SLI / CrossFire FAQs

[The Kasafist]

Will any two 980s work for SLI or do they both need to be 100% the same, same model (OCed or reference) and manufacterer?

Just needs to have the same amount of VRAM technically the rest won't matter. Just remember they will both only run at the speed of the slowest one though.

 

[Khuyen Ngo]

Hi guys...I have some question about SLI and single VGA.

But first, im sorry about my english, its not good because im vietnamese. hi

My planning for PC game:

I5 4690k
MSI Z97 gaming 5
Ram Gskill Ripjaws 8gb bus 1600
HDD Seagate 2TB
SSD plextor M6S 256gb
Case...i'll mod a case for mine.
PSU Corsair Rm850
VGA: GTX 980 SLI or CF R9 390 (r9 390x im hear that its realease in Q1 2015...???) or single gtx 980ti/ r9 390x?
Monitor: 32 inch 4k IPS 60hz ship from amazon to việt nam

But i have a question. SLI/CF better single VGA in game??
I used to play MMORPG, Co op games, FPS, Horror, action, hack n slash

 

[8350rocks]

Ok, because you want to game on 4K monitor...

That changes things a bit. As it currently stands AMD's high end cards seem to perform best at 4K resolutions. However, you would need either 2x 290X or 1x 295X2.

I noticed you put a 390X in there...a CF of 2 there should keep you at roughly 60+ FPS (minimum) consistently once that card hits.

 

[Ngo Khuyen]

Ok, because you want to game on 4K monitor...

That changes things a bit. As it currently stands AMD's high end cards seem to perform best at 4K resolutions. However, you would need either 2x 290X or 1x 295X2.

I noticed you put a 390X in there...a CF of 2 there should keep you at roughly 60+ FPS (minimum) consistently once that card hits.

If i run sli gtx 980...is that ok?

 

[8350rocks]

I would wait for 390X first...if the hype is correct, it will be significantly better...(30-40%+ projected performance gains...)

 

[damric]

I noticed your chart is outdated.

 

[nukemaster]

Thank you for the updated chart.

I am sure it will be added to the first page as soon as Maziar can get to edit it in.

Again thanks.

 

[damric]

I imagine a 2015 chart will come out with the new 300 series.

 

[nukemaster]

Looking forward to the 300 series.

 

[damric]

Well I'm interested in seeing more 28nm shenaniagans. I thought the HD 7970 was already pushing the thermal limits, and then came the R9 290X which seems like it's not even physically possible, but it works!

 

[8350rocks]

Yes, will be some interesting new designs in the 300 series. Looking at likely the first GPU with HBM implemented...

 

[XplicitiKiwi]

Hey, guys I need help I have 2 R9 290x's and if I turn on V-Sync my audio crackles and stutters. I have the newest Omega Drivers and I've tried uninstalling via DDU and re-installing my drivers. I haven't found a solution that isn't disable Vsync which is jarring and I hate tearing or disable my second card which ins't why I bought 2 cards..

 

[Alan Sulentic]

Hy Guys can my i3 2120 run two hd 7770 in crossfire without bottleneck on 1080p???

 

[nukemaster]

That depends on the game. If the game is more hard on the cpu then yes, the cards will be bottle necked.

Some games are more gpu heavy than others and those will be much less effected.

Point in case, large scale battles on Guild Wars 2 will even hit faster cpus(my 2600k @ 4.4 gets hit)

I recommend checking out benchmarks of the games you play.

 

[viper2015007]

I have a question. Can I SLI my Zotac 660 GTX with a same Zotac 660 GTX but synergy edition card?

 

[nukemaster]

It should work, just make sure you have some decent air flow since both cards pump heat into the case.

 

[viper2015007]

@nukemaster: Thanks a lot..!!!

 

[turbopixel]

The Nvidia 750 Ti is not multi GPU compatible, or is it?! In the initial posting, the card is included in the list. According to Nvidia
> http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-750-ti
there is no hint for SLI, like found on the other gpu pages.

 

[nukemaster]

You are 100% correct. The 750 and 750 ti, much like the 650 and 650ti do not have SLI. Nvidia tends to not have SLI on entry-mid level cards.

I will make the correction.

Thank you for pointing the error out.

 

[Herbrata Moeljo]

Is the 4 Way Sli from singgle CPU the same perfomance as from PCIe Switch and Infiniband Card - like in this picture:
http://www.cirrascale.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/PCIe-Block-Diagram-2-CPU-8-GPU-1-IB.png

 

[radekmm]

Actually you can SLI 2 Different Cards within the same architecture or generation (ex. GTX 670 and 760) WITHOUT a BIOS flash. All you need is DifferentSLIAuto
Link: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/sli-with-different-cards.158907/

 

[turbopixel]

@radekmm
With your link, I get following error page:

503 Service Unavailable
No server is available to handle this request.

 

[nukemaster]

Is the 4 Way Sli from singgle CPU the same perfomance as from PCIe Switch and Infiniband Card - like in this picture:
http://www.cirrascale.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/PCIe-Block-Diagram-2-CPU-8-GPU-1-IB.png

I have no experience with that setup so can not comment. I am not even sure if SLI would work with such a setup due to some of Nvidia's lock ins

Actually you can SLI 2 Different Cards within the same architecture or generation (ex. GTX 670 and 760) WITHOUT a BIOS flash. All you need is DifferentSLIAuto
Link: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/sli-with-different-cards.158907/

It is an interesting program. With the many cards based on the same core, I can see this working well.

 

[Skyguy Mok]

Too lazy to read all 24 pages so if my question has already been answered please quote/paste it here.

I have a Sapphire 7870 Ghz OC 2GB with a 500W PSU, a GA-B75M-D3H board with i7-3770@3.4Ghz.

I plan to crossfire that 7870 with another card and upgrade the PSU to a 750W one.

I understand that pitcairn cards are needed to crossfire the 7870, but what's the difference between pitcairn XT and pro? Are they compatible or different?
I'm looking at the R9 270/270x (XT), the R7 370x (Pro). Which is better and what manufacturer do you recommend

As for the PSU, is the CM V750 semi-modular good?

Thanks

 

[turbopixel]

@Skyguy Mok
This thread is about the FAQ and discussion and questions, recommendations for your system should have be done in a new thread. So, just start a new thread by clicking the red button [Ask the community] and copy your posting there.