Rakuma
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So during my short time here I have noticed that a common question is "What card can I get to crossfire/sli with X" I've done some research and pulled up relevant information and was wondering if we could sticky it in an appropriate forum?
This is good reference to SLI.
And ATI's is really simple!
What do you think? Good idea? Did I miss it somewhere? And also I'm more than happy to keep up to date with new generations and the like.
This is good reference to SLI.
SLI: What works with what?
Needing 'Identical' cards isn't exactly 100% true.
In order to run two or more nvidia GPUs in SLI, you need the following:
-Two or more SLI capable GPUs
(These are easily spotted by the SLI connection(s) on the top of the card, where the SLI bridge connects.)
-- 8 Series: 8500GT or better
-- 9 Series: 9500GT or better
-- 200 Series: GTS250 or better
-- 300 Series: These are OEM only cards. Whether SLI is possible or not depends on the manufacturer of your specific system.
-- 400 Series: Any (currently)
-- Quadro: See HERE
Note 1: Although some cards in the 6 and 7 series can do SLI, these cards have been omitted due to age.
Note 2: GPUs with an AGP interface CANNOT use SLI. SLI is only possible on GPUs that use a PCI-e interface.
Note 3: Support for SLI may be unavailable on older cards (6 series, 7 series, lower 8 series) with newer driver sets.
- All GPUs must have an identical model name.
(This means the simplified model name for the base GPU as it appears on the nvidia website. An EVGA GTX480 Hydro Copper FTW Edition is simply a GTX480 in terms of SLI.)
-- You can only SLI together a GTX480 with a GTX480, GTX285 with GTX285 etc. Identical model name with identical model name. The only exception to this rule is the 9800GTX, 9800GTX+ and GTS250, which are all technically the same hardware and can work in SLI with each other.
(A good example of this principal is the EVGA GTX275 Co-Op. This card uses two different GPUs (a GTX275 and a GTS250) on one board. You can use a normal GTX275 in SLI with the Co-Op to have SLI GTX275s + GTS250 for PhysX)
- All GPUs must have the same amount of VRAM.
-- You cannot use a 'GTX285 2GB' with a 'GTX285 1GB' (or similar) in SLI.
- An SLI Bridge.
-- Although you don't 'need' (it is highly recommend however) to use an SLI bridge with a traditional 2 card SLI setup, you do need to use the SLI Bridge for 3-way, 4-way and Quad SLI.
- Only one type of SLI'd card per system.
-- You cannot have 2 different pairs of cards in SLI in the same system. (EG 2x GTX285s + 2x 9800GTXs)
(Using two EVGA GTX275 Co-Ops (or similar) falls under this category. The GTS250s will be unable to be used in SLI in tandem to the two GTX275s. One of the GTS250s will be forced sit idle.)
The following do NOT effect your ability to use SLI.
- Brand
-- You can mix and match any two (or more) brands of nvidia GPUs.
- Clock speeds
-- You are able to use different clock speeds on each GPU working in SLI. A 'super-clocked' card will work with the 'plain' version just fine. For best performance, it is recommend that you run both cards at the same clocks or use the faster card as the primary GPU.
- Number of CUDA Cores
-- This applies to the GTX260 which has 2 versions. One has 216 cores, the other has 192. They are able to work in SLI as they meet the requirements above. As in the above example, It is recommend you run the 216 core version as your primary GPU.
For a more in-depth look at SLI:
- The Unofficial NVIDIA SLI Technology User Reference Guide
- Nvidia Multi GPU SLI/PhysX Setup Guide.
And ATI's is really simple!
What do you think? Good idea? Did I miss it somewhere? And also I'm more than happy to keep up to date with new generations and the like.