Need Help with sli...

Just upgraded my machine to a quad Q6600 processor, asus maximus formula mobo, 2gb corsair 800mhz, evga 8800gt sc.
I was wondering if I can add another evga 8800 and sli the two together. I have a 22" viewsonic.
I have heard nvidia won't release drivers for it etc. but I don't know all the details...
THanks for all the pics and general discission. I have learned a lot thus far from everyone in the other sli thread.

 

there are websites with several pages of tests of both the ati crossfire and the nvidia sli being used. they did various tests with games and testing software, so there must be a way that these cards will work on their own in sli. my asus board has sli and i have settings in bios just for sli. type in nvidia 8800gt and you should get the same comparison tests i read.

crysis will not recognize my 8800gt, and bioshock will not even start. so i want to fix these issues before going with sli. the new nvidia card is out, so the 8800gt should be coming down in price.

 

Hmmmm. I know quite a few people that run Crysis with 8800GT's. I know people that run it with lesser cards! Try reinstalling your drivers. Some newer drivers just came out yesterday as well.

 

The Asus Maximus is an X38 intel chipset. Although it is a terrific board, none of the intel boards currently support nvidia SLI. There is a battle going on about this right now because Nvidia refused to give Intel a liscence. With a 22" screen, you are probably running 1650x1080? This really isn't that high of a resolution in the world of gaming. You wouldn't benifit too much from sli. SLI does not 'double' your GPU performance. It more/less just helps out when you are running a big resolution (1920x1200 or greater) with filters on like AA and AF.

 

I run it on my laptop and still get decent frame rates.

 

will do.

service pack 2 for xp 64 killed my onboard sound. i had 2 sata drives, so i am formatting and reinstalling xp 64 on the new , extra drive. i will then format and partition the "old" sata drive. i will NOT install service pack 2, and i installed a sound card to see if i can get everything working again, like it was last weekend before i did the stupid update.

thank you for the info on the drivers. i will find them while i am on this (old) computer and put the drivers on a flashdrive to transfer.

 

Which OS are you using? I'll link you to the newest drivers.

 

I am using xp, please link me to the newest drivers luke, thank you. I tried finding them earlier but ran out of time.
THank you for the info luke, especially about not needing sli for my resolution. Yes you had it correct at 1650x1080. I am guessing my wm2235 cannot run 1920x1200?
I had heard about the battle and I was told today that there is a third party driver that you can use to run sli.
I was also told the new x48 chipset has the license agreement.
Crysis does run fine with the 8800gt.

 

Nvidia had a presentation to announce to the public that the GPU is much more important than your CPU.

nah. Intel just released a presentation to exclaim the CPU is 'more important than the GPU' ( a slap in the face to Nvidia ) They did this while announcing the 'larabee' platform that will do GPU work inside the CPU. This should be around for another couple years though. I don't see intel having an SLI liscence anytime soon.

Both Billion dollar corps sound like big babies to me.

XP32: http://www.koehling.eu/forceware/nvidia_forceware_174.53_xp_x86.exe
XP64: http://www.koehling.eu/forceware/nvidia_forceware_174.53_xp_x64.exe
Vista32: http://www.koehling.eu/forceware/nvidia_forceware_174.53_vista_x86.exe
Vista64: http://www.koehling.eu/forceware/nvidia_forceware_174.53_vista_x64.exe

I have not seen a monitor under 24" that can run 1900 x 1200

This is the one I have. It's terrific!

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/lcddisplays/xseries/vx2835wm/

 

i have a registered copy of windows XP 64. i got the computer up and running (again) . i installed xp 64 (again) and i will make sure not to update it.

i did the bios reflash from evga (card retailer) and will attempt to reinstall / plat Crysis.

any help would be great.

thank you for your posts in both of these threads.

 

Thanks for the link luke. I will get that installed today.
I think my dad wants my 2235, so I may get the 28 you have after all. My only concern is the hdmi connection on the back of the 2835wm.
The 8800 gt I believe has two dvi outputs on the back. Will I lose resolution if I use the dvi to hdmi connector? What would be the best route to go?
Microcenter here sells it for 629 with rebate, is that the cheapest?

 

The monitor comes with a cable that is a DVI output to an HDMI input

 

wow, that is some monitor!

 

IMHO. It's the best deal out there right now.

 

There is 1 22" monitor that has 1900x1200 native resolution. It is the Lenovo l220x. I almost got it a few weeks ago but it is out of stock everywhere (apparently a fire at the factor that makes the panels).

 

So i ditched the nvidia card and picked up the ati radeon 3870 x2 instead. That is one huge video card. I thought the 8800gt was big. Nope.
What are your thoughts luke? Anything I should do? I installed the drivers from the disc. Online most people have been saying stay with the cat 8.1 release which the card
happened to come with. It only recognizes my one monitor which is good. Does it automatically use both on the one monitor? It won't let me choose 1650x1050 though as my resolution.
Should I be careful to not go above my limitations of my monitor? viewsonic 2235.
Just to add the ATI card is the fastest video card I have ever seen period...

 

did you ever get 2 8800gt's and try to sli them? i am wondering about driver issues. seems ati crossfire is more stable?

thoughts?



edit : now that i am running my new pc, i have noticed my 8800gt runs a bit hotter than other cards i have used. i added another 120mm fan, but if / when i add a second card, i think heat is going to be a bigger issue for me than power, as my power supply was designed for this type of load . ( i hope )

the super atx tower should help though!
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I have a Asus Maximus Formula motherboard and the chipset is Intel X38. Not nvidia.
Intel and Nvidia have had serious pissing contests, including lawsuits and refuse to get along. I don't know who started it.
So I cannot sli two cards from nvidia on an intel chipset b/c nvidia won't give intel a license to do so.
I refuse to use nvidia chipsets because they're uber garbage. Mostly because they run very hot and do not overclock well.
So nvidia lost two sales of 8800gt's because they won't provide intel with licenses for their chipset.
I returned my 8800gt and got the 3870x2.
It is a power hog but just crushes the performance of the one 8800gt. Even my apc is crying overload. Maybe I should
get a new one?

I hope that explains it carreaper. Hoping to hear from luke on his thoughts.

Almost forgot GO JAYHAWKS! and UT GO BIG 12.

 

Hey!

I do not have much ATI expirience. The 3870 x2 is supposed to be a great card. They have some really spotty issues with certain games from what I understand. They aren't supposed to be so hot with AA/AF filters either. I think these are driver issues. Give them time. Do you have 2 3870 x2's? I guess there is a 3850 and 3870 x3 coming out!

I agree on the nforce chipsets. You forgot to mention that they literally EAT ram too. Most people only get 2-3 months out of a stick of higher performance ram on an 680 or 780 board.

The resolution 'might' be a driver (catalyst) problem. I would give the catalyst 8.3 a shot. If that doesn't fix the problem, go back to 8.1

Good luck

 

wow, ill just stay with what i have then!