G
Guest
http://www.ati.com/products/crossfire/index.html
Overview
CrossFireT - Multi-GPU
Multiply & Conquer
CrossFire ignites an entirely new gaming experience by accelerating all your
games, all the time, with the power of multiple GPUs within a single PC.
a.. Unite and Dominate
Combined Multi-GPU power that soars into a new dimension of graphics
capability
b.. Divide and Conquer
High-performance GPU sharing that accelerates all games, all the time
c.. Render and Rule
The highest image quality and screen resolutions even with the most
demanding 3D titles
d.. Now and Future
Keep ahead of fast-moving gaming effects and technology changes with
CrossFire's advanced features.
How It Works
To build your own latest generation multi-GPU system, start with any
existing Radeon® X800 or Radeon® X850 graphics card and a CrossFire Ready
motherboard, such as those based on the ATI Radeon® Xpress 200 CrossFire
chipset. Then add a Radeon CrossFire Edition co-processor board and plug in
the external cable to unite multi-GPU power.
CrossFireT - Features
ATI's CrossFire propels your gaming PC to a new pinnacle of performance with
the ultimate multi-GPU consumer graphics solution.
Enjoy the highest image quality modes and resolutions that you have always
wanted, even with the most demanding 3D titles. Get out-of-the-box
compatibility and afterburner acceleration for all your games without
special game software or patches.
Unite and Dominate
CrossFire's unique parallel processing technology has development roots
going back to ATI's multi-GPU Rage Fury MAXXT. Based on the same technology
used with ATI-based commercial flight simulators, CrossFire soars into a new
dimension of graphics capability with multiple Radeon® graphics processing
units (GPUs) working together in your PC.
Divide and Conquer
ATI's CrossFire speeds your gaming momentum with "supertiling,"
high-performance GPU sharing that evenly divides the processing and graphics
rendering workload.
How Supertiling Works:
a.. Think of your screen image divided into subsections like a
checkerboard, with alternating black and white "tiles."
b.. CrossFire's Supertiling intelligently alternates rendering duties of
these tiles to each Radeon GPU for consistent, efficient load balancing with
hassle-free compatibility.
CrossFire's options include a multiple load-sharing "scissor" mode and an
alternate frame-rate mode, combining optimal performance with
game-conquering compatibility.
Render and Rule
ATI's CrossFire boosts image quality along with rendering speed, eliminating
the need to crank down screen resolutions to get the high image quality you
want.
CrossFire ignites with the higher antialiasing, anisotropic filtering,
shading, and texture settings you desire. Adjust your display
configurations, experiment with your advanced 3D settings, and check the
effect with a real-time 3D-rendered preview within ATI's CatalystT Control
Center to rule your CrossFire system.
Now and Future
Keep ahead of fast-moving gaming effects and technology changes with
CrossFire's advanced features.
a.. Upgradeable components allow you to gradually improve your system
performance with the reliability and support that only ATI delivers.
b.. Free monthly on-line Catalyst software updates, ATI's one-click
comprehensive help system, and web-based online customer support are
available 24 hours per day.
Supporting a wide range of ATI-based graphics cards and motherboards, the
CrossFire platform offers flexibility and compatibility with all of today's
Radeon® X800 or Radeon® X850 graphics cards and the latest powerhouse
processors to make your next gaming experience the zenith
1. What is the difference between ATI's CrossFire platform and the
competitor's solution?
A. The principal differences between the competitor's multi-GPU solutions
and ATI's CrossFire are:
a.. CrossFire can enable multi-GPU rendering on all applications.
b.. CrossFire supports more rendering modes . Supertiling offers good
performance and evenly distributes the workload between the two GPUs.
CrossFire can use multiple GPUs to improve image quality rather than
performance with Super antialiasing (AA) modes. Supertiling and SuperAA
modes are only supported on the CrossFire platform.
c.. CrossFire is an open platform that supports multiple chipsets and a
wide variety of graphics cards can be mixed and matched in a single system.
2. What graphics cards work with CrossFire?
A. CrossFire requires a CrossFire Edition graphics card and a standard
graphics card from the same series.
The Radeon® X850 CrossFire Edition card can be paired with any Radeon X850
graphics card (Radeon X850 PRO, Radeon X850 XT or Radeon X850 XT PE) from
ATI or any of its partners including cards previously sold.
The Radeon X800 CrossFire Edition cards can be paired with any Radeon X800
graphics card (Radeon X800, Radeon X800 XL, Radeon X800 PRO, Radeon X800 XT
or Radeon X800 XT PE) from ATI or any of its partners including cards
previously sold and including the All-In-Wonder X800.
Because of the backwards compatibility of the platform, there are already
almost a million people who are CrossFire-ready.
3. When will CrossFire graphics cards be available?
A. Radeon X850 CrossFire Edition cards will be in production end of June and
available mid-July. Radeon X800 CrossFire Edition cards will be available
early August.
4. Can you use All-In-Wonder cards in CrossFire?
A. You can use All-In-Wonder cards in combination with a CrossFire card if
they are in the same product family. For example, an All-In-Wonder X800 can
be paired with a Radeon X800 CrossFire Edition card.
5. What motherboard is required for a CrossFire system?
A. A Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire edition motherboard is the optimal platform
for CrossFire. CrossFire is also compatible with Intel chipsets that offer
multiple x16 physical slots. Chipset support is affected by the level of
technical collaboration between the various vendors, and limited quality
assurance resources require that we prioritize bringing a particular
platform to market.
6. When will CrossFire Ready motherboards be available?
A. Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire edition motherboards will be available from
our partners beginning in June.
7. Will CrossFire Edition cards work in an NForce 4 motherboard?
A. ATI is focused first on qualifying our chipsets with our GPUs. We'll
evaluate Nvidia solutions in the future.
8. What happens if customers have the wrong combination of products?
A. If a customer incorrectly configures their system they will not see the
performance benefits of CrossFire.
9. What happens when you pair a 12-pipe CrossFire Edition card with a
16-pipe card?
A. To ensure an optimal gaming experience, the two cards will both operate
as 12-pipe cards while in CrossFire mode.
10. When your CrossFire Edition card and your standard Radeon card have
different clock speeds what happens?
A. Both cards will continue to operate at their individual clock speeds.
11. Why can't you use Supertiling on OpenGL games or with 12-pipe cards?
A. The OpenGL games that are currently on the market are sufficiently
accelerated using scissor mode or AFR.
12. Will CrossFire Edition cards work with SurroundView?
A. Yes, the CrossFire platform will work with ATI's SurroundView
multi-monitor technology to enable up to 5 separate displays.
13. What games work with CrossFire?
A. CrossFire works with all 3D applications. The end-user is able to run any
game with multiple graphics cards cooperatively rendering the images. The
end user is able to take advantage of the additional graphics hardware for
all games, all the time.
Competitive solutions only work on a limited number of games that are
profiled in the driver. New games, older games, lesser known games, and even
some current popular titles are not supported, and the end user sees no
benefit with this system when running these applications.
14. Do all games see a benefit with CrossFire?
A. Games that stress the graphics sub-system will benefit most from the
additional performance offered by CrossFire. Most new games are designed for
advanced graphics, and end users will see large performance increases with
multi-GPU systems. Some applications that are more CPU intensive may not
scale well with CrossFire. For these applications, CrossFire offers extreme
image quality modes that take advantage of the additional graphics power,
and improves the overall gaming experience.
Customers using an enthusiast-class motherboard like those based on Radeon
Xpress 200 CrossFire edition chipsets will be able to take most advantage of
CrossFire because they are able to get the most performance from their
entire system.
15. Do you need a driver profile for CrossFire to work?
A No. CrossFire is enabled by default for all 3D applications. With
CatalystT A.I. enabled, the preferred rendering mode is selected for
targeted applications. For applications that are not identified in Catalyst
A.I., or when Catalyst A.I. is disabled, default multi-GPU rendering modes
are offered. For applications that are very graphics limited, and can not
benefit from multiple high-end graphics processors, the end user has the
option to disable multi-GPU rendering completely. In all scenarios the end
user has the option to adjust her/his system to best take advantage of
multi-GPU rendering.
16. What is the difference between regular graphics cards and CrossFire
Edition graphics cards?
A. CrossFire Edition graphics cards include a "compositing engine" chip
on-board. This chip takes the partially rendered image from the standard
graphics card, and merges it with the partially rendered image from the
CrossFire Edition graphics card. The result is a complete frame rendered at
up to twice the performance of a single graphics card. The CrossFire
compositing engine is a programmable chip that offers flexible support of
different graphics cards, allows a superior feature set (advanced
compositing modes), and enables further enhancements to be quickly
implemented on next generation products. The CrossFire compositing engine
also offers a performance benefit to other data transfer techniques, such as
peer-to-peer transfers over the PCIe® system bus.
17. What performance improvement does CrossFire bring?
A. Performance enhancements with CrossFire are application dependent.
Performance improvement varies from 1% to 100% performance increase. New,
graphics intensive applications will generally see over 80% performance
improvement at high resolutions and image quality modes.
18. How are the two graphics cards connected on a CrossFire system?
A. The two cards are connected by an external cable. The cable is attached
from the standard graphics cards' DVI connector to the CrossFire Edition
high density input connector. The partially rendered image is sent through
the DVI connection to the CrossFire Edition DMS input connector. The
partially rendered image from the cable input is combined with the CrossFire
Edition's partially rendered frame in the compositing engine. The
compositing engine combines the result of both cards to output a complete
image.
19. What rendering modes are used when?
A. By default either SuperTiling or Scissor modes are applied. Alternate
frame rendering mode is used for applications identified in Catalyst A.I.
(when enabled). When Catalyst A.I. is disabled, 16-pipe graphics processors
running D3D applications are accelerated by supertiling mode (other
configurations are accelerated by scissor mode). Super AA mode is enabled
through the control panel.
20. Can you run Super antialiasing (AA) mode in combination with another
rendering mode?
A. Users choose either a performance mode (SuperTiling, Scissor or AFR) or
Super AA mode. When users are running in SuperTiling Scissor or AFT modes
they can use ATI's existing AA modes (2x, 4x or 6x.)
CrossFireT - Reviews
Will Harrris, Bit-Tech UK
"ATI, whilst later to market than its rival, appears to have put some
serious thought into remedying the deficiencies within SLI."
"Undoubtedly the biggest selling point for Crossfire is the universal game
support offered by super-tiling, which could prove outrageously popular with
a wide range of gamers."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anton Shilov, X-Bit Labs
"ATI CrossFire presents everything needed for a premium class graphics
solution: stunning image quality, broad compatibility and high performance,
three things that gamers not constrained by budgets would pay attention to.
Probably, ATI's finest 14x antialiasing, which is only available on the
company's multi-GPU solutions, is a thing that should be worth additional
money spent on an extra graphics card, as blazing image quality may be even
more important than extreme performance in currently available games."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lars Weinand, Toms Hardware Guide
"ATI did.a lot of things better: A choice of card configurations, the
ability to use existing X800 or X850 cards, more dual-rendering modes and
Super AA to improve picture quality. Furthermore CrossFire supports all
DirectX and OpenGL games."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hielko van der Hoorn, Tweakers Netherlands
"ATI's Crossfire technology looks promising."
"It is more flexible than nVidia's SLI, offers more features and has the
potential to offer higher performance."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dave Ross, Hexus, UK
"If they (deliver on time), then without doubt the Crossfire will be the
fastest gaming platform at launch. NVIDIA have done well, really well with
the deployment of 6800SLi, but what compelling message do they have if ATI's
CrossFire solution is indeed 60% faster in TWIMTBP titles? We look forward
to evaluating these impressive claims when we get the kit in our labs"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allan Campbell, DriverHeaven, UK
"It's safe to say ATI have hit the nail on the head again with their dual
card solution. Removing the driver application specific limitations imposed
by nVidia's SLI design and combined with the raw horsepower of the X8xx
series core, Crossfire is guaranteed to be driving force behind every
enthusiasts' gaming experience."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Morris, PC Plus UK
"CrossFire certainly looks like it could give SLI a good run for its money.
The flexibility of graphics card choice could well convince those who
thought SLI was too picky to try out multi-GPU. I can't wait to give it a
try!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fuad Abazovic, Theinquirer.net, UK
" Compared with two 6800 Ultra SLI, ATI's Crossfire should end up about 10
per cent faster in 3Dmark05 benchmark, about 30 percent in Splinter Cell C.T
and more than 60 percent in Need For Speed Underground 2."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antal Tungler, PC World, Hungary
"ATI's CrossFire system has all the specs that could get their nose in front
of NVIDIA's SLI. We have seen the system only partially in action, but
should it stand up to what Richard told us about it. CrossFire could well
shoot itself right into first place of choices for gaming enthusiasts! -
We're really eager to get one into our test lab at any rate!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paolo Corsini, Hardwareupgrade Italy
"ATI CrossFire when compared with NVIDIA SLI is surely more flexible thanks
to a lot of performance modalities, not demanding two perfectly identical
cards."
"The customer will have the opportunity to add a second graphic board in
order to not only go in search of greater performances, but also in order to
obtain a better image thanks to the never seen before Super AA modality."
"The choice to not to use an internal connector between the two boards, is
very smart and clever and will make happy all the end users owners of a
Radeon X800 and X850 PCI Express that we can actually consider as CrossFire
ready end users."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carsten Spille, Computerbase.de Germany
"CrossFire can and will be positioned as a serious competitor and even in
many situations a superior solution to Nvidias SLI. Advantages are: more
flexibility when choosing cards and most importantly the offered
"superior-IQ" modes. Also, we need to mention the gaming compatibility.
CrossFire has the advantage that under Direct3D, there is a fall back to the
SuperTiling-Mode."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oliver Haake, PC Games Hardware Germany
"ATI is fighting back."
"(CrossFire has) some very interesting ideas. There are two of the three
rendering processes at least on the paper more flexible than Nvidia's SLI.
Furthermore, the picture quality is improved through Super Anti Aliasing as
well as the upgrade idea which was created from necessity. If the by ATI
promised availability of CrossFire cards of the current generations stays
for longer, you can look into a secure future in regards to the upgrades.
You can buy now one CrossFire mainboard with only one Radeon card and add in
one or two years a CrossFire graphics card."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Antonino Tumeo, Nextgame Italy
"It's clear that ATI is really serious about CrossFire: a valid, flexible,
feature rich and future proof solution that on paper seems to put much
pressure on NVIDIA's latest and much emphasized dual VPU technology, the now
well-known SLI."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Levent Pekcan, Darkhardware
"It is very clear that ATI's CrossFire solution is offering more flexibility
and ease of use to the users and from a technical viewpoint, it is a pathway
to Multi-GPU graphic cards. The ability of using CrossFire to increase the
image quality is also an important aspect of this new technology."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
George Dragon, GameStar Hungary
" ATI proved that it was worth the extra wait - Crossfire delivers more
speed and reliability, and not only broadens, but speeds up the expectations
and sets a new graphics horizon..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xander Hoose, PCM, Netherlands
" ...the red guys have done it again. CrossFire seems to make more sense
than SLI does as it's support for games isn't limited to the driver.
The four different rendering modes allow for more flexibility and quality.
If ATI manages to convince the customer of the superiority of its product
than nVidia might be in for some trouble..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pierfrancesco Costantini, 3D Italia
"ATI Crossfire technology represents the currently best solution in the
market for enthusiast gamers and protects the end user investment since it
will be not necessary to change the own graphic board."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lambros Georgogalas, PC World Greece
"if half the features of Crossfire work (and I have no reason to believe
that the rest won't!) NVIDIA is in real trouble in the department of
multiple VPUs!
The stability of the platform and the performance advantage is something
that remains to be tested when the first samples arrive, but the flexibility
seems definitely better and the overall solution more practical and
appealing to the gamers. Considering the special quality enhancing mode, the
ability to drive up to 5 displays and to accelerate virtually every 3D game,
Crossfire can adapt to serve different needs."
Overview
CrossFireT - Multi-GPU
Multiply & Conquer
CrossFire ignites an entirely new gaming experience by accelerating all your
games, all the time, with the power of multiple GPUs within a single PC.
a.. Unite and Dominate
Combined Multi-GPU power that soars into a new dimension of graphics
capability
b.. Divide and Conquer
High-performance GPU sharing that accelerates all games, all the time
c.. Render and Rule
The highest image quality and screen resolutions even with the most
demanding 3D titles
d.. Now and Future
Keep ahead of fast-moving gaming effects and technology changes with
CrossFire's advanced features.
How It Works
To build your own latest generation multi-GPU system, start with any
existing Radeon® X800 or Radeon® X850 graphics card and a CrossFire Ready
motherboard, such as those based on the ATI Radeon® Xpress 200 CrossFire
chipset. Then add a Radeon CrossFire Edition co-processor board and plug in
the external cable to unite multi-GPU power.
CrossFireT - Features
ATI's CrossFire propels your gaming PC to a new pinnacle of performance with
the ultimate multi-GPU consumer graphics solution.
Enjoy the highest image quality modes and resolutions that you have always
wanted, even with the most demanding 3D titles. Get out-of-the-box
compatibility and afterburner acceleration for all your games without
special game software or patches.
Unite and Dominate
CrossFire's unique parallel processing technology has development roots
going back to ATI's multi-GPU Rage Fury MAXXT. Based on the same technology
used with ATI-based commercial flight simulators, CrossFire soars into a new
dimension of graphics capability with multiple Radeon® graphics processing
units (GPUs) working together in your PC.
Divide and Conquer
ATI's CrossFire speeds your gaming momentum with "supertiling,"
high-performance GPU sharing that evenly divides the processing and graphics
rendering workload.
How Supertiling Works:
a.. Think of your screen image divided into subsections like a
checkerboard, with alternating black and white "tiles."
b.. CrossFire's Supertiling intelligently alternates rendering duties of
these tiles to each Radeon GPU for consistent, efficient load balancing with
hassle-free compatibility.
CrossFire's options include a multiple load-sharing "scissor" mode and an
alternate frame-rate mode, combining optimal performance with
game-conquering compatibility.
Render and Rule
ATI's CrossFire boosts image quality along with rendering speed, eliminating
the need to crank down screen resolutions to get the high image quality you
want.
CrossFire ignites with the higher antialiasing, anisotropic filtering,
shading, and texture settings you desire. Adjust your display
configurations, experiment with your advanced 3D settings, and check the
effect with a real-time 3D-rendered preview within ATI's CatalystT Control
Center to rule your CrossFire system.
Now and Future
Keep ahead of fast-moving gaming effects and technology changes with
CrossFire's advanced features.
a.. Upgradeable components allow you to gradually improve your system
performance with the reliability and support that only ATI delivers.
b.. Free monthly on-line Catalyst software updates, ATI's one-click
comprehensive help system, and web-based online customer support are
available 24 hours per day.
Supporting a wide range of ATI-based graphics cards and motherboards, the
CrossFire platform offers flexibility and compatibility with all of today's
Radeon® X800 or Radeon® X850 graphics cards and the latest powerhouse
processors to make your next gaming experience the zenith
1. What is the difference between ATI's CrossFire platform and the
competitor's solution?
A. The principal differences between the competitor's multi-GPU solutions
and ATI's CrossFire are:
a.. CrossFire can enable multi-GPU rendering on all applications.
b.. CrossFire supports more rendering modes . Supertiling offers good
performance and evenly distributes the workload between the two GPUs.
CrossFire can use multiple GPUs to improve image quality rather than
performance with Super antialiasing (AA) modes. Supertiling and SuperAA
modes are only supported on the CrossFire platform.
c.. CrossFire is an open platform that supports multiple chipsets and a
wide variety of graphics cards can be mixed and matched in a single system.
2. What graphics cards work with CrossFire?
A. CrossFire requires a CrossFire Edition graphics card and a standard
graphics card from the same series.
The Radeon® X850 CrossFire Edition card can be paired with any Radeon X850
graphics card (Radeon X850 PRO, Radeon X850 XT or Radeon X850 XT PE) from
ATI or any of its partners including cards previously sold.
The Radeon X800 CrossFire Edition cards can be paired with any Radeon X800
graphics card (Radeon X800, Radeon X800 XL, Radeon X800 PRO, Radeon X800 XT
or Radeon X800 XT PE) from ATI or any of its partners including cards
previously sold and including the All-In-Wonder X800.
Because of the backwards compatibility of the platform, there are already
almost a million people who are CrossFire-ready.
3. When will CrossFire graphics cards be available?
A. Radeon X850 CrossFire Edition cards will be in production end of June and
available mid-July. Radeon X800 CrossFire Edition cards will be available
early August.
4. Can you use All-In-Wonder cards in CrossFire?
A. You can use All-In-Wonder cards in combination with a CrossFire card if
they are in the same product family. For example, an All-In-Wonder X800 can
be paired with a Radeon X800 CrossFire Edition card.
5. What motherboard is required for a CrossFire system?
A. A Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire edition motherboard is the optimal platform
for CrossFire. CrossFire is also compatible with Intel chipsets that offer
multiple x16 physical slots. Chipset support is affected by the level of
technical collaboration between the various vendors, and limited quality
assurance resources require that we prioritize bringing a particular
platform to market.
6. When will CrossFire Ready motherboards be available?
A. Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire edition motherboards will be available from
our partners beginning in June.
7. Will CrossFire Edition cards work in an NForce 4 motherboard?
A. ATI is focused first on qualifying our chipsets with our GPUs. We'll
evaluate Nvidia solutions in the future.
8. What happens if customers have the wrong combination of products?
A. If a customer incorrectly configures their system they will not see the
performance benefits of CrossFire.
9. What happens when you pair a 12-pipe CrossFire Edition card with a
16-pipe card?
A. To ensure an optimal gaming experience, the two cards will both operate
as 12-pipe cards while in CrossFire mode.
10. When your CrossFire Edition card and your standard Radeon card have
different clock speeds what happens?
A. Both cards will continue to operate at their individual clock speeds.
11. Why can't you use Supertiling on OpenGL games or with 12-pipe cards?
A. The OpenGL games that are currently on the market are sufficiently
accelerated using scissor mode or AFR.
12. Will CrossFire Edition cards work with SurroundView?
A. Yes, the CrossFire platform will work with ATI's SurroundView
multi-monitor technology to enable up to 5 separate displays.
13. What games work with CrossFire?
A. CrossFire works with all 3D applications. The end-user is able to run any
game with multiple graphics cards cooperatively rendering the images. The
end user is able to take advantage of the additional graphics hardware for
all games, all the time.
Competitive solutions only work on a limited number of games that are
profiled in the driver. New games, older games, lesser known games, and even
some current popular titles are not supported, and the end user sees no
benefit with this system when running these applications.
14. Do all games see a benefit with CrossFire?
A. Games that stress the graphics sub-system will benefit most from the
additional performance offered by CrossFire. Most new games are designed for
advanced graphics, and end users will see large performance increases with
multi-GPU systems. Some applications that are more CPU intensive may not
scale well with CrossFire. For these applications, CrossFire offers extreme
image quality modes that take advantage of the additional graphics power,
and improves the overall gaming experience.
Customers using an enthusiast-class motherboard like those based on Radeon
Xpress 200 CrossFire edition chipsets will be able to take most advantage of
CrossFire because they are able to get the most performance from their
entire system.
15. Do you need a driver profile for CrossFire to work?
A No. CrossFire is enabled by default for all 3D applications. With
CatalystT A.I. enabled, the preferred rendering mode is selected for
targeted applications. For applications that are not identified in Catalyst
A.I., or when Catalyst A.I. is disabled, default multi-GPU rendering modes
are offered. For applications that are very graphics limited, and can not
benefit from multiple high-end graphics processors, the end user has the
option to disable multi-GPU rendering completely. In all scenarios the end
user has the option to adjust her/his system to best take advantage of
multi-GPU rendering.
16. What is the difference between regular graphics cards and CrossFire
Edition graphics cards?
A. CrossFire Edition graphics cards include a "compositing engine" chip
on-board. This chip takes the partially rendered image from the standard
graphics card, and merges it with the partially rendered image from the
CrossFire Edition graphics card. The result is a complete frame rendered at
up to twice the performance of a single graphics card. The CrossFire
compositing engine is a programmable chip that offers flexible support of
different graphics cards, allows a superior feature set (advanced
compositing modes), and enables further enhancements to be quickly
implemented on next generation products. The CrossFire compositing engine
also offers a performance benefit to other data transfer techniques, such as
peer-to-peer transfers over the PCIe® system bus.
17. What performance improvement does CrossFire bring?
A. Performance enhancements with CrossFire are application dependent.
Performance improvement varies from 1% to 100% performance increase. New,
graphics intensive applications will generally see over 80% performance
improvement at high resolutions and image quality modes.
18. How are the two graphics cards connected on a CrossFire system?
A. The two cards are connected by an external cable. The cable is attached
from the standard graphics cards' DVI connector to the CrossFire Edition
high density input connector. The partially rendered image is sent through
the DVI connection to the CrossFire Edition DMS input connector. The
partially rendered image from the cable input is combined with the CrossFire
Edition's partially rendered frame in the compositing engine. The
compositing engine combines the result of both cards to output a complete
image.
19. What rendering modes are used when?
A. By default either SuperTiling or Scissor modes are applied. Alternate
frame rendering mode is used for applications identified in Catalyst A.I.
(when enabled). When Catalyst A.I. is disabled, 16-pipe graphics processors
running D3D applications are accelerated by supertiling mode (other
configurations are accelerated by scissor mode). Super AA mode is enabled
through the control panel.
20. Can you run Super antialiasing (AA) mode in combination with another
rendering mode?
A. Users choose either a performance mode (SuperTiling, Scissor or AFR) or
Super AA mode. When users are running in SuperTiling Scissor or AFT modes
they can use ATI's existing AA modes (2x, 4x or 6x.)
CrossFireT - Reviews
Will Harrris, Bit-Tech UK
"ATI, whilst later to market than its rival, appears to have put some
serious thought into remedying the deficiencies within SLI."
"Undoubtedly the biggest selling point for Crossfire is the universal game
support offered by super-tiling, which could prove outrageously popular with
a wide range of gamers."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anton Shilov, X-Bit Labs
"ATI CrossFire presents everything needed for a premium class graphics
solution: stunning image quality, broad compatibility and high performance,
three things that gamers not constrained by budgets would pay attention to.
Probably, ATI's finest 14x antialiasing, which is only available on the
company's multi-GPU solutions, is a thing that should be worth additional
money spent on an extra graphics card, as blazing image quality may be even
more important than extreme performance in currently available games."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lars Weinand, Toms Hardware Guide
"ATI did.a lot of things better: A choice of card configurations, the
ability to use existing X800 or X850 cards, more dual-rendering modes and
Super AA to improve picture quality. Furthermore CrossFire supports all
DirectX and OpenGL games."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hielko van der Hoorn, Tweakers Netherlands
"ATI's Crossfire technology looks promising."
"It is more flexible than nVidia's SLI, offers more features and has the
potential to offer higher performance."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dave Ross, Hexus, UK
"If they (deliver on time), then without doubt the Crossfire will be the
fastest gaming platform at launch. NVIDIA have done well, really well with
the deployment of 6800SLi, but what compelling message do they have if ATI's
CrossFire solution is indeed 60% faster in TWIMTBP titles? We look forward
to evaluating these impressive claims when we get the kit in our labs"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allan Campbell, DriverHeaven, UK
"It's safe to say ATI have hit the nail on the head again with their dual
card solution. Removing the driver application specific limitations imposed
by nVidia's SLI design and combined with the raw horsepower of the X8xx
series core, Crossfire is guaranteed to be driving force behind every
enthusiasts' gaming experience."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Morris, PC Plus UK
"CrossFire certainly looks like it could give SLI a good run for its money.
The flexibility of graphics card choice could well convince those who
thought SLI was too picky to try out multi-GPU. I can't wait to give it a
try!"
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Fuad Abazovic, Theinquirer.net, UK
" Compared with two 6800 Ultra SLI, ATI's Crossfire should end up about 10
per cent faster in 3Dmark05 benchmark, about 30 percent in Splinter Cell C.T
and more than 60 percent in Need For Speed Underground 2."
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Antal Tungler, PC World, Hungary
"ATI's CrossFire system has all the specs that could get their nose in front
of NVIDIA's SLI. We have seen the system only partially in action, but
should it stand up to what Richard told us about it. CrossFire could well
shoot itself right into first place of choices for gaming enthusiasts! -
We're really eager to get one into our test lab at any rate!"
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Paolo Corsini, Hardwareupgrade Italy
"ATI CrossFire when compared with NVIDIA SLI is surely more flexible thanks
to a lot of performance modalities, not demanding two perfectly identical
cards."
"The customer will have the opportunity to add a second graphic board in
order to not only go in search of greater performances, but also in order to
obtain a better image thanks to the never seen before Super AA modality."
"The choice to not to use an internal connector between the two boards, is
very smart and clever and will make happy all the end users owners of a
Radeon X800 and X850 PCI Express that we can actually consider as CrossFire
ready end users."
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Carsten Spille, Computerbase.de Germany
"CrossFire can and will be positioned as a serious competitor and even in
many situations a superior solution to Nvidias SLI. Advantages are: more
flexibility when choosing cards and most importantly the offered
"superior-IQ" modes. Also, we need to mention the gaming compatibility.
CrossFire has the advantage that under Direct3D, there is a fall back to the
SuperTiling-Mode."
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Oliver Haake, PC Games Hardware Germany
"ATI is fighting back."
"(CrossFire has) some very interesting ideas. There are two of the three
rendering processes at least on the paper more flexible than Nvidia's SLI.
Furthermore, the picture quality is improved through Super Anti Aliasing as
well as the upgrade idea which was created from necessity. If the by ATI
promised availability of CrossFire cards of the current generations stays
for longer, you can look into a secure future in regards to the upgrades.
You can buy now one CrossFire mainboard with only one Radeon card and add in
one or two years a CrossFire graphics card."
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Antonino Tumeo, Nextgame Italy
"It's clear that ATI is really serious about CrossFire: a valid, flexible,
feature rich and future proof solution that on paper seems to put much
pressure on NVIDIA's latest and much emphasized dual VPU technology, the now
well-known SLI."
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Levent Pekcan, Darkhardware
"It is very clear that ATI's CrossFire solution is offering more flexibility
and ease of use to the users and from a technical viewpoint, it is a pathway
to Multi-GPU graphic cards. The ability of using CrossFire to increase the
image quality is also an important aspect of this new technology."
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George Dragon, GameStar Hungary
" ATI proved that it was worth the extra wait - Crossfire delivers more
speed and reliability, and not only broadens, but speeds up the expectations
and sets a new graphics horizon..."
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Xander Hoose, PCM, Netherlands
" ...the red guys have done it again. CrossFire seems to make more sense
than SLI does as it's support for games isn't limited to the driver.
The four different rendering modes allow for more flexibility and quality.
If ATI manages to convince the customer of the superiority of its product
than nVidia might be in for some trouble..."
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Pierfrancesco Costantini, 3D Italia
"ATI Crossfire technology represents the currently best solution in the
market for enthusiast gamers and protects the end user investment since it
will be not necessary to change the own graphic board."
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Lambros Georgogalas, PC World Greece
"if half the features of Crossfire work (and I have no reason to believe
that the rest won't!) NVIDIA is in real trouble in the department of
multiple VPUs!
The stability of the platform and the performance advantage is something
that remains to be tested when the first samples arrive, but the flexibility
seems definitely better and the overall solution more practical and
appealing to the gamers. Considering the special quality enhancing mode, the
ability to drive up to 5 displays and to accelerate virtually every 3D game,
Crossfire can adapt to serve different needs."