Yet another SLI question

[Juddog]

Ok oddball question:

I am looking to upgrade my motherboard to the EVGA 780i FTW, mostly for it's ESA compatibility so I can use the lights on my case.

Here is the setup I am thinking about running using cards I already own:

2x 8800 GT's 512 MB G92 core in SLI on the PCIE 2.0 slots
1x 6800 GT on the PCI 1.0 slot

Will this work? Basically I tire of having to turn off SLI in order to use my second monitor, so I'm looking to drive monitor #2 with the 3rd non-SLI'd card, and use the 2 8800 GT's in SLI configuration at the same time.

 

[JAG87]

should work just fine.

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: JAG87
should work just fine.

Ahh cool thanks for the quick reply. The big downside of SLI to me so far is having to turn off my second monitor to play games. The geforce 6800 GT has been collecting dust on my shelf for about a half year now and it would be nice to put it to use.

 

[Starshinata]

Just to ask something more simple if possible please guys, I am in a huge dilemma here and a few words from you will help a lot!!

Is it better to get a laptop with the NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT or an older laptop with nVidia GeForce 8700M GT DDR3 512MB x 2. They are both ASUS, the first one is the G71 and the second is the G70. The first one has the better Extreme processor, I suppose and is newer, while the second one came out last year but are two graphic cards better than one new? Please guys help me out here, and if you know anything! about ASUS ordering online please tell me where I can order the best ASUS gaming laptop!
Thank you in advance guys, I will really appreciate you help!

 

[Starshinata]

The whole numbering of the NVIDIA cards is really confusing and I can't seem to be able to get on track about which one is newer or at least better. Please someone just tip me off here.

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: Starshinata
Just to ask something more simple if possible please guys, I am in a huge dilemma here and a few words from you will help a lot!!

Is it better to get a laptop with the NVIDIA GeForce 9700M GT or an older laptop with nVidia GeForce 8700M GT DDR3 512MB x 2. They are both ASUS, the first one is the G71 and the second is the G70. The first one has the better Extreme processor, I suppose and is newer, while the second one came out last year but are two graphic cards better than one new? Please guys help me out here, and if you know anything! about ASUS ordering online please tell me where I can order the best ASUS gaming laptop!
Thank you in advance guys, I will really appreciate you help!

If it's on a laptop, having an SLI configuration will be a huge power hog. The 9700M is about 15 - 20 % faster than the 8700M, so the SLI'd 8700M will be a little bit faster, however, the 9700M has more compatibilities (direct X 10). Personally if it was me I would go with the 9700M for the lower power requirements and shader 4.0 support, but if the laptop is going to be plugged in all the time to play games you could go with the SLI'd 8700M.

 

[aka1nas]

You don't need the 3rd card for just two monitors if you use a 180-series driver. You just have to plug both displays into the primary card in the SLI pair.

You can use the third card method for 3+ displays, but it's also only officially supported in the 180 series forceware drivers. It was sometimes possible to get it working with older drivers with a fairly involved sequence of rebooting and disabling display adapters.

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: aka1nas
You don't need the 3rd card for just two monitors if you use a 180-series driver. You just have to plug both displays into the primary card in the SLI pair.

You can use the third card method for 3+ displays, but it's also only officially supported in the 180 series forceware drivers. It was sometimes possible to get it working with older drivers with a fairly involved sequence of rebooting and disabling display adapters.

Latest driver for Vista x64 is Version: 178.24 that I've seen. When I enable SLI in the GeForce settings it turns off secondary monitor; both cables are plugged into primary graphics card.

 

[aka1nas]

180.43 is the latest "official" beta, which can be downloaded from Nvidia's website. The WHQL 180 series driver should be released in the next week or so.

Edit: Direct Link

 

[Juddog]

Originally posted by: aka1nas
180.43 is the latest "official" beta, which can be downloaded from Nvidia's website. The WHQL 180 series driver should be released in the next week or so.

Edit: Direct Link

Ahh very cool. I'll have to mess with these later.

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Juddog
Ok oddball question:

I am looking to upgrade my motherboard to the EVGA 780i FTW, mostly for it's ESA compatibility so I can use the lights on my case.

Here is the setup I am thinking about running using cards I already own:

2x 8800 GT's 512 MB G92 core in SLI on the PCIE 2.0 slots
1x 6800 GT on the PCI 1.0 slot

Will this work? Basically I tire of having to turn off SLI in order to use my second monitor, so I'm looking to drive monitor #2 with the 3rd non-SLI'd card, and use the 2 8800 GT's in SLI configuration at the same time.

Wow that is a cool idea I wonder if someone could do this same thing but instead have only two video cards. One for when gaming and one when not gaming. I hate the heat my video card causes. This would help prevent it when not gaming. Would this be possible ?

 

[aka1nas]

What you want for that is called Hybrid SLI (or Hybrid Crossfire). You need one of the Nvidia or AMD chipsets with a supported integrated GPU. The integrated video handles normal desktop usage, and switches over to the discrete GPU when you play a 3d game.

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: aka1nas
What you want for that is called Hybrid SLI (or Hybrid Crossfire). You need one of the Nvidia or AMD chipsets with a supported integrated GPU. The integrated video handles normal desktop usage, and switches over to the discrete GPU when you play a 3d game.

Cool I didn't even realize they had this! How long has this been out for?

 

[Starshinata]

Guys, do u know if there is any laptop that combines the Intel QX9300 2.53 GHz Quad Core 1066FSB 12MB and two of nVidia GeForce 9700M GT 512MB GDDR3 (or some similar video cards of the latest generation) ? thanks beforehand