How to disable Crossfire? What is Crossfire? How to disable Sli Crossfire? How to connect video cards to CrossFireX without making a typical mistake. Which amd crossfire mode to install on a laptop

When choosing a video card from AMD, the user may notice the CrossFire option in the list of options. This is a special technology that was developed by AMD engineers with the goal of combining several video cards into one system. Thanks to the use of CrossFire technology, it is possible to extend the life of old video cards, as well as increase the maximum power of the system several times. But CrossFire technology has a lot of nuances that must be observed for it to work correctly and for video cards to perform to the maximum of their capabilities. In this article, let's look at the subtleties when setting up CrossFire and combining several video cards.

What is required to connect two video cards via CrossFire

To combine two video cards into one, you will need not only their presence and two slots on the motherboard. There are a number of conditions that must be met to take advantage of CrossFire technology and unlock the potential of two GPUs. Before combining two AMD cards via CrossFire into one common performance element, make sure that the following components meet the necessary requirements.

. The motherboard must have at least two PCI-Express. It is important that the slots have maximum throughput. For modern motherboards this is x16. For now, pay close attention. Only if you have x16 bandwidth for both video cards connected to the motherboard will you be able to achieve maximum performance. Often, motherboards have one main x16 connector and several auxiliary connectors with lower bandwidth. It could be x8 or x4. Some video cards do not have a PCI-Express slot with x16 bandwidth at all, and all slots are x8.

Please note: To connect AMD video cards via CrossFire, you can use connectors with x8 bandwidth or one x16 and the other x8. But this will reduce the overall performance of the combined array.

The throughput of the connectors is marked with a corresponding inscription next to them. If it is x16, it will be written PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2 and so on. If x8, then PCIEX8_1.

In addition to having two connectors on the motherboard for connecting video cards via CrossFire, it must support this functionality at the chip level. It is important to note here that not all chips support CrossFire, and it is better to check the fact of compatibility on the website of the motherboard manufacturer. It is also worth noting that only motherboards based on AMD and Intel chips work with CrossFire technology. If the motherboard is made on an Nvidia chip (a company that is a direct competitor to AMD), it definitely does not support the patented CrossFire technology. Please note: Motherboards that support CrossFire have this marking on the box.

. Ideally, it is better to combine two identical video cards - of the same series and from the same manufacturer - into an array via CrossFire. But this is not always possible, so on the AMD website, as well as on the websites of video card manufacturers, you can find detailed tables with the compatibility of certain graphics processors with each other. Important: If the cards are CrossFire compatible, but one of them is more powerful than the other, you should know that the more powerful model will not be able to fully operate. The cards will work at the level of two weak cards from this pair.

It is worth noting that video cards with CrossFire support always come with a bridge to connect them. It is a small wire with a corresponding logo and a connector on both sides.

Power unit. The video card is one of the main consumers. When there are two of them, and they work simultaneously, especially with the same x16 bandwidth, this is a very serious load on the power supply. You need to have the right power, and also take into account whether it has the required number of connectors to connect all the components.

Housing and cooling system. Another point that is often forgotten when wanting to build a computer assembly with two video cards connected via CrossFire is the presence of a good case. Video cards must not only fit into the unit along with other components, but it must also have a good ventilation system. It is wrong to think that the coolers on the video card itself are enough to cool the chip. The temperature in the case must be kept low, and when two video cards are running, it will be significantly higher than when one is running. Therefore, the case must be equipped with its own high-quality coolers to remove hot air.

CrossFire is a Multi-GPU technology from ATI (currently a division of AMD), which allows you to combine several Radeons to work on building a single 3D image.

The initial implementation of this technology (for X800 and X1800 series chipsets) implied the use of a so-called “master card” and an external Y-shaped cable with a special chip that combines image fragments transmitted by two cards into a single picture. However, this integration option was not developed, and later ATI, like nVidia in its technology, began to use external bridges to exchange information between cards combined into an array.

A necessary condition for combining two or more cards into an array (currently up to four GPUs, i.e. you can combine four single-processor cards or two dual-processor cards) is that the video cards belong to the same generation, for example, you can combine a 4870X2 with a 4870 or a 4830 with a 4870 , but combining, say, a Radeon X1950 with an HD3850 will not work.

The modern version of CrossFire technology is officially called CrossFireX, sometimes CrossFire is abbreviated to “CF” for convenience (do not confuse it with CompactFlash).

Combining a discrete (separate) with a built-in chipset is called Hybrid CrossFire and is accompanied by a number of additional restrictions, this technology is dedicated to.

When combining cards into an array, each one works with its own copy of the set of textures and geometric data, so the actual amount of video memory is equal to the smallest amount of video memory available to each of the video processors working together, i.e., for example, when combining two cards with video memory amounts of 512 MB and 256 MB we get an effective amount of video memory of 256 MB.

The same feature applies to video cards built on the basis of two video processors (identified by the “X2” suffix in the name); with the declared total amount of video memory, such a card is actually equivalent to a card with half the amount of video memory and is recognized accordingly in 3D applications.

Unlike nVidia SLI technology, CrossFire does not impose strict requirements on the chipset manufacturer, so for combining several ATI Radeon video cards, it is theoretically suitable on a chipset from any manufacturer (even nVidia) with a suitable set of slots, but in practice it is optimal to assemble such a configuration on specially designed ones Intel or AMD chipsets (depending on the processor used), but you must pay attention to the following factors:

• The resulting performance of a video card array is maximum when each of the video cards included in it is connected to the chipset with the maximum number of PCI-E lanes possible for it, i.e. uses a full PCI-E 16x slot. The presence of two such slots is typical for motherboards with “top” chipsets – Intel X38/X48/X58, AMD 790FX, etc.
  Therefore, if a CF system is being assembled based on “top” video cards like the Radeon HD4890, then the use of such motherboards is desirable (to achieve maximum performance), and if a combination of two dual-chip cards like the 4870X2 is used, then it is mandatory.
• When using “popular” chipsets like Intel P35/P45, which do not have a sufficient number of PCI-E lanes, a fatal drop in performance occurs only when installing one of the video cards into a PCI-E 16x slot with one lane, or when installing it into a slot with four or eight lanes Performance does not drop so significantly compared to the “full-fledged” version.
• CrossFire variants with three to four video processors show a real advantage over the same configurations with two video processors only in “super-heavy” modes (high resolution, 1680X1050 and higher, resolution with FSAA enabled), and not in all games.

“The life of trade and the death of traders” - this is what Bernard Shaw said about it. And he spoke about competition, without which a market economy is impossible.

In a recent review, we looked at NVIDIA SLI technology. As noted at the beginning of that article, we examined the first technology on the modern graphics market for parallel operation of several video cards in one gaming scene. And since there is the first, it means there will be a second, since competing companies cannot allow NVIDIA to monopolize the market in this area. As one would expect, the main competitor, the Canadian company ATI, put forward its counterweight to SLI in the form of its own CrossFire technology (the company is now owned by AMD, but the CrossFire brand has been retained in the form of ATI CrossFire X).

Development history and key features

The technology was announced at the international exhibition Computex 2005 in Taiwan.

From history to modern times

To build a computer based on CrossFire you must have:

• a motherboard with two or more PCI Express x16 slots with an AMD or Intel chipset of certain models;
• powerful power supply;
• video cards with CrossFire support.

A CrossFire system can be organized in two ways:

• Internal connection - video cards are connected via a flexible bridge. The driver determines which of them will be the master card.
• Software method - video cards are not connected in any way, data is exchanged via the PCI Express x16 bus, and their interaction is implemented using drivers. The disadvantage of this method is the loss in productivity up to 10-15% compared to the first method mentioned above.

As you may have guessed, the software method is used extremely rarely and mainly on not the newest low-power cards. Regarding the bridge connection, be careful. Unlike NVIDIA SLI, 2 bridges are used here and they must be connected correctly, usually on the side of the primary card (the monitor is connected to it) the bridge is marked with a smaller index, and on the slave side with a larger index, for example, “J1A” “J2A” or “J2” and “J3”, although other more or less understandable designations are also possible. Otherwise, the driver will not recognize the installed combination of video cards and will ask you to change the bridge configuration on the corresponding Catalyst Control Center page.

This is what the various options for connecting bridges for CrossFire look like.

CrossFire is enabled quite simply by checking the box in the Catalyst Control Center menu.

Triple CrossFire and QUAD CrossFireX

With the release of drivers version 8.3, ATI officially announced the availability of QUAD CrossFireX technology. However, it is only available for video cards of the HD 3800 generation and higher.

The word QUAD does not mean that combinations of only four video cards are possible. The same technology also includes Triple CrossFire - a combination of three video cards. What’s interesting is that there can physically be two video cards, but three video chips are used. For those who didn’t guess, we’ll explain - in this case, a combination of a regular video card and a video card with the suffix “X2” is used, which has 2 video chips. Here is an example of two video cards Radeon HD 3870 and HD 3870X2 in Triple CrossFire mode.

And here is the result of their joint activities using the example of the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl.

As you can see, the game responds favorably to the addition of a third video chip. The performance increase of two HD 3870 video chips compared to one is 85%, which is very good. But adding a third accelerator increases performance by another 33%, which is also quite good.

The QUAD mode is activated in two ways: the first is by installing four video cards in a special motherboard based on the AMD chipset, the second is by installing two video cards with the “X2” suffix in any one that supports CrossFire mode. As practice shows, the first method is used extremely rarely due to the small number of motherboards for 4 video cards and the large number of problems with their connection. Much simpler and more expedient method number two. It’s clear that “X2” video cards belong to the TOP solutions, and a combination of two such video cards is even more so.

However, in this way we will get unprecedented video subsystem performance.

It becomes obvious that for such video cards, motherboard support for the PCI-e 2.0 x16 standard is not just desirable, but mandatory.

Note that the Radeon HD 3870X2 video cards, which are actually a CrossFire implementation of a pair of GPUs on one video card, used a switching chip that was far from perfect. Not only did it limit the video card to only support PCI-e 1.0a, but it also had high latency. But progress does not stand still and, starting with the Rdeon HD 4870X2 line, a new switching chip is used that is devoid of these shortcomings. Now the internal organization of CrossFire in the video card has become much better, as well as the interaction of the video card with the motherboard, now via the PCI-e 2.0 interface.

The path of CrossFire technology to the masses has been so long and thorny. What does it represent today? And today it is a rapidly developing technology, support for which is widespread thanks to Intel and AMD chipsets. The uniqueness of the technology is its flexibility and the ability to be built on various motherboards and processors, using Intel processors if a motherboard on an Intel chipset is used, or using AMD processors if a motherboard on an AMD chipset is used - in any case, users have a wide choice of components.

AMD, which suffered a fiasco during the confrontation between Radeon HD 2000 (HD 3000) and GeForse 8 generation video cards, in the new Radeon HD 4000 line has set a course for promoting its products not in the TOP league, but in the middle (middle) and so-called productive ( Performance) segments. In view of this, having a bundle of two medium-priced video cards is often more profitable than buying a competitor’s TOP products.

Pay attention to the fourth line from the top - this is the HD4870 video card in CrossFire. A very good result, considering the recommended cost of each card. However, this is just a synthetic test, albeit a very popular one, but it shows the potential of the technology when maximally optimized for the game. If you analyze the graph, you can see that the mid-segment video cards of the previous generation compete quite well with the “top” modern cards, but of course not alone.

ATI Hybrid CrossFireX. This technology is similar GeForce Boost.

Like the competing Californian company, it is designed to combine the power of a video chip built into the motherboard and a discrete video card.

To activate this technology, you will need a motherboard with a set of system logic from the AMD 780 line.

It is logical that using a video card more powerful than the Radeon HD 3470 is not advisable.

Much more interesting is the use of this technology in laptops, where in addition an idea similar to HybridPower is implemented (it’s a pity that this function is not available on desktop systems).

Now, in laptops based on the AMD 780 chipset, it is possible to combine the graphic power of a discrete video chip with long-lasting battery life, since the discrete chip simply turns off when there is no load.

Using hybrid graphics from AMD gives the user complete and easy control over image output.

We have already examined the performance of such a solution in one of our reviews. Let's remember the results...

...and conclusions:

“As a result, from the graphs we see that the performance of a “hybrid” graphics system, as well as a separate integrated core, strongly depends on the speed of exchange with memory, which is carried out by the processor via the HyperTransport bus. Therefore, Phenom processors have a certain advantage, but there is not much difference from using a triple or quad-core processor.

Even if the Hybrid CrossFire system were able to catch up with the NVIDIA GeForce 8500GT DDR3 Sonic, then from the point of view of economy this option would be questionable, since the cost of more powerful processors is an order of magnitude more expensive than video cards. Therefore, the technology of combining an external video card with integrated graphics will be of more interest to users who usually use image output on three or four monitors, and sometimes they need to work with 3D.”

Practical Application

We have already tested Radeon video cards of various price ranges in CrossFire combination. Let's try to analyze these results and draw a conclusion about the feasibility of using this technology and its competitiveness.

AMD CrossFire technology accelerates graphics quality and performance by combining the processing power of multiple GPUs.

With AMD CrossFire technology, two or more discrete graphics cards can be configured to work together. You can also configure discrete GPUs to work alongside integrated GPUs using AMD Radeon™ Dual Graphics Technology. AMD Radeon Dual Graphics technology is based on AMD CrossFire technology and is only available on AMD APU-based systems.

Before you enable and configure AMD CrossFire technology, you must run the AMD CrossFire setup, which may require connecting a pair of video cards using an AMD CrossFire bridging cable. For more information about installing AMD CrossFire graphics cards, see your graphics card's user manual.

With AMD CrossFire support enabled, one GPU functions as the primary processor. Subsequently, graphics rendering tasks are distributed between this GPU and other processors to speed up image rendering on a separate display connected to the main GPU. Additional displays can be connected to the main GPU if it is running in extended desktop mode.

Note: If AMD CrossFire support is enabled or disabled, the Control Center application automatically restarts. AMD CrossFire is designed for applications running in full-screen mode. Displays not connected to host GPUs in an AMD CrossFire configuration are automatically disabled. For some configurations, you can optionally unlock support for displays connected to auxiliary GPUs.

Availability of AMD CrossFire pages and options may vary depending on specific graphics cards. The layout of the AMD CrossFire pages also depends on the currently used view:

• Standard view - AMD CrossFire page is in groups Performance And Games > Performance. If you are using an AMD FirePro™ graphics card, the page is in groups Performance And AMD FirePro > Performance.
• Advanced view - AMD CrossFire page is in groups Performance and Games. If you are using an AMD FirePro graphics card, the page is in groups Performance and AMD FirePro.

GPUs in AMD CrossFireX and AMD Radeon™ Dual Graphics configurations work together using one of four graphics rendering modes: Mosaic, Scissor Mode, Frame Alternate Rendering, and Super Anti-Aliasing.

The first three modes are focused on performance, while the super smoothing mode is focused on quality. Each mode uses a different way to distribute the workload across multiple GPUs when rendering 3D images. The AMD Catalyst™ display driver automatically selects the most optimal of three operating modes when launching a 3D application.

Tip: You can also improve image quality by selecting the super anti-aliasing mode (levels above 6×).

Mosaic In this mode, each processed frame is divided into a number of tiles arranged in a checkerboard pattern so that each of the two GPUs processes half of the tiles. Each tile is a 32x32 pixel square, so this method provides good workload distribution between GPUs, regardless of the rendered image displayed on the display, and without wasting software resources.

The advantage of mosaic mode is its ability to work with almost any 3D application. However, there are a small number of applications where tiled workload distribution does not provide optimal performance. In these special cases, the scissor mode can be used. Scissor Mode In this mode, each frame is divided into two sections, each of which is processed by one GPU. The ideal configuration is determined automatically for each application.

Although scissor mode is generally a less efficient way to distribute workload than mosaic mode, it can be more effective in some cases. This mode is supported by AMD CrossFireX technology for maximum compatibility and performance. Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR) In this mode, all even frames are rendered on one GPU, while all odd frames are rendered on another GPU. The rendered frames are sent from both GPUs to the compositing engine on the AMD CrossFireX Edition card, which then delivers them to the display. By allowing both GPUs to run independently, AFR mode maximizes the performance of all available modes. This mode is also the only mode that allows you to simultaneously use all the processing power of both GPUs for vertex processing.

The main limitation of this mode is that it cannot be used in applications in which the appearance of the current frame depends on the data generated in previous frames, since the AFR mode involves the formation of successive frames on different GPUs. In such cases, use mosaic mode or scissor mode instead. Super Anti-Aliasing Anti-aliasing is a rendering technique designed to remove jagged edges, flicker, and pixelation that often occur in rendered 3D images. Instead of simply determining the color displayed for each pixel on the screen by sampling from one location at the center of the pixel, antialiasing takes samples at different locations on each pixel and mixes the resulting results to create the final color.

Most AMD GPUs use a technique known as multi-sample anti-aliasing (MSAA). This method samples 2, 4, or 6 programmable locations in each pixel and applies gamma-corrected blending of the samples to produce high-quality smooth polygon edges. The new AMD CrossFireX Super Anti-Aliasing mode leverages the GPU's programmable sampling capabilities to provide higher quality anti-aliasing on AMD CrossFireX systems.

In this case, each GPU renders the same frame with anti-aliasing enabled, but each GPU samples from a different location. Once both frame renderings are complete, the results are mixed in the AMD CrossFireX compositing engine. The resulting image is created from twice as many samples, so 4x and 6x antialiasing become 8x and 12x antialiasing, respectively.

Some textures, especially those with transparent areas, may exhibit aliasing that MSAA cannot correct. In these cases, another type of anti-aliasing called low-resolution anti-aliasing (SSAA) can be useful because it affects every pixel in the image. Although the process is typically slower than MSAA, the processing power of multiple GPUs can make SSAA practical.

When using SSAA, it first renders the scene at a higher resolution than the output resolution to the display, and then forces the resolution downsampling to match the display's resolution. This approach usually has two main drawbacks: it requires processing many more pixels than usual, which can have a big impact on performance, and it also results in the use of ordered lattice sampling, which is not well suited for smoothing some kinds of jagged edges. AMD CrossFireX super anti-aliasing eliminates both of these shortcomings. This uses a second GPU to render the extra pixels needed for each frame, so there is little or no performance impact. It can also use a more efficient sampling model to provide better anti-aliasing of near-horizontal and near-vertical edges, resulting in higher overall image quality.

Two super anti-aliasing modes use a combination of MSAA and SSAA techniques to ensure maximum image quality. These modes not only use different multisampling locations for each GPU, but also slightly shift the pixel centers. Essentially, each GPU renders the image from different viewpoints spaced about half a pixel apart. The 10x and 14x super anti-aliasing modes work this way, combining 2x SSAA with 4x and 6x MSAA, respectively.

Both of these modes work in conjunction with anisotropic filtering (AF).

Users can enable super anti-aliasing modes using the Control Center app.

Note: Enabling super anti-aliasing modes (×8, ×10, ×12, ×14) disables multi-GPU (graphics processing unit) rendering, which is designed to improve performance to provide higher image quality.

Configuring AMD CrossFireX™ ​​Hardware Settings

Use the AMD CrossFireX page to enable and configure AMD CrossFireX configurations that use AMD CrossFireX bridging cables. When AMD CrossFireX support is enabled, 3D games and applications automatically use AMD CrossFireX technology if the driver determines that using it is the optimal solution.

You can also configure super anti-aliasing mode for AMD CrossFireX using the 3D pages in the Control Center app.

Enabling AMD CrossFireX™

1. • Standard view - Performance And Games > Gaming performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and Games.
   • Standard view - Performance And AMD FirePro > Graphics Performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and AMD FirePro.
2. Check the box Enable AMD CrossFireX .
3. If necessary, click and drag the slider to unlock support for displays connected to auxiliary GPUs. Not all AMD CrossFireX configurations support unlocking displays connected to auxiliary GPUs.
4. Click the Apply button.

Enabling AMD CrossFireX™

Enable AMD CrossFireX support to accelerate the quality and performance of 3D applications and games displayed on displays connected to the main GPU. When AMD CrossFire™ support is enabled, the best possible combination of GPUs to use is selected based on the current hardware configuration.

Note: If AMD CrossFireX support is enabled, Control Center automatically restarts. AMD CrossFireX is designed for applications running in full screen mode.

AMD Radeon™ dual-GPU graphics cards are powered by AMD CrossFireX technology. As a result, AMD CrossFireX support is always enabled for these boards.

1. • Standard view - Performance And Games > Gaming performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and Games.
   • Standard view - Performance And AMD FirePro > Graphics Performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and AMD FirePro.
2. If necessary, use the desktop selection menu at the top of the page to select the desktop associated with the GPU to use as your primary desktop.
3. Check the box Enable AMD CrossFireX.As of Windows® 8.1, AMD CrossFireX support is enabled by default only for applications and games with a standard AMD profile or a custom application profile. To enable AMD CrossFireX for all games and applications - even those that do not have an application profile - select Enable AMD CrossFireX for applications without a profile.
4. If necessary, click and drag the slider to unlock support for displays connected to auxiliary GPUs. Not all AMD CrossFireX configurations support unlocking displays connected to auxiliary GPUs. Note: For optimal performance when running 3D applications, connect all displays to the main GPU and (if necessary) unlock displays connected to the secondary GPU.
5. Click the Apply button.

AMD CrossFireX is enabled and AMD CrossFireX automatically uses the best combination of GPUs for your system. Only displays connected to the primary GPU are available for use (additional displays must be running in extended desktop mode). Displays that are not included in the AMD CrossFireX configuration are also available for use. Displays connected to auxiliary GPUs remain usable only if support is unlocked.

If other GPU combinations are available, you may choose to use a different combination.

Note: If there are problems with your current AMD CrossFireX configuration, diagnostic information will be displayed at the bottom of the page.

Selecting GPU Combinations for AMD CrossFireX™

If your system has more than two graphics processing units (GPUs) that support AMD CrossFireX, you can select a specific combination of GPUs to use.

Note: When you change the GPU combination that is used for AMD CrossFireX, the Control Center application automatically restarts.

1. Go to the AMD CrossFireX page located in the groups below.
   • Standard view - Performance And Games > Gaming performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and Games.

   If you are using an AMD FirePro™ graphics card, you can navigate to the page using the groups below.

   • Standard view - Performance And AMD FirePro > Graphics Performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and AMD FirePro.
2. From the GPU combinations drop-down list, select the combination to use. Each list option lists the number of GPUs that support AMD CrossFireX and the adapter index of the primary GPU, followed by one or more secondary GPUs.
   Note: If there are problems with the selected combination, diagnostic information will be displayed at the bottom of the page.
3. Click the Apply button.

The selected GPU combination is used for AMD CrossFireX.

Show or hide the AMD CrossFireX™ ​​logo

When AMD CrossFireX support is enabled, you can choose to display the AMD CrossFireX logo for 3D applications and games running in full screen mode. This logo appears in the upper right corner of the screen and indicates that AMD CrossFireX support is enabled. When AMD CrossFireX support is disabled, the logo is not displayed.

Additionally, for AMD FirePro™ boards, the logo is also displayed for applications running in windowed mode.

1. Right-click the Control Center logo on the Windows ® taskbar (notification area).
2. From the menu that appears, select the graphics card associated with the primary GPU for the AMD CrossFireX configuration, specify AMD CrossFireX Options and select Show CrossFireX status icon (if applicable) to display the AMD CrossFireX logo when AMD CrossFireX support is enabled. To always hide the logo even when AMD CrossFireX support is enabled, clear the check box.

Unlocking displays on secondary GPUs for AMD CrossFireX™

If your system supports displays directly connected to the secondary GPU in AMD CrossFireX, you can unlock support for the number of displays you plan to use.

Note: When you change the number of displays supported by the secondary GPU in the AMD CrossFireX group, the Control Center application automatically restarts.

1. Go to the AMD CrossFireX page, located in the groups below:
   • Standard view - Performance And Games > Gaming performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and Games.

   If you are using an AMD FirePro™ graphics card, you can access the page using the groups below:

   • Standard view - Performance And AMD FirePro > Graphics Performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and AMD FirePro.
2. Make sure AMD CrossFireX is enabled.
3. Click and drag the slider to unlock support for displays connected to auxiliary GPUs.
   Note: For optimal performance when running 3D applications, connect all displays to the primary GPU and (if necessary) unlock displays connected to the secondary GPU.
4. Click the Apply button.

AMD CrossFire™ Troubleshooting Tips

Below are solutions for common AMD CrossFire issues. For more information, visit the AMD CrossFire web page at www.amd.com.

Change Motherboard BIOS Settings Some motherboards may have a system BIOS setting that allows you to switch between single and dual PCIe® slot support. By default, one slot can be supported. For information on how to enable dual PCIe slot support, see the software manual. Using graphics cards with different amounts of memory Some AMD CrossFire configurations may use graphics cards with different amounts of memory; However, after enabling AMD CrossFire, the computer must be rebooted. This will force AMD CrossFire to reduce the memory on the graphics card with more memory to match the memory on the graphics card with less memory.

When you click the Disable AMD CrossFire button, you will be prompted to restart your computer to restore the original amount of graphics memory, or continue with the reduced amount of memory. Swap Cards Recommended If the primary graphics card is not inserted into the primary PCIe slot, a message may appear advising you to swap graphics cards. Although AMD CrossFire may be enabled in this case, rearranging the graphics cards in your computer may improve system performance.

To find out which PCIe slot is the primary slot, see your motherboard documentation. 3D client is active AMD CrossFire cannot be enabled while a 3D application or game is running, or a video such as a DVD movie is playing.

Close all open 3D applications, games, and movie applications, and then enable AMD CrossFire. AMD CrossFire is currently unavailable This error occurred because the AMD CrossFire system did not correctly detect the graphics hardware or there was a software issue.

• Check that the graphics cards are installed correctly.
• Check that the connection cable is connected correctly.
• Close any running 3D applications.
• Reinstall the Control Center software and drivers.

Found a typo? Select the text and press Ctrl + Enter

Very often I hear questions from inexperienced PC users: “What are Sli and Crossfire?” "What is the performance gain from two video cards?" and "Is it worth buying another video card to work in Sli or Crossfire mode?"

Today we’ll look at all these questions piece by piece, and I’ll talk about the pros and cons of buying an additional video card for Sli or Crossfire mode.

Let's start with the most basic concepts, for those who previously had no idea what this technology was. In fact, a computer can work with two or more video cards. It all depends on the number of PCi-Express slots for video cards on your motherboard. If you connect two video cards from Nvidia, then such a combination will be called Nvidia SLI. If you connect two video cards from AMD, then such a combination will be called AMD CrossfireX. And now I will tell you in detail about the features of each bundle. Its pros and cons and whether it is worth the money spent that manufacturers ask for their video cards.

Two video cards in one computer sounds nice and cool. In theory, they should give us twice as many frames per second in games. Increase performance twice as much as a single graphics card. In practice, everything is a little sadder than our assumptions. Let's look at everything in order.

Let's start with the Nvidia SLI bundle. Video cards from “green” companies are more expensive than competitors such as AMD, and SLI technology in the price category does not avoid price dependence. For Nvidia, a combination of two video cards will be more expensive, since the combination requires a motherboard with SLI support “specific” for such purposes. It's all about "licensing". Nvidia does not allow SLI connections to be installed on all motherboards. For such purposes, there is a separate group of motherboards with the “SLI Ready” icon on the box and directly on the motherboard itself.

Let's move on to the Crossfire combo. It's much easier here than SLI. You can connect two video cards on any motherboard that has two or more PCI-Express slots. That is, so that there are connectors where they can be inserted. It follows from this that you will not need a bridge to connect video cards, but if you connect video cards without a bridge, you will lose about 10-15% in performance. You also don't need the same video cards. But this does not mean that you can connect absolutely any video cards. You need to connect video cards from the same series, not necessarily the same model.

It's also worth noting that memory sizes do not add up. That is, if you connect two video cards with four gigabytes of video memory, then four gigabytes of memory will be available to you. Also, if you connect a video card with 6 or 8 gigabytes of memory to a video card that has only 2 gigabytes, you will have access to two gigabytes of memory, the rest of the memory will simply be idle and “not work”.

We should also not forget that not all games have support for SLI or Crossfire, and often, instead of the twofold increase in performance “promised in theory,” we get, at best, an increase of 60-70%, and sometimes there will be no increase at all, since the game it was simply not provided for combinations of two or more video cards. It very rarely happens that the performance increase reaches 90-100%, but this happens very rarely.

Also, do not forget that two video cards, although they do not bring twice the performance increase, their power consumption is doubled. Therefore, when deciding to buy an additional video card, you should think about upgrading the power supply. To support two video cards, a power supply of 750 watts or higher is required. Also, a combination of video cards requires a fairly powerful processor. Intel Core i5 or i7 will be enough.

Now let's move on to the feasibility of connecting two or more video cards. Based on the above, there is no point in connecting budget or mid-class video cards, since for the money of these two video cards it is better to buy one more powerful one, with which no problems should arise. A more suitable option for pairing two or more video cards would be video cards from Nvidia: gtx970, gtx 980, gtx 980ti, Nvidia cards of the Titan series (Titan Black, Titan X, Titan Z), and cards from AMD: R9 290, R9 290X, R9 390 , 390X. Such bundles will be useful for players who want to play in 4K resolution with high FPS, or for players who play in FullHD or 2K resolution, but want their system to produce 80 FPS and above.

With this I consider my manual complete. If you have any questions, please contact us in the comments - we will try to help you.

Avid gamers have probably come across or at least heard about technologies called SLI and Crossfire, which are usually referred to as the graphics system of a computer or laptop. In most cases, such terms apply more to stationary systems (this will be discussed a little later). However, sometimes for normal computer operation you will need to know how to disable Crossfire or SLI when such modes are not used. This is what we will talk about now.

SLI and Crossfire: general concepts

It’s probably worth starting with the fact that, from the point of view of modern computer technologies, SLI and Crossfire are specialized modes that support the installation of two or more video cards on a computer.

In stationary systems, two independent video adapters are simply inserted into special slots located on the motherboard. Sometimes you can come across a situation where the motherboard already has an integrated graphics chipset, so to speak, “sewn” into the board, and another one is installed in parallel with it.

Now we will dwell on both modes in a little more detail, and at the same time we will look at how to disable Crossfire (SLI) using several simple methods if necessary, especially since both modes are practically the same in terms of operating technology.

What is SLI?

SLI technology, which involves installing multiple graphics adapters in a system, was developed by nVidia and involves the use of cards only from this manufacturer.

In principle, this mode can be called a kind of conditional electronic adapter that connects two video adapters, allowing them to combine their capabilities into one.

What is Crossfire?

Crossfire is a complete analogy of SLI technology, but the authorship of this development belongs to the no less famous AMD corporation.

An interesting fact is that, as practice shows, combining two or more AMD video cards in Crossfire is much cheaper than using an SLI bridge when installing nVidia cards. In addition, nVidia technology does not allow installing such bundles on all motherboards in a row. But if we consider the question of how to disable SLI-Crossfire Dual Graphics, the solution in both cases will be the same. But first, let's look at some features of their use.

Features of connecting video cards in SLI and Crossfire modes

Firstly, every user of a computer system must clearly understand that connecting two or more graphics adapters to the motherboard is possible only in cases where the motherboard itself supports this feature.

For example, to use the SLI mode, the board must be marked accordingly, otherwise, no matter how much you try to install two cards on it, they will not work together. The same applies to the simultaneous use of a discrete and integrated adapter. Here you will have to be content with only one of them.

Secondly, you should pay attention to the fact that to work in conjunction with SLI technology, you can install only video cards based on the same chips (for example, nVidia GTX 970 and 980 series, Titan series chipsets or two identical GT cards, etc. .). Please note: a combination of 9600 GT and 9800 GT will not work.

It's a different matter when Radeon cards are used. Here you can use “multi-chip” configurations, for example, Radeon 2600 and 1950. Very often, R9 series cards are used to increase graphics system performance. Indeed, such pairs allow you to use maximum capabilities for games with Full HD or 2k resolution. Some users use such combinations to increase the overall frequency of the storyboard, say, to achieve more than 80 fps (frames per second).

Thirdly, do not forget that for SLI cards a special adapter must be used, which must be supplied either with the card or with the motherboard. Without it, the two cards will again not work together.

Myths about using Dual Graphics mode to increase graphics performance

Some naive users install two cards to increase performance, believing that it will double (two cards on board). This is a misconception. The increase in productivity, as practice shows, rarely exceeds 20-30%.

In addition, this indicator is calculated based on a weaker card. For example, if we have one card with 8 GB of memory, and the other with 2 GB, whatever one may say, the user will receive only 2 GB at the output. The same applies to installing two cards, say, with 4 GB of memory each. The output will remain the same 4 GB.

One more point: if one card is MSI and the other is EVGA, the total performance will be calculated based on the one with the lowest frequencies. So, as we see, there’s no point in flattering yourself.

How to disable SLI/Crossfire using the simplest method?

Now let's move on directly to the process of disabling these modes. Probably every user understands that the question “how to disable Crossfire or SLI mode” comes down to not using a second graphics adapter in the system. And, as is already clear, the simplest solution is to simply remove one of the cards from the slot on the motherboard, which applies to desktop computers.

But modern ultrabooks can also install additional equipment, in particular the same video adapters that, in principle, can use Crossfire mode. How to disable one of the cards on a laptop? It couldn't be simpler. The methods described below are suitable for both desktop computer terminals and laptops.

How to disable SLI (Crossfire) mode for a discrete adapter via BIOS?

To disable both modes, you can use the BIOS settings. Login is done by pressing the Del, F2, F12, etc. keys (it all depends on the BIOS version and developer).

Here we are interested in the tab containing the configuration called Onboard, Integrated Devices, etc. We enter the parameters and set the mode to Disabled (sometimes Off). That's all.

You can go to the Advanced section, where the settings of the mode itself will be indicated if you are using discrete rather than integrated adapters.

Using Device Manager

Now let's see how to disable Crossfire AMD or SLI nVidia using standard Windows tools. To do this, you need to go to the standard “Device Manager”. This is done either through the “Control Panel”, or through “Administration”, or using the devmgmt.msc command.

Here you need to go to the video adapters section, where the installed devices will be indicated. In this case, as in all other situations, the question of how to disable SLI-Crossfire comes down to making one of the cards inaccessible. Select the card to disable and right-click to open the properties menu, where there is a button to disable the device. You can use a similar command directly from the context menu. After this, you won’t even have to reboot the system.

Disabling modes using “native” utilities

Despite the simplicity of the described methods, it is best (and safer) to use “native” utilities for setting up and managing graphics adapters, which are installed automatically when installing the appropriate drivers, or installed additionally.

For nVidia cards, you can use GeForce SLI Profile Tool, PhysX, Riva Tuner, etc. For AMD chipsets, utilities like ATI Tray Tool or ATI Catalyst Control Center and others will be useful. Their use is simpler, so much so that you don’t even have to go through the system configuration or BIOS to change this or that parameter. If you look into it, this solution to the problem we are considering (how to disable Crossfire/SLI) will be more effective, and it will even eliminate the occurrence of conflicts between installed equipment (unfortunately, this also happens).

Instead of an afterword: should I disable dual graphics mode?

It remains to add a few words about the advisability of using such modes. Actually, the answer to the question: “How to disable Crossfire (SLI)?”, I think, is already clear. As for installing two or more video cards in one system and using them simultaneously, there are quite a lot of conflicting opinions. The fact is that you may not get much of a performance boost, and hardware conflicts are not excluded.

Of course, if the system does not use its graphics capabilities to the maximum, you need to disable these modes, because the simultaneous operation of two cards can lead to severe overheating of the computer, double power consumption by the graphics system (after all, two cards are installed), as well as the inoperability of some games, the program code of which is simply does not support such modes or is not fully adapted to their use.

In addition, it is not recommended to include bundles in the form of budget cards or mid-range adapters. It’s better to buy one more powerful one instead of two of these. Productivity will be much higher and there will be fewer problems. And in terms of money, this option is often preferable.

However, if you look at it, it is sometimes possible to use such modes, but in situations where two cards are not used, it is recommended to disable one of them, and for this you need to use special software designed to manage all the parameters of graphics adapters. And such a shutdown is carried out, as they say, in one click.

The technology was announced at the Computex international exhibition in Taiwan.

It is worth noting that combinations of some video cards can be much more efficient, productive and financially profitable than one more powerful and, accordingly, much more expensive card. But, as in the case of NVIDIA SLI, there will be a performance increase from using two video cards in the system only in applications that can use 2 or more GPUs. In older games that cannot work with Multi-GPU systems, the overall performance of the graphics component will remain the same, in some cases it may even decrease; so for fans of old but demanding games, the best decision would be to buy one very powerful video card rather than buy a second one of the same type and then combine it into a CrossFireX system. It is also worth noting a significant drawback of CrossFire: this technology does not work when running the application in windowed mode.

Construction principles

To build a CrossFireX system on a computer, you must have:

1. a motherboard with two or more PCI Express x16 slots (for versions R9-285, R9-290 or R9-290X also with an AMD or Intel chipset of a certain model that supports CrossFireX);
2. powerful power supply, usually with a power of 700W;
3. video cards with CrossFireX support;
4. A special flexible CrossFireX bridge for connecting video cards.

Video cards must be of the same series (with some exceptions), but not necessarily the same model. At the same time, the speed and frequency of the CrossFire system are determined by the characteristics of the chip of the least productive video card.

A CrossFireX system can be organized in the following ways:

Imaging algorithms

SuperTiling

Scissor

The image is divided into several parts, the number of which corresponds to the number of video cards in the bundle. Each part of the image is processed completely by one video card, including geometric and pixel components.

SuperAA

This algorithm is aimed at improving image quality. The same image is generated on all video cards with different anti-aliasing patterns. The video card smoothes the frame with a certain step relative to the image of another video card. The resulting images are then mixed and output. This ensures maximum image clarity and detail. The following anti-aliasing modes are available: 8x, 10x, 12x and 14x.

The driver takes one frame from the APU for every two frames from the discrete card).

Despite all the seductiveness of such an asymmetric CrossFire implementation, there are serious drawbacks:
Firstly, this only works in applications using DirectX 10 or. And if DirectX 9 or an earlier game engine is used, then performance degrades to the slower of the two installed graphics cards (however, according to AMD's latest statements, when using DirectX versions below 10, programs must access the faster of the two installed graphics cards).
Secondly, for Dual Graphics to work, the graphics performance ratio must be at least two to one; if the video card is three times faster than the Llano GPU, then Dual Graphics will not work.

In OpenGL, Dual Graphics is not supported and it always runs on the GPU that controls the main output of the display.

As is already clear from the title of the article, I bought a second video card and decided to take the opportunity to write a detailed article on this topic. Let's start from the beginning - what is Crossfire?

AMD CrossFireX ( originally called AMD CrossFire)- These are AMD technologies that allow you to combine several video cards into one system to increase computer performance in building 3D models and graphics. Of course, this technology is mainly intended for gamers, and not the poorest ones, since video cards and motherboards that support this function are at least in the middle price category. Although the price is not the only nuance that you need to know before purchasing, and now we will look at them.

What do you need to buy for a system unit to support CrossfireX?

So, first, I’ll list what we need to buy in order to build a full-fledged CrossFireX:

1) Motherboard;
2) Power supply;
3) Two or more video cards.

1) Motherboard (can be bought at OGO.ru). In principle, there is nothing complicated here, but before purchasing you need to carefully read the specifications on the manufacturer’s website, since important information is often hidden in stores. So, the first thing is technology support. CrossFireX, but there is one nuance here - the motherboard must have two full-fledged PCI-E x16 ports working in pairs in x16+x16 mode, but at least x8+x8 is possible (the difference will be a few percent, but still possible), although Ideally, it is better to use the first option. Stores very often do not disclose information that two of the three PCI-E x16 ports operate in x4 mode and, although possible for use, due to the weak use of the second video card, they become unsuitable for building CrossFireX. In this case, buying a second video card simply won’t pay for itself. At best, this will be written about in the “Additional Information” section, but as practice shows, this is not there. Therefore, do not be lazy to go to the manufacturer’s official website and look at the specifications for the motherboard that you are planning to buy, since here the manufacturer is obliged to indicate the real data. For example, here is the information on the Gigabyte website about my motherboard:

To make the search somewhat easier, there is already a list of chipsets that support the technology CrossFireX but this is only an approximate list; for final support, check the specifications on the manufacturer’s website.

for motherboards AMD AM3+:
AMD 990FX(x16+x16, PCI-E 2.0)
AMD 990X(x8+x8, PCI-E 2.0)
for motherboards AMD AM3:
AMD 890FX(x16+x16, PCI-E 2.0)
AMD 890GX(x8+x8, PCI-E 2.0)
AMD 790X(x8+x8, PCI-E 2.0)
AMD 790GX (x8+x8, PCI-E 2.0)
AMD 790FX(x16+x16, PCI-E 2.0)
for motherboards Intel LGA2011:
Intel X79 (x16+x16, PCI-E 3.0)
for motherboards under Intel LGA1366:
Intel X58 (x16+x16, PCI-E 2.0)
for motherboards Intel LGA1156:
Intel P55 (x8+x8, PCI-E 2.0)
*The choice of processor is also important here, CrossFireX is possible ONLY on Lynnfield processors (i5-7xx,i7-8xx). On Clarkdale processors (i3-5xx, i5-6xx, Pentium) - IMPOSSIBLE.
for motherboards under Intel LGA1155:
Intel P67 (x8+x8, PCI-E 2.0)
Intel Z68 (x8+x8, PCI-E 2.0)
*please note that mat. boards based on Intel P55/P67/Z68 chipsets:
1) with an additional nForce 200 chip, they support the x16+x16 scheme
2) can only support the x16+x4 scheme
for motherboards AMD AM2:
AMD 580X (x16+x16, PCI-E 1.1)
AMD 790X (x8+x8, PCI-E 2.0)
AMD 790GX (x8+x8, PCI-E 2.0)
AMD 790FX(x16+x16, PCI-E 2.0)
for motherboards Intel LGA775:
Intel 975X (x8+x8, PCI-E 1.1)
Intel X38 (x16+x16, PCI-E 2.0)
Intel P45 (x8+x8, PCI-E 2.0)
Intel X48 (x16+x16, PCI-E 2.0)

2) Power supply (buy at OGO.ru). I have already written, so I won’t tell you in detail how this is done now. Just when choosing, now you need to take into account that there will be two video cards, so there must be wires to connect additional power to the video card, as well as the appropriate power to power the second video card (and this is from +100 to 350 W depending on the video card).

3) Video card (buy at OGO.ru). Everything is simple with her. First and most important, technology support is needed CrossFireX(always yours, Cap), and it manifests itself in a simple way: the video card must have a corresponding connector for connecting CrossFire bridge. Ideally, it is better to use two identical video cards. You can also combine different ones, but although the video cards will work completely synchronously, the more powerful video card will not be able to show its full capabilities, since it will have to adapt to the weaker card. There is no point in talking about the company; personally, when buying AMD cards, I try to buy Sapphire, since they are official partners (like Asus for Nvidia). According to the agreement with AMD, video card manufacturers are required to provide a bridge for connecting video cards to CrossFireX in the box with the video card. It looks like this:

How to connect and configure CrossFireX

I think that's enough theory - let's move on to practice, or rather to connection and configuration.

1) Install video cards into slots with x16 (or x8) bandwidth. To do this, you should refer to the instructions of the motherboard. On my card from Gigabyte, the manufacturer prudently marked these connectors with the corresponding inscriptions PCIEX16_1 and PCIEX16_2 (connectors that operate in x4 mode are marked PCIEX4_1 and PCIEX4_2).

2) Insert it so that the latch on the connector works. To reduce the load on the motherboard, it is better to screw the screws on the left side of the retaining panel on the rear wall of the case.

4) Start the system and log into Windows. I currently have the latest beta drivers installed (AMD Catalyst™ 14.1 Beta Driver), and after starting, the control panel itself detected the CrossFireX connection and offered to enable it, for which I should click the “Go” button:

If this does not happen for you, manually open the AMD Catalyst Control Center, open the “Performance” section (in the expanded menu view) and select AMD CrossFireX.

Mark here with a dot “ Enable AMD CrossFireX" and check the box "Enable AMD CrossFireX for applications that do not have an associated application profile." Click “Apply” below.

That's all. You can buy all the necessary components in the OGO.ru store. I hope you found this article useful, click one of the buttons below to tell your friends about it. Also subscribe to site updates by entering your e-mail in the field on the right.

AMD CrossFire technology accelerates graphics quality and performance by combining the processing power of multiple GPUs.

With AMD CrossFire technology, two or more discrete graphics cards can be configured to work together. You can also configure discrete GPUs to work alongside integrated GPUs using AMD Radeon™ Dual Graphics Technology. AMD Radeon Dual Graphics technology is based on AMD CrossFire technology and is only available on AMD APU-based systems.

Before you enable and configure AMD CrossFire technology, you must run the AMD CrossFire setup, which may require connecting a pair of video cards using an AMD CrossFire bridging cable. For more information about installing AMD CrossFire graphics cards, see your graphics card's user manual.

With AMD CrossFire support enabled, one GPU functions as the primary processor. Subsequently, graphics rendering tasks are distributed between this GPU and other processors to speed up image rendering on a separate display connected to the main GPU. Additional displays can be connected to the main GPU if it is running in extended desktop mode.

Note: If AMD CrossFire support is enabled or disabled, the Control Center application automatically restarts. AMD CrossFire is designed for applications running in full-screen mode. Displays not connected to host GPUs in an AMD CrossFire configuration are automatically disabled. For some configurations, you can optionally unlock support for displays connected to auxiliary GPUs.

Availability of AMD CrossFire pages and options may vary depending on specific graphics cards. The layout of the AMD CrossFire pages also depends on the currently used view:

• Standard view - AMD CrossFire page is in groups Performance And Games > Performance. If you are using an AMD FirePro™ graphics card, the page is in groups Performance And AMD FirePro > Performance.
• Advanced view - AMD CrossFire page is in groups Performance and Games. If you are using an AMD FirePro graphics card, the page is in groups Performance and AMD FirePro.

GPUs in AMD CrossFireX and AMD Radeon™ Dual Graphics configurations work together using one of four graphics rendering modes: Mosaic, Scissor Mode, Frame Alternate Rendering, and Super Anti-Aliasing.

The first three modes are focused on performance, while the super smoothing mode is focused on quality. Each mode uses a different way to distribute the workload across multiple GPUs when rendering 3D images. The AMD Catalyst™ display driver automatically selects the most optimal of three operating modes when launching a 3D application.

Tip: You can also improve image quality by selecting the super anti-aliasing mode (levels above 6×).

Mosaic In this mode, each processed frame is divided into a number of tiles arranged in a checkerboard pattern so that each of the two GPUs processes half of the tiles. Each tile is a 32x32 pixel square, so this method provides good workload distribution between GPUs, regardless of the rendered image displayed on the display, and without wasting software resources.

The advantage of mosaic mode is its ability to work with almost any 3D application. However, there are a small number of applications where tiled workload distribution does not provide optimal performance. In these special cases, the scissor mode can be used. Scissor Mode In this mode, each frame is divided into two sections, each of which is processed by one GPU. The ideal configuration is determined automatically for each application.

Although scissor mode is generally a less efficient way to distribute workload than mosaic mode, it can be more effective in some cases. This mode is supported by AMD CrossFireX technology for maximum compatibility and performance. Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR) In this mode, all even frames are rendered on one GPU, while all odd frames are rendered on another GPU. The rendered frames are sent from both GPUs to the compositing engine on the AMD CrossFireX Edition card, which then delivers them to the display. By allowing both GPUs to run independently, AFR mode maximizes the performance of all available modes. This mode is also the only mode that allows you to simultaneously use all the processing power of both GPUs for vertex processing.

The main limitation of this mode is that it cannot be used in applications in which the appearance of the current frame depends on the data generated in previous frames, since the AFR mode involves the formation of successive frames on different GPUs. In such cases, use mosaic mode or scissor mode instead. Super Anti-Aliasing Anti-aliasing is a rendering technique designed to remove jagged edges, flicker, and pixelation that often occur in rendered 3D images. Instead of simply determining the color displayed for each pixel on the screen by sampling from one location at the center of the pixel, antialiasing takes samples at different locations on each pixel and mixes the resulting results to create the final color.

Most AMD GPUs use a technique known as multi-sample anti-aliasing (MSAA). This method samples 2, 4, or 6 programmable locations in each pixel and applies gamma-corrected blending of the samples to produce high-quality smooth polygon edges. The new AMD CrossFireX Super Anti-Aliasing mode leverages the GPU's programmable sampling capabilities to provide higher quality anti-aliasing on AMD CrossFireX systems.

In this case, each GPU renders the same frame with anti-aliasing enabled, but each GPU samples from a different location. Once both frame renderings are complete, the results are mixed in the AMD CrossFireX compositing engine. The resulting image is created from twice as many samples, so 4x and 6x antialiasing become 8x and 12x antialiasing, respectively.

Some textures, especially those with transparent areas, may exhibit aliasing that MSAA cannot correct. In these cases, another type of anti-aliasing called low-resolution anti-aliasing (SSAA) can be useful because it affects every pixel in the image. Although the process is typically slower than MSAA, the processing power of multiple GPUs can make SSAA practical.

When using SSAA, it first renders the scene at a higher resolution than the output resolution of the display, and then forces the resolution downsampling to match the display's resolution. This approach usually has two main drawbacks: it requires processing many more pixels than usual, which can have a big impact on performance, and it also results in the use of ordered lattice sampling, which is not well suited for smoothing some kinds of jagged edges. AMD CrossFireX super anti-aliasing eliminates both of these shortcomings. This uses a second GPU to render the extra pixels needed for each frame, so there is little or no performance impact. It can also use a more efficient sampling model to provide better anti-aliasing of near-horizontal and near-vertical edges, resulting in higher overall image quality.

Two super anti-aliasing modes use a combination of MSAA and SSAA techniques to ensure maximum image quality. These modes not only use different multisampling locations for each GPU, but also slightly shift the pixel centers. Essentially, each GPU renders the image from different viewpoints spaced about half a pixel apart. The 10x and 14x super anti-aliasing modes work this way, combining 2x SSAA with 4x and 6x MSAA, respectively.

Both of these modes work in conjunction with anisotropic filtering (AF).

Users can enable super anti-aliasing modes using the Control Center app.

Note: Enabling super anti-aliasing modes (×8, ×10, ×12, ×14) disables multi-GPU (graphics processing unit) rendering, which is designed to improve performance to provide higher image quality.

Configuring AMD CrossFireX™ ​​Hardware Settings

Use the AMD CrossFireX page to enable and configure AMD CrossFireX configurations that use AMD CrossFireX bridging cables. When AMD CrossFireX support is enabled, 3D games and applications automatically use AMD CrossFireX technology if the driver determines that using it is the optimal solution.

You can also configure super anti-aliasing mode for AMD CrossFireX using the 3D pages in the Control Center app.

Enabling AMD CrossFireX™

1. • Standard view - Performance And Games > Gaming performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and Games.
   • Standard view - Performance And AMD FirePro > Graphics Performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and AMD FirePro.
2. Check the box Enable AMD CrossFireX .
3. If necessary, click and drag the slider to unlock support for displays connected to auxiliary GPUs. Not all AMD CrossFireX configurations support unlocking displays connected to auxiliary GPUs.
4. Click the Apply button.

Enabling AMD CrossFireX™

Enable AMD CrossFireX support to accelerate the quality and performance of 3D applications and games displayed on displays connected to the main GPU. When AMD CrossFire™ support is enabled, the best possible combination of GPUs to use is selected based on the current hardware configuration.

Note: If AMD CrossFireX support is enabled, Control Center automatically restarts. AMD CrossFireX is designed for applications running in full screen mode.

AMD Radeon™ dual-GPU graphics cards are powered by AMD CrossFireX technology. As a result, AMD CrossFireX support is always enabled for these boards.

1. Go to the AMD CrossFireX page located in the groups below.
   • Standard view - Performance And Games > Gaming performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and Games.

   If you are using an AMD FirePro™ graphics card, you can navigate to the page using the groups below.

   • Standard view - Performance And AMD FirePro > Graphics Performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and AMD FirePro.
2. If necessary, use the desktop selection menu at the top of the page to select the desktop associated with the GPU to use as your primary desktop.
3. Check the box Enable AMD CrossFireX.As of Windows® 8.1, AMD CrossFireX support is enabled by default only for applications and games with a standard AMD profile or a custom application profile. To enable AMD CrossFireX for all games and applications - even those that do not have an application profile - select Enable AMD CrossFireX for applications without a profile.
4. If necessary, click and drag the slider to unlock support for displays connected to auxiliary GPUs. Not all AMD CrossFireX configurations support unlocking displays connected to auxiliary GPUs. Note: For optimal performance when running 3D applications, connect all displays to the main GPU and (if necessary) unlock displays connected to the secondary GPU.
5. Click the Apply button.

AMD CrossFireX is enabled and AMD CrossFireX automatically uses the best combination of GPUs for your system. Only displays connected to the primary GPU are available for use (additional displays must be running in extended desktop mode). Displays that are not included in the AMD CrossFireX configuration are also available for use. Displays connected to auxiliary GPUs remain usable only if support is unlocked.

If other GPU combinations are available, you may choose to use a different combination.

Note: If there are problems with your current AMD CrossFireX configuration, diagnostic information will be displayed at the bottom of the page.

Selecting GPU Combinations for AMD CrossFireX™

If your system has more than two graphics processing units (GPUs) that support AMD CrossFireX, you can select a specific combination of GPUs to use.

Note: When you change the GPU combination that is used for AMD CrossFireX, the Control Center application automatically restarts.

1. Go to the AMD CrossFireX page located in the groups below.
   • Standard view - Performance And Games > Gaming performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and Games.

   If you are using an AMD FirePro™ graphics card, you can navigate to the page using the groups below.

   • Standard view - Performance And AMD FirePro > Graphics Performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and AMD FirePro.
2. From the GPU combinations drop-down list, select the combination to use. Each list option lists the number of GPUs that support AMD CrossFireX and the adapter index of the primary GPU, followed by one or more secondary GPUs.
   Note: If there are problems with the selected combination, diagnostic information will be displayed at the bottom of the page.
3. Click the Apply button.

The selected GPU combination is used for AMD CrossFireX.

Show or hide the AMD CrossFireX™ ​​logo

When AMD CrossFireX support is enabled, you can choose to display the AMD CrossFireX logo for 3D applications and games running in full screen mode. This logo appears in the upper right corner of the screen and indicates that AMD CrossFireX support is enabled. When AMD CrossFireX support is disabled, the logo is not displayed.

Additionally, for AMD FirePro™ boards, the logo is also displayed for applications running in windowed mode.

1. Right-click the Control Center logo on the Windows® taskbar (notification area).
2. From the menu that appears, select the graphics card associated with the primary GPU for the AMD CrossFireX configuration, specify AMD CrossFireX Options and select Show CrossFireX status icon (if applicable) to display the AMD CrossFireX logo when AMD CrossFireX support is enabled. To always hide the logo even when AMD CrossFireX support is enabled, clear the check box.

Unlocking displays on secondary GPUs for AMD CrossFireX™

If your system supports displays directly connected to the secondary GPU in AMD CrossFireX, you can unlock support for the number of displays you plan to use.

Note: When you change the number of displays supported by the secondary GPU in the AMD CrossFireX group, the Control Center application automatically restarts.

1. Go to the AMD CrossFireX page, located in the groups below:
   • Standard view - Performance And Games > Gaming performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and Games.

   If you are using an AMD FirePro™ graphics card, you can access the page using the groups below:

   • Standard view - Performance And AMD FirePro > Graphics Performance.
   • Expanded view - Performance and AMD FirePro.
2. Make sure AMD CrossFireX is enabled.
3. Click and drag the slider to unlock support for displays connected to auxiliary GPUs.
   Note: For optimal performance when running 3D applications, connect all displays to the primary GPU and (if necessary) unlock displays connected to the secondary GPU.
4. Click the Apply button.

AMD CrossFire™ Troubleshooting Tips

Below are solutions for common AMD CrossFire issues. For more information, visit the AMD CrossFire web page at www.amd.com.

Change Motherboard BIOS Settings Some motherboards may have a system BIOS setting that allows you to switch between single and dual PCIe® slot support. By default, one slot can be supported. Refer to your motherboard manual for information on how to enable dual PCIe slot support. Using graphics cards with different amounts of memory Some AMD CrossFire configurations may use graphics cards with different amounts of memory; However, after enabling AMD CrossFire, the computer must be rebooted. This will force AMD CrossFire to reduce the memory on the graphics card with more memory to match the memory on the graphics card with less memory.

When you click the Disable AMD CrossFire button, you will be prompted to restart your computer to restore the original amount of graphics memory, or continue with the reduced amount of memory. Swap Cards Recommended If the primary graphics card is not inserted into the primary PCIe slot, a message may appear advising you to swap graphics cards. Although AMD CrossFire may be enabled in this case, rearranging the graphics cards in your computer may improve system performance.

To find out which PCIe slot is the primary slot, see your motherboard documentation. 3D client is active AMD CrossFire cannot be enabled while a 3D application or game is running, or a video such as a DVD movie is playing.

Close all open 3D applications, games, and movie applications, and then enable AMD CrossFire. AMD CrossFire is currently unavailable This error occurred because the AMD CrossFire system did not correctly detect the graphics hardware or there was a software issue.

• Check that the graphics cards are installed correctly.
• Check that the connection cable is connected correctly.
• Close any running 3D applications.
• Reinstall the Control Center software and drivers.

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