SLi vs. CrossfireX

[EzE05]

I'm going to build a new computer for the first time in about 4 years, and a lot has changed.

I'm trying to figure out what is better SLi or Crossfire.

Also what the differences are with Crossfire, CrossfireX, and Hybrid CrossfireX. I figured that Crossfire is when there is a maximum of 2 video cards that can be used. I didn't know if I got a CrossfireX compatible motherboard if I HAVE to have more than 2 video cards for it to actually work. And I have no clue to wtf this hybrid CrossfireX stuff is about, someone please explain this to me in layman's terms.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SolMiester]

I dont really think you need to worry about XF or SLI unless you are building a rig for a monitor resolution greater than 25x16!
I believe most on the board will admit 1 powerful GPU is better than 2 less powerful cards..

Most new board for Intel allow both SLI and XF, so i guess it doesnt really matter which GPU manufacturer you go for.

 

[Skurge]

Well, neither are better. Crossfire scaling is a little better than SLI, but its negligible really.

Crossfire is 2 cards, CrossfireX is more than 2 cards, hybrid Crossfire is when you combine an IGP with a low end discrete card. Like The IGP from a 780G (4200 or something) and a 4350.

 

[EzE05]

So in theory then CrossfireX is better than Hybrid CrossfireX, correct me if I'm wrong.

Then my main question is if I get a CrossfireX mobo do I HAVE to have more than 2 cards running for it to work, because I would like to have the ability to expand in the future.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Grooveriding]

So in theory then CrossfireX is better than Hybrid CrossfireX, correct me if I'm wrong.

Then my main question is if I get a CrossfireX mobo do I HAVE to have more than 2 cards running for it to work, because I would like to have the ability to expand in the future.

Thanks for all the help.

All current motherboards support Crossfire, meaning x58, p55, p67 and whatever the current AMD motherboards are designated as.

You can use 1, 2, 3 and in the very high end boards, even 4 video cards.

It's up to you. The limiting factors are the quality and rating of your power supply, as the more video cards you use, the more power you need to have at hand and the ability of your case/cooling to keep the temperatures of the video cards under control.

 

[EzE05]

Okay, Thank you very much for making that clear.

 

[Skurge]

So in theory then CrossfireX is better than Hybrid CrossfireX, correct me if I'm wrong.

Then my main question is if I get a CrossfireX mobo do I HAVE to have more than 2 cards running for it to work, because I would like to have the ability to expand in the future.

Thanks for all the help.

Hybrid crossfire is not very useful or practical, so I suggest you forget about that.

Also, You can run as many cards as you like on a mobo (no more than 4) as long as it has required number of PCI-E slots, it doest have to be branded CrossfireX or Crossfire for it to work.

 

[Arkadrel]

,....And I have no clue to wtf this hybrid CrossfireX stuff is about

hybrid crossfire is crossfire between a IGP(say motherboard/CPU grafics card) and a dedicated card (one you put into a PCI slot). Its done without a crossfire bridge, and usually it doesnt scale to well.

Crossfire and SLI, is between 2 or more dedicated grafics cards (those that go into PCI slots), where you link them via a crossfire/Sli Bridge.

Current generation of AMD cards the 6000 series, scale better than the nvidia ones (last gen cards, 5000 amd cards vs 400 series nvidia ones, the nvidia ones had better scaleing, AMD put alot of work into crossfire with their 6000 series).

 

[wuliheron]

Crossfire/sli is a great option for anyone looking to spend more then just a couple of hundred dollars on each graphics card. Running two cheap or relatively modest video cards is just a waste of money spent on electricity, power supplies, and mobos. When you start talking about video cards that cost $300.oo and up then it becomes much more attractive.

Hybridx is junk and many of the newer video cards can now be crossfired with more powerful video cards with decent scaling. Nvidia is proprietary so their cards won't do sli on most AMD systems, however both will work on Intel systems. If I were you I'd either get the new i5 2500k system or wait for bulldozer.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Any reason why you are looking to use multiple video cards instead of a single card? What resolution will you be gaming at? Budget? Rest of the system?

 

[apoppin]

Current generation of AMD cards the 6000 series, scale better than the nvidia ones (last gen cards, 5000 amd cards vs 400 series nvidia ones, the nvidia ones had better scaleing, AMD put alot of work into crossfire with their 6000 series).

The very latest evidence using the latest drivers doesn't support this; CrossFire and SLI scale about the same and the older series scale superbly for both AMD's and Nvidia's multi-GPU.

i ran a month's worth of benches using the latest drivers and i am testing GTX 580 SLI scaling tonight and also CrossFire-X3. Clearly both companies put a lot of work into their multi-GPU scaling
:thumbsup:

 

[SickBeast]

Any reason why you are looking to use multiple video cards instead of a single card? What resolution will you be gaming at? Budget? Rest of the system?

A pair of GTX 460s cost ~$240, and will be faster than a GTX 580 which costs ~$500. You will have less vram, however it's very tempting to go that route considering the price.

I've seen 5870s go for $130 lately. A pair of those would be unbeatable at $260.

 

[Arkadrel]

A pair of GTX 460s cost ~$240, and will be faster than a GTX 580 which costs ~$500. You will have less vram, however it's very tempting to go that route considering the price.

I've seen 5870s go for $130 lately. A pair of those would be unbeatable at $260.

Good advice.
I think to many overlook the SLI/Crossfire route, because their scared of driver issues with games ect. But for the games it does work well with, its ALOT of value compaired to single card solutions.

And like apoppin said, their both putting alot of work into getting sli/crossfire working really well.

 

[wuliheron]

A pair of GTX 460s cost ~$240, and will be faster than a GTX 580 which costs ~$500. You will have less vram, however it's very tempting to go that route considering the price.

I've seen 5870s go for $130 lately. A pair of those would be unbeatable at $260.

Good luck finding 2 5870s brand new for that price. If you're going to talk about super good deals I'm sure you can find some poor schmuck somewhere facing bankruptcy willing to sell a complete system with a 580 for pennies on the dollar. In which case I wouldn't mess with the small stuff.

 

[SlowSpyder]

A pair of GTX 460s cost ~$240, and will be faster than a GTX 580 which costs ~$500. You will have less vram, however it's very tempting to go that route considering the price.

I've seen 5870s go for $130 lately. A pair of those would be unbeatable at $260.

Yea, I can see the bang for the buck. But a 6950 can be had for $260 after rebate, unlcoked and overclocked that's a pretty stout card. Sure, it usually won't give you 5870 CF performance, but I think that's likely to be where my search would begin and end if I were building a rig from the ground up today.

By the way, where'd you see those $130 5870's? I may throw a third one in this computer just for the hell of it at $130.

 

[endlessmike133]

A pair of GTX 460s cost ~$240, and will be faster than a GTX 580 which costs ~$500. You will have less vram, however it's very tempting to go that route considering the price.

I've seen 5870s go for $130 lately. A pair of those would be unbeatable at $260.

LMAO where have you seen 5870s go for $130? Fantasy-land?

 

[SlowSpyder]

The very latest evidence using the latest drivers doesn't support this; CrossFire and SLI scale about the same and the older series scale superbly for both AMD's and Nvidia's multi-GPU.

i ran a month's worth of benches using the latest drivers and i am testing GTX 580 SLI scaling tonight and also CrossFire-X3. Clearly both companies put a lot of work into their multi-GPU scaling
:thumbsup:

Hi apoppin, I just skimmed through your CF/SLI tests... lots of benches, thanks for that! I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with 5870 scaling (that's all I really looked at seeing as I have that set up and the resolution you tested at). Any chance of doing some 3 way testing in the future?

 

[SickBeast]

LMAO where have you seen 5870s go for $130? Fantasy-land?

Newegg had a shell shocker sale last week. They sold out quickly.

 

[happy medium]

The very latest evidence using the latest drivers doesn't support this; CrossFire and SLI scale about the same and the older series scale superbly for both AMD's and Nvidia's multi-GPU.

i ran a month's worth of benches using the latest drivers and i am testing GTX 580 SLI scaling tonight and also CrossFire-X3. Clearly both companies put a lot of work into their multi-GPU scaling
:thumbsup:

This sums it up, basically end of thread and thanks for the info.:thumbsup:

 

[Skurge]

Hi apoppin, I just skimmed through your CF/SLI tests... lots of benches, thanks for that! I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with 5870 scaling (that's all I really looked at seeing as I have that set up and the resolution you tested at). Any chance of doing some 3 way testing in the future?

I wonder if the 5970 got some of that new scaling goodness. Of course AMD won't advertise it as they want you to buy their newest cards.

 

[apoppin]

Hi apoppin, I just skimmed through your CF/SLI tests... lots of benches, thanks for that! I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with 5870 scaling (that's all I really looked at seeing as I have that set up and the resolution you tested at). Any chance of doing some 3 way testing in the future?

No chance.


It is 100% certainty.:whiste:

i am running TriFire right now . i need earplugs. It crashed last night because my house got to 80F. So i opened some windows and it is running OK. Scaling is fair. i am also using 2 x 775 W PSUs to power my PC because i will be testing GTX 480 and 580 SLI this week. Expect a major review this week featuring SLI/CF and TriFire-X3.

 

[Arkadrel]

Expect a major review this week featuring SLI/CF and TriFire-X3.

I wonder what dual GPU product your testing

Also I quite like your driver testings (not sure if I ever even saw any other site test drivers like you do). Was nice to see that the 5870s isnt forgotten by AMD yet, and still saw some lov'in with 11.2.