ATI Crossfire pictured

[Sheik]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/byronza/Other/ATdongle.jpg

:banana: Yummy

WE TOLD you many times before about ATI's way of doing SLI commercially known as Crossfire and now we have a picture of His Majesty the famous dongle and the board itself.

Even though Nvidia US thinks of me as ATI biased, the Canadian firm never showed me this system up and running while every other NDA journalist has seen it at least once, while most grovelly and bum sucking have seen it three times now.

Crossfire will be based on two chipsets - one Pentium 775 read powered with RD400 Northbridge and ATI's SB450 Southbridge. In Crossfire ATI cards works as dual 8X PCIe cards. This board is codenamed Stingray.

The second board is based on Athlon 64 / FX socket for AMD CPUs and using RD480 Northbridge and SB450 Southbridge with dual 8X PCIe cards.

Monsieur Le Dongle will connect to two DVI outs and should provide you with lossless quality, although your wallet will be lighter by a lossful quantity after you've lashed out the money for the stuff. Below, you can see the board, cards and dongle itself.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=23569

[Magnj]

sweeeeeeeet. I called it. DVI connection

[Turok]

Looks like a nVidia killer :D

[Kunaak]

so you need a new motherboard... and 2 videocards... just to use it.
great... hopefully the boards don't suck.

[shadowing]

so you need a new motherboard... and 2 videocards... just to use it.
great... hopefully the boards don't suck.

Yeah... that kinda sux. It seems either one of those will be killer. Not sure if it'll be a nVidia killer. You never know. Both of them can tie again.

[Sheik]

OK now this is interesting.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y10/byronza/Other/CrossfireX850.jpg

"We learned that ATI will make all these cards itself and not even Sapphire will be able to make Crossfire edition master cards. ATI wants full control over this manufacturing process."

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=23570

So like what the hell do you do if there is no ATI distributor in your Country ? THis is going to be fun and games. :rolleyes:

Also I wonder it the Crossfire will run like a standalone card as well as being the master ?

[dimasdw]

lucky who have ATI card now....
I will waiting DFI to make Crossfire :banana:

[Rauf]

looks nice...
but personally I don't really like dual graphic-cards. it makes benching too expensive

[Highland3r]

From what i've read the master cards are gonna be huge (very long), can anyone confirm or deny this?

[P_1]

From what i've read the master cards are gonna be huge (very long), can anyone confirm or deny this?
there was a pic above about it, looks exactly the same almost as a regular x850xt.

lucky who have ATI card now....
I will waiting DFI to make Crossfire :banana:

I dont think you will need a crossfire motherboard in order to use this implementation because its still 8x/8x. It should all be handled by ati drivers.

[Master_G]

So what is actually different? I couldnt see anything on that pic, is there some chip or something?

G

[GoriLLakoS]

here the pictures.....:)

Don't ask where i found them....


http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y259/GoriLLakoS/CFM_WithBoards_Dongle.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y259/GoriLLakoS/CrossfireBoard_B2.jpg

[Sheik]

Nice, but my bank manager doesn't love me that much.

[dimasdw]

I dont think you will need a crossfire motherboard in order to use this implementation because its still 8x/8x. It should all be handled by ati drivers.

oh..that good news for me...
:banana:

[P_1]

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y259/GoriLLakoS/CrossfireBoard_B2.jpg

looks like an improved design of the dfi board. Has the sli jumpers and the extra molex connector, with power and reset switches on the board and optimized mosfet layout with one heatsink covering all of them. However whats that huge empty space in the back i/o connectors (where all the audio, p/s2, and usb ports are)

[craig588]

It's only missing those useless serial and parallel connectors. It's time to get new hardware if you are still using things that old.

[angrysquirrel]

Because this comes from the Inq., I wouldn't be so quick to believe what you see. Remember the first shots of the s939 AMR board with a p4 logo they posted about a week ago? In fact, the same editor posted both this and the last AMR board article. As with the last one, this article lacks a source.

[mcbarnet007]

I thought for the ATI motherboard you can use ANY two video cards?

[turtle]

Come on...You know we're all just just waiting for this. :D (found in anandtech's new article alongside some G70 pics btw):

http://img257.echo.cx/img257/3586/rd4801yx.jpg
The NB seems to have been moved a little to help the gfx card clearance issues...sweet. :)

Here's the main article:
http://anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2431

edit: Apologies, I didn't see this was already posted.

[Badong]

I dont think you will need a crossfire motherboard in order to use this implementation because its still 8x/8x. It should all be handled by ati drivers.
CrossFire will require two 'true' PCIe x16 slots (PCI Express x16 + PCI Express x16), therefore, only the R400 & R480 based motherboards will support CrossFire.

[P_1]

CrossFire will require two 'true' PCIe x16 slots (PCI Express x16 + PCI Express x16), therefore, only the R400 & R480 based motherboards will support CrossFire.
if u check the inq link it says 8x/8x just like what nvidia is doing now http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=23569

Crossfire will be based on two chipsets - one Pentium 775 read powered with RD400 Northbridge and ATI's SB450 Southbridge. In Crossfire ATI cards works as dual 8X PCIe cards. This board is codenamed Stingray.

The second board is based on Athlon 64 / FX socket for AMD CPUs and using RD480 Northbridge and SB450 Southbridge with dual 8X PCIe cards.

[shadowing]

I thought for the ATI motherboard you can use ANY two video cards?

No you can't. Apparently, you need a 'master card' and a regular card. The mastercard is a Crossfire one i think.

[Badong]

if u check the inq link it says 8x/8x
Sure it does :) Yet it's gonna be PCI Express x16 + PCI Express x16 :D

[winston64]

wait but, wouldnt 8x lanes per card create a bottleneck? Doesn't current SLI have 16x per card? or have i gone :wth: ?

[P_1]

wait but, wouldnt 8x lanes per card create a bottleneck? Doesn't current SLI have 16x per card? or have i gone :wth: ?
current is 8x/8x check the dfi manual online. The card and jumpers in the board are to switch between 16x or 8x/8x. Btw the jumpers are also present on the ati board, meaning that it will be infact 8x/8x why would they need it if it was 16x ALL the time. Theres a reason why they cant do 16x/16x, there is a limitation on ht bus of the athlon 64s, ther are not enough ht lanes to do 16x/16x without some sort of special chipset like the uli one which ati is clearly not doing because of the fact that there is a jumper block on there.

[Badong]

Theres a reason why they cant do 16x/16x, there is a limitation on ht bus of the athlon 64s, ther are not enough ht lanes to do 16x/16x without some sort of special chipset like the uli one which ati is clearly not doing.
What ht bus of the athlon 64s has to do with a fact that nForce4 family has 20-lane PCI Express support?
because of the fact that there is a jumper block on there
Take a look at DFI's RD480-DR picture.

[P_1]

What ht bus of the athlon 64s has to do with a fact that nForce4 family has 20-lane PCI Express support?

the same reason why agp and pci express cannot readily co exist. It takes clever engineering to get around the ht lane limitation which is shown in the uli chipset review over at ocw.
and about the jumper block thing, dfi could have just implemented what asus did with it the 8x/8x setting and 16x setting atuo, if u look at the 1x slot between the 16x slots u can see there is a heavy amount of circuitry there just like the asus board.

[gr8golf]

Maybe it is because I have an investment in NVidia, but I see this as no big deal. NVidia has had SLI out for quite a while now and the game support is just cranking up. How long will it be before the game support catches up for the ATI solution? Unless there is a substantial discount for ATI over NVidia, it seems like the leader will stay out front. Competition is ALWAYS good for the consumer tho. :woot:

[perkam]

Maybe it is because I have an investment in NVidia, but I see this as no big deal. NVidia has had SLI out for quite a while now and the game support is just cranking up. How long will it be before the game support catches up for the ATI solution? Unless there is a substantial discount for ATI over NVidia, it seems like the leader will stay out front. Competition is ALWAYS good for the consumer tho. :woot:

I have no argument with that. And now it seems the G70 will be coming out first too...So we'll see what happens and yes you're right, the prices will tell who the real winner is.

Perkam

[cadaveca]

WELL, BETWEEN HERE, AND THE OTHER SITES, WE MANAGED TO PUSH OUT AN EARLY PRESS RELEASE. hERE YA GO:

TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2005--COMPUTEX

CrossFire combines the power of ATI's Radeon® Xpress chipsets and Radeon® GPUs to deliver the best performance, image quality and game compatibility in the industry

ATI Technologies Inc., (TSX:ATY)(NASDAQ:ATYT), a leader in graphics and media processors, is revolutionizing gaming with the introduction of CrossFire™, the ultimate gaming platform. The CrossFire platform has been designed to give gamers the best performance and more flexibility and game compatibility than any other multiple graphics processor platform. It combines the power of ATI's Radeon® Xpress chipsets for Intel and AMD processors, a standard Radeon® graphics processor and a Radeon® CrossFire Edition graphics card to bring massive performance and image quality to gamers.

When gamers add a CrossFire Edition graphics card, which includes the CrossFire compositing engine, to their Radeon Xpress powered system they are doubling their graphics rendering potential. With a variety of settings, they can use the rendering horsepower to get up to twice the performance of a single graphics card, or they can choose to put the horsepower to work increasing the image quality of their games, making them look better than ever before.

"ATI's CrossFire platform delivers the best gaming experience bar none," said Rick Bergman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, PC Business Unit, ATI Technologies. "It is by far the most broadly compatible and flexible multi-GPU platform and gives users the most options for enhancing performance and visual quality. We believe this platform sets the stage for outstanding gaming now and in the future, with systems powered by ATI's graphics processors and chipsets."

The strength of ATI's CrossFire platform is its broad game compatibility. ATI's unique multiple graphics processor implementation allows CrossFire to automatically work with every game, new or old, without requiring special game profiles or driver updates. Whether a customer is playing a game that was released last night or last year, CrossFire can automatically make the game run faster and look better.

For gamers purchasing or building a CrossFire system it couldn't be any easier. The optimal CrossFire platform includes a motherboard powered by ATI's Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire Edition chipsets. These motherboards have the two dedicated and balanced PCI Express® graphics ports needed to run multiple graphics cards and are optimized for high-performance gaming.

Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire ready motherboards from partners such as ASUS, DFI, ECS, GIGABYTE, MSI, PC Partner, Sapphire and TUL are designed with gamers in mind. They support both AMD and Intel platforms and have the overclocking and enthusiast-class features that gamers want such as high-definition audio, dual-core support as well as Gigabit Ethernet, SATA II with NCQ and RAID over PCI Express and they offer the broadest compatibility with high-performance system memory.

Customers will have plenty of options and flexibility in choosing graphics cards for their CrossFire systems. The Radeon X850 CrossFire Edition cards, with 256MB of graphics memory can be paired with any standard Radeon X850 based graphics card. The Radeon X800 CrossFire Edition graphics cards, which come with either 128 MB or 256 MB of graphics memory, can be paired with any Radeon X800 series graphics card. The standard Radeon X800 and Radeon X850 cards can be purchased new or can be ones the customer already has.

The standard and CrossFire Edition cards will be available from ATI and ATI graphics partners including ABIT, ASUS, Connect3D, Diamond, GeCube, GIGABYTE, HIS, MSI, Pailt, Sapphire, TUL or VisionTek.

System builders such as ABS, Alienware, Cyberpower, Falcon Northwest, Hypersonic, Ibuypower, Monarch PC, PC Club, Polywell, Velocity Micro, VoodooPC, and ZT Group will also carry CrossFire systems for gamers wanting pre-built systems.

With its amazing system and graphics performance, the resulting CrossFire system is a dream machine for gamers. Whether they game professionally or for fun, they are sure to be the envy of their friends. And with almost 1 million Radeon X800- and Radeon X850-based graphics cards already sold, many gamers are already CrossFire ready!

CrossFire ready motherboards and CrossFire Edition graphics cards will begin shipping in July. For more information on CrossFire please visit www.ati.com.

About ATI Technologies

ATI Technologies Inc. is the world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative 3D graphics and digital media silicon solutions. An industry pioneer since 1985, ATI is the world's foremost graphics processing unit (GPU) provider and is dedicated to delivering leading-edge performance solutions for the full range of PC and Mac desktop and notebook platforms, workstation, set-top and digital television, game console and handheld device markets. With 2004 revenues of approximately US $2 billion, ATI has more than 2,700 employees in the Americas, Europe and Asia. ATI common shares trade on NASDAQ (ATYT) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ATY).

Copyright 2005 ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved. ATI and ATI product and product feature names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc. All other company and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.

For media or industry analyst support, visit our Web site at http://www.ati.com

ATI Technologies Inc. (TSX:ATY) (NASDAQ:ATYT)


CONTACT: ATI Technologies Inc.
Patti Mikula, Senior Public Relations Manager
PC and Handheld
(905) 882-2600, Ext. 8809
pmikula@ati.com
OR
Other ATI Contacts:
Porter Novelli Canada
Derek Baker, Senior Consultant
(416) 422-7158
derek.baker@porternovelli.com
OR
For investor relations support, please contact:
ATI Technologies Inc.
Zev Korman, Investor Relations
(905) 882-2600, Ext. 3670
zev@ati.com

SOURCE: ATI Technologies Inc.



sorry for the caps...

[cadaveca]

Cossfire site up and active as well!

http://www.ati.com/products/crossfire/index.html

[odb]

oh geez not another motherboard upgrade :slobber:

[Sheik]

There was nothing wrong with The Inquires picture.

As you can see here.

Beyond3d (http://www.beyond3d.com/reviews/ati/mvp/index.php?p=i02)
PCPerspective (http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=146)
TechReport (http://techreport.com/etc/2005q2/ati-crossfire/index.x?pg=1)
TBReak (http://www.tbreak.com/reviews/article.php?id=378)
HotHardware (http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.cfm?articleid=689&cid=2)
Neoseeker (http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Previews/aticrossfiretech/)
Anandtech (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2432)
Hexus (http://www.hexus.net/content/reviews/review.php?dXJsX3Jldmlld19JRD0xMjE2)
HardOCP (http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=Nzc4)
Firingsquad (http://firingsquad.com/features/computex_2005_ati_crossfire_technology/)

Oh yes and the new Crosffire setup does 14X AA !!! :banana:

[cadaveca]

LoL...don't you know...the INQ doesn't publish anything even remotely near the truth... :rolleyes:


:clap:

[P_1]

What ht bus of the athlon 64s has to do with a fact that nForce4 family has 20-lane PCI Express support?

Take a look at DFI's RD480-DR picture.

Limiting the cards to only 2 x8 PCI Express connections may be a bottleneck if a game makes heavy use of the bus. Of course, we will run into similar issues with NVIDIA's solutions when paired with games that are PCI Express intensive. Unfortunately, as none yet exist, testing of this category of application is very difficult.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2432&p=2

And even more http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2432&p=4 read option 3
DFI is using an auto selector

[Badong]

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2432&p=2

And even more http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2432&p=4 read option 3
DFI is using an auto selector

Yeah, you were right on the money! :)

[FireDragon]

Take a look the master card looks like it has a few extra power conectors...

http://img189.echo.cx/img189/5042/untitledati0qq.th.jpg (http://img189.echo.cx/my.php?image=untitledati0qq.jpg)

You can also see the SAME things in the post above mine if you look...Or you can just click here...
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=31622

Dragon

[Sheik]

ASUS Crossfire compatible board :rolleyes:

http://www.tbreak.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28059