Cross Fire Motherboards

[jutnm]

i need some major help , and im not a good shopper, can anyone please help me find a crossfire Mobo under $90 or even lower would be GREAT ! thanks !!!!! it needs to be a socket AM2

 

[PC eye]

Newegg fortunately has just the right "one" Asus model seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131175 The M2A-MVP model is the only CrossFire model seen in that price range there and runs for $109.95 at http://www.memoryexpress.com/index....dProductDetail.php&DisplayProductID=10151&SID=

TigerDirect.CA was no help with only three boards seen for over $300! http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=2547&

 

[jutnm]

hmmm i found this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813154011R

for 67 $ but its open box , but are crossfire mobos new , is that why theyre expensive ???

 

[PC eye]

Sapphire has some good Radeon cards out. As far as the cost on CrossFire boards those have actually come down in the last several months. They are not quite as new as they were. A good SLI model will also see a higher price as well since they offer more features over over models. The open box means someone ordered then returned the board for some reason. That's why you see the lower price. The board being slightly used or simply exchanged after purchase is always marked down.

 

[jutnm]

ko

 

[PC eye]

That link won't help here since your shopping cart is confidential between newegg and you. You will need to post a product page or the make and model for a look. You have to log in there to see it.

CrossFire itself is strictly seen with ATI model cards on boards with ATI now AMD chipsets. Radeon XPress 3200 would be a typical name there. For AMD you would see AMD 480X for the northbridge. SLI boards see NVidia nForce shipsets like nForce 570.. The make of the chipset as well as board capability is what determines what chip is needed on the card you buy.

 

[jutnm]

sorry here you go

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161044

 

[jutnm]

but ya the questions i need answer are-

1. does it really matter what video card u get for what mobo, does it have to be compatible ?

2. is it hard to setup crossfire?

3. does the monitor cable need to be plugged into both cards at the same time for monitor to work

4.does one videocard have to be a master and one a slave ?


thanks

 

[taylormsj]

You have to get two of the same cards and then you have a cable that plugs into on port and then plugs into the other card and then goes to the monitor - usually comes with motherboard

 

[Vampiric Rouge]

The system requires a CrossFire-compliant motherboard with a pair of PCI Express (PCIe) graphics cards, which can be enabled via either hardware or software. Radeon x800s, x850s, x1800s and x1900s come in a 'CrossFire Edition' that has 'master' capability built into the hardware. One must buy a Master card, and pair it with a normal card from the same series. Radeon x1300s and x1600s have no 'CrossFire Edition' but are enabled via software. ATI currently has not created the infrastructure to allow FireGL cards to be set up in a CrossFire configuration. Another point to note is that the 'slave' graphics card needs to be from the same family as the 'master', regardless of whether the 'master' is designated by the hardware or by software.

Moreinfo

 

[PC eye]

Here's some answers for those questions.
1) For a PCI-Express 16x slot the answer to that is a PCI-E 16x card. Some makes and models seem better for certain boards like an ATI driven card would go better on a board with an ATI chipset.

2)Vampric Rouge covvered the CrossFire and even SLI requirements to some degree there. Two identical cards is recommended same make and model.

3) As the information at the link details you plug in a bridge between the twom cards with one only seeing the direct plugin of the monitor.

4) Again covered by the information seen at the link and in the quote.

The one thing I can add to this is the complaints heard by other members on the HIS brand there. BFG, Sapphire, MSI, and a few others would be a look. Several point to the HIS brand as "cheap and unreliable". A card with the ATI name on it is also a better choice there.

 

[jutnm]

but on my card there is no bridge connection for this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16800997015

i was watching a video demonstration on tiger direct and it showed that u just put the videocards in without have to connect both cards with the bridge connection, plus my videocard didnt come with ne connection ports for crossfire which i thought was convinient , but on the box it says crossfire ready.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2476140&CatId=1560

 

[PC eye]

The video clearly shows that this model doesn't have a bridge like you would see on a newer model. There borh cards are directly plugged to the monitor by way of a Y type connection where a bridge would be when the monitor goes to only one. This doubles vpu power while a bridge couples that by patching one card to another due to the newer feetures that support this. You gain there by adding vpu power without a two way signal into one setup. That improves appearance and performance at the other end.

 

[jutnm]

so does that mean i would have to use the Y connection monitor cable since i have not bridge liek connection ?

 

[PC eye]

This is what the product information video shows there on how to install a Crossfure setup with that model card. Once you have two identical cards installed you would use the two connector seen there for the total output from both cards into the single vga cord for the monitor. You simply use a two into one method instead of a bridge seen on other setups for that model.

 

[jutnm]

oooo ic that further explains it hahahh gosh , but uhmm so just to get this straight, if i get another of the same videocard i have now , i can pick any motherboard as long as it has 2 PCI E x16 slots and its crossfire ready ... rigth ?

 

[PC eye]

For a good Crossfire or SLI setup for NVisia models you would want the board suited for it. The 1x slots and bridges are things used for multiple displays with more then one card there more then anything. For true Crossfire you want the ATI chipped board ready for this with twin 16x slots. This is the type of board that will support Crossfire from the start.

 

[jutnm]

so make sure

1. its ATI mobo and supports crossfire
2. Both graphics are exactly the same


nething else im forgetting ?

 

[PC eye]

By supporting Crossfire means having two PCI-E 16x slots to start with and specifying that it is a Crossfire ready board with an ATI chipset. It would have two very very close if not exactly the same model to work. Anything else would still have to be in the same series like the differences between a GT and XT model. The actual "ideal" setup would require two exact same make and model cards. The next best is two good brands with the exact same chip on the same model.

 

[jutnm]

okais thats all i need to know all i have to do is get another of these then

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161044

and then an ATI MOBO with crossfire ready , haha thanks !!!