crossfire help

Davva Mak

hi all, i'm having issue's here...

spec's.
Asus A8R-MVP
2gig crucial ddr400
amd64 4000
Powercolor X1900 512mb Crossfire edition
WinXP
Cat 7.3's

and now i have just bought an X1950Pro 512mb and i don't have crossfire option in CCC.
in device manager i have primary and secondry devices for both cards, but nothing. i have connected the cards using the external dongle (the X1950 supports crossfire2 but the X1900 doesn't) i have uninstalled all ati drivers using drivercleaner and re-installed, dual graphics cards is selected in the bios. i extended my desktop to the to the primary X1950 so that CCC could see both cards.

please tell me i'm missing something stoopid here guys

Tipstaff

I didn't know you could Crossfire an X1900XT with an X1950 Pro since the X1900XT/XTX uses an external dongle, while the X1950 Pro uses an internal bridge.

If memory serves you can Crossfire an X1950XT with a lower gen X19xx card, such as the X1900XT/XTX since it uses the dongle system, but I can't recall if the master card has to be the X1950XT, or that it doesn't matter which is the master (the X1900XT/XTX or the X1950XT).

CATALYST maker

That is correct Tipstaff
The combos can be seen here
http://ati.amd.com/technology/crossfire/charts.html

Davva Mak

sh*t,

cheers guys, i'll see if i can return and swap it

Davva Mak

a quick update and a couple of questions...

the system above wasn't mine it was a friends who had bought it before i knew him, and just ordered the X1950pro without questioning wether or not it would work, anyway he decided that he would rather go with the internal crossfire2 connections and is going to order another x1950pro (he may have more money than sense) anyway he offered me the x1900 master card for £80 so i bit his hand off.

i like to have 2 monitors running, so can the crossfire dongle be used as a makeshift adapter so i can run 2 monitors?
also, can anyone clarify that an x1900 master card is just an X1900, and not an X1900xt. i've read a few reviews but none that actually tell me. i've only had the card for a few hours so i haven't had a chance to put it in my system yet for a good poke about.

cheers guys

Judas

The x1900 Master card has the rated Clockspeeds of a x1900xt, however quite a few of them appear to be able to sustain the x1900xtx clocks without breaking a sweat. (from what i could tell)

Next, yes, the Dongle CAN be used as a connector if you want to plug 2 monitors into the one master card.

Just make sure you have a good enough PSU that can diliver the full amount of juice the x1900 mastercards take, i've heard different things, but anywhere from 10-15AMPs alone on the 12v rail (if you have a seperate 12v rail for the graphics card, make sure it's rated no less then 15amp)

What you CANNOT do however is run crossfire AND multiple monitors, but since your using just the one card, no issues.

Davva Mak

cheers for that m8, as for the PSU. im using a thermaktake butterfly 480w at the minute but it has no pci-e power, i'm having to use a molex adaptor at the minute so i will avoid pushing it at all till i sort a new psu.