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Since many of them are the same, I decided to put together a top 10 list to answer most of your questions.
Here they are…drum roll please!
10) Motherboards: When choosing your motherboard for SLI, you need to make sure that it is an NVIDIA nForce4 SLI motherboard. NVIDIA nForce4 SLI motherboards are available for BOTH Intel and AMD CPUs. The full list of certified motherboards can be found here.
9) SLI Connector: The SLI connector ships with all nForce4 SLI motherboards. The SLI connector is used with GeForce 6600 GT products and above. All other products (for example GeForce 6600 LE) use the PCI Express bus (instead of the SLI Connector) to transfer data between the cards. Again, the connector ships with nForce4 SLI motherboards - you won't see one included with an SLI graphics card.
8) Graphics Memory: If you have two 128MB graphics cards running with SLI, each card operates with 128MB of memory (not 256MB). If a game recommends 256MB of memory, each card needs to have 256MB of memory. If you get two of the same model of graphics card, and one is 128MB, the other 256MB, your SLI graphics solution will operate (if you use Coolbits) with 128MB effective graphics memory.
7) Coolbits: Follow Step 1 here to setup Coolbits. Set Coolbits to "1A" is you want everything enabled (including Overclocking, Mixed Memory, and SLI Profiles). If you only need Coolbits for SLI Profiles, set Coolbits to "8". With the latest driver, you no longer need Coolbits to use SLI Antialiasing.
6) SLI Antialiasing: SLI antialiasing is a standalone rendering mode that increases the visual quality of games by enabling either 8x or 16x antialiasing. This rendering mode is NOT a performance mode such as AFR or SFR. If you are seeking increased frame rates, I recommend sticking with NVIDIA's default game profiles which set the game to either AFR or SFR. When 'Show GPU load balancing' is selected, the screen will show your current antialiasing setting on the top half of the screen and the lower antialiasing setting on the bottom half of the screen. 'Show GPU load balancing' is NOT intended to be used during actual game play. More information can be found here.
5) Temperature: Your GPUs will most likely operate at different temperatures. Temperature will vary due to chassis location and graphics workload. Each type of GPU has a different operating range. As long as your GPU core temperature is operating within the green range in the control panel, your GPU will operate normally.
4) Displays: When SLI is enabled, only one monitor can be active. When SLI is disabled in the control panel, multiple monitors can be used. The latest driver does not require a reboot to enable and disable SLI.
3) Show GPU load balancing: This feature can be enabled in the control panel (on the same menu that you enable SLI) to see if SLI is working. Depending on the SLI rendering mode, you will see 3 different types of visual feedback when this feature is enabled. These are shown here. 'Show GPU load balancing' is NOT intended to be used during actual game play.
2) Mixing Cards: You can use a GeForce 7800 GTX from manufacturer ABC with a GeForce 7800 GTX from manufacturer XYZ. However, you must still use two graphics cards that have the same GPU. For example, a GeForce 7800 GT must be matched with another GeForce 7800 GT (not with a GeForce 7800 GTX or a GeForce 6800 Ultra). Likewise, you cannot mix the GeForce 7800 GTX 512 with the GeForce 7800 GTX. Look here for more information.
1) Performance: I get many questions about performance of GPUs. If you are trying to decide what to purchase, there are numerous online review sites that benchmark all of NVIDIA's GPUs on a regular basis. Here are just a handful: HardOCP, The Tech Report, PC Perspective, NVNews, and Tom's Hardware.
-MMM
NVIDIA makes no warranties with respect to the information provided through the "Ask Mad Mod Mike" column and in no event shall NVIDIA be responsible for any damages arising out of your use of such information. Mad Mod Mike image © 2005 NVIDIA Corporation.
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