SLI on CrossFire based m.b.?

[expert87]

Hi
I have an MSI p965 which supports 2x graphic cards
here is the webpage:
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=p965_platinum

I asked the technical support before about installing another graphic card on it to get an SLI X2 system
My graphic is BFG 8800GTS OC 512MB GDDR3

they told me that the motherboard only supports crossfire and not SLI !!

Is it true? i tought of it again....the sli bridge will be only between the 2 graphic cards and not on the mainboard so basicly the motherboard just needs to power the graphic on.
So, which one is correct me or the technical support??

Another question...my graphic card is kind of expensive so i don't think i will buy another one of the same type...one of my freinds is willing to give me his 8800 GT only card (evega card)...will it work? and where can i find the bridge connecting the 2 cards?

[mercalf]

I hope that's not true because I'm in the same boat....down the line.

From what I understand that can't be true - because SLI and Crossfire are the SAME thing hardware-wise, just differ in features.

[||Console||]

Hi
I have an MSI p965 which supports 2x graphic cards
here is the webpage:
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=p965_platinum

I asked the technical support before about installing another graphic card on it to get an SLI X2 system
My graphic is BFG 8800GTS OC 512MB GDDR3

they told me that the motherboard only supports crossfire and not SLI !!

Is it true? i tought of it again....the sli bridge will be only between the 2 graphic cards and not on the mainboard so basicly the motherboard just needs to power the graphic on.
So, which one is correct me or the technical support??

Another question...my graphic card is kind of expensive so i don't think i will buy another one of the same type...one of my freinds is willing to give me his 8800 GT only card (evega card)...will it work? and where can i find the bridge connecting the 2 cards?


You can not run SLi on that chipset on on nviida chipsets.
Expensive ? they are REALLY CHEEP NOW .
And you must use 2 cards the same ( 8800gts 512mb)

[expert87]

so thats bad news for me.....
I paid 300$ for that card...its about 5months old now...BFG=high prices

[||Console||]

they are 100$ now

[expert87]

i just checked on the prices of the one iam using....it hits 280$
i think you are talking about stock ones......maybe.

[expert87]

and by the way can you explain this please?
You can not run SLi on that chipset on on nviida chipsets.
what chipset do you mean?? the graphic card does support sli...see here
http://www.bfgtech.com/bfgr88512gtse.aspx

[benbaked]

and by the way can you explain this please?

what chipset do you mean?? the graphic card does support sli...see here
http://www.bfgtech.com/bfgr88512gtse.aspx

LGA 775 motherboards based on intel chipsets cannot do SLI. The chipset might be capable of doing it in theory but AFAIK nvidia's drivers prevent it, only LGA 775 boards with certain nvidia chipsets can support SLI.

[Evilsizer]

step back in time with bigsam's modded drivers to allow SLI on intel chipsets but only work with 7900's cards. if you want SLI and CF now, X58 or intels LGA771 skulltrail board. from what is around the interwebz, NV drivers look for a ID string in the bios, with out that ID no SLI on the board. If you want SLI on LGA775 motherboards you need to look for NV based boards, such as 650i/680/750i/780i/790i.

now X58 is certified to do SLI by NV, per the manufacture of the board. Intel's Skulltail gets SLI buy using NV200 media chip. X58 is the cheaper option vs skulltrail, as in the USA the board at newegg still running $600 for the skulltrail. compared to X58 the highest cost one is the Asus P6T6 Revolution board with 6 PCEI slots and its $369. now the P6T6 only does 3 way sli, not 6 way. as NV says for 3way each slot needs to be x16, if you populated all slots on the P6t6 each would run at x8.

[atm743]

step back in time with bigsam's modded drivers to allow SLI on intel chipsets but only work with 7900's cards. if you want SLI and CF now, X58 or intels LGA771 skulltrail board. from what is around the interwebz, NV drivers look for a ID string in the bios, with out that ID no SLI on the board. If you want SLI on LGA775 motherboards you need to look for NV based boards, such as 650i/680/750i/780i/790i.

now X58 is certified to do SLI by NV, per the manufacture of the board. Intel's Skulltail gets SLI buy using NV200 media chip. X58 is the cheaper option vs skulltrail, as in the USA the board at newegg still running $600 for the skulltrail. compared to X58 the highest cost one is the Asus P6T6 Revolution board with 6 PCEI slots and its $369. now the P6T6 only does 3 way sli, not 6 way. as NV says for 3way each slot needs to be x16, if you populated all slots on the P6t6 each would run at x8.

i thought in 3 way sli, the first 2 cards run at 16x and the last one runs at 8x?

[Evilsizer]

i thought in 3 way sli, the first 2 cards run at 16x and the last one runs at 8x?

if your talking about the P6T6 it says in the specs

2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slots (at x16 or x8 mode)
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slots (at x16 mode)
2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slots (at x8 mode)
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 slot (at x4 mode)
* True @ x16 3-Way SLI™ in slots 1, 3 and 5 when slots 2 and 4 are not occupied


now for other boards that maybe true...unless they are tagging on the NV200 media chip or other PCIE chip for more PCIE lanes.

[expert87]

Thanks every one, i think i will stick with overclocking tell i need another motherboard :)
mine supports 7 Hd's and 8gb ram with bios restoration option...so far i don't need to change it

[Evilsizer]

i guess the question should have been asked, where are you located Expert?

[||Console||]

i just checked on the prices of the one iam using....it hits 280$
i think you are talking about stock ones......maybe.

Those prices are old because they are not really around any more and are out of stock . you can get a 260 for that price . Check ebay and teh classies here at ocf

[||Console||]

the 780 has 16x in all three slots

[Evilsizer]

i guess the question should have been asked, where are you located Expert?

*edit*
it does console but it also sports near the NB the NV200 media chip.

[expert87]

Iam in the middle east....UAE
I recently bought this graphic and i am starting to think i have been cheated....but you know guys...A BFG 9600GT which is lower than the one iam using is about 250-270$ here....i asked many dealers before i bought mine.

Mr. EvilSizer....can you post some links for a good priced mainboard?? which can work with my 4 SATA2 Hdd's? :)

[expert87]

on ebay it costs about 150$....and i bought mine about 5months ago...could it be dropped that much?
anyhow iam really happy with the one i have...it plays all games at maximum quality with 1024×768..which is just what i need...i don't use any 30 inch's screens...actually,my CRT is 19inch only...and that resolution is perfect for me.
btw....why do you guys need the 200series for?? i played crysis warhead on full quality and it worked smoothly.

[Evilsizer]

yea that makes sense why your paying higher prices... yes prices can change like that since GPU product cycles for card makers is every 6months something new comes out. Both NV and ATI have new cards comeing out/out now that use a smaller process for the gpu dies. i would suggest some boards but you may not get them in your parts. i would ask that you post a e-tailer your going to buy from or the brands of motherboards a local computer shop carries.

From our standpoint in the US, gigabyte packs a big $/performance ratio. From just a CF only standpoint the Gigabyte EP45-DS3L is a good starter board. would be around $100 US but could be close to your $200 mark. if you really want SLI on LGA775 the only options are EVGA/XFX/BFG/ASUS for NV based boards. i think there are a few others but i dont recall. if your only thinking 2ways sli and not 3way, 750i is a good decent start. just dont expect them to oc like P45 does, if your into ocing. intel based boards have always been better at FSB clocking.

[expert87]

thanks a lot MR.Evilsizer....i will consider that mainboard...when i am ready to get the SLI system...i think it worth 200$ here.

one question though....i find my graphic card fine and doing a good job in lot of games...i might consider ocing it....any ideas how to do it..safely? without frying it in 4-5months time :)

[Evilsizer]

well i dont oc my video card any more given the performance we have now and the low res i game at. i use to do it by 10mhz core steps then when it started to freak out, back it down 5mhz. if it wasnt freaking out in 3dmark and then passed about 10 loops, i moved onto ocing the memory the same way. i still think the most popular ocing util is rivatuner for NV cards... last NV card i owned was a 8800GTS 640mb, never oced it. i only bought it for bioshock at 720p(42in DLP) with AA/AF, was fast for sure.

[expert87]

thanks dude :)

but when do you think my card star will fade out -if not faded already-?
I mean till when can it beat the games i get on high performance?

Thanks again and sorry for too much questions ^_^

[Evilsizer]

all depends on the game+resolution you play at.. i dont know of any future games that are going to be pushing GPU's. the only current games really making GPU's struggle are Crysis/crysis:warhead. after that i dont think any others really push GPU's...

[expert87]

Thanks again :)

[Evilsizer]

yep, no problem! :soda: