Asus A8N SLI questions

[malu5531]

I am thinking of upgrading my Linux workstation with a ASUS A8N SLI Deluxe motherboard. However, I have a few questions that anyone with some A8N experience can answer (only the last question is Linux specific):

1) What does the sli card on the motherboard really do? Does it only choose wether the two pci express slots are to be configured in 8x and 8x mode or 16x and 1x? Or does it do something more?

2) Is it possible to have 2 pci express graphic cards in non-sli mode. Ie like 2 separate graphic cards the way one can have several regular PCI graphic cards in a computer today? (This could be used for stretching the desktop over two monitors, for example). Will this be possible when the sli-card is in "sli-mode" (so that both graphic cards get 8x pci-express bandwidth). Or does you have to have the sli-card in non-sli mode (resulting in 1 graphic card getting 16x and the other one getting only 1x).

Short question: What I want is to have 2 graphic cards in 8x mode to be used for 2 monitors NOT in sli configuration. Is this possible?

3) Is the Silicon Image RAID "fake raid" ie, software raid? Or is it true hardware raid with bios-configuration, hardware buffers, etc?

4) (This is Linux specific): Does all hardware work in Linux such as the firewire, USB, SATA, silicon image raid, and network cards?

And finally I am wondering if anyone here have tried Linux on the Asus A8N motherboard and have any experience?

Thanks in advance!

 

[joelslaw]

1. I believe that is all it does.
2. I think this may answer this question:
http://graphics.tomshardware.c...li-performance-31.html

don't know about three and four, sorry.

 

[malu5531]

Can anyone with a A8N confirm that when operating two graphic cards in non-sli mode (as they do in that tomshardware article mentioned in the post above) they both run in pci express 8x mode - not one card in 16x and the other in 1x?

Thanks!

 

[TantrumusMaximus]

Everything I read said that when you turn on SLI by changing the card to dual video card mode both PCI-E are made into 8X slots.

I own the A8N but haven't used it yet as I can't find any 6800GT PCI-e's anywhere! Then when I do they want $200 more than the MSRP.

 

[joelslaw]

but I don't think a video card can run on a 1x slot. Don't think there'd be enough bandwidth. I think you have to set it to 8x/8x if you are going to use 2, SLI or not. Also this reminds me of an odd problem alot of ppl are having w/ the A8N. Even if they want to use the 16x/1x mode (cause they're only using a single vid card) for some reason the slot won't work. They have to use the 8x/8x to even get it to work, even using just the one card. Beats me.

 

[Odeen]

Originally posted by: joelslaw
but I don't think a video card can run on a 1x slot. Don't think there'd be enough bandwidth. I think you have to set it to 8x/8x if you are going to use 2, SLI or not.

I beg to differ. We used to run graphics cards in 8-bit ISA slots, and WE LIKED IT.

 

[joelslaw]

Originally posted by: Odeen
I beg to differ. We used to run graphics cards in 8-bit ISA slots, and WE LIKED IT.

ha ha ha, I laugh! :laugh: Yeah, I'm sure a vid card from 5 years ago would run fine in a 1x pci-e slot. However a bandwidth-eating, dual-epansion-slot-taking, power-hungry, active-cooled, bleeding-edge, state-of-the-art, 6800 ultra ain't gonna like it so much. Seriously, I don't think even some of the lesser pcie cards would run in a 1x slot. In fact all the ones I've seen wouldn't fit a 1x slot (yes I understand it's different cause the A8N gives two full size slots, but if the cards were designed to work with 1x, don't you think they'ed be designed on the 1x architecture) But as I said, I don't know that for sure. What is the bandwidth on a 1x pcie slot?

 

[sreams]

The selector card does one thing only...

It changes the two long PCI-E slots to be either x16/x1 or x8/x8. It in and of itself has nothing to do with SLI. You could set the card to "dual video cards" (totally inaccurate label considering what it does), and then use a video card in the first x8 slot and a disk controller in the second x8 slot (when they start making them).

BTW... a x1 PCI slot is the same bandwidth as an AGP-1X slot... so it is enough for a video card (although limiting).

 

[joelslaw]

Originally posted by: sreams
BTW... a x1 PCI slot is the same bandwidth as an AGP-1X slot... so it is enough for a video card (although limiting).

t y for the answer.