[nytevizion]

I notice in alot of members system specs that they have an SLI mainboard but in the graphics card section, it doesn't say 2X (such and such card)

If you have an SLI board, does it require 2 video cards to run? Or can you just add another card later on?

Also, do the cards have to be Identical? I've heard crossfire systems can use two different typs of cards.

 

[Ste]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nytevizion I notice in alot of members system specs that they have an SLI mainboard but in the graphics card section, it doesn't say 2X (such and such card) If you have an SLI board, does it require 2 video cards to run? Or can you just add another card later on?

You can just run 1 GFX of any make or 2 nvidia SLI compatible cards

 

[busa]

It will run fine with 1 card. Adding a second is an option.

 

[GatorLCA]

Some mainboard names have SLI in them so you know it's capable of going SLI and some dont have it in them. Do we all have SLI, no, it's there in case we want to get another GFX card and not have to spend money on a new GFX card and a new SLI board in order to run it.

 

[pjlietz]

It works fine with one card, and for sli they just need to be the same spec cards, they can be from different vendors as long as the speeds are the same and your using the newer drivers.

 

[Peroxide]

You don't even need to have a nVidia card to have a SLI mobo, you could use an ATI card if you wanted, but you wouldn't be able to use 2x ATI cards in crossfire on a SLI board.

 

[nytevizion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peroxide You don't even need to have a nVidia card to have a SLI mobo, you could use an ATI card if you wanted, but you wouldn't be able to use 2x ATI cards in crossfire on a SLI board.

Ohh really? Thats good to know! I figuring no one would do that just because of the cost of upgrading. But thats cool. Thanks!

 

[Sun]

Let me "break it down" for you:

Regular MOBO (No SLi/CrossFire):
Will run any one GFX card, so long as its AGP or PCI-e. Will not run 2 cards, SLi, or CrossFire.

SLi MOBO:
Will run any single PCI-e card. Will run SLi. Will not run CrossFire.
For SLi, you need the exact same card. I think they have to run the same BIOS, so that is what you need. Just keep it simple, and buy two of the same cards, same maufacturer.

CrossFire MOBO:
Will run any single PCI-e card. Will run CrossFire. Will not run SLi.
For CrossFire, you will need a regular card and a CrossFire master card. There are only 4 master versions out:
They are the X800 Master cards. (Will run any X800 card, be it XT, PE, or vanilla.)
There are the X850 Master cards. (Will run any X850 card, be it XT, PE, or vanilla.)
There are the X1800 Master cards. (Will run any X1800 card, be it XT, XL, etc.)
There are the X1900 Master cards. (Will run any X1900 card, be it XTX, XL, etc.)
So long as you match the right two cards, any cards will run together, even if they are from different MFGs.