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SLI/Crossfire Chipset List

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pc1x1

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jan 1, 2008
Messages
1,165
I am looking for a list of all chipsets that support each tech.

I know my Xpress 200 chipset does, which is what is on my i975x motherboard.

Anyone know any resources, basically I am looking for, or want to compile, all chipsets that support Crossfire. Then All that support CrossfireX, and which versions, ie same for SLI, show all SLI chipsets, then all Tri Sli Chipsets, then all Quad SLI compatible chip sets etc.

Anyone willing to give me a hand let me know :)
 
I am no expert.
I dont know every SLi board, but I'll help out.....as for Crossfire, I am in the same boat as you.....looking for a good board.

Anyway: nvidia chipsets that do SLi: 590,650,680,750,780 and 790.
Triple SLI: 680,780,790
DDR3 exclusive:790
Intel CPUs end with "i"
AMD CPUs end with "a" the majority however are for Intel CPUs.
 
nforce 4, the chipset that reintroduced multi gpu to the enthusiast market, and the amd 790x
 
Crossfire vs. CrossfireX doesn't have to do with the chipset AFAIK, but rather what cards you're using and for what purpose (vanilla crossfire is two chips, CrossfireX is 2+ -- as in, dual 3870X2s or a 3870 and 3870X2 together).

any board with two PCIe x16 slots will support Crossfire or Crossfire X. they don't even need to be x16 electrical: you can run Crossfire on dual x8 lanes if they conform to the x16 size factor (or if you do some kind of adaptation). or for that matter, you can theoretically (albeit, in a far from optimal way) run x-fire on some P35 boards using the x16 and x4 slots. i doubt anyone would recommend this.

generally, the preferred chipsets for Crossfire and CrossfireX are the intel X38 and X48, or the AMD 790FX, though it will also work on nForce 500 motherboards (which have the feature of support for both SLi and Crossfire, at x8 + x8).

SLi is also simple enough. the only chipsets that support SLi are nVidia. not all nVidia chipsets support it, however those that do usually advertise the feature to death (frankly, it's the only thing that sells nVidia's home consuemr chipsets, because otherwise they're not so great). AFAIK tri-SLi is only supported on the 780 and 790 chipsets. i don't believe the Skulltrail chipset has official sanction for tri-SLi, but i may be wrong on this count.

now, why on earth do you ask?
 
^ Considering upgrading but with Nehaleum it may be beneficial to upgrade backwards, aka cheap, then later go for it, basically for my own personal knowledge, and ease of checking options. Magoo Great info thanks!
 
pc1x1 said:
^ Considering upgrading but with Nehaleum it may be beneficial to upgrade backwards, aka cheap, then later go for it, basically for my own personal knowledge, and ease of checking options. Magoo Great info thanks!
Click to expand...

My pleasure.
Nehalem is going to be a different setup altogether, so I'd stay tuned. Nothing we know now applies and it takes a totally different socket.

Dystopic....the 680i will handle Triple SLi....thats what I have.:D
Willister.....790FX is for Xfire.....something I know nothing about.:eek:
 
Forgive my ignorance but whenever an Intel Mb review came up on any website I read I always skimmed over it if I read it at all being a long time Amd guy. I just ordered a Q6600 from Newegg last week but my knowledge of Intel products are growing by the day.

I was reading a x48 vs. 790i article over at Tom's and realize that the x38 and x48 chipsets do Crossfire only. Wouldn't it be better if they support Sli because Sli is better?
 
1) ATi may argue that SLI is not better ... :p e.g. doesn't do multi-monitor support in multi-gpu mode yet where Crossfire does.
2) nVidia won't licence SLI out, if you want to run SLI you need an nVidia chipset (if you didn't most people wouldn't buy nVidia chipsets which they charge an arm & a leg for).
 
I am a long time SLi guy.
I've had most combinations of cards since the 6800 Ultra.
Currently I have a Triple SLi computer.

I just got a hold of an MSI 3870 card and to tell you the truth,(I really didnt want to believe it) the ATI image quality seems better to me vs my nvidia stuff.
Now the nvidia performance is better, no doubt; but the images on the ATI card are like seeing the same games from a whole new perspective.

I'm debating on building a Crossfire system, to see for myself.

So you see.....SLi is good, no argument. But my first experience with the red cards has been very good, I must say.
 
BUFF said:
1) ATi may argue that SLI is not better ... :p e.g. doesn't do multi-monitor support in multi-gpu mode yet where Crossfire does.
2) nVidia won't licence SLI out, if you want to run SLI you need an nVidia chipset (if you didn't most people wouldn't buy nVidia chipsets which they charge an arm & a leg for).
Click to expand...

Ok so that's why users with Intel chipsets have such awesome video cards because they can't do Sli.

Wouldn't it be in Nvidia's interest to license Sli out to Intel you would get the best processors paired up with the best GPU's. Right now Intel is helping Amd out with Crossfire and to me it doesn't make any sense.
 
magoo said:
I am a long time SLi guy.
I've had most combinations of cards since the 6800 Ultra.
Currently I have a Triple SLi computer.

I just got a hold of an MSI 3870 card and to tell you the truth,(I really didnt want to believe it) the ATI image quality seems better to me vs my nvidia stuff.
Now the nvidia performance is better, no doubt; but the images on the ATI card are like seeing the same games from a whole new perspective.

I'm debating on building a Crossfire system, to see for myself.

So you see.....SLi is good, no argument. But my first experience with the red cards has been very good, I must say.
Click to expand...

ati color saturation has been very good for a while, you can achieve the same with nvidia but it's a pain in the ass. this is the reason ati will always be in my htpc.
 
Albanu1800 said:
Ok so that's why users with Intel chipsets have such awesome video cards because they can't do Sli.

Wouldn't it be in Nvidia's interest to license Sli out to Intel you would get the best processors paired up with the best GPU's. Right now Intel is helping Amd out with Crossfire and to me it doesn't make any sense.
Click to expand...

No it wouldn't. If NVIDIA allowed SLI to run on Intel chipset based boards then that would kill NVIDIA's Intel processor compatible chipset business almost instantly. No one would put up with their product's quirks and rediculous prices if they had the choice to have SLI and run Intel chipset based boards. I know I wouldn't.

BTW I don't think its' a simple matter of licensing anymore and fixing the drivers to allow for it. At least not according to NVIDIA. NVIDIA actually sent us an E-Mail in response to questions about SLI on Intel's D5400XS motherboard. According to NVIDIA SLI now requires nForce MCP's in order for SLI to work at all. That suggests that somewhere along the line SLI implementation has changed. This can be evidenced by the fact that Intel's D5400XS motherboard does have dual nForce 100MCP's onboard. No drivers are loaded for them either. It is a pure hardware solution lending some credibility to NVIDIA's statement.

This may also explain why SLI scaling seems to have become worse and worse over time. With the Geforce 6 series I remember many games where the scaling was close to 85% and now 30% to 40% is about the best you can generally hope to acheive in games when SLI is enabled.
 
You wanted a list of SLI and Crossfire compatible chipsets, well here it is.

NVIDIA AMD Processor Compatible SLI Chipsets

SLI/Quad-SLI:

nForce 4 Series
nForce 4 SLI (DDR)
nForce 4 SLI x16 (DDR)
nForce Professional 2200/2050 (Registered/ECC DDR)

nForce 500 Series
nForce 500 SLI (DDR/DDR2)
nForce 560 SLI (DDR2)
nForce 570 LT SLI (DDR2)
nForce 570 SLI (DDR2)
nForce 590 SLI (DDR2)

nForce 600 Series
nForce 680a SLI (DDR2)

nForce 700 Series
nForce 780a SLI (DDR2)

3-Way SLI:

nForce 600 Series
nForce 680a SLI (DDR2)

nForce 700 Series
nForce 780a SLI (DDR2)

NVIDIA Intel Processor Compatible SLI Chipsets:

SLI/Quad-SLI:

nForce 4 Series
nForce 4 SLI (DDR)
nForce 4 SLI XE (DDR)
nForce 4 SLI x16 (DDR)

nForce 600 Series
nForce 650i SLI (DDR2)
nForce 680i LT (DDR2)
nForce 680i SLI (DDR2)

nForce 700 Series
nForce 750i SLI (DDR2)
nForce 780i SLI (DDR2)
790i Ultra SLI -Intel (DDR3)

3-Way SLI:

nForce 600 Series
nForce 680i SLI (DDR2)

nForce 700 Series
nForce 780i SLI (DDR2)
790i Ultra SLI (DDR3)

Intel SLI Compatible Chipsets
*Intel "Seaburg" 5400 (DDR2 FB-DIMM)

*NOTE: Intel's 5400 "Seaburg" chipset is only SLI compatible when combined with NVIDIA's nForce 100 MCP's and is not SLI compatible alone. To date the only motherboard with an Intel chipset capable of SLI support is Intel's own D5400XS "Skulltrail" mainboard. This chipset is only capable of SLI and is not compatible with 3-Way SLI configurations despite the fact that the D5400XS is equipped with four full speed PCI-Express x16 slots.
 
Intel Crossfire Compatible Chipsets

Desktop
i955x
i975x
P965 Express
P35
X38
X48
P45

Workstation
5000X (DDR2 FB-DIMM)
5400 (DDR2 FB-DIMM)
E7525

Server
E7230
E7320
E7500

ATI AMD Processor Compatible Crossfire Chipsets
ATI Xpress 1600
ATI Xpress 3200

ATI Intel Processor Compatible Crossfire Chipsets
ATI Xpress 3200

*NOTE: The server and workstation chipsets' Crossfire compatibility is contingent on the motherboard being configured with more than one PCI-Express slot capable of accepting PCI-Express x8 or x16 video cards in a 16x4, 8x8 or 16x16 lane configuration. The chipsets do support Crossfire, but it is up to the motherboard manufacturer to support Crossfire.

**NOTE: I realize the Intel Crossfire compatible chipset list is largely incomplete. I'm sure there are more chipsets from Intel that support Crossfire, however I do not currently have the time to research each of them.
 
Dan_D said:
BTW I don't think its' a simple matter of licensing anymore and fixing the drivers to allow for it. At least not according to NVIDIA. NVIDIA actually sent us an E-Mail in response to questions about SLI on Intel's D5400XS motherboard. According to NVIDIA SLI now requires nForce MCP's in order for SLI to work at all.
Click to expand...
Isn't that because the driver checks for the physical presence of an nVidia chipset though before enabling SLI?
Which is also the part that they now encrypt to prevent being hacked as it was previously ...
 
BUFF said:
Isn't that because the driver checks for the physical presence of an nVidia chipset though before enabling SLI?
Which is also the part that they now encrypt to prevent being hacked as it was previously ...
Click to expand...

Yes the driver does actually check for the physical presence of the nForce 100 MCP's, but the nForce 100 chips also provide additional PCI-Express lanes if I am not mistaken. However when you setup a D5400XS motherboard you do not install any nForce drivers. (A huge plus in my book.)
 
I have done SLI twice, currently running 8800GTS 512's, and I dont think its worth it. This last time, I should have just gone with one 8800GTX, and most likely ended up ahead in the end. The scaling has gotten worse, and SLI means you are very limited for board selection, and will most likely pay 2x as much for that board. Not knocking nVidia cards... they rock, but SLI... Im so-so on. It used to make more sense than it does now. For instance, rather than dual 8800GTS 512's... I could have just waited and gotten the 9800GX2. Then I would actually have some extra PCI slots for a sound card or HD tuner. As it is, I only have a slot for a PCI-E audio card (which after a long wait, some good ones are coming out). I was a long time AMD/nVidia fan, and when nForce2 boards came out, it was awesome, but now I would be a moron to go with an AMD/SLI board... its Intel/SLI all the way. But at that, you have to be sure its going to do something for you to be worth it. The geforce 200's are on the way, and from the looks of it, ATI will have a similar chip. If the specs hold true, the performance coming from these cards will be plenty for just about anything you want to run, and at wicked high resolutions that will just about make SLI pointles. So check what you want to do with it in the first place... if you arent running 30" monitors or something like that... there may be no point to SLI. Im most likely not going to bother paying for SLI in my next upgrade... Ill just get the better performing Intel x chipset, run a single wicked-fast card, and keep the rest of my cash in my wallet. Its been a great way for nVidia to sell more cards to one person, but the benefit to the customer hasnt been as great. Put more money into the CPU, RAM, or one badass card, and you will be fine. So what if the other guy is running at 100fps and you are at 70... you arent going to notice.
 
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