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Hybrid SLI and CrossFire unstable, says Microsoft
Hybrid dual-graphics systems won’t be given native support in Windows 7
Hybrid graphics systems might not be able to churn out the high-res frame rates demanded by enthusiast gamers, but both Nvidia and AMD have invested a lot of marketing bucks in the technology at the lower end of the scale. It turns out that Microsoft really doesn’t like hybrid graphics, though, to the point where the software company has branded the technologies ‘unstable’ in its Windows 7 documentation.
In Microsoft’s Guidelines for Graphics in Windows 7 document, which was released yesterday, Microsoft outlined its feelings about hybrid graphics, stating that ‘Windows 7 does not offer native support for hybrid graphics systems.’ Not only that, but Microsoft added the reason for the decision saying that hybrid graphics systems ‘can be unstable and provide a poor user experience,’ and that it would ‘strongly discourage system manufacturers from shipping such systems.’ Microsoft also added that ‘such systems require a reboot to switch between GPUs.’
Both Hybrid SLI and Hybrid CrossFire are low-end multi-graphics systems that allow you to complement an integrated graphics chip with a low-end discrete graphics card to boost the performance. It’s a feature that Nvidia touted as a potential advantage of its recently-announced GeForce 9 mGPU, which can get a boost from the addition of a GeForce 8400 GS or 8500 GT card.
Have you used a hybrid multi-graphics system? If so, did you find it unstable, or is Microsoft wrong here? Let us know your thoughts.
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Please concentrate on making your OS secure and stable before you concentrate on the sort of bling that makes super graphics cards necessary. Personally, I think that the potential power savings of an onboard/card combo is worth investing in. Naturally, people will also want to take advantage of the extra power as well. With multi-core graphics available this should not be too great a technical hurdle. I thought that was what DX11 was intended for.
Comment by slowmongoose at 9:42pm 7th November 2008
I have a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H (AMD 780g) + Sapphire HD3470 hybrid -very stable setup. Not tried with Vista which is probably what Microsoft are talking about. Is it true that Windows 7 is going to be Vista SP2?
Comment by nutalpa at 8:31pm 7th November 2008
I have a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H (AMD 780g) + Sapphire HD3470 hybrid -very stable setup. Not tried with Vista which is probably what Microsoft are talking about. Is it true that Windows 7 is going to be Vista SP2?
Comment by nutalpa at 8:31pm 7th November 2008
I have a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H (AMD 780g) + Sapphire HD3470 hybrid -very stable setup. Not tried with Vista which is probably what Microsoft are talking about. Is it true that Windows 7 is going to be Vista SP2?
Comment by nutalpa at 8:30pm 7th November 2008
I see what you mean, but let's not forget that some people can't afford to constantly upgrade & so being able to "add-on" better graphics when they can afford to do so is the best way forward. As for Nvidia concentrating on strong onboard chips, of course you're right, but again, even if you got a good onboard chip now sooner or later it won't be good enough and then adding on more power wouldn't seem such a bad idea...
Comment by jonsey at 3:50pm 7th November 2008
Their point of view... windows has to be as stable as possible with as many different machines as possible... most peopel who know nothing about computers would likely just blame windows for any instability caused by the hardware (one reason why OS X is often said to be more stable... which is just garbage). It makes sense they would want to head off any major hardware issues they see at an early stage
Comment by NewParadigm at 10:26am 7th November 2008
It seems like it's quite a popular feature...microsoft should stop playing big brother and provide support...if customers don't like it or find unstable they can not use it.
Comment by technogiant at 8:50am 7th November 2008
"Intel looks they might struggle with Larrabe, what can we do to give them a little helping hand without anyone noticing..."
Comment by mi1ez at 8:18am 7th November 2008
There's a guy on TechPowerUp forums who ran a 4870x2 with a 4850, topped off with a 8800 running as PhysX, all stable under Alpha Windows 7 (and not the most recent release either). Not to mention the fact that they all played well with each other, and churned out some insane synthetic bench scores!
Comment by Formula350 at 3:52am 7th November 2008
if you own a laptop with hybrid, you know very well that hybrid is a pretty damn smart idea. battery life is improved often dramatically. if you plan on building a HTPC then being able to switch from a potentially noisy card using a lot of power to a low power onboard chip that can handle most everything short of games is a real benefit.
Comment by vulcanproject at 11:31pm 6th November 2008
O my god microsoft are complaining about other peoples unstableness you almost get the feeling they have never used windows (something i have suspected for along time). But yah i can actual see there side it took nvidia ages to crack regular sli think but the problem with 2 different types of gpu to work together well there goes my hopes of using my 8800 and 260 together (nvidia were saying that you might soon use older cards a physx card but if they cannot get two low end types to work together me thinks the top end stuff is still a pipe dream)
Comment by Cool_CR at 8:12pm 6th November 2008
The video card manufacturers can do it in their drivers, just like they do today in Windows Vista. I run SLI no problem even though Vista doesn't "natively support" SLI.
Comment by Scott at 7:52pm 6th November 2008
The video card manufacturers can do it in their drivers, just like they do today in Windows Vista. I run SLI no problem even though Vista doesn't "natively support" SLI.
Comment by Scott at 7:52pm 6th November 2008
just kidding....
Comment by crazyceo at 7:18pm 6th November 2008
I think this feature would be far better directed as a power saving feature rather than a graphics power enhancement...It would good if people with powerful power hungry discrete graphics cards could turn them off and use on board graphics when they were not required.
Comment by technogiant at 5:21pm 6th November 2008
I think this feature would be far better directed as a power saving feature rather than a graphics power enhancement...It would good if people with powerful power hungry discrete graphics cards could turn them off and use on board graphics when they were not required.
Comment by technogiant at 5:21pm 6th November 2008
I think i'll have to agree with microsoft for once. It seems this hybrid shizzle isnt going to be amazing nor beneficial in anyway. If your going to play games your going to get a decent graphics card, not some onboard and extremly low end chip to play with. I also think that Nvidia should concentrate on a strong onboard chip, rather than relying to heavily on this new concept of hybrid. That way starter gaming systems and media systems will get a much better benefit than with the problems that this could bring, especially with new microsoft software that potentially 70% or more users will be using.
Comment by Lightning_Pete at 4:58pm 6th November 2008
Even at this early stage, it looked like it would require some decent GPU involvement even at least Mid-Range. The Zoom function and movement and manipulation of the desktop would be quite demanding. Maybe the Vista Aero thingy (which I don't really use as much as I should) was a pre-warning of what is to come. As most low budget machines dont even come with a dedicated GPU, maybe this will have to change. It doesn't matter if you love/hate XP, Vista or Windows7, having a dedicated GPU should solve this. (Here's that Windows7 Vid:- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7695933.stm )
Comment by crazyceo at 4:24pm 6th November 2008
Sorry, Custom PC comments are now closed.
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