SLi Install

[Roady]

Hi all

Whats the best way to Install and setup and configure two SLI Graphic cards. The ones ill be installing will be 2 XFX 8800GT XXX Edition 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Graphics Cards, WOW hey!!

Do you install both at same time or one at a time and install seperately?

How do you install the drivers for both cards?

Whats best config to run on my 43" Plasma HD TV. (I take it the graphic cards im getting will work well on my TV?)

Thanks to all that reply


Roady

[Spearball]

Setup isn't hard at all....:) uninstall your old drivers, install both cards in the pc (making sure that all the power connectors are connected and you have enough power to supply) and install the new drivers. The nvidia driver is already compatible for sli configuration you just have to enable it in the settings.

I'm not too sure about plasma tvs as computer monitors or how to set that up so maybe someone else should clear that up for you.

[George Hallam]

I think when in SLI you can only have one screen plugged in, to enable more screens just disable SLI and have the two cards running separate.

(i stand to be corrected)

[Roady]

Thanks for relpies

Im only going to be using my new built PC on the plasma and not a normall PC monitor. I also think I will need to install windows etc etc using a monitor first as im unsure the graphic cards wont initialise until half way through the windows startup.? is this true?

At present on my old system I cant see the POST on my plasma TV until Windows initialises my graphic card half way through the windows startup process!! I have to plug a monitor in the VGA port to allow me to see the POST, BIOS etc...

Now on this new PC im building with no VGA port just two graphic cards with DVI outs would I have the same trouble of not being able to see the POST\BIOS screens etc..?

Thanks to all reply

[Spearball]

Well does the plasma TV have DVI "Inputs" or VGA "Inputs" in the back. If not and you use the HDTV OR sVIDEO out then yes, again you will have to wait for windows to initialize the video out for that connector. The dvi or vga are the main video source so thats why the bios is seen through them. I believe the svideo or htdv out is only enabled when the drivers load.

Just curious but will you be gaming or is this a media center?

[Roady]

My plasma has a HDMI input and I will be usng this PC as a all in one media centre for games, processing video and playing blueray films etc etc.

I will be connecting my video card straight into the HDMI connector on the Plasma from my DVI output from the GTX760 MB nVidia graphic card in the PC. So will I still have the trouble here of waiting for windows to initiate the graphic card? Is this same as hdtv???

Thanks

[Spearball]

I will be connecting my video card straight into the HDMI connector on the Plasma from my DVI output from the GTX760 MB nVidia graphic card in the PC. So will I still have the trouble here of waiting for windows to initiate the graphic card? Is this same as hdtv???

Do you mean that your going to use dvi to hdmi splitter or dvi to hdmi cable? If so you should have no problem and you should see the post screen. As long as the cable/or splitter is in the video cards dvi slot.

[Roady]

Yes i will be using the dvi to hdmi cable direct from the graphic card to Plasma, so I take it I should be ok then?

Thanks