Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 16 of 21

Thread: CrossfireX Compatibility

  1. #1
    Registered+
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    27
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    1 time in 1 post
    • zxnet2k's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte 780G UD3
      • CPU:
      • AMD Phenom II 940 BE
      • Memory:
      • Corsair PC2-6400 4GB
      • Storage:
      • Western Digital 500GB 7200rpm SATA
      • Graphics card(s):
      • XFX Radeon HD-4850 XXX Edition
      • Operating System:
      • Windows XP Pro

    CrossfireX Compatibility

    Hi all,

    I'm buying a new AMD board that is using the 780G chipset - and reading the features it mentions that the onboard graphics ATIRadeon™ HD 3200 can be used with an additional graphics card to utilise the CrossfireX. The graphics card I was planning to get was the XFX HD 4850.

    1) Will these 2 actually be compatible with Crossfire?
    2) If yes, would there be a significant performance increase over just using the 4850 alone?

  2. #2
    Registered+
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    42
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts
    • Shedlife's system
      • Motherboard:
      • M3A79-T Deluxe
      • CPU:
      • Phenom II X3 720
      • Memory:
      • 4GB Cosair XMS2
      • Storage:
      • 320GB SATA II Samsung F1
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Nvidia 8400GS 512mb
      • PSU:
      • 500W OCZ StealthXStream
      • Case:
      • Coolermaster 335
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 64-bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" DGM
      • Internet:
      • British Telecoms 8mbps

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    I would image it means with another HD3200 rather than ANOTHER graphics card such as you're 4850.

  3. #3
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,232
    Thanked
    2,290 times in 1,873 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    zx - which board? Officially the 780G doesn't support enough PCIe channels for Crossfire, but some board manufacturers produce boards with two physical X16 slots which makes crossfire *possible*. If that's the case, you'd need a second 4850 to take advantage though - hybrid crossfire (combining the onboard HD3200 with a discreet card) only works with HD3450 / HD3470. And your single 4850 would be a *lot* faster than that combination

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    London
    Posts
    1,198
    Thanks
    26
    Thanked
    79 times in 70 posts

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    No it does not mean another 3200, it means and compatible card.

    An ATI Hybrid CrossFireX™ system includes an ATI Radeon™ HD 2400 Series, ATI Radeon™ HD 3400 Series or ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3400 Series graphics processor and a motherboard based on an AMD 780 integrated chipset, all operating in a Windows Vista® environment.
    Only on vista and those chipsets, not that you would get any improvement with the onboard crossfire X.

  5. #5
    Registered+
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    27
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    1 time in 1 post
    • zxnet2k's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte 780G UD3
      • CPU:
      • AMD Phenom II 940 BE
      • Memory:
      • Corsair PC2-6400 4GB
      • Storage:
      • Western Digital 500GB 7200rpm SATA
      • Graphics card(s):
      • XFX Radeon HD-4850 XXX Edition
      • Operating System:
      • Windows XP Pro

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    hi guys thanks for the quick response - the board is a GByte GA-MA780G-UD3H

    I think I'll be happy with the HD 4850 for the time being, although at some point in the future could it support crossfire with 2 HD 4850's?

    *edit* - I understand now, thanks for the information guys I think I'll be happy with the performance of a single HD 4850 anyways =)

  6. #6
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,232
    Thanked
    2,290 times in 1,873 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    Ah, one of Gigabyte's classic shoehorned Crossfire motherboards.

    The board does support 2x 4850 in crossfire, but the second PCIe x16 slot is only electrically x4 - so it only has a quarter of the bandwidth available to it. If you're gaming at resolutions that the 2x 4850 could get their teeth into it would probably end up bandwidth starved.

    So, probably not worth crossfiring really, unless you fancy picking up a Sapphire 4850 X2 1GB for £136

  7. #7
    Hexus.trombonist
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    742
    Thanks
    72
    Thanked
    44 times in 36 posts
    • Powderhound's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus P5Q-E
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz under a Xigmatek HDT-S1283
      • Memory:
      • 4GB OCZ Reaper HPC 1066MHz
      • Storage:
      • 750GB Samsung Spinpoint F1
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4850
      • PSU:
      • Corsair TX650W
      • Case:
      • Antec P182
      • Operating System:
      • Windows Vista Home Premium, Ubuntu 8.10
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samsung T220 22"
      • Internet:
      • Plus.net Broadband Your Way Option 2

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    I think he's asking about Hybrid Crossfire rather than crossfireX, but this will throttle the HD 4850 down to the HD 3200's speed, so you can ignore that feature.

  8. #8
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,232
    Thanked
    2,290 times in 1,873 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    Quote Originally Posted by Powderhound View Post
    I think he's asking about Hybrid Crossfire rather than crossfireX, but this will throttle the HD 4850 down to the HD 3200's speed, so you can ignore that feature.
    No it won't, it won't even work. Someone's already posted a snippet from the AMD website on this thread that clearly states which series' of cards you can use.

    Yes, the OP was asking specifically about Hybrid Crossfire (which you can't do with a 4850 under any circumstances) - but I thought it worth mentioning that his board would also support a limited version of real crossfire. Incidentally, I believe it would also support running 2 discreet HD3450s in 3 way crossfire with the onboard, although I could be wrong...

  9. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Brentwood, Essex
    Posts
    1,364
    Thanks
    3
    Thanked
    43 times in 39 posts
    • sammorris's system
      • Motherboard:
      • P55A-UD4 / Z68MX-UD2H / Z97N-WiFi
      • CPU:
      • i5-750@3.8 / 3470 / 4690S
      • Memory:
      • 12GB XMS / 8GB XMS / 16GB XMS
      • Storage:
      • SSD in every build, 53TB fileserver
      • Graphics card(s):
      • GTX970 / HD7770 / GTX960 ITX
      • PSU:
      • ZM850-HP/ CX500 / RM650
      • Case:
      • HAF 932 / NZXT Lexa / Fractal Node 304
      • Operating System:
      • Win 8.1 / Win 8.1 / Win 10 IP
      • Monitor(s):
      • UP3214Q / U2312HM x2
      • Internet:
      • Enta FTTC 70/20

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    Even if it did work, you'd never see any benefit, the HD4850 is at least 10x faster than the HD3200. With perfect scaling, you'd get maybe a 5-10% performance boost in games.

    Scaryjim: Why is "shoehorned" crossfire a Gigabyte trademark? The limitation of the electrical speed of the PCIe bus is the chipset, not the board manufacturer...

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Posts
    6,587
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    246 times in 208 posts

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    Quote Originally Posted by scaryjim View Post
    So, probably not worth crossfiring really, unless you fancy picking up a Sapphire 4850 X2 1GB for £136
    That affordable? I will resist. Damn you

  11. #11
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Brentwood, Essex
    Posts
    1,364
    Thanks
    3
    Thanked
    43 times in 39 posts
    • sammorris's system
      • Motherboard:
      • P55A-UD4 / Z68MX-UD2H / Z97N-WiFi
      • CPU:
      • i5-750@3.8 / 3470 / 4690S
      • Memory:
      • 12GB XMS / 8GB XMS / 16GB XMS
      • Storage:
      • SSD in every build, 53TB fileserver
      • Graphics card(s):
      • GTX970 / HD7770 / GTX960 ITX
      • PSU:
      • ZM850-HP/ CX500 / RM650
      • Case:
      • HAF 932 / NZXT Lexa / Fractal Node 304
      • Operating System:
      • Win 8.1 / Win 8.1 / Win 10 IP
      • Monitor(s):
      • UP3214Q / U2312HM x2
      • Internet:
      • Enta FTTC 70/20

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    1GB is a bit of a letdown for CF, but at that price it really is an incredible deal, if it fits in your case of course. The HD4850X2 PCB is damn vast.

  12. #12
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,232
    Thanked
    2,290 times in 1,873 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    Quote Originally Posted by sammorris View Post
    Scaryjim: Why is "shoehorned" crossfire a Gigabyte trademark? The limitation of the electrical speed of the PCIe bus is the chipset, not the board manufacturer...
    I've seen more Gigabyte boards sporting a second physical X16 with electrical X4 than any other manufacturer (otoh, anyway) - but it certainly isn't a "feature" that's exclusive to Gigabyte.

    However, most manufacturers have just accepted that 780G can't support enough PCIe lanes and only put 1 physical x16 slot on the boards...

  13. #13
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Brentwood, Essex
    Posts
    1,364
    Thanks
    3
    Thanked
    43 times in 39 posts
    • sammorris's system
      • Motherboard:
      • P55A-UD4 / Z68MX-UD2H / Z97N-WiFi
      • CPU:
      • i5-750@3.8 / 3470 / 4690S
      • Memory:
      • 12GB XMS / 8GB XMS / 16GB XMS
      • Storage:
      • SSD in every build, 53TB fileserver
      • Graphics card(s):
      • GTX970 / HD7770 / GTX960 ITX
      • PSU:
      • ZM850-HP/ CX500 / RM650
      • Case:
      • HAF 932 / NZXT Lexa / Fractal Node 304
      • Operating System:
      • Win 8.1 / Win 8.1 / Win 10 IP
      • Monitor(s):
      • UP3214Q / U2312HM x2
      • Internet:
      • Enta FTTC 70/20

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    There is, of course, the possibility for using other components instead of graphics cards in that slot. Granted, it's not very likely, but a PCIe RAID card for instance would still run better at 4x than 1x...

  14. #14
    Not a good person scaryjim's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Gateshead
    Posts
    15,196
    Thanks
    1,232
    Thanked
    2,290 times in 1,873 posts
    • scaryjim's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Dell Inspiron
      • CPU:
      • Core i5 8250U
      • Memory:
      • 2x 4GB DDR4 2666
      • Storage:
      • 128GB M.2 SSD + 1TB HDD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Radeon R5 230
      • PSU:
      • Battery/Dell brick
      • Case:
      • Dell Inspiron 5570
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10
      • Monitor(s):
      • 15" 1080p laptop panel

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    Quote Originally Posted by sammorris View Post
    There is, of course, the possibility for using other components instead of graphics cards in that slot. Granted, it's not very likely, but a PCIe RAID card for instance would still run better at 4x than 1x...
    If the PCIe raid card was meant to run at x4 then it would have an x4 connector and wouldn't *fit* in an x1 slot. Gigabyte could've put a physical x4 slot on the board instead (which would also take x1 cards, of course). There is little excuse for a physical x16 wired to electrical x4.

  15. #15
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Brentwood, Essex
    Posts
    1,364
    Thanks
    3
    Thanked
    43 times in 39 posts
    • sammorris's system
      • Motherboard:
      • P55A-UD4 / Z68MX-UD2H / Z97N-WiFi
      • CPU:
      • i5-750@3.8 / 3470 / 4690S
      • Memory:
      • 12GB XMS / 8GB XMS / 16GB XMS
      • Storage:
      • SSD in every build, 53TB fileserver
      • Graphics card(s):
      • GTX970 / HD7770 / GTX960 ITX
      • PSU:
      • ZM850-HP/ CX500 / RM650
      • Case:
      • HAF 932 / NZXT Lexa / Fractal Node 304
      • Operating System:
      • Win 8.1 / Win 8.1 / Win 10 IP
      • Monitor(s):
      • UP3214Q / U2312HM x2
      • Internet:
      • Enta FTTC 70/20

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    I mean a 16x card running in a 16x slot electrically at 4x.
    Are all these boards PCIe 2.0? If they are it's perfectly acceptable to run CF through them, but PCIe 1 4x would admittedly be on the slow side.

  16. #16
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    Fife
    Posts
    33
    Thanks
    3
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts
    • Bill@W's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus Z87-Pro
      • CPU:
      • i5 4670K Haswell
      • Memory:
      • 16gb Corsair Vengeance 9-9-9-24
      • Storage:
      • Plextor 128GB SSD; WD Black 500GB; Toshiba 1TB; Plextor Opt: Asus Opt
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Asus GeForce GT 640
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic G650 semi-mod.
      • Case:
      • Lian-Li A-05FN
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Pro x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • BenQ FP241W; Iiyama ProLite X23...HDS
      • Internet:
      • 2.5 mbps (6.5km from exchange)

    Re: CrossfireX Compatibility

    I’m rather disappointed with my hybrid crossfire experience: Asus M3A78-T which has 790GX chipset which means an integrated Radeon 3300 GPU. I installed a Radeon 3450 PCIe card to run in hybrid crossfire with the onboard gpu. The CPU is an AMD quad 9750, and there’s 2gb of memory. OS is Vista Home Premium 32-bit.
    Using the Vista experience index, the graphics score is a paltry 3.6, and the gaming graphics index is 4.
    What would be an appropriate PCIe card to use instead of the ATI 3450 (disabling the onboard 3300 and giving up on hybrid crossfire) to get a vista graphics index in the upper fives? I’m not looking for a fast gaming card, all I do is image manipulation, and as a matter of principle I don’t believe in paying more for a graphics card than for a motherboard or CPU.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. CrossFireX (4xGPU's) in XP Pro x64
    By Dave_07 in forum Graphics Cards
    Replies: 28
    Last Post: 09-12-2008, 12:00 PM
  2. Compatibility Issues with the PS3
    By gino_76ph in forum Console
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 25-03-2007, 10:35 PM
  3. Replies: 2
    Last Post: 23-02-2007, 03:06 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •