AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT and RX 5700 Video Card Review

Why was there the move to what seems like total software control?

We have no way of knowing for sure, but I can take a semi-educated guess.

The primary reason is probably because it was simply easier to do it that way at the time. I suspect that it comes down to the fact that NVIDIA's SLI was hastily implemented. It only came about due to the fact that PCI-Express allowed us to have more than one of the same level of graphics card in our systems. With AGP, it wasn't possible. Some genius at NVIDIA probably saw all those PCIe x16 slots and decided that NVIDIA needed to fill them with graphics cards to make more money. Early SLI was always a hack job at best. It was more elegant than early Crossfire, which was a knee jerk reaction to NVIDIA's SLI by ATi.
 
We have no way of knowing for sure, but I can take a semi-educated guess.

The primary reason is probably because it was simply easier to do it that way at the time. I suspect that it comes down to the fact that NVIDIA's SLI was hastily implemented. It only came about due to the fact that PCI-Express allowed us to have more than one of the same level of graphics card in our systems. With AGP, it wasn't possible. Some genius at NVIDIA probably saw all those PCIe x16 slots and decided that NVIDIA needed to fill them with graphics cards to make more money. Early SLI was always a hack job at best. It was more elegant than early Crossfire, which was a knee jerk reaction to NVIDIA's SLI by ATi.

Interesting.

Wasn't the first edition of crossfire more akin to 3dfx SLI? Stretching some memory at this point, but that external cable put the frame back together and one of the cards simply controlled timing?
 
Interesting.

Wasn't the first edition of crossfire more akin to 3dfx SLI? Stretching some memory at this point, but that external cable put the frame back together and one of the cards simply controlled timing?

It was still a solution which required profiles in the driver to work right in a game.
 
I'm saddened that multi-gpu is probably dead. However I understand why. It isn't easy to do for the developer. They are trying to put out a reliable game as quickly as possible, so they can make as much money as possible. I get it.

Mutli-gpu adds complexity for the very few that still use it.
 
Well, as somebody who has been a multi-GPU user since the 6800 GTX days, I am hoping against hope that someone
will step up and fix this.
SLi and Crossfire, when implemented properly are like a house on fire.

But sadly, the whole thing seems dead.

I guess better for the bank account.
 
Nvidia will probably figure out a way for us to use a second GPU - maybe for ray-tracing support ;) to fill up those poor empty pcie slots.
 
Hey guys, any FPSreview... uh, review for any of the partner cards in the pipeline? Just noticed reviews are started to go live elsewhere.
 
Well, as somebody who has been a multi-GPU user since the 6800 GTX days, I am hoping against hope that someone
will step up and fix this.
SLi and Crossfire, when implemented properly are like a house on fire.

But sadly, the whole thing seems dead.

I guess better for the bank account.

Not really. In the era of single card and single GPU dominance, NVIDIA jacked the prices of their highest end part to almost double that of its former flagship gaming cards.
 
Not really. In the era of single card and single GPU dominance, NVIDIA jacked the prices of their highest end part to almost double that of its former flagship gaming cards.
I get that.
It's pretty obvious.
But if you look back 15 years, the 6800 GTX or 8800 GTX were pretty pricy for their day as well.
Still if you have no reason to buy two, it's easier on your wallet at any rate; whether it's 1200 or 2200.
 
I tell you what.....

I bought an MSI stock 5700XT and just finished putting on a water block.
The card runs 2100 MHz at 40C and really can haul some ***.
90 FPS in EyeFinity 5760 x 1200 in YoungBlood Ultra.

Pretty sweet card.
 
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