SLi? Duel GPU?

[Uriel]

My computer states I have "Dual GPU's", now is this the same as SLi?
I dont see any mention of SLi on my computer anywhere.

 

[Operational]

No.
SLi is when you link two graphics cards together in the one computer.

I've been out of the graphics card scene for a while now but from the name I'd assume that Dual GPU is when you have two GPU processors on the one graphics card.
So similar idea but implemented two different ways.

 

[3ssence]

Open it up and see whether there are 2 graphics cards in the computer !!

 

[Uriel]

There's two cards in the computer, but wouldn't there be something on my computer that mentions "SLi"?
Do I need special drivers?

 

[Operational]

I'm pretty sure if you had SLi you would know it. Are thoes two cards the same size and shape, and are they connected to each other?

 

[Uriel]

I'll do a pic soon when I'm home.
Gosh I feel stupid, but this is the first PCI-E board I've ever dealt with.

 

[The Brick]

You got a geforce 7950 GX2. Those are 2 7900's tied together in a one-slot PCIe card, practically the same as two individual 7900GT's running in SLI. It's really fast, you don't need special drivers.

 

[Uriel]

Ohhh, I see. So it is different that SLi?
Thanks Brick!

 

[The Brick]

It's SLI in one PCIe slot. Other than that it's just the same.

 

[Xune]

Without trying to derail this thread too much, how many GPU's could theoreticly be run through a single PCI-e slot before the bandwidth started bottle-knecking performance?

 

[Cole]

That depends on the GPU and Pci Express x16 or Pci Express x32.

 

[Stigmata]

Not to derail, but would it be possible to run a Crossfire setup on an SLI motherboard, or are the architectures different between the two pairings of PCIe slots?

 

[Cole]

You can't run a Crossfire setup on an SLI mobo and you can't run a SLI setup on a Crossfire mobo.

 

[CyberPitz]

That's the way for the company to make more money....Crossfire is only compatible with Crossfire, and SLI is only compatible with SLI...

Personally, I don't see the point in SLI or Crossfire unless you doing some major editing. I don't see the awesomness in video games...thats an IMHO of course.

 

[Qonfused]

I agree. SLi, to me, is a bit of a waste right now. Running one video card is plenty.

 

[hungryduck]

I that SLI is good in the sense that 9 months down the road...you can upgrade to better video performance by only buying another of the nvidia card you already had at a cheaper price....

 

[Viperidae]

I that SLI is good in the sense that 9 months down the road...you can upgrade to better video performance by only buying another of the nvidia card you already had at a cheaper price....

Or wait slightly longer and buy a single new-gen card (which come out often enough) which would have better performance than 2 of your old card.

 

[Qonfused]

What the hell, Viper? You don't post on the forums anymore.