Running an ATI X1XXX on NVidia 410/430-6100/6150 integrated chipset

[BernardP]

I am looking to add a discrete video card on my NVidia 430/6150 mobo.

I was pretty sure I was going with the 7600GT, but now the X1650XT is coming mid-october and it looks very promising (24-pipelines... No power connector). I will have to consider this card.

I have a couple of things I would like to make sure of concerning driver compatibility:

When I uninstall the NVidia drivers and install ATI drivers, will I still be able to boot with the integrated video chip using only default Windows video drivers? Or would there be a conflict with ATI drivers on the system? Booting with the integrated video could be useful if I had to take the ATI card out at some point.

I know I would not be able to run the integrated video and the discrete video card at the same time, as I would if the card was NVidia. But this doesn't bother me. I only want to drive one monitor and one TV.

Any other downside to mixing ATI discrete video with NVidia Integrated video?

Is there anybody here using an ATI X1XXX card with the NVidia 410/430-6100/6150 chipset. Anything special to report?

Thanks

 

[JPB]

That would be 24 pixel shaders...not 24 pipelines. I have used several ATI cards with integrated NV, and NEVER had a problem. As I doubt you will either.

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: x80064
That would be 24 pixel shaders...not 24 pipelines. I have used several ATI cards with integrated NV, and NEVER had a problem. As I doubt you will either.

You are right...it's pixel shaders. The X1600 Series have 12 pixel shaders, so the X1650XT should be a significant improvement.

So what happens to the integrated NVidia video capability once the ATI drivers are loaded?

 

[moonboy403]

the bios simply detects that pcie video card is installed and hence disable integrated graphics

it's perfectly fine to pair them up!

 

[ElFenix]

why would you uninstall the nvidia drivers?


does the bios even bother disabling? could be useful for multi monitor support.


<--- has a 1900xt running fine on an NF4.

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
why would you uninstall the nvidia drivers?

does the bios even bother disabling? could be useful for multi monitor support.

Can the NVidia driver co-exist with the ATI drivers? Do you mean that if I disable the onboard graphics, Windows will not "see" the NVidia drivers and only see the ATI drivers for the ATI PCI-E card?

I had assumed that is was not possible to have both ATI and NVidia drivers on the same system.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: BernardP

Originally posted by: ElFenix
why would you uninstall the nvidia drivers?

does the bios even bother disabling? could be useful for multi monitor support.

Can the NVidia driver co-exist with the ATI drivers?

Yes it can.

Do you mean that if I disable the onboard graphics, Windows will not "see" the NVidia drivers and only see the ATI drivers for the ATI PCI-E card?

That is correct - disable onboard graphics and Windows won't activate the onboard video hardware and hence, won't load the Nvidia graphics driver. I would do that (disable onboard video).

However, some chipsets will automatically disable onboard video when they detect and add-in card. But it's smart to be safe and just disable it in the BIOS.

I had assumed that is was not possible to have both ATI and NVidia drivers on the same system.

It's possible, and if you wanted to run 4 monitors you could always mix and match cards (though I wouldn't recommend it if possible).

Remember that you're also using an Nvidia motherboard, so if you do plan on uninstalling "Nvidia drivers" make sure it's just the video drivers you uninstall and leave the other drivers on there (chipset/Ethernet/etc).

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
That is correct - disable onboard graphics and Windows won't activate the onboard video hardware and hence, won't load the Nvidia graphics driver (...) and if you wanted to run 4 monitors you could always mix and match cards (though I wouldn't recommend it if possible).

Thanks jiffylube1024. Exactly the kind of explanation I was looking for.

Remember that you're also using an Nvidia motherboard, so if you do plan on uninstalling "Nvidia drivers" make sure it's just the video drivers you uninstall and leave the other drivers on there (chipset/Ethernet/etc).

:Q Something I knew, but a good thing to have it pointed out, just to be sure.

So what happens if I uninstall the NVidia video drivers and try to boot on the NVidia integrated video chip? Am I right to assume that I will only get minimal performance and options through generic Windows video drivers (800x600...60Hz refresh)?