SLI or Crossfire?

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polonyc2

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I'm debating finally making the switch to a multi GPU for the first time...I currently have an ATI 5870 but I also have an Nvidia GTX 260 card stored away from my last build...which multi GPU setup has the least issues in terms of profiles, performance and drivers?...throw in Eyefinity (although I don't forsee myself going this route in the near future) support as well for ATI

I havn't kept up with mutli GPU setups recently...am I allowed to mix and match cards now or do they all have to be the exact same card?...also is it best to get 2 individual cards or get one of those dual GPU's built into one card setups?
 
have to be same brand cards for crossfire or SLI. Individual cards are better in that they normally have higher clocks and more potential. For example I get around 20% more performance over my older GTX295. The HD5870 is a terrific card however I'm not sure how buggy or not the drivers are for crossfire, so I can't say.
SLI drivers have been good for a while now with no notable issues for me over the past 6 months.
 
thanks...so if I have 1 of those 2 GPU's built into 1 cards like the GTX 295 is that considered SLI?
 
2x260 is probably not much faster than the 5870....

why spend money on getting the same performance?

and if drivers are immature right now they'll only get better so why spend more to get the same performance
 
PlatinumPC said:
have to be same brand cards for crossfire or SLI. Individual cards are better in that they normally have higher clocks and more potential. For example I get around 20% more performance over my older GTX295. The HD5870 is a terrific card however I'm not sure how buggy or not the drivers are for crossfire, so I can't say.
SLI drivers have been good for a while now with no notable issues for me over the past 6 months.
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I don't think the assessment that multi-GPU's on one card are inherently slower than single GPU cards is accurate. In the case of the 295 it's a refresh of the 280's so the 285 is a better underlying architecture. We haven't had a 2x285 on a single card that I know of...but one could tri-sli them and I don't know if that's possible in xfire.
 
mope54 said:
I don't think the assessment that multi-GPU's on one card are inherently slower than single GPU cards is accurate. In the case of the 295 it's a refresh of the 280's so the 285 is a better underlying architecture. We haven't had a 2x285 on a single card that I know of...but one could tri-sli them and I don't know if that's possible in xfire.
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actually, the GTX295 is exactly the same as 2 x GTX275, as the 275 was born from the 295.
the difference is, that the 275 comes with much higher clocks as standard, runs quieter(even in sli) and has a much higher overclocking potential.
Also we have had the MARS edition GTX295 which was essentially 2 x GTX285's
 
Er, the GTX295 is essentially 2 x GTX275's in SLi with the clocks of the GTX260.

The GTX295 is most defiantly SLi on a single card.
 
flu!d said:
Er, the GTX295 is essentially 2 x GTX275's in SLi with the clocks of the GTX260.

The GTX295 is most defiantly SLi on a single card.
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Correct. A dual chip card is either SLI or Crossfire.
 
Whoever suggested he get another GTX 260 when he owns a 5870 should be forcibly removed from the forums.
 
flu!d said:
Er, the GTX295 is essentially 2 x GTX275's in SLi with the clocks of the GTX260.

The GTX295 is most defiantly SLi on a single card.
Click to expand...

not true the GTX260 has 216sp's (or 196 for the older one) the GTX275 has 240sp's
the GTX295 is 2 x GTX275's with a total of 480SP's.


due to heat generated the GTX295 was downclocked from the reference GTX275's clocks.
hence the reason why the GTX275 in SLI outperforms in every aspect.
and I don't think we can call 2 cards on 1 PCB SLI. The GTX295 alone is not SLI.
 
silent-circuit said:
Whoever suggested he get another GTX 260 when he owns a 5870 should be forcibly removed from the forums.
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and it's $190 vrs another $400. He is considering a multi GPU setup. I don't think another $400 is good enough value when compared.

Of course if he wants just the one card..the HD5870 is an excellent choice.
 
silent-circuit said:
Whoever suggested he get another GTX 260 when he owns a 5870 should be forcibly removed from the forums.
Click to expand...

LOL, great post!!!

Now onto the topic at hand. Def go with another 5870. The drivers could use more maturing. But they will do just fine. The 5870 prices seem like they are stable right now. Unless you have that one game that is DX11 is needed or wanted. A single 5870 is perfectly able to perform all tasks at hand. I would wait until the new nvidia fermi series is released. The prices of the 5800 series cards will come down some more and should be able to get a nice deal and performance boost from Crossfire.
 
PlatinumPC said:
not true the GTX260 has 216sp's (or 196 for the older one) the GTX275 has 240sp's
the GTX295 is 2 x GTX275's with a total of 480SP's.


due to heat generated the GTX295 was downclocked from the reference GTX275's clocks.
hence the reason why the GTX275 in SLI outperforms in every aspect.
and I don't think we can call 2 cards on 1 PCB SLI. The GTX295 alone is not SLI.
Click to expand...

Both you and fluid are correct in regard to SPs and clocks. you're just expressing it differently.

The two gpus work in onboard SLI as far as I know. As HD5970 and Hd4870x2 do. GTX295 is a one card sli setup.
 
PlatinumPC said:
not true the GTX260 has 216sp's (or 196 for the older one) the GTX275 has 240sp's
the GTX295 is 2 x GTX275's with a total of 480SP's.


due to heat generated the GTX295 was downclocked from the reference GTX275's clocks.
hence the reason why the GTX275 in SLI outperforms in every aspect.
and I don't think we can call 2 cards on 1 PCB SLI. The GTX295 alone is not SLI.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure why you are spreading misinfomation like this, but first of all the GTS295 is certainly SLI whether *you* choose to believe it because nVidia controls the definition and not you. Secondly, it doesn't matter whether you think the 295 is more closely related to the 280, the 260, or the 275...none of them refute my point that it's silly to make a blanket statement that multi-GPU cards are inherently inferior to single GPU cards on the basis that you experienced less performance from your 295 when *all* of those cards you're tossing around are inferior to the 285.

The only test that would make sense would be to compare the MARS 295 (which I haven't seen) to 2x285 in SLI and see if what you're claiming is true.
 
just so I understand...so 2 GPU's in one card is considered SLI/Crossfire?...when I go into the Control Panel options of the card I set it up as SLI?
 
@ OP: since you now have a "spare" GTX 260 card (if you're considering using it) the only way to do it (use cross-platform setup) at this time is to get a new MBO with LucidLogix' Hydra engine onboard (currently only Big Bang Fuzion MBO from MSI) - however, I'm not aware of any experiences regarding the Hydra, and how much performance gain are we talking about there

just a thought...
 
triple_digital said:
@ OP: since you now have a "spare" GTX 260 card (if you're considering using it) the only way to do it (use cross-platform setup) at this time is to get a new MBO with LucidLogix' Hydra engine onboard (currently only Big Bang Fuzion MBO from MSI) - however, I'm not aware of any experiences regarding the Hydra, and how much performance gain are we talking about there

just a thought...
Click to expand...

I read some early reviews on the Hydra platform and it was not as good as I was hoping...

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/motherboards/2010/01/08/msi-big-bang-fusion-lucid-hydra-arrives/1
 
could also use it as a physX processor, but I don't know if nVidia is currently locking ATI users out from doing that anymore.
 
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