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Null
10-06-2006, 12:34 PM
Hey there,

After a three month hiatus, I'll be back at work and I should be able to complete my SLI rig in the next thirty days or so.

My current video card is an XFX PV-T71F-YDL9. Time marches on and they are getting harder to find now. I see that XFX has some new 7900 GTX cards that say they are HDCP compliant.

Do I need two HDCP cards to be HDCP compliant, or can I get the benefits of HDCP if only only one of the two cards is HDCP compliant?

I'm really not all that interested in HDCP though until well after Vista comes out and the quad core cpu's stroll into the picture. Then, I'll upgrade my monitor, check out chilled liquid cooling, go with quad sli, and smack myself silly for even entertaining the idea of spending so much money.

I'm just curious. Does anyone know? This is the final piece of the upgrade puzzle for this partucular machine. Gaming has been great. My beasty never gives me any trouble at all. I have truly been blessed; especially because I haven't backed up a thing since I built it last December. Living life on the knife's edge, you know. Arrrrgh!
Kougar
10-07-2006, 01:59 AM
I am pretty sure that as long as the master card that you are plugging the display(s) into is HDCP compliant, then there won't be any problems. The card itself contains the HDCP key, and it would be the only one the monitor would see. XFX Support can hopefully confirm this though.
Null
10-10-2006, 01:39 AM
Hey Kougar,

Thanks for the reply. I was kinda thinkin' the same thing that you just replied; that it would be the master card that's HDCP that's hooked up to the HDCP monitor that would make it all work. Not that I'm all that jazzed up about HDCP no how. My monitor, though lovely, isn't HDCP compliant. In my mind, HDCP stands for Heavyhanded Digital CopyRightInfringement Proliferation. I wonder just how long it's gonna take some teenaged whiz kid to crack it and crack it good.

Now another thought has grasped my attention. When the time comes that I'm about ready for this second card, the next gen GPU's should be hitting the shelf. My, oh my, do I upgrade to gain DirectX 10 support and bulletproof my system for a while or do I just let it go? From what little I've read so far, the power requirements are gettin' up there for the new nVidia chipset. Poor ol' little 510 watt PC Power & Cooling psu beasty might handle one of those cards, but not two. What to do? What to do?
GIBSON
10-10-2006, 05:48 PM
Well, DX10 should be a big improvement, so if you can it might be advised to hold off and just buy one DX10 card shortly after they are available.
werty316
10-11-2006, 03:09 AM
Well, DX10 should be a big improvement, so if you can it might be advised to hold off and just buy one DX10 card shortly after they are available.
With the lack of DX10 games that are released when Visita is out you could always use a DX10 GPU as a paper weight til there are DX10 games out ;)
Null
10-11-2006, 04:24 AM
With the lack of DX10 games that are released when Visita is out you could always use a DX10 GPU as a paper weight til there are DX10 games out ;)

Hey Werty,

I already have a pair of 12MB 3DFX Voodoo2 paper weights. Don't have a doorstop though.
GIBSON
10-11-2006, 01:57 PM
With the lack of DX10 games that are released when Visita is out you could always use a DX10 GPU as a paper weight til there are DX10 games out ;)
I thought those were pretty close, isn't that thriller/horror game with all the physics going to use DX10 as well?
werty316
10-12-2006, 01:36 AM
I thought those were pretty close, isn't that thriller/horror game with all the physics going to use DX10 as well?
Do you mean Alan Wake? Crysis is also a DX10 game. Halo 2 is supposed to be released the same time as Vista. I don't think a few DX10 games justifies someone to buy a DX10 ASAP. Its always good to see how new hardware/software performs/runs when it is released especially something this big like Vista and DX10.
GIBSON
10-12-2006, 11:01 PM
Yes I meant Alan wake.
Regarding the wait, that's why I said shortly after, not at the launch ;) like a month or 2-3 after the cards have been launched.
Kougar
10-13-2006, 02:02 AM
Halo 3 will ONLY be for DX10.
darkorb
10-13-2006, 02:05 AM
u mean halo 2?
werty316
10-13-2006, 03:46 AM
Wow I never knew it but it is true that Halo 2 is DX9. What a bunch of M$ BS since its requires Vista even if it is a DX9 game.
Kougar
10-13-2006, 06:58 AM
Sorry, yes I meant Halo 2.

Wow I never knew it but it is true that Halo 2 is DX9. What a bunch of M$ BS since its requires Vista even if it is a DX9 game.

And Halo 2 requires DX10, which is why it is only playable on Vista.
werty316
10-13-2006, 07:08 AM
Its DX9 and DX10 compatible:

http://www.h2vista.net/forums/showthread.php?t=52
Kougar
10-13-2006, 08:15 AM
Hmmm
xfxsupport
10-18-2006, 12:06 AM
Hey All, Just to let you know. Not all of our cards are HDCP compliant and they are stated as such if they support it. If the documentation does not state it then the card does not have the Codecs and architecture for HDCP support.
Null
10-18-2006, 05:34 AM
Thanks for chiming in xfxsupport. But I was kinda hopin' that as long as you stopped by, you might either confirm or refute Kougar's hypothesis.

I am pretty sure that as long as the master card that you are plugging the display(s) into is HDCP compliant, then there won't be any problems. The card itself contains the HDCP key, and it would be the only one the monitor would see. XFX Support can hopefully confirm this though.

My current 7900 GTX card is not HDCP compliant. If I were to get another 7900 GTX card that *was* HDCP compliant and I used it as the master card, would I then have an HDCP SLI rig?

Note: Though I am still curious, I am thinking now that I'll just sell off my current card in a month or so, get one of the new hotrods when they come out, steal Santa Claus's cookie and milk money, turn in my PC Power & Cooling 510W psu for a 1kw monster and SLI with DX10 in mind. Oh yeah, I'll probably want to take the plunge into water cooling at that time. Happy New Year!
xfxsupport
10-18-2006, 07:31 PM
Hey All,
Very good question. I have forwarded that to our engineers who tell me that they will be asking Nvida about that. Hopefully I will get some feedback shortly and I will pass it along to you.
Null
10-19-2006, 01:52 AM
Hey All,
Very good question. I have forwarded that to our engineers who tell me that they will be asking Nvida about that. Hopefully I will get some feedback shortly and I will pass it along to you.

Roger that, xfxsupport. Much appreciated.
xfxsupport
10-21-2006, 01:21 AM
Hey All, I just got word from on high that yes this will work. If you have a HDCP compliant card and a Non HDCP compliant card in SLI you can still view HDCP content. We recommend putting the HDCP compliant card in the primary slot so that all your connections are through the compliant product. You will have to make sure the display is HDCP compliant and connected to the card. I hope this answers your questions. If not please let me know.
Null
10-21-2006, 01:57 AM
Hey All, I just got word from on high that yes this will work. If you have a HDCP compliant card and a Non HDCP compliant card in SLI you can still view HDCP content. We recommend putting the HDCP compliant card in the primary slot so that all your connections are through the compliant product. You will have to make sure the display is HDCP compliant and connected to the card. I hope this answers your questions. If not please let me know.

That answers the question. Thanks for spending the time and effort. And Kougar, thanks to you, too. You nailed it.