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The Difference Between NVIDIA SLI And AMD Crossfire

Rroff said:
Things like window mode support, application tweaking, etc. every time I have anything to do with crossfire it reminds me of the state of SLI a couple of generation of cards back (viewpoint might be slightly skewed by the fact that anytime I do have anything to do with crossfire its because someone has a problem with it and wants my help).

Frame pacing is a good example actually - 2 generations behind nVidia supporting it.

Sure each has strengths and weaknesses that other doesn't and so on, but I get a feeling of dejavu with the typical problems with crossfire and remember the days when SLI used to have X problem.
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When you say window mode do you mean on SLI both cards still work when not in full screen?
I aalways thought this was a directx issue and that's why second gpu would switch off.
On mantle tthough both cards do keep working when not in full screen.
 
shankly1985 said:
When you say window mode do you mean on SLI both cards still work when not in full screen?
I aalways thought this was a directx issue and that's why second gpu would switch off.
On mantle tthough both cards do keep working when not in full screen.
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In most games SLI is supported in window mode - crossfire lagged behind in the pace at which they've implemented supporting it generally (though there are ways to force it now in some games).
 
Rroff said:
In most games SLI is supported in window mode - crossfire lagged behind in the pace at which they've implemented supporting it generally (though there are ways to force it now in some games).
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CF has never worked in windowed mode and its not a feature that AMD is looking to implement and that is the only feature that SLI has that i would like, but its usefulness is in the minority as most people play games full screen so its not really an issue for 99% of users.
 
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shankly1985 said:
When you say window mode do you mean on SLI both cards still work when not in full screen?
I aalways thought this was a directx issue and that's why second gpu would switch off.
On mantle tthough both cards do keep working when not in full screen.
Click to expand...

So it may work with mantle, i will have give that a go as then i can run it in PLP.
 
Five.Stars said:
At the end of the day, both SLI and CrossfireX (do they still use the "X" at the end?) are both quite mature technologies now and for the most part, work well. I don't have any experience of SLI, but have had a few CF set-ups and other than a problem way back near the beginning of CF (X1900 era), I have found it to be a good experience.

I never really experience micro-stuttering to a great degree, but I must just not be very sensitive to it, because I am well aware it was a problem that AMD especially took a very long time to solve. But it would appear that they have fixed this now and both technologies offer equally smooth experiences.

1 thing that does really annoy me though, is when a supposedly "triple-a" title is developed and does not cater for multi-gpu set-ups. COD Ghosts being a prime example. You actually need to switch off CF (and I believe SLI also) to be able to get a smooth experience, but then as a result have to also turn down settings due to not having enough "grunt" with a single card. Really should not be happening!
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Same with Titanfall they need to get crossfire working before I get bored of the game! I will be going with one powerful card when 20nm becomes available.
 
shankly1985 said:
Far as I understand amd and nvidia multi gpus have problems with titan fall.
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They do as its the game companies issue, not the gpu manufacturers.

As for the debate at hand, I have no experience with xfire so can't comment. Had 3 SLI setups though and no issues.
 
Final8y said:
CF has never worked in windowed mode and its not a feature that AMD is looking to implement and that is the only feature that SLI has that i would like, but its usefulness is in the minority as most people play games full screen so its not really an issue for 99% of users.
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Fair few times I've been asked why both cards aren't working in games like WoW and other MMOs where its quite typical to play the game in some form of windowed mode and have other programs (stats, voice comms, game browser, etc.) along side it - there are actually ways to work around it in some games via some rather nasty hacking.
 
Rroff said:
Fair few times I've been asked why both cards aren't working in games like WoW and other MMOs where its quite typical to play the game in some form of windowed mode and have other programs (stats, voice comms, game browser, etc.) along side it - there are actually ways to work around it in some games via some rather nasty hacking.
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I didn't say there were no cases or examples for it or i would not wish it myself, but in the case of WOW a single card is more than enough and if that is there main game they would be using NV as most know that WOW runs better on NV even though when i last played WOW a single 7950 would do 60fps at 1080p.
And as for my setup if i want SLI for windowed mode i would have to give up other conveniences because both SLI and CF have there pros and cons and also when taking multi monitor into account which SLI is less suitable for my setup and the way i use it as i inquired last year and i was told that i would have to disable and enable SLI each time i Game because of my monitors and desktop arrangement.

The way CF works suites my needs 98% of the time, with SLI i would be be enabling and disabling multiple times a day.
 
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humbug said:
while most of that is true not just any AMD card can CF with an APU, its a bit disingenuous not to say that.

Having said that i do like the flexibility CF offers.
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They also forget to mention that SLi used to offer more flexibility before Nvidia locked it down (I.E SLI-ing a wider range of compatible cards together)
 
5770 Xfire
5850 Xfire
7950 Xfire

Have been very happy with all of them.
 
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Used both Crossfire and SLI, hated crossfire, this was 5850 era though. Got fed up waiting for the next "magic drivers" that never seemed to appear or broke something that was fine previously. I'm sure they're better now.
 
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