Setup Of Nvidia Sli (Scalable Link Interface)/Ati Crossfirex Configuration - Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P User Manual

1-6 Setup of NVIDIA SLI (Scalable Link Interface)/ATI CrossFireX
Configuration
The SLI and CrossFireX technologies offer blistering graphics performance with the ability to bridge two
or three PCI Express
CrossFireX system.
A. Before You Begin
1. Power Requirements:
Before installation, assure that the power supply you use is able to provide sufficient power to fully
support an SLI/CrossFireX configuration and other components in your system. We recommend a
power supply that provides at least 20A 5V and 12V current and a minimum of 600W (a 3-Way SLI/
CrossFireX platform requires minimum 1000W peak power). Note that the exact power requirements
will depend on your overall system configurations.
2. Supported Operation Systems:
Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems are currently supported by the 2-Way SLI and
2-Way CrossFireX technologies.
Only Windows Vista operating systems are currently supported by the 3-Way SLI and 3-Way CrossFireX
technologies.
3. Installation Notices:
3-1 If you want to set up a single graphics card system, we recommend installing the graphics card
on the PCIEX16_1 slot.
3-2 To set up a 2-Way configuration, we recommend installing the graphics cards on the PCIEX16_1
and PCIEX16_2 slots. (Using graphics cards of identical brand and chips is recommended.)
3-3 To set up a 3-Way SLI configuration (Figure 1) or a 3-Way CrossFireX configuration (Figure 2), be
sure to use three identical graphics cards based on the following GPUs and a power supply of at
least 1000W. Current NVIDIA GPUs that support 3-Way SLI technology include the 8800 GTX,
8800 Ultra, 9800 GTX, GTX 260 and GTX 280. Current ATI GPUs that support 3-Way CrossFireX
technology include the Radeon HD 3800 series and Radeon HD 4800 series.
(Note) To set up a 3-Way CrossFireX configuration, install the bridge connector (optional) shown in
Figure 2.
graphics cards! This section provides instructions on configuring an SLI/
TM
Figure 1
Figure 2
- 19 - Hardware Installation