Upgrading Gainward 7800GTX to SLI

jamie_Ridler · 05-12-2006, 05:51 AM

Just a simple short question here.
I currently have a Gainward Geforfe 7800GTX 256mb (standard version), and it seems no shops sell this card anymore. Only place I can find it is on ebay, and those all seem to be the Golden Sample versions.

As far as I know, the only difference between the two is the Golden Sample is overclocked right out the box, but knowing how SLi cards have to be the same card, is this a difference that matters or not?

In short, can I run a 7800GTX and 7800GTX Golden Sample (both Gainward), together in SLi mode?

Indoril Nerevar · 05-12-2006, 07:49 AM

I don't know if you can run those two cards together, because they have different clock settings, but you what you can do is buy any standard 7800GTX and run it with your current one. nVidia drivers now have mixed vendor support, so you don't have to worry about getting another Gainward card.

ebackhus · 05-12-2006, 08:09 AM

You got to it before me! Yes, the clock speed difference is what will muck it up for ya.

jamie_Ridler · 05-12-2006, 03:48 PM

Oh so they now support cards from different manufaturers? Thats great, coz no one stocks this Gainward card anymore for some reason.

**mgoldb2** · 05-12-2006, 05:46 PM

Quote:

I don't know if you can run those two cards together, because they have different clock settings

I not certain but if they are the same card just different speeds why could he not just downclock one or upclock one so the two have the exact same speed?

jamie_Ridler · 05-13-2006, 10:01 AM

Dont matter much Mgoldb2, I cant get this card anymore unless I get second hand. The fact you can use different vedor cards is helpfull to me and will make it easier to get a good price card as the second one.

manofsorrow · 05-13-2006, 02:32 PM

im pretty sure that the new drivers that allow the cards to be from differant manufacturers also run two cards at differant clock speeds at the speed of the lower card.

**mgoldb2** · 05-13-2006, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manofsorrow

im pretty sure that the new drivers that allow the cards to be from differant manufacturers also run two cards at differant clock speeds at the speed of the lower card.

Now that I think about it that makes alot of sence. If you going to do cross manufacturers support it seem silly for them to assume they all going to have the exact same clock speed. Adding cross clock speed support with it would seem a oblvious thing to do within the drivers.

Indoril Nerevar · 05-13-2006, 07:12 PM

I see nothing on the nVidia page or in the release notes indicating that mixed clock speeds are supported.

manofsorrow · 05-14-2006, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Mix and Match Graphics Cards with Different Clock Speeds
Example: You can use a higher clocked GeForce 6600 GT 550/525 with a standard clock GeForce 6600 GT 500/500.

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone2_rel80.html
This page should answer anyquestions you should have about the new drivers and their abillity to mix and match cards of the same gpu.

Indoril Nerevar · 05-15-2006, 04:00 AM

Well, there you go. Thanks for that, manofsorrow.

05-12-2006, 05:51 AM	#1 (permalink)
jamie_Ridler Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Wellingborough, Northamponshire, England Posts: 341 OS: Windows Vista Home Premium My System	Upgrading Gainward 7800GTX to SLI Just a simple short question here. I currently have a Gainward Geforfe 7800GTX 256mb (standard version), and it seems no shops sell this card anymore. Only place I can find it is on ebay, and those all seem to be the Golden Sample versions. As far as I know, the only difference between the two is the Golden Sample is overclocked right out the box, but knowing how SLi cards have to be the same card, is this a difference that matters or not? In short, can I run a 7800GTX and 7800GTX Golden Sample (both Gainward), together in SLi mode? __________________ *Comp Specs:* Asus P5K Intel P35 LGA775, Intel Core2Duo E6850 3.0GHz, Geil Ultra 4x1gb DDR2 800MHz, OCZ Geforce 8800GTX 768mb, Maxtor MaxLine III 300gb+250gb SATA2-300, Hiper HPU-4K580 PSU

05-12-2006, 07:49 AM	#2 (permalink)
Indoril Nerevar Manager, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 5,015 OS: Windows 7 RC 64-bit My System	I don't know if you can run those two cards together, because they have different clock settings, but you what you can do is buy any standard 7800GTX and run it with your current one. nVidia drivers now have mixed vendor support, so you don't have to worry about getting another Gainward card. __________________ Donating to the forum keeps TSF free for all. • Common PC Game Issues • Common Installation Issues • Posting System Specs • Power Supply Information • • NVIDIA Drivers • ATI Drivers • Thermal Paste Guide • System Requirements Lab • YouGamers Game-o-Meter • • Everest • Prime95 • DirectX • AMD Drivers • Memtest86 • SensorsView • Driver Cleaner • I do not give help via PM. Please post your question on the forum.

05-12-2006, 08:09 AM	#3 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,318 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	You got to it before me! Yes, the clock speed difference is what will muck it up for ya. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

05-12-2006, 03:48 PM	#4 (permalink)
jamie_Ridler Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Wellingborough, Northamponshire, England Posts: 341 OS: Windows Vista Home Premium My System	Oh so they now support cards from different manufaturers? Thats great, coz no one stocks this Gainward card anymore for some reason. __________________ *Comp Specs:* Asus P5K Intel P35 LGA775, Intel Core2Duo E6850 3.0GHz, Geil Ultra 4x1gb DDR2 800MHz, OCZ Geforce 8800GTX 768mb, Maxtor MaxLine III 300gb+250gb SATA2-300, Hiper HPU-4K580 PSU

05-13-2006, 10:01 AM	#6 (permalink)
jamie_Ridler Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Wellingborough, Northamponshire, England Posts: 341 OS: Windows Vista Home Premium My System	Dont matter much Mgoldb2, I cant get this card anymore unless I get second hand. The fact you can use different vedor cards is helpfull to me and will make it easier to get a good price card as the second one. __________________ *Comp Specs:* Asus P5K Intel P35 LGA775, Intel Core2Duo E6850 3.0GHz, Geil Ultra 4x1gb DDR2 800MHz, OCZ Geforce 8800GTX 768mb, Maxtor MaxLine III 300gb+250gb SATA2-300, Hiper HPU-4K580 PSU

05-13-2006, 02:32 PM	#7 (permalink)
manofsorrow Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 89 OS: winxp	im pretty sure that the new drivers that allow the cards to be from differant manufacturers also run two cards at differant clock speeds at the speed of the lower card. __________________ Asus A8N-E mobo Benq light scribe dvd-rw Amd athlon x2 4400+ @ 2.8 ghz 2x 160 gig hard drives in RAID 0 array water cooled 4x 80mm case fans controlled by a Vantec controller 42" LG plasma monitor Idle temp. 28C load temp. 34C (on average) Fully sleeved etc.

05-13-2006, 07:12 PM	#9 (permalink)
Indoril Nerevar Manager, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 5,015 OS: Windows 7 RC 64-bit My System	I see nothing on the nVidia page or in the release notes indicating that mixed clock speeds are supported. __________________ Donating to the forum keeps TSF free for all. • Common PC Game Issues • Common Installation Issues • Posting System Specs • Power Supply Information • • NVIDIA Drivers • ATI Drivers • Thermal Paste Guide • System Requirements Lab • YouGamers Game-o-Meter • • Everest • Prime95 • DirectX • AMD Drivers • Memtest86 • SensorsView • Driver Cleaner • I do not give help via PM. Please post your question on the forum.

05-15-2006, 04:00 AM	#11 (permalink)
Indoril Nerevar Manager, Games Team Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Queensland, Australia Posts: 5,015 OS: Windows 7 RC 64-bit My System	Well, there you go. Thanks for that, manofsorrow. __________________ Donating to the forum keeps TSF free for all. • Common PC Game Issues • Common Installation Issues • Posting System Specs • Power Supply Information • • NVIDIA Drivers • ATI Drivers • Thermal Paste Guide • System Requirements Lab • YouGamers Game-o-Meter • • Everest • Prime95 • DirectX • AMD Drivers • Memtest86 • SensorsView • Driver Cleaner • I do not give help via PM. Please post your question on the forum.