Want to do my first SLi PC

[Q]

I have an ATI X800XL 256 mb. There are no brand marking on the card itself, but I did copy down the P/N and S/N. I entered the P/N on ati.com and it found it but provided me with no info other than what I just stated above.

Does that mean my card is straight from ATI? I thought you had to get the same brand (ie. Gigabyte) in order to run SLi.
EDIT: Looks like this

Also, I read you need a bridge connector that apparently comes out of the top of the card but I don't see any connection on my current card? Can someone help me out?

Big edit: Wow I'm an idiot SLI is for Nvidia and ATI is Crossfire....well my board is SLI so I guess I can't unless I buy two nvidia cards....arghh

 

[angry hampster]

Pointless endeavor. If your rig is old enough to be using an X800, then it's time to upgrade everything.

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: angry hampster
Pointless endeavor. If your rig is old enough to be using an X800, then it's time to upgrade everything.

Only PC games I play are Source and AA (America's Army), but I want to be ready for AA3. Plus I'm in college and don't want/need to drop hundreds on a new rig. It's PCI-e

 

[Zap]

Yes, BITD there were cards sold under the ATI brand. Back then to run Crossfire you needed a special card and external dongle (IIRC). Since your card is so old, I'd say just replace it with something newer. You can get 9600 GT cards for around $70 which will be pretty fast compared to your X800XL. If your budget and power supply*** can handle it, I'd recommend a GTX 260. Those are really good bang/buck at under $200 for your choice of brands and should be several times faster than your old card. Note that I'm not recommending any ATI cards because you said you already have an SLI motherboard.

***Your X800XL (IIRC) does not need additional power from the power supply. A GTX 260 will require TWO additional power plugs (6-pin PCIe) from the power supply. If your power supply does not supply those, then unless your power supply has enough power but is just too old to have those plugs, you should budget for a new PSU.

Another alternative is to get a video card that does not require additional power. The best NVIDIA card would be the 9800 GT "Green" version. Of course it isn't called "Green" but it does NOT have a power connector on it. The only one available to purchase right now that I'm aware of is the BFG GeForce 9800 GT EcoIntelligence. I'm sure other manufacturers will be coming out with their as well. EVGA has the "Green" version of the 9600 GT available, but of course the 9800 GT is faster.