Can mix and match Radeon gaming cards with Firestation Workstation cards in CrossFire

[mishuk3]

Hi there,

I am new to this thread but I am a regular visitor to this site. I don't know if this question was asked before but thought would ask...I am intersted in a dual GPU setup. Question is can you mix and match gaming graphics card and workstation graphics card and either operate them independently or in crossfire/x or SLI mode? I am planning a new PC build and would like to acquire R9 290x for gaming and one of the Firestation prosumer card for Autocad. Is that possibe? Thanks in advance for any advise or suggestions.

 

[mishuk3]

So, nobody cared to answer my question yet?

 

[OCGuy]

Link to the card you would like to pair with a 290x.....

 

[mishuk3]

I am looking to use FirePro W8000 along with R9 290X. Here is the link to the card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195117
Can I install both cards and use one for gaming and the other one for AutoCAD?

 

[canadiantrex]

I don't know if AMD allows crossfire between FirePro cards and Radeon cards of the same chip, but I can tell you that regardless of AMD allowing it or not, that card won't crossfire with a 290X.

Different GPU's onboard. the W8000 isn't a Hawaii chip. So no dice.

 

[3DVagabond]

I've never seen it noted anywhere, but I don't see how they could crossfire together. Even if they were the same GPU, which the 290X isn't the same as any Firepro card, they don't even run on the same drivers. Just a guess, but I can't see how that could possibly work.

 

[mishuk3]

Ok, if FirePro W8000 and Radeon R9 series is incompatible to work concurrently, what about Radeon 7970? Will it work?

 

[Techhog]

Ok, if FirePro W8000 and Radeon R9 series is incompatible to work concurrently, what about Radeon 7970? Will it work?

Nope. Maybe 7950.

EDIT: Wait, they should work independently in any situation

 

[ViRGE]

Would they even work together in the same system? The drivers they use are the same but different. I'd fully expect them to install over each other, thereby only allowing you to use one card or the other.

 

[mishuk3]

Guys, this is getting frustrating. It seems like no one is giving me a clear cut answer. I really need a sound advise on how I can setup a really capable workstation that can serve a dual purpose of gaming and 3D rendering. If AMD cards (FirePro and Radeon) cannot serve this purpose, what about cards from nVidia (Quadro and Geforce)? I really like to make a purchasing decision by next week or so. I have been alloted $10K from a client of mine and he needs everything setup and tested within 2 weeks. Within $10K, he wants the greatest and the latest with Intel Ivy Bridge E CPU, Asus X87 Workstation Dual MB, 32 GB DDR3 RAM, 2X500 GB SSD in RAID 0, 2X4 TB HDD as storage, Soundblaster Recon audio card, Obsidian 900D Case, Antec 1200 Watts PSU and bunch of other accessories to go along with it.

 

[Techhog]

Relax. You're asking a very situational question, so it's natural that it's hard to get an answer. Not many people have tried this.

Hm... Nvidia would likely run into the same issue with drivers. Maybe buying a Radeon for gaming and a Quadro for work would do it? Then there'd be different drivers. If not, then you should know that you can game on Workstation cards, though performance takes a huge hit and you'd need a W9000 for good performance (7870-level give or take)

 

[mishuk3]

I apologise if I sounded rash, but I am working on a deadline, so to speak. If there is no way for similar branded workstation/gaming cards to work in tandem, should I then advise my client to spend a few more grand and get 2 high-end Firestation or Quadro cards in CrossFire/SLI respectively? This should compensate for low framerates which are usually deficient in single setup workstation cards, right?

 

[Warsam71]

Hi there,

I am new to this thread but I am a regular visitor to this site. I don't know if this question was asked before but thought would ask...I am intersted in a dual GPU setup. Question is can you mix and match gaming graphics card and workstation graphics card and either operate them independently or in crossfire/x or SLI mode? I am planning a new PC build and would like to acquire R9 290x for gaming and one of the Firestation prosumer card for Autocad. Is that possibe? Thanks in advance for any advise or suggestions.

Hello Mishuk3,

Unfortunately you can't crossfire different family GPUs. In other words, crossfiring/installing a Professional series GPU (workstation) with the enthusiast line of GPUs (i.e. the R9 or Radeon).

Here is the link to the CrossFire FAQ: http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/AMDCrossFireFAQ.aspx

 

[mishuk3]

Hello Mishuk3,

Unfortunately you can't crossfire different family GPUs. In other words, crossfiring/installing a Professional series GPU (workstation) with the enthusiast line of GPUs (i.e. the R9 or Radeon).

Here is the link to the CrossFire FAQ: http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/AMDCrossFireFAQ.aspx

What about without crossfire? Can I just place the different cards in their PCIEx slots and download their respective drivers and switch the graphics with Catalyst software? I am sure there has to be a solution. If laptops can provide a way to switch between integrated Intel graphics vs dedicated AMD/Nvidia graphics, I am sure there has to be a way to achieve that result in desktops/workstations. I don't care if it is Nvidia or AMD, as long as it serves the purpose, that is what I am looking for and ultimately what my client wants.

 

[moonbogg]

I did it back in the day and had to have two windows installations. In each installation, the card I wasn't using was disabled. It worked great. Just a quick restart was all that was needed, then select the OS installation you want and bam, your golden.
I have heard that there is a better way to do this nowadays, but I haven't tried it since. I had two GeForce cards in SLI, and a single quadro card for workstation stuff. I had two monitor inputs. One connected to a GeForce card, and the other to the quadro. I had to switch inputs on the monitor to get the video feed I wanted.
A few hoops, but it worked.

 

[mishuk3]

I did it back in the day and had to have two windows installations. In each installation, the card I wasn't using was disabled. It worked great. Just a quick restart was all that was needed, then select the OS installation you want and bam, your golden.
I have heard that there is a better way to do this nowadays, but I haven't tried it since. I had two GeForce cards in SLI, and a single quadro card for workstation stuff. I had two monitor inputs. One connected to a GeForce card, and the other to the quadro. I had to switch inputs on the monitor to get the video feed I wanted.
A few hoops, but it worked.

Using a dual boot system would not be feasible. It would have to be under single-boot OS (Win7 Pro). I am sure someone has achieved it. Dual-monitor setup can be implemented as well. Anybody else here in this board has any more suggestions? Thanks for all the replies so far!

 

[Headfoot]

This is extremely non typical so don't be surprised when most people don't have an answer. That being said, I know that you can simultaneously have both nVidia's drivers and AMD's Catalyst drivers installed simultaneously. You could get an AMD gaming card and an nVidia Quadro card or vice versa and run them both simultaneously. The problem is, I don't know whether the appropriate card will take over during gaming. I am fairly certain for AutoCAD or other professional applications that they will prefer the Quadro/FirePro once detected. I have no idea whether the Quadro/FirePro won't also take over for gaming. Note: I have not tested this, though I did know a guy a few years back who ran an ATi card and nVidia card simultaneously to get 3 monitor support before Eyefinity/Surround was a thing

 

[Warsam71]

I haven't built a system with your requirements. I think the best solution is going with a dual-boot OS setup with two different profiles, and based on the needs, the user can simply switch profiles without having to reboot the system...

 

[mishuk3]

Just a food for thought, why doesn't 3rd party OEMs like Asus or ASRock don't allow modifications on their PCIe lanes so that one slot can be used for consumer graphics cards and the other one for professional/prosumer graphics cards? That would make it so simple for people who really want a dual purpose workstation.

 

[moonbogg]

Just a food for thought, why doesn't 3rd party OEMs like Asus or ASRock don't allow modifications on their PCIe lanes so that one slot can be used for consumer graphics cards and the other one for professional/prosumer graphics cards? That would make it so simple for people who really want a dual purpose workstation.

PCI slots are universal. I would ask around on some windows 7 or windows 8 forums about this. I bet they are more likely to know. Few people mix cards like this. Also, have you used the google?

 

[mishuk3]

PCI slots are universal. I would ask around on some windows 7 or windows 8 forums about this. I bet they are more likely to know. Few people mix cards like this. Also, have you used the google?

Yes, I did google search but could not find any relevant answers. Hence I came here, since someone must have used this kind of configuration or at least advise me if it is feasible or not.

 

[bystander36]

Using a dual boot system would not be feasible. It would have to be under single-boot OS (Win7 Pro). I am sure someone has achieved it. Dual-monitor setup can be implemented as well. Anybody else here in this board has any more suggestions? Thanks for all the replies so far!

The closest thing I've done is run an AMD Radeon with an Nvidia Geforce card. As they are two different drivers from different companies, they worked, and could use them to drive different monitors, and in my case, the Nvidia card was used for PhysX.

Assuming AMD drivers are not going to recognize the 2nd AMD card is not of the same category and prevent them from both working, it may work.

The 2nd problem is how Windows will manage their uses. One will be the primary card, and requires a bios setting change to switch it.

 

[ViRGE]

Just a food for thought, why doesn't 3rd party OEMs like Asus or ASRock don't allow modifications on their PCIe lanes so that one slot can be used for consumer graphics cards and the other one for professional/prosumer graphics cards? That would make it so simple for people who really want a dual purpose workstation.

It's not a hardware issue, it's a software issue. The FirePro drivers and the Radeon drivers are different builds of the same drivers, so they cannot coexist as they'll install over each other.

The guys who are suggesting mixing AMD and NVIDIA cards are probably on the right track. Those are different drivers and should have no problem coexisting.

I apologise if I sounded rash, but I am working on a deadline, so to speak. If there is no way for similar branded workstation/gaming cards to work in tandem, should I then advise my client to spend a few more grand and get 2 high-end Firestation or Quadro cards in CrossFire/SLI respectively? This should compensate for low framerates which are usually deficient in single setup workstation cards, right?

FirePro/Quadro cards are terrible for gaming period. Your client would be best advised to game on a consumer card.