MOTHERBOARD MAKER MSI has released what it claims is a major driver update to its range topping Big Bang-Fuzion board.

The board features Lucid’s Hydra chip, which allows AMD and NVIDIA cards in multi-GPU configurations. The board was the first to incorporate the chip and while the firm did well to overcome some of the obstacles to get multi-vendor GPU rendering working, users were at the mercy of the firm and its driver releases for hardware support.

The latest driver version, 1.5.106, brings support for DirectX 11 and the latest Radeon 5xxx series cards from AMD. MSI also promised that support for NVIDIA’s heat generators, the GTX4xx series, will be forthcoming.

MSI’s Big Bang-Fuzion board is based around Intel’s P55 chipset and has three 16-lane PCI-Express slots allowing for three-way multi vendor GPU setups, thanks to the Hydra chip.

The company is even sweetening the deal by offering a video card to go with the motherboard in return for forking over almost 350 quid. Street prices have dropped below the £300 mark, but nevertheless represent a serious outlay for a gaming motherboard.

With this latest driver update, those who have ATI’s newest cards can mix and match them with their older purchases.

It is perhaps apt that, given the relative difficulty in finding any NVIDIA GTX4xx cards actually for sale anywhere, Lucid has delayed support for these cards.

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• READ MORE (Source): Msi allows AMD and NVIDIA dx11 cards to coexist – The Inquirer