SLI, Crossfire or Eyefinity

[gt112]

I have been trying to get my head around which of these to consider when building a multi-monitor setup for FC and A-10c.

 

AFAICT, eyefinity can do individual monitor processing as well as combined large screen (see my post here), but I would dearly love clarification.

 

What about crossfire or sli? perhaps 2 x 5850's, but then the cost, the cost :(, and then the power consumption, how much power would 2 of these cards need?

 

Do any of these technologies benefit FC or A-10c ?

 

What about a 4 monitor setup, 3 upfront in cockpit and one for Helios (lower down rendering MFD and other panels, probably need to be touchscreen) ?

 

I would really appreciate people in the know shedding light on this as the more I research it, the more questions I seem to raise.

 

Many thanks

 

EDIT: Crikey! I have just come across a fourth option - Softth. Oh my god where do I even start?

Edited October 1, 2010 by gt112

[Groove]

I can give you some insight on Multi-Monitor and Crossfire.

 

Currently im using two 5870s with a three monitor setup. The middle one is 24" and the left and right monitors are 19" for now. My target setup are three 24" monitors.

 

You will understand that i can't give you any infos about fps in A-10C with three monitors as work on the project is ongoing. But i can help you with any questions regarding Crossfire and Eyefinity.

 

Let me say you that much the both Eyefinity and Crossfire works with A-10C.

[gt112]

I can give you some insight on Multi-Monitor and Crossfire.

 

Currently im using two 5870s with a three monitor setup. The middle one is 24" and the left and right monitors are 19" for now. My target setup are three 24" monitors.

 

You will understand that i can't give you any infos about fps in A-10C with three monitors as work on the project is ongoing. But i can help you with any questions regarding Crossfire and Eyefinity.

 

Let me say you that much the both Eyefinity and Crossfire works with A-10C.

 

 

Hi Groove,

 

Crikey, 2 x 5870s ????? How much power do they consume? must be heading for 1.5 KW just for graphics no? I could not afford two cards like this I think

[Feuerfalke]

Hi Groove,

 

Crikey, 2 x 5870s ????? How much power do they consume? must be heading for 1.5 KW just for graphics no? I could not afford two cards like this I think

 

Maximum power consumption for 5870 = 200 Watt (188 measured for most 5870 cards)

 

2x 5870 = 400 Watt (IIRC 750Watt are recommended PSU for crossfire with 5870)

[gt112]

many thanks, I get confused sometimes :)

 

Do you mind me asking, what is best price for two of those puppies ? (I'm in Ireland btw)

 

What motherboard would you recommend for 2 of these GPU's?

[GhostDog]

In GBP? I don't even wanna think about it. Amazon UK has them for 300 pounds and up. I imagine that's about the price you're going to find anywhere. Unless you're looking to build an insane rig, you really don't need two 5870s. As for a mobo, for the specs you mentioned in your other post, you should look at the ASUS P6X58D.

[gt112]

GhostDog, many thanks for all your help

[Groove]

Latest price in Germany is 339 Euro for one.

 

Im using a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Rev.1 Mobo

[hassata]

Groove-do you mean that you can output to 3 monitors while running Crossfire mode? Or is it either/or. And, if you can answer, is Crossfire mode (in general, and not in connection with any software pending release which you may or may not be testing, programing ,or otherwise running on your or any other machine lol) resulting in a significant fps increase?

 

Thanks

Edited October 2, 2010 by hassata

[gt112]

In GBP? I don't even wanna think about it. Amazon UK has them for 300 pounds and up. I imagine that's about the price you're going to find anywhere. Unless you're looking to build an insane rig, you really don't need two 5870s. As for a mobo, for the specs you mentioned in your other post, you should look at the ASUS P6X58D.

 

GhostDog

That is one glorious motherbaord, I'm still foaming at the mouth after reading the specs. But dammit - upto €400. I'll keep an eye on 3bay and listings.

 

Can you tell me, would it be compatible with the Corsair HX750 PSU (which I have just bought as a package deal with an Intel i7 920 - the lot for €260) ?

 

Crikey: I've just found a version of it here http://elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1972902#spec

 

for €185 quid. Should I jump ?

Edited October 2, 2010 by gt112

[topdog]

It's not actually the same motherboard, but even so, there are positive accounts of it being as good or better than the premium (non -E model) anyway.

 

http://www.overclock.net/intel-motherboards/726295-p6x58d-e-vs-p6x58d-premium.html

 

Look around some more for prices of the -E version though; since it seems to be the 'normal' price difference between the two anyway, you can keep on checking for better deals of it.

[celticcoho]

Hello Groove, I am running ati eyefinity on Samsung MD230X3 Screens with HD5870's in Crossfire. I now am looking for a way to have my 3 monitor Main View and drive 3 more touch screens for Helios??? I think I may have to go with the 5870 eyevinity 6 Cards in crossfire to get all I want. The touch screeens will have all cockpit data for DCS A10-C and can switch to Blackshark too, 20 second change of aircraft pits. thats my goal> Enjoy, Jim

[joey45]

does DCS:A10C support SLI aswel as Xfire

[bumfire]

Latest price in Germany is 339 Euro for one.

 

Im using a Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Rev.1 Mobo

 

 

Does your board suffer from a whining noise when C1E is enabled ?

 

I aks because I have just ordered i7 950, x58 udr3 rev2 and 12 gig of 1333 7-7-7-20 ram and a corsair h70 cpu cooler. It was only after I ordered did I hear about the whine problem.

 

Supposedly related to certain psu's and C1E, so I hope I dont suffer from it, as I had a video card that had a whine from one of its coils and it bugged the shit outta me.

 

I will be using my old trusty Hx850 psu, so I pray that isnt one of those psu's that are known to cause the whine.

 

Now all i waiting for is a thrustmaster hog stick, and the new saitek combat pedals when they get released, then DCS A10C, the new IL2 game, I forgot its name, the one about battle of britain and GranTurismo5 and thats me sorted until january when I will think about dumping my ssd's and getting a new set.

Edited October 3, 2010 by bumfire

[rcjonessnp175]

Hello all, hey i have both dcs black shark and just purchased dcs a10 c, love these sime they are the standard, and amazing.

Question is how do i get my nvidia surround 2d working correctly with these two sims. My resolution is 6100x1080 thats the bezel corrected res. Problem im having is no matter what options i pick in both sims my FOV is really screwy.

 

Little on my specs

 

gtx 480 sli

3 samsung b2430 screens

I-7 920 @ 3.8

6gb corsair 1600mhz mem

also i have both sims on my primary ssd drive.

 

 

Really appreciate the help cant wait to dive into the a-10 as i have been on the ground real world with these babies taken out the baddies in Iraq by far my favorite Jet.

 

Jonesy:)

[Rusty_M]

I'm also interested to find out more about SLI. Although I'll be mainly running a single monitor setup. I assume if SLI causes problems, one card can be disabled and just sit there whilst the other does all the work. Is this correct?

[bumfire]

Sli is useless for lockon and dcs blackshark.

 

Not sure if sli is worth it for a10c, but I suspect it wont be, as the only sli mode that I found to be of any use in lockon and ka50 was the Sli AA, which gave you more anti aliasing.

 

The rest of the Sli modes didnt really do anything and it was better just using a single card for the sim.

 

Now, as I said above, I dont know if things have changed for A10C in regards to sli, but I would take a guess and say its unlikely that things have changed to a point where Sli is now worth using in this new sim.