Getting my 2nd Card for Crossfire!

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dllfiles12

[H]ard|Gawd
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Nov 9, 2008
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I have a 4890 and I ordered one more to do xfire.

I have Win7 64bit.
Do I need to do anything special before I install this 2nd card? Like download any other drivers? Or will my PC automatically detect the 2nd card?

How will I know if the 2nd card is working in games?
I have the latest ATI drivers.
 
It's really easy dude. I moved my 4850 from my MediaPC to crossfire it with my 4870. The drivers pick it up pretty quick and at most you'll get CCC up and you check a box stating enable crossfire. I used GPU-Z to verify that it was working. Then fired up 3DMark 2006 and saw the score jumped 2000 pts from the 4870 alone. Next fired up Dirt 2 and it ran noticeably smoother, Ran the DMC4 benchmark and again it scored much higher, as high as my Radeon 5850! Naturally with 2 4890's you'll be even faster, likely quicker than the 5870 and probably faster than the GTX 480. Enjoy Crossfire, it has matured to the point that I prefer it over SLI (of which I have 2 8800GT's in SLI, and it's much more of a PITA than the 4870+4850 in crossfire).
 
Just make sure you are using the latest drivers. You might try the 10.3a performance preview driver:

http://sites.amd.com/us/underground/tips/Pages/catalyst-10-3-preview.aspx

Make sure you have your crossfire bridge installed. GPU-Z will work but that is per-card so you would need to have two open. Alternatively you can use a program such as MSI Afterburner (works with even non-MSI cards) which will show you everything from temperature to utilization for all GPUs in graph form.

Make sure you DO NOT have Catalyst AI disabled as that will prevent crossfire from functioning properly.
 
Nice well I cant wait till it arrives. Should be here in the next few days. Yes I have catalyst up in running! Do I need to enable the AI within catalyst or all I need is to have the program running in the taskbar?
 
dllfiles12 said:
Yes I have catalyst up in running! Do I need to enable the AI within catalyst or all I need is to have the program running in the taskbar?
Click to expand...

I'm just talking about the Catalyst AI feature within the Catalyst Control Center. You can have it set to Standard or Advanced, but if it is Disabled crossfire will not work.
 
As far as the bridge connectors...
Do I need to connect both of them? Or just one?
 
Crossfire is fairly easy nowadays.

2 things you need to know.

1. If your motherboard allows it, make sure you have spacing in between both your video cards so that the top card can get air. Otherwise you will have overheating issues with the top card.

2. In Catalyst you need to enable CrossfireX, just goto the tab and click the check box. Then you should be good to go.

3. Only 1 CrossfireX bridge connector is required.
 
Last edited:
vjcsmoke said:
Crossfire is fairly easy nowadays.

2 things you need to know.

1. If your motherboard allows it, make sure you have spacing in between both your video cards so that the top card can get air. Otherwise you will have overheating issues with the top card.

2. In Catalyst you need to enable CrossfireX, just goto the tab and click the check box. Then you should be good to go.

3. Only 1 CrossfireX bridge connector is required.
Click to expand...

quick question: if i want to xfire XFX5770s i dont have to worry too much about space right since they use intake slots at the end of the card?

im on a 2x pci-e mobo and if i do there will be barely any space between then two so im a bit unsure in terms of recommendations... =\
 
What ever happened to crossfire support on SLI motherboards? I know Diamond had it working on some ATi cards a while back, something they called xDNA.

Did that ever get anywhere?
 
Is it necessary to download the CrossfireX Application Profiles or will the Catalyst Suite include everything?
 
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