Single video card on SLI motherboard

Good morning.

Can an SLI-capable motherboard be used with just a single PCI-E video card?
And if so, are there any performance penalties or other issues in doing so,
other
than the additional cost of the motherboard?

Thanks
-Mark

In article , Mark G. says...
Good morning.

Can an SLI-capable motherboard be used with just a single PCI-E video card?
And if so, are there any performance penalties or other issues in doing so,
other
than the additional cost of the motherboard?

Yes they can and no there isn't.

SLI isn't all it's cracked up to be what with driver issues, software
support and the fact you don't get double the performance when using
two cards.


--
Conor

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright
until you hear them speak.........

"Conor" wrote:
In article , Mark G. says...
Good morning.

Can an SLI-capable motherboard be used with just a single PCI-E video
card?
And if so, are there any performance penalties or other issues in doing
so,
other
than the additional cost of the motherboard?

Yes they can and no there isn't.

SLI isn't all it's cracked up to be what with driver issues, software
support and the fact you don't get double the performance when using
two cards.

Thanks. I'm finding that some of the low-end SLI boards have more of
the features I am looking for than are found on non-SLI boards.
SLI itself is of no interest to me...not now, anyway.

-Mark

Mark G. wrote:
Good morning.

Can an SLI-capable motherboard be used with just a single PCI-E video card?
And if so, are there any performance penalties or other issues in doing so,
other
than the additional cost of the motherboard?

Thanks
-Mark



SLI motherboard's PCI-E slots can be populated singly or doubly. The
only consideration regarding single cards on SLI boards is on those
specific motherboards that have a mechanical connector require you to
physically set the paddle if you use SLI. Many boards do this
automagically, many do not. As a rule the SLI connector is provided with
the motherboard, not with the video card, don't lose it!

Lastly, the cost difference is often times zero between many SLI and non
SLI boards, smart shopping to you!

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
Good morning.

Can an SLI-capable motherboard be used with just a single PCI-E video
card?
And if so, are there any performance penalties or other issues in
doing so, other
than the additional cost of the motherboard?

Thanks
-Mark


1)Yes, I did that for a couple months. 2)No, at least not on my
Gigabyte GA K8-N-SLI mobo with one 7800GTX. That one card ran at x16
with the mobo configured for one vid card. When I added the 2nd 7800GTX
I had to turn the little 'configuration' card from Single to SLI and now
both cards run in PCI-e x8. SLI mode with these cards is considerably
faster for some games. Of the ones I play, FEAR is the most notable.
HL2 seems better optimized now, and runs very well on one 7800GTX in non
SLI.
McG.

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
"Conor" wrote:
In article , Mark G.
says...
Good morning.

Can an SLI-capable motherboard be used with just a single PCI-E
video card?
And if so, are there any performance penalties or other issues in
doing so,
other
than the additional cost of the motherboard?

Yes they can and no there isn't.

SLI isn't all it's cracked up to be what with driver issues, software
support and the fact you don't get double the performance when using
two cards.

Thanks. I'm finding that some of the low-end SLI boards have more of
the features I am looking for than are found on non-SLI boards.
SLI itself is of no interest to me...not now, anyway.

-Mark


I only rarely go to SLI mode now, and that's because of a driver issue.
On returning from full screen SLI apps (games), I have to rearrange my
desktop in DualView because nothing is where or what it's supposed to
be. It doesn't matter that I've saved all the settings and profiles,
they aren't used when it comes out of SLI and in setting the saved
profile, things are still not restored to the places they were at when I
saved them. It's a pain in the butt, frankly. And most of the games I
do play work fine with just the one 7800GTX anyway. Only one notable
exception; FEAR. So I'm actually using the two video cards to get 4
total DVI ports. I often use 3 monitors doing work with, so even with
non SLI use, both cards do get worked with a good bit. And, I haven't
cranked up FEAR now in some months
McG.