This article provides information on the compatibility and system requirements of various ATI CrossFire™ platform configurations.
ATI CrossFire™ Technology Certified Compatible Components:
ATI CrossFireX™ Platform (3 or 4 discrete GPUs) Requirements:
- The requirements of a CrossfireX system are:
- A ATI CrossFireX-ready Motherboard
- Two or more ATI CrossFireX-ready graphics cards
- ATI CrossFireX connections for card-to-card communications (comes with your cards)
- 550W or better power supply is recommended
- Windows Vista®
Note! For more information, please visit http://game.amd.com/us-en/crossfirex_about.aspx
ATI CrossFire™ Platform(2 discrete GPUs) Requirements:
- The requirements of a CrossFire system are:
- A ATI CrossFire-ready Motherboard
- Two ATI CrossFire-ready graphics cards
- ATI CrossFire connections for card-to-card communications (comes with your cards)
- 550W or better power supply is recommended
Hybrid ATI CrossFire™ Platform(Onboard GPU + 1 discrete GPU) Requirements:
- The requirements of a ATI Hybrid CrossFire system are:
- ATI Radeon™ HD 2400 Series, ATI Radeon™ HD 3400 Series or ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 3400 Series graphics processor
- ATI Radeon™ HD 2400 supports only ATI Hybrid CrossFireX™ technology and ATI SurroundView™ technology.
- A motherboard based on an AMD 780G or AMD 790GX integrated chipset
- Windows Vista®
Note! For more information, please visit http://game.amd.com/us-en/crossfirex_hybrid.aspx.
Questions about Crossfire Compatability:
Q: Is ATI CrossFireX™ technology compatible with Windows® XP?
A: ATI CrossFireX™ (Using more than 2 GPU's) is only available to Windows Vista® with ATI Catalyst™ 8.3 and above.
Q: What about the brand, clock speed and memory size?
A: You can use different brands, but always make sure to match the clock speed and memory size. It is true that if the clock speeds do not match, the faster card will match the slower clocked speed card. For best performance, matching identical cards should be used.
Q: I have a 3000 card and a 2000 card can I use ATI CrossFire™ technology?
A: No you need to have two (or more) of the same family of cards.
Q: With ATI CrossFireX™ technology enabled how many monitors can I use at the same time?
A: 2 monitors only at this time.
Q: Some Motherboards support ATI CrossFire™ platforms at Dual 16x mode; some support it at Dual 8x mode; and some support it at 16x 4x mode. What are the differences?
A: For best results, you need a motherboard that supports dual 16x mode. Dual 8x does hinder the performance slightly. On the other hand, you should avoid the 16x 4x as this one is the weakest and doesn't perform well.
Q: Will I see the ATI CrossFireX™ section in Catalyst™ Control Center if I have a ATI Radeon™ HD4870 X2 or 3870 X2?
A: You will not see the ATI CrossFireX™ section as it is enabled by default. There is no section as there is nothing to change. If you have 2 X2 cards then you will be able to disable the ATI CrossFire™ technology between the two cards, but you still will not disable single card ATI CrossFire™ technology.
There is one exception to this, the 4 port DVI 3870X2 and 4850 X2 cards can enable or disable ATI CrossFire™ technology since otherwise the 2 extra DVI ports will not work.
Q: I have 2 matching 2x00 cards but they don’t have an internal bridge connector; can I enable ATI CrossFire™?
A: Yes but it will be software ATI CrossFire™ technology which is slightly slower than hardware ATI CrossFire™ platforms.
Q: Does ATI CrossFire™ technology double the memory?
A: No, ATI CrossFire™ technology does not double the memory, If you have a 512MB card, adding another 512MBcard will not increase your total memory to 1GB; it still will be 512MB.
Q: My HD3870/X2 card only reports 512MB in the ATI Catalyst™ Control Center. Is it supposed to have 1GB of memory?
A: This is normal. X2 card is two 512MB cards with internal ATI CrossFire™ technology enabled. ATI Catalyst™ Control Center, but will not report more than each card uses.
Q: Do I need to get ATI CrossFire™ memory?
A: Some RAMs do have ATI CrossFire™ technology logos included, but there are many RAMs which do not have ATI CrossFire™ technology logos and you can use ATI CrossFire™ technology with them without any problems. However, it is recommended that you use the certified memory: http://game.amd.com/us-en/crossfire_certified.aspx?cat=4
Applicable Products:
The information in this article applies to the following configurations:
- Hardware
- ATI Radeon™ HD4000 series of products
- ATI Radeon™ HD3000 series of products
- ATI Radeon™ HD2000 series of products
- AMD 790FX
- AMD 790GX
- AMD 790X
- AMD 780G
- AMD 580X
- AMD 570X
- AMD 480X
- ATI CrossFire™ Xpress 3200
- Intel X58 Express
- Intel X48 Express
- Intel X38 Express
- Intel P35 Express
- Intel P45 Express
- Intel 5400 Express
- Intel 975X Express
- Intel P965 Express
- Operating System
- Windows Vista® 32-bit Edition
- Windows Vista® 64-bit Edition
- Windows® XP Professional
- Windows® XP Home Edition
- Windows® XP Media Center Edition
- Windows® XP Professional x64 Edition