Nvidia 7950 GX2

[Scott]

I just helped my friend pick out some computer parts for his new system, it'll be here around Wednesday. He picked that graphics card, the 7950 GX2. Is there any linux support for it? If there is, does it need to have sli running? I may introduce him to linux, most likely Slackware (Slackware is my linux distro of choice, so I would be able to give him the best amount of help with Slackware, than a distro with a different package management system that I'm unfamiliar with.) Also, is there support for the ata/sata controllers in the NForce 590 SLI chipset?

Thanks in advance
--Scott

[Michael]

The NVIDIA GeForce 7950GX2 should work with the Linux 1.0-8762 display drivers. When installing the card, it will appear as two GPUs. Quad SLI isn't yet permitted with the 1.0-8762 drivers, however, the initial 1.0-9XXX build should have the support -- if you wish to use 2 x 7950 GX2. Keep in mind, however, I would personally define SLI under Linux as rudimentary at best (at this current time). Without using SLI on the 7950GX2 will pretty much eliminate the performance benefits.

NVIDIA's current proprietary nForce drivers do not support the nForce 500 series, however, they suggest using the open-source alternatives. Using any recent distribution with a new kernel should yield success with the 590 SLI Chipset.