can i do SLi with these two...

[SchoolyD]

i had a P built at Cyberpowerpc.com and i have a nvidia EVGA 7950GT 512 MB, and i cannot find any online or in stores very easily at all. my question was can i SLI with a nvidia BFG 7950GT 512 MB??? i got the EVGA because i have a 680i SLI motherboard... any help would be appreciated.

[enderless]

The core clock is what you need to be concerned about. Both cards need to be running at the exact same speed other wise it will throw off your configuration.

Some links to the specific cards you are looking at would help.

[borkborkbork]

In order to provide optimal symmetric scaling, SLI technology requires the NVIDIA GPUs to match. For example, a GeForce 7800 GTX must be paired with another GeForce 7800 GTX. Likewise, a GeForce 6600 GT must be paired with another GeForce 6600 GT. However, using the latest Release 80 or later graphics drivers, NVIDIA GPUs sold by different manufacturers can be used together in an SLI configuration. For example, a GeForce 7800 GT from vendor ABC can be matched with a GeForce 7800 GT from vendor XYZ.


http://www.slizone.com/page/slizone_faq.html#c3


Clock speed does not matter:

Yes. A GeForce 7800 GTX that is overclocked (for example BFG GeForce 7800 GTX OC) can be mixed with a standard clocked GeForce 7800 GTX.

As far as I know, it will treat the faster card as if it is running at the speed of the lower clocked card, much like RAM.


A word to the wise, if you have not purchased these cards, dont an 8800GT 512, will out preform SLi 7950s, it is not worth it, you would get much better proformance from a 8800 series card, plus with the added bonus of Direct X 10.

[SchoolyD]

I've already had the EVGA 7950gt put in my pc since it was built last year, but i'm also wondering about the installation, is there any problems that i wouldn't want to run into by installing the extra card by itself, i have the motherboard manual with directions but i've had problems with video card drivers, ect in the past that was a big pain in the 4ss from trying to reinstall the new drivers and had to bring the computer to my friend. otherwise let me know if its a good idea to do it.

[borkborkbork]

Heres what you do:
turn off computer and unplug

install second card

connect sli bridge

connect second pci-e connector

turn on computer

enter bios and enable sli

download latest drivers from nvidia

install drivers

restart computer

[enderless]

i've found that not all SLI config's react the same.

Back in the day, i had a pair of 6600gt's in SLI. Diff makes, one was clocked slightly higher than the other. After much trial and error, i could only get a stable bridge when both cores were clocked the same. That's why i threw that out there.

Bork's right tho. Instead of another 7950, save a little and go with an 8800GT or Gts. it will out perform two 7950's any day.

[SchoolyD]

i see your point but the reason i only bought one 7950 when the computer was build was so i could just add more power when i had a little spare cash, its only been a year kinda seems like it not a very smart idead to throw away the 7950 just yet, or do you recommend getting another 2 or 4gigs of ram to make a total of 6 gigs, i just wanna add something because the money is burning a hole in my pocket.

[enderless]

Unless you have a 64 bit OS, 6GB of ram would be pointless as Window's would only recognize 3.2GB. I have 4GB on Vista ultimate, and even when doing heavy video editing and gaming, i have yet to use more than 70%.

In the end it all comes down to your preferences, as i am only advising. The 7950 series is by no means lacking, but given the current standard they are all but near-obsolete. Especially factoring in their DX10 incompatibility. If you looking to just "add a little power," SlI'ing another 7950 will give you just that. But if you are looking to put some serious horsepower under the hood (not to mention future proofing your system) then a 8800Gt or GTS would be it.

[SchoolyD]

i think i have windows Xp pro 64 bit???? mabey

[enderless]