dx10 backwards compatible on nvidia 9800's or gtx 200's/hybrid sli ?'s

agcereniv · 12-28-2008, 03:29 PM

Good afternoon.

Time for my question o'-the-quarter... :-) (Seriously, always appreciate you all).

For Christmas, I received a new mobo ( ASUS M3N78 PRO) with Hybrid SLI. Having gotten this, it brings to mind a couple of questions I am researching but need your help with:

1) For a former-SLI-who's-SLI-slot-broke-and-am-now-down-to-one-PCIE-slot kind of guy, is the hybrid SLI worth buying a new card for? I have an 8800 GT, but Nvidia says that does not have the proper stuff for hybrid SLI, so I would need either a 9800 or GTX 200 series card. Don't mind doing that, but don't want to find out that it was a waste due to hybrid SLI being no-good.

1a) IF yes to 1, any reco's on which series/model to buy? ;-)

2) If I buy a new card, in my initial research they are all showing DX10 - but I still run XP. Are they backwards compatible for DX9? Or, do I need to widen the scope of this and begin researching everything needed to make the jump to Vista?

Finally, any other thoughts/ideas/suggestions would be greatly welcomed.

Thanks, everyone.

Mcninjaguy · 12-28-2008, 09:10 PM

read up on this
http://www.nvidia.com/object/io_1210064836346.html

this shows the list of compatible GPU's
http://www.nvidia.com/object/hybrid_sli_desktop.html

its too bad you can only do this in VISTA

are you willing to buy vista?

if you are get Vista Home Premium 64bit

$99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

agcereniv · 12-29-2008, 10:06 AM

Wow, tremendous input. I had read some of that, but not the tech brief attached to the site.

At this point, I'm pretty sure that a new GPU, new OS, and all the things that go with that are not worth the power/noise/heat issues, as I do not have them at this time.

Thanks for the point in the right direction!

Mcninjaguy · 12-29-2008, 08:29 PM

well a GTX 260 only uses around 32w on desktop and around 190-180w while playing games. I like the idea of the hybrid SLI but if you want performance and power saving the new GTX 200 series are real power savers when it comes to your computer.

you probably only need a new PSU, OS and graphics card

what are your current specs for your computer?
RAM
CPU
Graphics Card
(already know your motherboard)
PSU (power supply)

agcereniv · 12-30-2008, 04:21 PM

Here are my current system specs:
RAM: 2gb DDR2 800
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W
GPU: EVGA nVidia 8800 GT 512mb 256-bit
Mobo: ECS GeForce 6100m-m micro-atx (this is different than what started this post, as it is what is currently in the rig)
PSU: OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V
OS: XP Pro SP3

Thoughts?

Mcninjaguy · 12-30-2008, 06:10 PM

ok so you'll have really nice rig once you out in the new motherboard.

just in case before you put in your motherboard I would back up your info. just in case this screws up your install of XP

you want some of my ideas for a card?
forget going hybrid SLI and get a GTX 260

600w isn't powerful enough to run the GTX 260 card
$199
MSI GTX 260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127361
that is one awesome deal and its a lot faster than a 9800GTX

this card is probably on par with the GTX 260 maybe the GTX 280 and should run on your system
PNY 9800GX2
$235
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133217

now the only reason to upgrade to Vista 64bit is to get directx 10 capabilities.

you might want to get 2 more gigs of the exact same ram you have when you get Vista, since vista uses up a lot more ram

something like this
Corsair 800mhz ram
$55
after rebate $10
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145177

or just replace al your ram with new stuff
Patriot Viper 800mhz ram
$48
after rebate $23
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220293

you're gonna to need some new thermal paste to when you reseat your CPU on your new motherboard

artic silver 5
$6
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100007

agcereniv · 12-30-2008, 06:34 PM

Excellent ideas - thank you very much!

What if I wanted to hold on to that mobo for about 6 months, then upgrade? Or, should I offload it and start the rebuild from scratch at that time? (or maybe not completely scratch, but just review the available tech and pricing at that time?)

Mcninjaguy · 12-30-2008, 08:55 PM

well it all depends on your budget right?

its a nice motherboard and running 1 really fast card is better than running a SLI setup anyways since you lose about 20% - 40% performance on your second GPU.

your motherboard is fine and you can upgrade to quad core Phenom. I wouldn't upgrade to that though since the current amd quad cores aren't used that much in games and dual core is still the way to go.

If I were you and able to get a new system in 6 months or so I'd wait for the new generation of AMD quad cores to come out. Phenom II's

so yea if you got the money wait about 3/4 of a year and hopefully when the AMD Phenom II's do come out they'll be cheaper and good motherboards to choose from.

make sure you get vista 64bit!
$99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

12-28-2008, 03:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
agcereniv Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 72 OS: WinXP Pro	dx10 backwards compatible on nvidia 9800's or gtx 200's/hybrid sli ?'s Good afternoon. Time for my question o'-the-quarter... :-) (Seriously, always appreciate you all). For Christmas, I received a new mobo ( ASUS M3N78 PRO) with Hybrid SLI. Having gotten this, it brings to mind a couple of questions I am researching but need your help with: 1) For a former-SLI-who's-SLI-slot-broke-and-am-now-down-to-one-PCIE-slot kind of guy, is the hybrid SLI worth buying a new card for? I have an 8800 GT, but Nvidia says that does not have the proper stuff for hybrid SLI, so I would need either a 9800 or GTX 200 series card. Don't mind doing that, but don't want to find out that it was a waste due to hybrid SLI being no-good. 1a) IF yes to 1, any reco's on which series/model to buy? ;-) 2) If I buy a new card, in my initial research they are all showing DX10 - but I still run XP. Are they backwards compatible for DX9? Or, do I need to widen the scope of this and begin researching everything needed to make the jump to Vista? Finally, any other thoughts/ideas/suggestions would be greatly welcomed. Thanks, everyone.

12-28-2008, 09:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: dx10 backwards compatible on nvidia 9800's or gtx 200's/hybrid sli ?'s read up on this http://www.nvidia.com/object/io_1210064836346.html this shows the list of compatible GPU's http://www.nvidia.com/object/hybrid_sli_desktop.html its too bad you can only do this in VISTA are you willing to buy vista? if you are get Vista Home Premium 64bit $99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

12-29-2008, 10:06 AM	#3 (permalink)
agcereniv Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 72 OS: WinXP Pro	Re: dx10 backwards compatible on nvidia 9800's or gtx 200's/hybrid sli ?'s Wow, tremendous input. I had read some of that, but not the tech brief attached to the site. At this point, I'm pretty sure that a new GPU, new OS, and all the things that go with that are not worth the power/noise/heat issues, as I do not have them at this time. Thanks for the point in the right direction!

12-29-2008, 08:29 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: dx10 backwards compatible on nvidia 9800's or gtx 200's/hybrid sli ?'s well a GTX 260 only uses around 32w on desktop and around 190-180w while playing games. I like the idea of the hybrid SLI but if you want performance and power saving the new GTX 200 series are real power savers when it comes to your computer. you probably only need a new PSU, OS and graphics card what are your current specs for your computer? RAM CPU Graphics Card (already know your motherboard) PSU (power supply) Last edited by Mcninjaguy; 12-29-2008 at 08:30 PM.

12-30-2008, 04:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
agcereniv Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 72 OS: WinXP Pro	Re: dx10 backwards compatible on nvidia 9800's or gtx 200's/hybrid sli ?'s Here are my current system specs: RAM: 2gb DDR2 800 CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W GPU: EVGA nVidia 8800 GT 512mb 256-bit Mobo: ECS GeForce 6100m-m micro-atx (this is different than what started this post, as it is what is currently in the rig) PSU: OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V OS: XP Pro SP3 Thoughts?

12-30-2008, 06:10 PM	#6 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: dx10 backwards compatible on nvidia 9800's or gtx 200's/hybrid sli ?'s ok so you'll have really nice rig once you out in the new motherboard. just in case before you put in your motherboard I would back up your info. just in case this screws up your install of XP you want some of my ideas for a card? forget going hybrid SLI and get a GTX 260 600w isn't powerful enough to run the GTX 260 card $199 MSI GTX 260 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127361 that is one awesome deal and its a lot faster than a 9800GTX this card is probably on par with the GTX 260 maybe the GTX 280 and should run on your system PNY 9800GX2 $235 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133217 now the only reason to upgrade to Vista 64bit is to get directx 10 capabilities. you might want to get 2 more gigs of the exact same ram you have when you get Vista, since vista uses up a lot more ram something like this Corsair 800mhz ram $55 after rebate $10 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145177 or just replace al your ram with new stuff Patriot Viper 800mhz ram $48 after rebate $23 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220293 you're gonna to need some new thermal paste to when you reseat your CPU on your new motherboard artic silver 5 $6 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835100007

12-30-2008, 06:34 PM	#7 (permalink)
agcereniv Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 72 OS: WinXP Pro	Re: dx10 backwards compatible on nvidia 9800's or gtx 200's/hybrid sli ?'s Excellent ideas - thank you very much! What if I wanted to hold on to that mobo for about 6 months, then upgrade? Or, should I offload it and start the rebuild from scratch at that time? (or maybe not completely scratch, but just review the available tech and pricing at that time?)

12-30-2008, 08:55 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: dx10 backwards compatible on nvidia 9800's or gtx 200's/hybrid sli ?'s well it all depends on your budget right? its a nice motherboard and running 1 really fast card is better than running a SLI setup anyways since you lose about 20% - 40% performance on your second GPU. your motherboard is fine and you can upgrade to quad core Phenom. I wouldn't upgrade to that though since the current amd quad cores aren't used that much in games and dual core is still the way to go. If I were you and able to get a new system in 6 months or so I'd wait for the new generation of AMD quad cores to come out. Phenom II's so yea if you got the money wait about 3/4 of a year and hopefully when the AMD Phenom II's do come out they'll be cheaper and good motherboards to choose from. make sure you get vista 64bit! $99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488