Almost not worth it.

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YourGrandpa
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Almost not worth it.

Post by YourGrandpa »

Just got my second BFG 6800 Ultra. I installed it, got it all hooked up, booted into windows and BAM, no second monitor. So I get on the web and do some reading, only to find out SLI doesn't support dual monitors. Who would have thought that you'd have four monitor outputs and end up being able to use only one.

The only way can use dual montors is to turn off SLI. But to do that, I got to restart my computer each time.

And to top it all off, Nvidia doesn't think their current video cards will ever support dual monitors in SLI.

Shit....
YourGrandpa
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Post by YourGrandpa »

Though I do score a 9600 in 3D Mark 05, with no tweaking. :icon31:
shiznit
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Post by shiznit »

is dual monitors really that useful?
YourGrandpa
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Post by YourGrandpa »

shiznit wrote:are dual monitors really that good?
I use mine all the time. If I'm in game I can play on one screen and have my Team Speak and Command console open on the other so I can see who's coming and going.
R00k
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Post by R00k »

Dual-monitor kinda defeats the purpose of SLI. The GPU of one card just kind-of piggy backs on top of the other one, to give you extra computing power. If you were using one of the cards to output to a different monitor, you wouldn't be using the SLI.

It would be like having a dual-processor system, and wanting the second processor to also run a different PC at the same time.
YourGrandpa
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Post by YourGrandpa »

Yeah, I see your point.

But why not offer support for those who want to use it?

At least make it to where I can enable and disable SLI without restarting. That way I could switch between dual and single view with no problems.

BTW, with a minor tweak I've improved my score to 9846.

I'll futz with it more tomorrow.
Geebs
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Post by Geebs »

I said a while back that only a total tool would bother with SLI, and it seems I was right.
blood.angel
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Post by blood.angel »

Geebs wrote:I said a while back that only a total tool would bother with SLI, and it seems I was right.
Aha, I haven't bothered with it at all.
So you are wrong.
YourGrandpa
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Post by YourGrandpa »

Geebs wrote:I said a while back that only a total tool would bother with SLI, and it seems I was right.

I'm sure you feel so much better about yourself now.

GJ.
R00k
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Post by R00k »

YourGrandpa wrote:Yeah, I see your point.

But why not offer support for those who want to use it?

At least make it to where I can enable and disable SLI without restarting. That way I could switch between dual and single view with no problems.

BTW, with a minor tweak I've improved my score to 9846.

I'll futz with it more tomorrow.
Yea, but from what I understand of it technically, that's quite a bit harder to implement than it sounds. I admit I haven't done a lot of reading on it though.

Where is the setting to enable SLI? Is it in the CMOS settings? Because I believe it is actually a hardware- (or at least firmware-) level change, and those are hard to make without rebooting, with the Windows HAL.
YourGrandpa
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Post by YourGrandpa »

The setting is in the NVidia, Nview software.
E:v:O
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Post by E:v:O »

R00k
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Post by R00k »

Hmm. I'm assuming it either changes a firmware setting, or switches to use a different driver for the video.

Either way, I'm not really surprised it requires a reboot. I'm sure once the technology matures a little it will be easier. Maybe they'll even be able to release a driver update for it down the road. :shrug:
YourGrandpa
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Post by YourGrandpa »

E:v:O wrote:http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=6269&st=0

:icon17:

I didnt read it

:icon17:
Looks like a fix, thanks.
E:v:O
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Post by E:v:O »

YourGrandpa wrote:
E:v:O wrote:http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=6269&st=0

:icon17:

I didnt read it

:icon17:
Looks like a fix, thanks.
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FragaGeddon
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Post by FragaGeddon »

Just build a cheap second computer and use that for team speak,msn.etc. That's what I do.
YourGrandpa
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Post by YourGrandpa »

riddla wrote:
YourGrandpa wrote:
E:v:O wrote:http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showtopic=6269&st=0

:icon17:

I didnt read it

:icon17:
Looks like a fix, thanks.
if the fix is adding a 3rd video card lol.

Well, it's more like a work around. Though it does suck not to be able to use dual displays in SLI after spending the cash on two video cards. But all I really use the second display to do is run apps. So spending an extra $30 on another card isn't so bad. It's way better than not being able to use my second monitor.
SOAPboy
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Re: Almost not worth it.

Post by SOAPboy »

YourGrandpa wrote:Just got my second BFG 6800 Ultra. I installed it, got it all hooked up, booted into windows and BAM, no second monitor. So I get on the web and do some reading, only to find out SLI doesn't support dual monitors. Who would have thought that you'd have four monitor outputs and end up being able to use only one.

The only way can use dual montors is to turn off SLI. But to do that, I got to restart my computer each time.

And to top it all off, Nvidia doesn't think their current video cards will ever support dual monitors in SLI.

Shit....
Should of sold the 6800 and bought a 7800gtx.. :p
[size=75][i]I once had a glass of milk.

It curdled, and then I couldn't drink it. So I mixed it with some water, and it was alright again.

I am now sick.
[/i][/size]
[img]http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/3631/171164665735hk8.png[/img]
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MKJ
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Re: Almost not worth it.

Post by MKJ »

SOAPboy wrote:
YourGrandpa wrote:Just got my second BFG 6800 Ultra. I installed it, got it all hooked up, booted into windows and BAM, no second monitor. So I get on the web and do some reading, only to find out SLI doesn't support dual monitors. Who would have thought that you'd have four monitor outputs and end up being able to use only one.

The only way can use dual montors is to turn off SLI. But to do that, I got to restart my computer each time.

And to top it all off, Nvidia doesn't think their current video cards will ever support dual monitors in SLI.

Shit....
Should of sold the 6800 and bought a 7800gtx.. :p

seeing how 2 6600gt are a hell of a lot faster than one 6800, the same might be true for 2 6800s and the 7800
its a hassle but it does save you some cash
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SOAPboy
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Re: Almost not worth it.

Post by SOAPboy »

MKJ wrote:
SOAPboy wrote:
YourGrandpa wrote:Just got my second BFG 6800 Ultra. I installed it, got it all hooked up, booted into windows and BAM, no second monitor. So I get on the web and do some reading, only to find out SLI doesn't support dual monitors. Who would have thought that you'd have four monitor outputs and end up being able to use only one.

The only way can use dual montors is to turn off SLI. But to do that, I got to restart my computer each time.

And to top it all off, Nvidia doesn't think their current video cards will ever support dual monitors in SLI.

Shit....
Should of sold the 6800 and bought a 7800gtx.. :p

seeing how 2 6600gt are a hell of a lot faster than one 6800, the same might be true for 2 6800s and the 7800
its a hassle but it does save you some cash
Read up on it.. 7800GTX = 2 6800Ultras in Sli
[size=75][i]I once had a glass of milk.

It curdled, and then I couldn't drink it. So I mixed it with some water, and it was alright again.

I am now sick.
[/i][/size]
[img]http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/3631/171164665735hk8.png[/img]
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MKJ
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Post by MKJ »

in that case
hurray
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Mr.Magnetichead
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Post by Mr.Magnetichead »

What's SLi?
SOAPboy
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Post by SOAPboy »

Mr.Magnetichead wrote:What's SLi?
http://www.slizone.com/page/home.html
[size=75][i]I once had a glass of milk.

It curdled, and then I couldn't drink it. So I mixed it with some water, and it was alright again.

I am now sick.
[/i][/size]
[img]http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/3631/171164665735hk8.png[/img]
Mr.Magnetichead
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Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2001 8:00 am

Post by Mr.Magnetichead »

So it's duel video cards running together? When you buy them are they singular or do they come as a pair?
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MKJ
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Post by MKJ »

singular
you can just buy another one and use a bridge connector to make it run tons faster
pretteh secksi. odd that it doesnt support dual screen though
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