Crossfire, or not to Crossfire - that is the question

Fenix_ZA

Fenix_ZA

New member
Hey guys, I am quite new here, so I am sure this question came up at some stage. This question is directly linked to: "but can it play BF3?"

I currently have an AMD 1090T CPU at about 3.9GHz, 8GB DDR3 RAM at 1600Hz with loose timings (not that it makes a difference) fitted to a MSI 890FXA-GD70 Mobo, but only a 6850 ATI GPU.

Now, I need feedback from someone who has had, or currently have a Crossfire setup with a 6800 series GPU. I already did sufficient research pertaining to the performance, power consumption, heat, noise etc so that is not an issue.

What I do need to know is how does it scale, driver related concerns and compatibility - is it worth it?

There is a lot of mixed feelings about this, therefore I ask the people with personal experience for non biased opinions and not from guys who never had this setup to quote other's opinions copied from old forums within a forum to this forum in limbo (no offence).

Thanks in advance.
 
I wish I could say I have even half the rig you do... I'm still running a core 2 duo. With a 4670... I wish I had even just a little money to spend on my computer. I need money! Spare me some cash and I'll build a crossfire setup with 6850's and tell you how good it is. Or how bad.
 
Fenix_ZA said:
Now, I need feedback from someone who has had, or currently have a Crossfire setup with a 6800 series GPU. I already did sufficient research pertaining to the performance, power consumption, heat, noise etc so that is not an issue.

What I do need to know is how does it scale, driver related concerns and compatibility - is it worth it?
Click to expand...

6900 series has significant enhancements in driver and scalability for SLi.
I have no experience or special knowledge to the 6800 series in that regard though - sorry.
 
I'm running two times 5870 and I'm very happy.

Personally the only consideration really is affordability. I picked up my 2nd card for an absolute steal and thus could justify it. Mostly on an existing rig it's worthwhile, cause you generally only do this a month or five down the line, by which time, in theory at least, your current gfx card has come down in price due to newer and better releases and for a nominal amount you can mathc performance with the newer cards by going dual card.

If however you are buying a new rig, don't consider this. I'd rather just take that double money so to speak and buy the single biggest card I can. Unless of course you are already buying the biggest gfx card out there and the only way to improve on that is to buy two biggest gfx cards!
 
Thanks for the replies. I have an existing 6850 which I bought last year November, now instead of selling of my card and buying a better one, I want to try crossfire because my mobo can handle it, and secondly, because I never had dual GPU's before and want to try it out for the experience.

If it only boils down to affordability, I can obtain a second 6850 for a descent price (2nd hand) which would justify the means as you put it. Just needed to know from someone who has done this before.
 
Heya Fenix

I started off with 1x6870 and recently upgraded my entire rig. As per affordability, a second 6870 sat better with me than a 6990 or GTX580.
Some may say otherwise but I was blown away by the scalability (I did a few tests before and after enabling CF).

Here is a link of some benches of a 6870 vs GTX580 : http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/301?vs=305

I don't know what the exact scalability of a 6850 is, but they are both the same architecture, so I'd expect similar.
 
The 6xxx series cards scale incredibly well, sometimes gaining 90% to 100% of the 2nd card, which translates to running at 200% where as in the past you would run 150% ect. I've got 6970's and 6870's in crossfire and I am as happy as can be, although I still think a single strong card is the "easier" option, I just like the look of having 2 cards in a single rig.


Anyway 2x 6850's will perform well, incredibly well as a matter of fact.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/Radeon_HD_6850_CrossFire/4.html

If I were you I would go ahead and get that 2nd 6850 right now :p
 
I've got 2 x 6850 and i7 @ 4Ghz

BF3 Beta never goes under 60 fps on a 19" screen, on Ultra settings with 2x AA, 1650x1050 res or 1440x900
this is with the special 11.10 AMD BF3 drivers

The top card runs 78C in BF3, which is fine for a GPU, just get good air flow in your case.
Really dirt cheap, and few people actually realize the power of SLi and crossfire

Scaling is 80% -98% in most games and some games actually have over 100% scaling, AMD really did good with 6000 series and CFX

2 x 6850 will perform like a 5970(which is still a beast) in most games.

I must note that in Black Ops I get negative scaling, its probably just my setup, anyway GL
 
How much can you get the 2nd hand 6850 for? That would be the deciding factor for me, long story short.
Most games scale well these days, save a few unoptimized/lazy developed-ported titles.
 
I was running 2x 5870's for a long time in crossfire.

Since then sold that and gotten myself a 6990. I had a 6970 which I had to give back. Getting myself another soon.

Currently I have to play BF3 on low detail @ 5760 x 1080.

Hopefully adding the 6970 will allow me to go to Ultra :D.
 
wheunis said:
Even more so 2 6970's - but yes, in essence it will be well worth it.
The architecture and driver improvements on the 6900's make them ideal for SLi.
Click to expand...

I am sure you ment, crossfire. :p

@ OP, No one asked you what PSU you are running. Keep in mind that you will need something bigger than a 550 if you want to run crossfire.
 
I don't mean to hijack but I was thinking the same thing, except I have a 5850.

Would it be worth getting hold of another 5850 for crossfire?
 
Grimspoon said:
I don't mean to hijack but I was thinking the same thing, except I have a 5850.

Would it be worth getting hold of another 5850 for crossfire?
Click to expand...

Mmmmm well they still beastly cards, I would do it depending on how much you pay for it, if you pay more than lets say R1300 I wouldn't do that. Worth it though in my honest opinion, also what psu you running dude?
 
The Joker said:
Mmmmm well they still beastly cards, I would do it depending on how much you pay for it, if you pay more than lets say R1300 I wouldn't do that. Worth it though in my honest opinion, also what psu you running dude?
Click to expand...

Cool, I will see if I can get my hands on one.

I am running a Thermaltake 500 I think.
 
Grimspoon said:
I am running a Thermaltake 500 I think.
Click to expand...

You cannot do it Captain, she don't have da powa!

For real though, youre going to have to upgrade that as well for dual-GPU. I would have to say at least 750W.
(You MIGHT be able to skim by with 600 or 650... but 750 should give a decent buffer ---- buffer = more important than you think...)
 
Grimspoon said:
Cool, I will see if I can get my hands on one.

I am running a Thermaltake 500 I think.
Click to expand...

Yeah You'll def have to upgrade the psu mate.
That said you can get 700w Aerocool psu's for around R699. They are great, I've used plenty of them in different builds.

Recommended Power Supply

So here's my power supply recommendation:

Radeon HD 5850

The card requires you to have a 500 Watt power supply unit at minimum if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 40 Amps available on the +12 volts rails.

Radeon HD 5850 CrossfireX

A second card requires you to add another 170 Watts. You need a 650+ Watt power supply unit if you use it in a high-end system. That power supply needs to have (in total accumulated) at least 55~60 Amps available on the +12 volts rails.

For each card that you add, add another 200 Watts as a safety margin.
Click to expand...

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5850-review-crossfire/9
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top