21 replies to this topic

[talker]

Hi Everyone,
Well, that AMD 5200 X2 and Gigabyte GA-M55SLI-S4 MB that I bought a month or so ago is up and running. I added to the CPU and MB a Seagate 7200.10 320 GB SATA II and 2 GB DDR 2-800. I put it all in an older Antec case. I also installed that 6" Gigabte 3D Rocket cooler as well as Vista Ultimate x64. It was an unbelievably smooth and fast install. I was really amazed. Vista had drivers for EVERY piece of hardware so there were no uninstalled or unknown hardware in Device Manager. But here is my plea for help...

Most of you that know me are aware that I am a very heavy solitaire player and I want to set up SLI. I have always been an ATI guy but oh well, perhaps a change will do me good. I bought one of these...

MSI NX8500GT (TD256E)

It is a 256 MB DDR2 8500 running at 460/800 MHz. My Vista rating with all of this is 5.0. The graphics pull a 5.0 with the RAM at 5.9 and the CPU at 5.1. Here comes the noob question. This GPU does not have the little tab for the SLI bridge (which came with the MB) so when I add the second 8500GT how do I initiate the SLI. Is the whole SLI thing now a software implimentation and not hardware/software? MSI says the card is "SLI Ready".

OK, after all of you get back in your chairs from falling out laughing throw the noob here a little lifeline. If I have bought the wrong card I can always put it in another system. Thanks much...talker.

Edited by talker, 11 December 2007 - 02:10 PM.

[eniparadoxgma]

Sorry I can't help ya, as I am an SLI n00b. (I just run one ATI AIW)

However, (and I'm sure this has been talked about), you're really wanting to run SLI to play Solitaire? Isn't that like swatting a fly with a howitzer? How many FPS do you get with one card?

[hog]

I can say I'm 100% certain, but I think these cards do run in SLI without a SLI bridge. As with SLI configurations with a bridge, you'll have to have SLI enabled in BIOS and in the Nvidia control panel. This should be enabled automatically but check for it anyways. I'm pretty sure it should work but as I said, I've never tried nor seen it so it may be that I'm wrong. I'd ask for a second opinion or do a bit of googling.

[talker]

Thanks for the thoughts guys. I have Googled the thing but I feel like Will Smith talking to the hologram in I-Robot when the image said.."My responses are limited, you must ask the right question." The results from Google and even MSI for that matter have been limited. I know I just am not asking the question the right way but will keep trying. As far as SLI and Solitaire, I am trying to get the cards to flip faster than they did in my old 486. A worthy goal and well worth the expense...don't you think? If y'all think of something else throw me a bone. When I get the other 8500 the question will probably answer it self....talker.

Edited by talker, 12 December 2007 - 01:42 PM.

[Tweak]

Have you by chance switched the jumper on the video card to enable SLI?

[hog]

Tweak, on Dec 12 2007, 11:19 AM, said:

Have you by chance switched the jumper on the video card to enable SLI?

I think what he's asking is if he puts a second card in will it work in SLI. He doesn't have both cards yet.

[Tweak]

hog, on Dec 12 2007, 12:10 PM, said:

I think what he's asking is if he puts a second card in will it work in SLI. He doesn't have both cards yet.

LOL, then sure it'll work, assumng he switches the jumper....hahaha.

[talker]

A jumper, what jumper, is there a jumper on the card....OH, THAT JUMPER! Gee, I wonder why MSI didn't say anything about a jumper. I guess I will find out in a week or so when the other 8500 comes in. Today I picked up another 2GB of DDR2-800 for the system. Now there is 4GB of RAM. The OS (Vista Ult x64) literally snaps. We shall see if the performance continues or if it starts to bog after much use. Thanks Tweak I'll give the jumper thingy a try when I get the other 8500...talker.

[Tweak]

talker, on Dec 12 2007, 10:51 PM, said:

A jumper, what jumper, is there a jumper on the card....OH, THAT JUMPER! Gee, I wonder why MSI didn't say anything about a jumper. I guess I will find out in a week or so when the other 8500 comes in. Today I picked up another 2GB of DDR2-800 for the system. Now there is 4GB of RAM. The OS (Vista Ult x64) literally snaps. We shall see if the performance continues or if it starts to bog after much use. Thanks Tweak I'll give the jumper thingy a try when I get the other 8500...talker.

Funny thing is I don't recall any documentation from MSI on the jumper either...lol. I don't own the cards and have never run a SLI setup, but seeing as this is said to be a budget card with a big punch I look forward to seeing how it works out for you soon.

[bluerip]

Hey, talker
this sounds like a problem I wish I had (considering my aging rig). I can't believe the manual doesn't include that info (yes I can). Examining it for a jumper, checking the bios for a switch, the only thing I would do next is check MSI's and the card's specific forums for this. I can't believe it's not in the manual (oh yes I can).

[talker]

Well, believe it you must. The "manual" consists of 2 Quick User Guides. One is written in 20 languages and really only tells you how to install the card as a solo while the rest of the 2' x 2' brochure is an advertisment for other MSI products. The other Guide gives 3 lines about what SLI is but not how to implement. There are a lot of specs concerning the card and all the things it can do. It also tells you about Turbo Caching...better known as "Ram Sucking". To be an exclusive Nvidia technology, there seems to be a "take it for granted" idea that everyone knows how to implement. Oh well, I guess when I pick up the other 8500 we all will find out how and if it works...talker.

[TheBearLT]

For MSI NX8500GT (TD256E) you don't need SLi bridge for Running it in SLi

Still this is quite Low End Graphic card, and overall, you can buy Better product for the money you spend on two of these..

Edited by TheBearLT, 16 December 2007 - 09:58 PM.

[banj0]

I don't know if this helps Talker but I found this article from a search. The snippet that might interest you is below:

Noticeably missing from the MSI NX8500GT-TD256E is a SLI bridge connector on the top left hand corner of the videocard. Don't fret though, the NX8500GT-TD256E can still run SLI through the PCI Express bus, should you happen to have a second GeForce 8500GT videocard and a motherboard which supports SLI.

[talker]

TheBearLT, on Dec 16 2007, 03:57 PM, said:

For MSI NX8500GT (TD256E) you don't need SLi bridge for Running it in SLi

Still this is quite Low End Graphic card, and overall, you can buy Better product for the money you spend on two of these..

That is possibly true Bear, but remember, I am not aiming for performance as my main goal since I only play Solitaire. I am looking for the smoothest, most responsive, and stablest system that I can build. I buy these retail MSI 8500GT locally for less than $100.00 USD. The TCO will definitely fall in a good range for what I am looking for and the performance recieved...talker.

banj0, on Dec 16 2007, 04:01 PM, said:

I don't know if this helps Talker but I found this article from a search. The snippet that might interest you is below:

Noticeably missing from the MSI NX8500GT-TD256E is a SLI bridge connector on the top left hand corner of the videocard. Don't fret though, the NX8500GT-TD256E can still run SLI through the PCI Express bus, should you happen to have a second GeForce 8500GT videocard and a motherboard which supports SLI.

WOOT WOOT banj0, that sounds like what I was looking to see. So now at least I know that it will work. It should be about a week or so before the other 8500 is in the system but I will post back here how the SLI install goes. THANKS MUCH...talker.

[bluerip]

I'm gonna get some popcorn. Anybody want anything?