Do I need an SLI bridge?

kchakkar · 16 Oct 2006 at 22:19

I have got two geforce 7600GS 256MB PCI-E graphic cards. Do I need an SLI bridge to connect them together or will a hacked driver be enough? I have an Asus PW5 DH motherboard.

Also do they need to be the same bios versions. One is a Sparkle brand and the other is a Leadtek brand.

MeatLoaf · 16 Oct 2006 at 22:45

You dont need the SLI bridge, it will work without it, but theres a small performance loss. Nothing huge and you probably wouldnt even notice

spb251272 · 17 Oct 2006 at 11:17

Does that motherboard support SLI?

paradigm · 17 Oct 2006 at 11:25

spb251272 said:
Does that motherboard support SLI?

Most boards with two PCIe 16x slots support SLi, just you have to run hacked drivers to get it to work on non-SLi certified chipsets. The 975x chipset for example can run SLi fine

spb251272 · 17 Oct 2006 at 12:45

Do you lose much in performance when doing this?

cyclops12 · 17 Oct 2006 at 12:46

you got 1 with your mobo didnt you ??

MeatLoaf · 17 Oct 2006 at 13:37

cyclops12 said:
you got 1 with your mobo didnt you ??

No as its not a SLI certified mobo hes using

cyclops12 · 17 Oct 2006 at 13:46

it is an sli mobo
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Asus_177.html

3rd 1 down is that sli ??
edit=lol its crossfire

Tute · 17 Oct 2006 at 13:55

I'm not sure what the big deal is with "Does it require an SLi bridge?"

It's a tiny little board that you use to connect two cards INTERNALLY.

Honestly, what difference does it make if you need a bridge or not? :confused:

ATi crossfire users have the right to whine, having a big clodding 3 way splitter on the back of their cases!

spb251272 · 17 Oct 2006 at 14:30

The big deal is probably that the motherboard he's got doesn't come with a bridge, and he wants to know if he can still enable SLI :rolleyes:

Tute · 17 Oct 2006 at 16:16

spb251272 said:
The big deal is probably that the motherboard he's got doesn't come with a bridge, and he wants to know if he can still enable SLI

It's just the way that bridge-less SLi is marketed as this great, amazing, computer changing technology! :rolleyes:

sunlitsix · 17 Oct 2006 at 16:30

Tute said:
It's a tiny little board that you use to connect two cards INTERNALLY.

Honestly, what difference does it make if you need a bridge or not?

it doesnt make much of a difference performance wise, but with the bridge it allows the 2 GPU's to communicate directly

kchakkar · 17 Oct 2006 at 17:02

I can get one for £12. I was just wondering if I needed to buy it.

MeatLoaf · 17 Oct 2006 at 17:08

£12 seems rather steep

kchakkar · 17 Oct 2006 at 17:33

MeatLoaf said:
£12 seems rather steep

I'll leave it then. I paid £38 for the Geforce 7600GS PCI-E 256MB.

sunlitsix · 17 Oct 2006 at 17:41

have you got both cards in now then?

kchakkar · 17 Oct 2006 at 18:22

sunlitsix said:
have you got both cards in now then?

Not yet. I have the Leadtek 7600 PCI-E 256MB. I should get the Sparkle 7600 PCI-E 256MB by Saturday. I was going to get the bridge but, now it's confirmed that I don't need it. Also I will put two Maze 4 blocks on these cards and go water soon. I have got the Thermochill PA120.3 rad, Alphacool P910 pump and a copper res.

I ordered black tygon from the USA, but will not require all of the 50 foot, so will sell 30 foot of it.

cyclops12 · 17 Oct 2006 at 19:08

i got a bridge with my mobo and i cant see me useing it
if you find that you want 1 pm me your address you can have it

Trilogy · 17 Oct 2006 at 21:28

u need it makes all the difference