Can I Do CrossFire?

kellaway225 · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:40

So i have the Asus M4A785TD-V Evo AMD 785g, CoolerMaster Scout Case and 5850 graphics card - can this do CrossFire? i am pretty sure that it cant as there wasnt a lot of space in the case but i would ask just in case

RJC · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:01

You can do hybrid crossfire with the integral & your external gpu.

Also you do have 2 PCI-E slots but the 2nd slot runs @ 4x which in my mind is not worth cross firing 2 external cards.

b3mor · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:09

I thought they had to be of the same series? I seem to remember only a 4xxx series card or lower would work with the onboard GPU? I've got the same motherboard and a 5770 and didn't think it was possible. :confused:

cmndr_andi · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:20

That board can do crossfire, but as RJC says the 2nd slot is limited to 4x PCIe v2.0.

However, looking at this review 4x PCIe 2.0 has more bandwidth that you would imagine, but as this isn't a direct test of crossfire at 4x then take the results with a pinch of salt.

kellaway225 · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:32

so in other words i cant get a second 5850 and install that on the inside?
could i change the MB and do that? or would you think that the case would be too small to fit 2 x 5850 inside? - they are HUGE!

cmndr_andi · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:44

The case looks like it should take a second card, I googled "cooler master scout crossfire" in image seach and got loads of pictures of scout cases fitting two large (dual slot) graphics cards.

And as has been discussed, the motherboard will allow a second card to run in crossfire.

Therefore you can put a second 5850 in and expect to get a nice performance boost.

You could change the motherboard for a x16x16 PCIe model, but this is rather expensive for the slight extra performance you will get in crossfire.

kellaway225 · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:50

so it should fit a second 5850 in the acse? it only has 1 x 16slot so where would second card go?

mike gunnz · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:50

kellaway225 said:
so in other words i cant get a second 5850 and install that on the inside?
could i change the MB and do that? or would you think that the case would be too small to fit 2 x 5850 inside? - they are HUGE!

According to reviews Ive just googled, the case has pretty good airflow, so I see no reason why crossfired 5850s is not doable.

Incidentally, how are you progressing with the build in your other thread?

cmndr_andi · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:52

This is your board right? the

Asus M4A785TD-V Evo AMD 785g,

The second slot, (the x4 white one) is where the 2nd GPU slots into.

Edit: After looking at plenty of reviews and the ASUS website I can't determine one way or the other this board can do "normal" CrossfireX. This is the ASUS product page, and it clearly says:

Expansion Slots
2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue @ x16 mode,gray @ x4 mode)
1 x PCIe x1
3 x PCI

Multi-GPU Support
ATI® CrossFireX™ Technology

Which would make one clearly assume that crossfire a go. However, some reviews, forum posts and product pages make me think otherwise and that it is Hybrid CrossfireX only.

kellaway225 · 17 Mar 2010 at 20:06

yes i have that motherboard and hybrid is for 1 internal and 1 external? if so i dont want to go down that route. so looks like i will have to get a new Motherboard if i want to do internal crossfire

RJC · 17 Mar 2010 at 20:13

Will you want to go crossfire?
What res do you play at, It may be worth going for a better gpu, ie 5870 or 5900 at a later date.

kellaway225 · 17 Mar 2010 at 20:17

i might not want it now, but would like option in future
but then again i could upgrade to single like 5870 - i think the 59xx series will be too much
i will see how my current setup runs - once i get a new keyboard and mosue tomorrow