Dual GPU

Apokarteron

banned
so if I get a special mobo I can place 2 GPUs on it, I hear they have to be the same though, anyway if I have two GeForce 6600s for example, which has 3.0 pixel shaders, because I have 2 GPUs would it be 6.0 pixel shaders?
 
It's possilbe with SLI and Crossfire, from nVidia and ATI respectively. I think something new has come out from one or the other which allows you to place in 2 different makes of a GPU (XFX and eVGA or something like that), though I'm not positive on that. You need an nForce4 SLI board or an ATI Crossfire board to take advantage of this.

About the SM3.0, I don't really think that it's quantatative. SM3.0 uses new technologies to make things seem more realistic. It will be awhile before SM6.0 comes out;). Sure your video subsystem will become faster, but the technologies will remain the same.
 
And nVidia SLi requires the same GPU, like two GF6600GT's. ATi Crossfire isn't as picky, but I would recommend two of the same specs, but one of the cards has to be a Crossfire version. nVidia SLi doesn't require the SLi bridge piece which connects the two cards but it is usually recommended.
 
Apokarteron said:
so if I get a special mobo I can place 2 GPUs on it, I hear they have to be the same though, anyway if I have two GeForce 6600s for example, which has 3.0 pixel shaders, because I have 2 GPUs would it be 6.0 pixel shaders?
No, you still have PS 3.0 if you have one or two cards.
 
yea that's a pixel shader version.
if the cards you put together each have 12 pixel piplines, then you have 24 pipelines altogether. its not as efficient as 24pipelines on one card though. there's also vertex shaders... two x1900xtx's in crossfire would mean 96 vertex shaders (48 a piece)
 
it was closed? my other post was earlier today! lol
i'm not 100% sure how SLI works (memory usage, card communication.. etc..) but it'd probably work a lot like dual core. two cards with 12 pipelines and 4 vertex shaders at the same clocks as a card with 24 pipelines and 8 vertex shaders should theoretically work the same, depending on memory size and system specs. of course, its not as flawless as a single card working for itself, and even for some games it doesn't help the speed at all.. kind of like trying to use a dual core cpu for an app that only uses one core.
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html?modelx=33&model1=285&model2=286&chart=98
note, in quake 4 the 7800gt in SLI performed the same as the 7800gt by itself... but if you choose the higher quality for the same game... the 7800gt in SLI performs better by 17 fps. :D this means, at lower qualities... the 7800gt isn't fully utilized. at higher qualities... it utilizes more than one 7800gt's resources.
 
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SLi allows one to get better performance at higher resolutions and higher FSAA and AF settings.
 
Its In The New Driver From Nvidia That You Can Have Any Card But Has To Be The Same 6600 Gt 7600 And So On Look It Up Youll See It In The Readme On The Site
 
Id love use my 7600GT in SLI, but unfortunatly i cant afford to buy another 7600Gt and upgrade to a board that supports SLI :(
 
yea i bought my SLI board for that reason...
i plan on getting another 7800gt very soon :)
graduation = more money. lol plus i've been saving.
what i REALLY need is a laptop though.
 
Laptops are overrated lol :p
Im regretting ever buying my Fujitsu-Siemens laptop. It's too dear to upgrade the damn thing!
New RAM for it cost like €75 for a stick of 256MB! And for a 80GB hard drive it was setting me back €150, a total rip, couldnt even upgrade my video card :(
If you're getting a laptop id advise a sony. Although they are rediculously dear, they are about the only laptop out there that wont have to updated within a few months. How does your 7800GT perform? My 7600GT plays everything out at the moment on full settings + it was only €220! :)
 
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