what kind of processor do i need for 3 way SLI

[andreasaspenberg]

i am planning to build a new pc. my problem however is that i can not go for more powerful graphics cards than gtx 960 as then i lose backwards compatibility completely.(no memory for 32 bit programs.) because of that i need SLI to get more power. i am planning to get an 8-core intel processor so, how many gtx 960 can i run effectivly with that?

 

[Velmarshal]

When checking out the processors, scroll down and look for "Max # of PCI Express Lanes"

SLI requires x8 PCIe lanes per card, it can not scale as Crossfire down to x4.
So for 2 cards, you need 16, which most consumer i5s and i7s will supply.
For 3 you'll need 24, which processors like low tier extreme edition i7s can support (i7 4820K, i7 5820K).
For 4, you need the mid or high tier i7 from the extreme edition (4930K, 4960X, 5930K, 5960X)

http://ark.intel.com/products/82932/Intel-Core-i7-5820K-Processor-15M-Cache-up-to-3_60-GHz

i7 5820K for example has 28 PCIe lanes, which means it will run up to 3 cards in SLI with 4 PCIe lanes left, which can be used for a x4 PCIe SSD or a sound card.

But 5930K and 5960X support 40 PCIe lanes, which allows them to pair up to 4 cards and still have 8 PCIe lanes left.

960 supports 2 way SLI.
970 suports up to 3 way SLI.
Everything higher goes up to 4.

Won't comment on the rest of the gibberish.

 

[andreasaspenberg]

it is not gibberish at all. i am currently waiting for a broadwell 8 core processor to be available and that is what i plan on using. (i usually prefer to double the power when i upgrade.) how many graphics cards can an 8 core intel processor based on broadwell support?

 

[edo494]

thats like asking how many stone blocks can you mine with pickaxe in minecraft. Well, we know you will use pick, but which exactly?

 

[Velmarshal]

32bits/graphics memory was gibberish. It's 2015, every x64 OS, can run x86 apps, and it has nothing to do with memory of the graphics card.

Secondly, Broadwell-E specs arent out, but judging from the previous iterations, all Broadwell E CPUs will support atleast 3 way SLI.
My guess is:
6820k - 28PCIe lanes, 6 cores 350$
6930k - 40 lanes, 6 cores 550$
6960X - 40 lanes, 8 cores 1000$

 

[andreasaspenberg]

3 way SLI should be enough power for a while. 32bits/graphics memory is not gibberish. let me explain it in more detail. 32 bit can only use 4 gigabytes of memory which includes all of the graphics card`s memory. the CPU is unable to access the graphics memory for other things than games until the pascal arcitecture is released which solves that. pascal however uses a completely new slot that i have yet to learn the name of, that is better than pci express but, likely more expensive than pci express to manufacture. therefore i am sticking with SLI for the time being.

 

[Dr Super Good]

32 bit can only use 4 gigabytes of memory which includes all of the graphics card`s memory.

You can run 32bit Linux builds that can address well over 4 GB of memory (eg 32GB of memory). Just because the register size is 32bit does not mean the address resolution system is 32bit.

Windows 32bit builds limit to 4GB as part of their licencing policy. The reason behind it is that a lot of driver programmers write 32bit drivers using 32bit memory pointers as they expect less than 4GB of memory. If the OS allowed more than 4GB of memory (which it can, at an obvious performance penalty) these drivers could break since they might have to use addresses past 4GB which overflow the variables used.

By the way SLI will not solve the 4GB licencing restriction since each GPU memory is added to the pool. As such 3 * 2 GB cards would result in 6 GB of graphic memory. Additionally all 32bit processes are not affected by the licencing limitation since it applies to the virtual memory manager OS component and not the processes (which use the virtual memory it provides).

Since you should be using 64bit Windows 10 this is not a problem anyway as that can easily address up to 128GB of memory and beyond. If you want to play old 16bit games then you should use a virtual machine (the games use so little resources anyway).

 

[andreasaspenberg]

virtual machines does not support 3d and many of the games i have that only works in older systems require 3d. SLI does not stack the memory so 3 cards with 2 gigabytes each will still only give 2 gigabytes. check the nvidia website if you do not believe me.

 

[GhostWolf]

And again you all respond to this obvious troll with the same exact replies you gave him in 20 other threads.
Good job.

 

[Dr Super Good]

virtual machines does not support 3d and many of the games i have that only works in older systems require 3d.

As far as I am aware 16 bit games did not have any 3d support in the first place. Since they are the only games you need to run in a virtual machine there is no problem. Also virtual machines can support 3D APIs, just usually that feature is not free.

check the nvidia website if you do not believe me.

Did, said this...

When I configure two graphics cards in SLI mode, do the graphics cards work together to create double the memory size?

No. In SLI mode, each graphics card uses its own frame buffer memory to render a 3D application. The operating system will report a graphics card frame buffer memory size that is found on a single graphics board.

Which means the OS will (used to, Windows 10 changes this) detect it as the smallest of the cards. However the OS internally still has to map each card separately so that the driver can access memory on each card to use them. As such 3 * 2 GB cards would require 6 GB of mapping which is beyond all your virtual memory address space with a 32bit Windows operating system.

In this case I am unsure what the OS will do. It might even just not work.

 

[andreasaspenberg]

i will just have to wait and see i suppose. i do however suspect that everything will work just fine and that the available graphics memory will be 2 gigabytes. as for ghostwolf: shame on you. i came here asking for information as i was unable to find enough on nvidia`s websites.

 

[Dr Super Good]

You will not even need to worry about SLI for much longer I think. DirectX12 standardizes mutli-GPU interaction such that you can mix and match different card models and even makes. In theory future games could get a boost by running on a system with both an AMD and NVidia card with both cards working together to give you more performance.

Obviously this does not apply to current games or old games and the games have to be specially written to get any boost from multiple GPUs.

 

[andreasaspenberg]

not to mention that it will only be available in windows 10.

 

[Dr Super Good]

not to mention that it will only be available in windows 10.

Why else would you need 3 way SLI if you do not plan to play the latest games?

SLI does not even work on very old games anyway. And most games do not benefit well from it currently. Only some select games do well with SLI.

 

[andreasaspenberg]

most of the latest games work in older systems. steam still works in xp.

 

[Dr Super Good]

most of the latest games work in older systems.

No they do not. Either the system runs out of memory or they lack the hardware requirements. For example running SC2 on a GeForce 4 is impossible.

Steam is not a game, as such it has rather relaxed and low requirements.

 

[andreasaspenberg]

most modern games runs through steam and steam runs in xp. nvidia is still providing drivers for xp.(i checked it out today.)

 

[edo494]

just because games run throught steam doesnt mean they support what steam does.

For instance, Steam can run on 32 bit OS, but Cities: Skylines, which runs throught steam too, only runs on x64.

Basically, your argument is invalid

 

[andreasaspenberg]

i am planning to use 64 bit xp on my new pc along with 32 bit vista and windows 10 on different harddrives.

 

[edo494]

I just wonder, why the fuck you install XP, which is out of support even, for new computer? This isnt stone age, we are living in 2015, get 7 at least

 

[andreasaspenberg]

windows 7 is bad. why install windows 7 when i can install windows 10 instead?

 

[PublishedShadow]

Why on earth would you ever want Vista or even XP for that matter? XP is outdated and no longer supported by Microsoft and Vista is just plain terrible.

In my opinion, you shouldn't be installing XP, Vista, or Even Windows 7 on a brand new/modern system unless you 100% need software that just does not work with Windows compatibility.

I personally really like 8.1 as it is pretty much a gamers paradise. If your reasoning behind not getting 8.1 is because you just don't like the Metro interface then you're missing out. I don't even use the metro interface and have 0 problems navigating my system. (However, I will also be upgrading to Windows 10 in after few days of launch)

The reasoning behind NOT installing windows 10 immediately at launch is, like Windows 8, and any other OS launch Microsoft has done - Consumers are always the guinea pigs.

Also, Windows 7 is NOT bad. It is in fact , according to many, one of the best OS's available.

 

[andreasaspenberg]

vista is my favorite system though it had its share of bugs. on the first vista pc i had i had to update it right away because the network kept dying on it. once the bugs were fixed it worked well. windows 7 have been nothing but trouble. when i change resolution explorer hangs for minutes every time. the also removed the mouse navigation of the alt-tab menu which makes vista better. i need xp for the warcraft 3 art tools as they will not work in modern systems.

 

[edo494]

mouse navigation works fine.
If changing resolution freezes explorer for few minutes, its probably not the system, but the hardware that's byting the dust.

 

[PublishedShadow]

i need xp for the warcraft 3 art tools as they will not work in modern systems.

Which Tools?

 

[edo494]

the only thing not working here is your brain

 

[andreasaspenberg]

the alt-tab menu can not be navigated with the mouse in windows 7 as any attempt at clicking on it just close it.(can click it in vista.) the resolution problem have nothing to do with hardware as i switched graphics card and the problem is still there. the warcraft 3 art tools is required in order to create warcraft 3 models and that requires software that only works in xp or older.(tested it in vista and it does not work there.)

 

[Dr Super Good]

Windows 7 has no problems changing resolution. Firstly you should never need to change desktop resolution (always run it native). Secondly when games change resolution the screen goes black for a second during the process (part of it getting exclusive lock on the display device and altering resolution, this hangs the display for up to a few seconds) and explorer does not hang.

 

[Deleted member 212788]

the alt-tab menu can not be navigated with the mouse in windows 7 as any attempt at clicking on it just close it.(can click it in vista.) the resolution problem have nothing to do with hardware as i switched graphics card and the problem is still there. the warcraft 3 art tools is required in order to create warcraft 3 models and that requires software that only works in xp or older.(tested it in vista and it does not work there.)

Which tools do not run fine on Windows 7? Everything runs fine on both 7 and 8.1. I should know, I've tested on both and not a single issue like the ones you are describing.

XP has been left without support and is so unoptimized it locks away 30% of your RAM never to be seen again. With the recent threads you've been posting, I'd say go for windows 8.1 and call it a day. It will likely fix your memory, resolution and any other problem you are having.

 

[Geries]

Omg.. I was literally faceslapping myself while reading his comments. Good job andreas, you won retard of the month award again.

But not let be said that I'm off topic trolling:

- Should I build a SLI?
- No.

- Will it break 32 bit apps?
- HOW THE FUCKING HELL ON THE EARTH WOULD IT BREAK 32 BIT APPS?! We've been through this a million times: 32 bit apps are not related to memory of gpu, 32 bit apps worked before, work now, and will work for a long time.

Also, with multiple cards your 3*2 memory won't magically disappear and leave you with 2 only, in fact you can use them all in several applications: for instance cuda or opencl. For graphics it is 2 gb mostly because of the technique they use for rendering, so it won't waste memory bandwith to sync data between cards at the first place.

On a side note I think Oracle's Virtual Box(which is free) is capable of running 3D applications on the guest OS.

 

[Dr Super Good]

SLI can break 32 bit Windows OSes however since each card in a SLI configuration will use up address space which is only limited to 4 GB due to licencing. In the old days of 128 MB video cards this was fine, but with the recent trends of 4 GB video cards you can kiss all that space goodbye.

SLI is basically resource mirroring, with workload being distributed between cards. D3D12 and OpenGL equivalent allow you to distribute resources and workload to specific cards allowing expert developers to tailor multiple GPU usage for their application.

For example you might want to use the second GPU only if the first GPU is struggling. Or you might want the second GPU to be running some specific performance intensive graphics and ship the results to the first.

 

[andreasaspenberg]

warcraft 3 art tools require some software that uses cdilla and cdilla does not work in modern systems. i tested this myself. it is not just cdilla but also star force and possibly other older license software as well. if i use 3 way SLI but it causes problems with 32 bit software i could just remove the cards while running 32 bit software and install them when i need more power.