pls guys, i really really need your help...

[invictus25]

hey guys, i am going to get a new mobo that supports dual gfx card. personally, i wanna get dual ati cards. but i have many doubts so i'd really appreciate your comments.

i am quite knowledgable on how the sli mobo works. simply put, u just install 2 nvidia gfx card of the same gpu type (need not be from the same manufacturer). the 2 g card, will run in parallel and communicate thru the pci bus.

here are my doubts:

1) how does crossfire works? does it still use the master-slave technique or does it run like sli (using 2 same gpu nvidia cards running in parallel)?

2) can sli mobo run dual ati cards instead of nvidia (because i prefer ati cards )? i am asking this question because i wanna use dual ati cards and in my country, sli mobo are easily available instead of crossfire mobo. so im thinking (if possible) to use sli mobo to run dual ati cards.

 

[ixion]

CF works on Ati and Intel motherboards, it will not work on an Nvidia SLi board (at least not officially it may be possible to get it to work but I don't fancy your chances)

As to whether you need a master / slave arrangement it depends on the cards you are going to use. The X1600 and below x1xxx cards don't require a master and slave arrangement and work without the pasthrough cable provided you have more recent drivers. The higher cards in the range require that you buy a master card and use a passthrough cable outside the case.

 

[invictus25]

As to whether you need a master / slave arrangement it depends on the cards you are going to use. The X1600 and below x1xxx cards don't require a master and slave arrangement and work without the pasthrough cable provided you have more recent drivers. The higher cards in the range require that you buy a master card and use a passthrough cable outside the case.

okay thanks that i now got my doubt cleared about the fact that i need to get a mobo that supports crossfire in order to run ati cards.

but im still not sure about how crossfire works. the thing is that i am planning to get ati x800gto 256 mb ddr3 vram. so i dont need to get the master slave arrangement? do i simply need to get another ati x800gto card and have the 2 of them run in parallel and communicating using the pci bus?

 

[carpcmelee]

PM Wusy, he knows hot to mod an sli mobo to a crossfire mobo. and in crossfire, u need a master-slave :roll:

 

[invictus25]

PM Wusy, he knows hot to mod an sli mobo to a crossfire mobo. and in crossfire, u need a master-slave :roll:

thx so much guys for the help...also, i might just pm him to ask abt the modding thingy...but i have decided to just get a single x1800gto because it;s within my budget and cheaper than getting a new mobo and 2 addiotional g cards (thx to strangerstranger recommendations). but a friend of mine wanna get sli mobo and use ati cards... so i will ask wusy when it;s time...

so anyways, thx lots!