HydraLogix Vs. SLI And CrossFire: MSI's P55A Fuzion Tested

[face-plants]

[citation][nom]Yargnit[/nom]It would have been nice to see how well this works with two differing AMD/ATI cards and two Nvidia cards. For instance someone has a GTX260 and wants to add a GTX460, or someone with a AMD5850 who wants to pick up a new 6870 (damn numbering change) to go with it. Also comparing performance pairing two cards from the same generation (say GTX 460 + GTX 470) vs differing generations. (GTX 260 + GTX460)Lastly what affect would pairing a two cards with varying amounts of memory have? (two regular versions of a card vs 1 reg + 1 dbl memory vs 2 dbl memory) Since it isn't clear from what I've read if both cards would be limited to lowest memory level or not.Interesting tech for sure[/citation]



I agree completely with wanting to see more configurations tested. Then again no matter how many they tried I don't think I am going to be happy until I get a board or two with this new HydraLogix chip and torture it myself.

 

[JonnyDough]

It would be really nice if I could put my x1650 XT with my 8800GTS 640 and get better frame rates than my 8800GTS could get alone.

 

[dEAne]

Lucid idea is good.

 

[apache_lives]

this will only work well when nvidia and ati start supporting this and allowing almost direct access to gpu power (as a general processor, not as a video card) etc - this will never happen...

 

[Guest]

I would like to ask whether this technology would benefit non gaming applications like Adobe's A/V applications in the guise of Creative Suite or Autodesks 3dStudioMax??

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]AshZA[/nom]I would like to ask whether this technology would benefit non gaming applications like Adobe's A/V applications in the guise of Creative Suite or Autodesks 3dStudioMax??[/citation]Two cards give you twice as many GPUs regardless of whether or not the Hydra 200 is present.

 

[Guest]

I just don't get the focus on the lack of a SLI or Crossfire bridge. I get that those two methods work better when I have match cards. If I have matched cards, why would I buy this board? The value add here is the $35 for the Hydra chip that lets me get some more use out of a card I already have or some have two dissimilar gfx cards for some reason that I want to use together. In other words, I'm only even going to buy this board if I need the Hydra chip. If I need the Hydra chip, I CAN'T use SLI or crossfire and I don't care that the bridges aren't included because I can't use them.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]GeneralDraven[/nom]I just don't get the focus on the lack of a SLI or Crossfire bridge. I get that those two methods work better when I have match cards. If I have matched cards, why would I buy this board? The value add here is the $35 for the Hydra chip that lets me get some more use out of a card I already have or some have two dissimilar gfx cards for some reason that I want to use together. In other words, I'm only even going to buy this board if I need the Hydra chip. If I need the Hydra chip, I CAN'T use SLI or crossfire and I don't care that the bridges aren't included because I can't use them.[/citation]What if you decide to upgrade to SLI later? I'm seeing these bridges sell for $5-10 with at least $3 shipping, yet they would add less than $1 to the cost of the package if they simply included them from the beginning.

You're making this an either/or proposition when the board is capable of both. The board has more value if the "both" option is included in the installation kit.

 

[dicknervous]

I am in the process of putting the P55A Fuzion through it's paces and was very interested to see what Tom's Hardware had to say. The biggest difference is that I am doing my testing with a 9800GT,a 8800GTX, and a HD4770. So far, in 3DMark testing, the 9800GT/HD4770 combo generated scores of 10-15% lower than if you simply added their individual scores together, which is mighty impressive.

I have found two major drawbacks in addition to what is noted in this review. First is that you can only use nVidia 9xxx or later and ATI 4xxx and later cards in the HydraLogix modes. Second is that with older cards (like the HD4770) you need to use the older drivers for best performance, which means not as many games are supported.

But overall, this is some seriously impressive stuff.

 

[dicknervous]

I am in the process of putting the P55A Fuzion through it's paces and was very interested to see what Tom's Hardware had to say. The biggest difference is that I am doing my testing with a 9800GT,a 8800GTX, and a HD4770. So far, in 3DMark testing, the 9800GT/HD4770 combo generated scores of 10-15% lower than if you simply added their individual scores together, which is mighty impressive.

I have found two major drawbacks in addition to what is noted in this review. First is that you can only use nVidia 9xxx or later and ATI 4xxx and later cards in the HydraLogix modes. Second is that with older cards (like the HD4770) you need to use the older drivers for best performance, which means not as many games are supported.

But overall, this is some seriously impressive stuff.

 

[chriskrum]

My next build will likely be next late next year. This technology will most definitely be on my "consider very seriously" list. I love the idea of being able to mix different generations of graphics cards (upgrading to a 6850 now from a 4850 and would have been thrilled if they could work together until I add a second 6850).

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]chriskrum[/nom]My next build will likely be next late next year. This technology will most definitely be on my "consider very seriously" list. I love the idea of being able to mix different generations of graphics cards (upgrading to a 6850 now from a 4850 and would have been thrilled if they could work together until I add a second 6850).[/citation]Exactly the reason they should have included the bridge connectors!

 

[chriskrum]

I've got SLI and crossfire bridges. They come with the cards which makes more sense then expecting them to be with a motherboard.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]chriskrum[/nom]I've got SLI and crossfire bridges. They come with the cards which makes more sense then expecting them to be with a motherboard.[/citation]No, SLI bridges do not come with cards and CrossFire bridges only come with some cards, not others, as stated in the article. MSI in particular did not include any CrossFire bridges in the card model they submitted for this review!

 

[chriskrum]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]No, SLI bridges do not come with cards and CrossFire bridges only come with some cards, not others, as stated in the article. MSI in particular did not include any CrossFire bridges in the card model they submitted for this review![/citation]

I assume you're the idiot who voted my comment down. Classy.

As to your original point. No SLI or Crossfire bridge is going to help you connect two cards that are from different generations which was the feature I find most intriguing about these boards.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]chriskrum[/nom]I assume you're the idiot who voted my comment down. Classy.As to your original point. No SLI or Crossfire bridge is going to help you connect two cards that are from different generations which was the feature I find most intriguing about these boards.[/citation]And SLI bridges are not included with cards, which is why I voted you down, with class. Because accuracy is always classy.

Look, you can run cards of different generations. You can run cards of different GPU company. And, if you decide to replace your unmatched card with a matched card, you can run SLI or CrossFire for an even better range of performance benefit. But oooops, you can't do that unless you either buy a card that has a CrossFire bridge, or buy the SLI bridge separates at the cost of several dollars (plus shipping).

Which is why MSI should have included the SLI bridge in the first place. Now, if you won't concede that everything I said is true, you're in no position to judge idiocy.

 

[Guest]

My big concern is the added chance of hardware failure... Yes, the SLI bridge can fail, but then you replace a twenty-dollar bridge... Not an entire mobo.

 

[chriskrum]

[citation][nom]firemachine69[/nom]My big concern is the added chance of hardware failure... Yes, the SLI bridge can fail, but then you replace a twenty-dollar bridge... Not an entire mobo.[/citation]

I'll concede that idiot was the wrong word. In the interest of accuracy allow me to substitute douche.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]chriskrum[/nom]I'll concede that idiot was the wrong word. In the interest of accuracy allow me to substitute douche.[/citation]Since that's an opinion and not a misstatement of fact, I can't vote it down

 

[chriskrum]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]Since that's an opinion and not a misstatement of fact, I can't vote it down[/citation]

Now that's a great retort. I'll vote it up.

 

[Guest]

Pls add the results WITH the CF/SLI-bridge ot complete the review.

I have this board (bought it dirt cheap) and looking into what extra vidcard to buy.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]Lucid-user77[/nom]Pls add the results WITH the CF/SLI-bridge ot complete the review. I have this board (bought it dirt cheap) and looking into what extra vidcard to buy.[/citation]A quick test of both the ASRock (non Hydra) and MSI (Hydra) boards showed similar results when CrossFire and SLI were enabled. The ASRock tests were represented in the charts because it represents a competing part at similar market level.

In other words, use the ASRock scores to represent the P55A Fuzion in SLI and CrossFire, because the results are very similar, to answer your question.

 

[sdk1985]

According to the specs at the msi website this board DOES NOT support SLI mode...

This is in contrast to "Unlike the original Crysis game, the later Crysis Warhead is supported by HydraLogix. While most of our readers no longer play original Crysis, the existence of these differences is enough for us to call MSI out once again for not including an SLI bridge on a motherboard that supports that technology in addition to HydraLogix N-Mode"

What is happening here?

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]sdk1985[/nom]According to the specs at the msi website this board DOES NOT support SLI mode...This is in contrast to "Unlike the original Crysis game, the later Crysis Warhead is supported by HydraLogix. While most of our readers no longer play original Crysis, the existence of these differences is enough for us to call MSI out once again for not including an SLI bridge on a motherboard that supports that technology in addition to HydraLogix N-Mode"What is happening here?[/citation]Board was tested, board supported SLI, end of story.

 

[sdk1985]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]Board was tested, board supported SLI, end of story.[/citation]
Well thats not a real explanation... since i'm actually considering to buy a p55a fuzion (or a gd80/85) it would be a bummer if my board would not support it (given the benchmark results).