# can you sli two different cards ?



## charliecurtis

hey guys i been wondering (too scared too try) , i have 2 7600 cards ,ones a gs the other a gt . the gs is an xfx brand and the gt is a evga . can i sli these cards ? would it be beneficial ?


----------



## sladesurfer

no, You need 2 gt or 2 gs. Cant mix GT and GS together


----------



## Mad_Handlez89

No - to enable SLI mode you need to have the same Model Card (2x 7600GTs







)


----------



## DuckieHo

No, you will not be able to use those two cards in the same system. It is a limitation of the driver. Since their model numbers are different, you will not be able to use SLI.


----------



## burnstudios

A gs and a gt? Im going to go out on a limb and say no. They have different bios's and i think it would conflict with the drivers.


----------



## charliecurtis

thanks all for the quick reply , i didnt think i could . i bought the xfx for 50 bucks AR for a future build and hate to see it just sitting there .


----------



## Lt. ColdFire

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sladesurfer* 
no, You need 2 gt or 2 gs. Cant mix GT and GS together

lol, at first you said yes. I was like ***.


----------



## sladesurfer

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Lt. ColdFire* 
lol, at first you said yes. I was like ***.

HAHAH,I know i read it wrong


----------



## Lt. ColdFire

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sladesurfer* 
HAHAH,I know i read it wrong









lol, yeah, i figured


----------



## Mad_Handlez89

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Lt. ColdFire* 
lol, at first you said yes. I was like ***.

Same. I was about to PM him sayin OMG WTH YOU TALKIN ABOUT


----------



## Akatsuki No Tobi

Sorry for hijacking the thread, but does two cards of the same type but with different companies work in SLI/Crossfire? Example being an 8800 GTX (EVGA) and an 8800 GTX (BFG) in SLI.


----------



## STN71190

^^ yes that will work.


----------



## NOS---

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Akatsuki No Tobi* 
Sorry for hijacking the thread, but does two cards of the same type but with different companies work in SLI/Crossfire? Example being an 8800 GTX (EVGA) and an 8800 GTX (BFG) in SLI.


Yes but most of the time, if two cards are clocked different, it will pick the lower clocks are run them on both cards.


----------



## xFyre

no, it wont. only ATi CrossFire is capable of using two different cards.


----------



## Bitemarks and bloodstains

from the 7 series up you can use different manufacturs and and differenrt revisions of card they just need to be the same model


----------



## ENTERPRISE

Unfortunately with Nvidia card you MUST have 2 matching cards to Enable SLI.

For ATI this is different you have to keep the same Model but you can mix XT or Pro for example.


----------



## DuckieHo

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Bitemarks and bloodstains* 
from the 7 series up you can use different manufacturs and and differenrt revisions of card they just need to be the same model

It was a driver update (early 2006, I think) that allowed different different manufacturer and BIOS to run SLI. I believe you can run any 6800GS in SLI as long as you have recent drivers.


----------



## USFORCES

I wonder if you flashed the GS to a GT or the otherway around if that would work.

As for the 8800 GTX (EVGA) and an 8800 GTX (BFG) if one did have a higher overclock you could flash those, I know someone that flashed there PNY 8800GTX to a eVGA 8800GTX KO and it worked fine.


----------



## tagg

I'm pretty sure this would conflict. Although I seem to remember there was a hubub about nVidia allowing 2 different makers of the same model being able to SLI...don't remember though.


----------



## grunion

The following excerpts are taken from the SLI Zone Faqs

Quote:

Can I mix and match graphics cards?
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.


Quote:

Can I mix and match graphics cards if one of them is overclocked by the manufacturer?
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.


Quote:

Can I mix and match graphics cards with different sizes of memory?
While it is not recommended, NVIDIA does offer this flexibility using Coolbits. When purchasing a second graphics card, you should try to match the memory size so that you are ensured full value and performance from your purchase. For example, if your first card is a GeForce 6600 GT with 128MB of memory, you should purchase a second GeForce 6600 GT with 128MB of memory. However, using Coolbits (value set to 18), you can force both of the cards to use the lower of the two memory sizes and operate together in SLI mode. When dissimilar memory sizes are enabled to work together using Coolbits, the effective memory size for each card becomes the smaller of the two memory sizes. Instructions to enable this feature can be found here. http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_coolbits.html

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

*So how would you interpret* *OPTIMAL*, *meaning yes but with a big performance hit or something else.*


----------



## themango

Couldn't you take a 7800GTX and a 7800GT and underclock the GTX to the GT speeds. Then sli the two cards?

It would be a 50/50 ratio and it would still be faster than just having a 7800GTX alone.


----------



## Skullzaflare

Quote:


Originally Posted by *themango* 
Couldn't you take a 7800GTX and a 7800GT and underclock the GTX to the GT speeds. Then sli the two cards?

It would be a 50/50 ratio and it would still be faster than just having a 7800GTX alone.

you bumped a 1 year old thread

also, no, would need to be flashed to the sAme type


----------



## FearMeansControl

yeah i was just gonna say, can't you flash the gs/gt bios to a common one? im sure it'd be less stable than WinME, but its worth a shot if you're comfortable with such a process


----------



## Skullzaflare

Quote:


Originally Posted by *FearMeansControl* 
yeah i was just gonna say, can't you flash the gs/gt bios to a common one? im sure it'd be less stable than WinME, but its worth a shot if you're comfortable with such a process

depends if its the same core, and the card will run gt clocks


----------



## pbpenguins412

And memory types. GS's usually use DDR2, while GT's use GDDR3.


----------



## bdude92

Hi, i recently bought an 8800gt xfx XXX edition card. I have saved up enough money to buy a 8800gtx. Is it possible to run both these cards together or if not shall i consider selling the 8800gt???

cheers plz email me. [email protected]


----------



## sparticvs

So I am going to hijack/ressurrect this to continue the discussion one step further. I understand that the chipset serials have to be the same, i.e. nVidia 9500GT has to be paired with a 9500GT. However. What about a 9500GT with 512 MB of memory and a 9500GT with 1GB of memory? Can those be SLI'd? They use the same 128-bit memory type.

Thanks in advance...

Here are the cards I am contemplating SLI-ing:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121336 (currently own)
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121339 (looking to buy)


----------



## brewermoe

Its another year... whats the consensus say now?

How much crossbreading can we do now?

We can tri-cards now...

And to what extent can we flash the cards, ie can you flash a stock to another vendors OC?
Can you flash a reference card?


----------



## WhitePrQjser

Yes, and yes.

You can Quad SLI with e.g. 2x GTX 590s. Tri-SLI with 3x GTX 580 for example.

Quad-Fire can be obtained down to 4x HD6950s, I believe.

You can mix and match from any vendor as long as it's the same GPU. It's not recommended to mix different VRAM sizes, but it's possible.

You can flash most cards to a different vendor's OC.

Yes, you can flash reference cards. At least that's what I heard.


----------



## eXXon

Can i SLI a 590 with two 580's?
Thx.


----------

