him the ASUS p5e. I could swear up and down that when i read the specs on newegg that the board was SLI ready, i was very careful, but obviously i was wrong here. So i have these parts in my house, im halfway down putting it all together, and i notice the instruction manual says nothing about SLI, only crossfire.

So here's my question, is there any chance that later on down the road, my friend will be able to drop in another 8800gtx card to SLI with this one, on this motherboard? Do you think it would work currently? Will there be updates/patches/cracks in the future?

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131219

 

[g-paw]

No, with Crossfire and SLI it's either or.

 

[chookman]

No it wont work with SLI

Crossfire yes SLI NO

 

[lacross]

You two seem pretty sure, so thanks for the answers, but then I look at this thread and i feel like there's hope, anyone know what he's talking about, if works, anything?

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/182898-30-crossfire-motherboard

 

[komputer novice]

Look here

Perhaps a 9800GX2 card could be used for SLI-like performance??? Anyone?

 

[g-paw]

I think for your friends sake you'd be better off sending the mobo back and getting an SLI board. If he's into hacking his computers to try stuff, that's fine, but then I'd guess he's be building himself. If he wants a machine that will be stable and run as he expects it, then an new mobo is the answer.

 

[lacross]

He doesn't plan to get another video card for a few months at least, what is your opinion on that? My thoughts are, a $550 upgrade is not worth it, by that time he'd be better of buying another brand new video card?

I guess my question is, do you think dual 8800GTX is ever practical for more than benchmarking? even a game like Crysis? Or by the time he'd want a new card, would he be better of getting a whole new one?

 

[shoota]

well this whole thing is messed up. first off you got him a crossfire board for sli. then he spent around $500 for a gtx when u could have gotten a gt for much less (especially since he's planning on getting a new card in a few months if i read that correctly)

i think you should sell me that board, send back the card and start over

 

[lacross]

No you didn't read it right. Another was as in another 8800gtx, thank you for wasting my time reading your 100% useless post though. Why do people post when they're so obviously not trying to help? Seems like a waste of time for a lot of people.

 

[g-paw]

He doesn't plan to get another video card for a few months at least, what is your opinion on that? My thoughts are, a $550 upgrade is not worth it, by that time he'd be better of buying another brand new video card?

I guess my question is, do you think dual 8800GTX is ever practical for more than benchmarking? even a game like Crysis? Or by the time he'd want a new card, would he be better of getting a whole new one?

I think you need to sit down with your friend and lay out where you're at and let him decide what he wants to do. If he isn't planning on running dual GPUs, no problem. If he is, then he needs to decide on SLI or Crossfire. No matter how you put it, this is pretty much his choices. It's his money and his machine. I'm sure all of us had to tell someone we F**ked up and had to fix it.

 

[lacross]

Well yeah I did tell him, now i just need to get more information and we will figure out where to go from here. It's not like im lying to him If it's in his best interest to get a new mobo, fine (any recommendations? i love this mobo, need one for the same price and SLI instead of xfire), but i won't want him wasting another $500 in a few months when he would be better off buying a whole new vid card in a year or more, ya know?

 

[tounchykeith]

I bought the same board p5e from newegg and my son and i read that it was sli ready and found out that is not also i hope newegg is more careful with there web site or i'll have to go somewhere else

 

[Guest]

I Bought and built mine in January of 08 and the same thing happened to me. I am 95% sure that newegg had this mobo as SLI ready. I know the formula did, and remember seeing the same for this one. When I started throwing the pc together, I quickly realized I didn't have the SLI bridge. By the time I checked newegg again, they had the board out of stock and it no longer said sli ready.