Is Crossfire worth it and do a lot of games support it?

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#1 Posted by godzillavskong (7891 posts) -

I'm thinking of picking up another 6870 to run in Crossfire and was curious, are there a lot of games supporting this function , or is it losing support? I have the IceQ Turbo 6870, wich overclocked rather well, so I'll indeed pick up another one of the same to match. While some games play flawlessly on Ultra, games like The Witcher 2 seem to only run @ medium to high settings. I'm wondering if another 6870 will help, or is it best to just get a 6970 or 6950? I just didn't want to have to spend that kind of money, especially if running two 6870s will give me a almost equal experience. Thanks for your input.

#2 Posted by JigglyWiggly_ (23501 posts) -
well yeah most games support it i had a 3870x2 + 3870 in CF. ati is usually slower to support new games. I had to wait a month for my 3870x2 to support FEAR 2 to just use my 2nd part of my gpu. I had to beat it with 30fps. nvidia is usually much better about this. with a common card you shouldn't have too many problems. However I am not a fan of any sli/crossfire anymore, micro stuttering can still be apparent. Some games just don't play nice, but for the most part it's pretty good.
#3 Posted by configme (786 posts) -

A few of my games have bad CFX support. I wouldn't suggest it.

#4 Posted by Snaptrap (2186 posts) -

I had very few issues with my 6950's in CF, but then again I currently only have about 7 games, although I have been using CF for years with only about 4 games that I had trouble with. Most of the problems were with the games not supporting multi-gpu setups and others simply required driver updates. These days both brands are well supported. If you like AMD products, then I don't see any reason why you shouldn't use CF.

#5 Posted by JigglyWiggly_ (23501 posts) -
#6 Posted by braddlesturbo (212 posts) -

I have xfire 6870's at the moment and can max The Witcher 2 (no ubersampling). Only had some issues in a couple of games so I turned it off and the games work fine. Definately reccomend as a cheap way to boost visuals.

#7 Posted by DevilMightCry (3494 posts) -
If you get another 6870 for $100 or so go for it. I just sold my two 6870 to get a single GPU. Microstutter in Skyrim, BF3, etc was very annoying. But other games ran great. For the $$ of a single mid level card you get a top end performance, but also its drawbacks, like limited vram, microstutter and inferior drivers sometimes.
#8 Posted by Postmortem123 (7672 posts) -

I've never had many problems with either Crossfire or SLI.

The only game I had really bad Crossfire scaling on was Witcher 1 (the second runs beautifully).

#9 Posted by xXDrPainXx (4001 posts) -
I have 2x 6850's and haven't had any problems that are noticeable to me. Granted I don't play many new titles when they first come out anymore so by time I get to them I guess they have either patched the problems or the drivers have matured enough for the game.
#10 Posted by Yams1980 (778 posts) -

I've seen many benchmarks with Skyrim and it doesn't support SLI or Crossfire very well, if at all. So that game has no benefit from more then one card I can see

#11 Posted by mitu123 (153911 posts) -

I've seen many benchmarks with Skyrim and it doesn't support SLI or Crossfire very well, if at all. So that game has no benefit from more then one card I can see

Yams1980

Um, it does support SLI, I own it and tried it, I noticed how much of an increase it went:

Without SLI:

5koqyg.png

With it:

23jmom.png

#12 Posted by Yams1980 (778 posts) -

^ very sweet, i just seen a bunch of benchmarks that didn't seem to work with Skyrim... i'm glad it does. almost doubled your framerate also, very nice

#13 Posted by Yams1980 (778 posts) -

I was wondering what resolution you were running Skyrim at in those screenshots?

#14 Posted by godzillavskong (7891 posts) -

I have xfire 6870's at the moment and can max The Witcher 2 (no ubersampling). Only had some issues in a couple of games so I turned it off and the games work fine. Definately reccomend as a cheap way to boost visuals.

braddlesturbo
Cool. Looking to do it next week. Most of the games I've played can run at high, or ultra, with The Witcher 2 being the exception. Either that game is just buggy, or requires a lot of gpu power.Hopefully this other 6870 will help.
#15 Posted by mitu123 (153911 posts) -

I was wondering what resolution you were running Skyrim at in those screenshots?

Yams1980

On my old monitor it was 1600x900, but I now game at 1920x1200 and there isn't a huge difference in drop of FPS either with SLI between the res though it depends on the area.

#16 Posted by DevilMightCry (3494 posts) -

A few of my games have bad CFX support. I wouldn't suggest it.

configme
Which ones? I had Sapphire 6870 CF, and the only game I had issues with was Skyrim.
#17 Posted by mitu123 (153911 posts) -

[QUOTE="configme"]

A few of my games have bad CFX support. I wouldn't suggest it.

DevilMightCry

Which ones? I had Sapphire 6870 CF, and the only game I had issues with was Skyrim.

Are you still having them now? I don't with my SLI set up.

#18 Posted by blaznwiipspman1 (6041 posts) -

[QUOTE="Yams1980"]

I've seen many benchmarks with Skyrim and it doesn't support SLI or Crossfire very well, if at all. So that game has no benefit from more then one card I can see

mitu123

Um, it does support SLI, I own it and tried it, I noticed how much of an increase it went:

Without SLI:

5koqyg.png

With it:

23jmom.png

is this a trick question? Am I supposed to see something different from picture #1 to #2?

#19 Posted by DevilMightCry (3494 posts) -
Yeah, look at the FP/S bro.
#20 Posted by streetridaz (3276 posts) -

A few of my games have bad CFX support. I wouldn't suggest it.

configme
A "few" of your games have had bad crossfire support so you wouldn't suggest it. What about the games that do support it.....LMAO when you actually come a cross a program that doesn't support crossfire and it is actually causing negative scaling........then you just turn off crossfire mode and wait for AMD to release a cap for it. Not that big of a deal I would rather rock crossfire then buy a single card for more money and not have better performance. I paid $515 for my 2gb 6950 CFX setup and it beats a 7970 buy a significant margin. I have very very few issues with my crossfire setup. The worst thing i get from time to time is micro stuttering but i'm never had a very bad case of it.
#21 Posted by streetridaz (3276 posts) -

[QUOTE="mitu123"]

[QUOTE="Yams1980"]

I've seen many benchmarks with Skyrim and it doesn't support SLI or Crossfire very well, if at all. So that game has no benefit from more then one card I can see

blaznwiipspman1

Um, it does support SLI, I own it and tried it, I noticed how much of an increase it went:

Without SLI:

5koqyg.png

With it:

23jmom.png

is this a trick question? Am I supposed to see something different from picture #1 to #2?

yeah double the frame rate. LOL Look at the on screen display in the top left
#22 Posted by mitu123 (153911 posts) -

[QUOTE="mitu123"]

[QUOTE="Yams1980"]

I've seen many benchmarks with Skyrim and it doesn't support SLI or Crossfire very well, if at all. So that game has no benefit from more then one card I can see

blaznwiipspman1

Um, it does support SLI, I own it and tried it, I noticed how much of an increase it went:

Without SLI:

5koqyg.png

With it:

23jmom.png

is this a trick question? Am I supposed to see something different from picture #1 to #2?

Top screen is 65FPS and on 1 460, bottom screen is 119FPS and on 2 460s, as shown in the top left of the screens.

#23 Posted by godzillavskong (7891 posts) -
[QUOTE="configme"]

A few of my games have bad CFX support. I wouldn't suggest it.

streetridaz
A "few" of your games have had bad crossfire support so you wouldn't suggest it. What about the games that do support it.....LMAO when you actually come a cross a program that doesn't support crossfire and it is actually causing negative scaling........then you just turn off crossfire mode and wait for AMD to release a cap for it. Not that big of a deal I would rather rock crossfire then buy a single card for more money and not have better performance. I paid $515 for my 2gb 6950 CFX setup and it beats a 7970 buy a significant margin. I have very very few issues with my crossfire setup. The worst thing i get from time to time is micro stuttering but i'm never had a very bad case of it.

Yeah, it seems like the positives outweigh the negatives, and I'll be getting another 6870 to Crossfire next weekend. I just hope a 600 watt powersupply is enough.
#24 Posted by DevilMightCry (3494 posts) -
I use a 630w, and it ran fine. What do you have?
#25 Posted by godzillavskong (7891 posts) -
I use a 630w, and it ran fine. What do you have?DevilMightCry
600watt.
#26 Posted by godzillavskong (7891 posts) -

Is it harder for games to run on a bigger screen, instead of a more traditional monitor, say something like a 19-26in? I'm using my 55in Toshiba LED as my monitor also and wondered if it would put more strain on the card?

#27 Posted by DevilMightCry (3494 posts) -
[QUOTE="DevilMightCry"]I use a 630w, and it ran fine. What do you have?godzillavskong
600watt.

What specific PSU do you have?
#28 Posted by godzillavskong (7891 posts) -
[QUOTE="godzillavskong"][QUOTE="DevilMightCry"]I use a 630w, and it ran fine. What do you have?DevilMightCry
600watt.

What specific PSU do you have?

It is a ULtra pwr supply. It wasn't very expensive. Maybe a bad call on my part, seeing as how everything else depends on it, and I shouldn't risk cutting any corners. I'm running a FX-6100 ,6870vc, 8gb DDR3@1600mhz in dual mode. I've purchased 3 of these power supplies and they've performed well so far. I bought each of my son's one. One has a hd6850 and the other has a gtx460. The model # is LS600. It has a lifetime warranty. Says it's 72% efficiency on a typical load.
#29 Posted by DevilMightCry (3494 posts) -
Well, I say buy another 6870, run a stress test, and if you get BSODs, or shutdowns, buy another PSU (good one can be had under $89).
#30 Posted by godzillavskong (7891 posts) -
Well, I say buy another 6870, run a stress test, and if you get BSODs, or shutdowns, buy another PSU (good one can be had under $89).DevilMightCry
Cool. Will do. Thanks for the advice. Hopefully it will do ok. I should invest in another one anyways. Maybe a good name brand with at least 700-800 watts.I see I can get the HIS hd6950 IceQ card for about 280 and I was seriously thinking about it, but I think I'll just go with the HIS 6870 IceQ to pair with my other one just to see how it performs. If it doesn't perform up to par I'll just give it to my son and grab the 6950. I was thinking of pairing his 6850 with my 6870 and running them in Crossfire just to see how they ran. Just seemed like a little too much work to do seeing as how I'll be picking the 6870 up in less than a week.
#31 Posted by godzillavskong (7891 posts) -
Well, I say buy another 6870, run a stress test, and if you get BSODs, or shutdowns, buy another PSU (good one can be had under $89).DevilMightCry
Do you know if playing games on a bigger screen stresses the card out more?Just wondering because I seemed to remember being able to run The Witcher 2 on pretty high settings on my monitor, but it can only get medium, to slightly high on my 55in before the frame rate dies.
#32 Posted by DevilMightCry (3494 posts) -
[QUOTE="DevilMightCry"]Well, I say buy another 6870, run a stress test, and if you get BSODs, or shutdowns, buy another PSU (good one can be had under $89).godzillavskong
Do you know if playing games on a bigger screen stresses the card out more?Just wondering because I seemed to remember being able to run The Witcher 2 on pretty high settings on my monitor, but it can only get medium, to slightly high on my 55in before the frame rate dies.

It does. Especially with a higher resolution + bigger screen.
#33 Posted by godzillavskong (7891 posts) -
[QUOTE="godzillavskong"][QUOTE="DevilMightCry"]Well, I say buy another 6870, run a stress test, and if you get BSODs, or shutdowns, buy another PSU (good one can be had under $89).DevilMightCry
Do you know if playing games on a bigger screen stresses the card out more?Just wondering because I seemed to remember being able to run The Witcher 2 on pretty high settings on my monitor, but it can only get medium, to slightly high on my 55in before the frame rate dies.

It does. Especially with a higher resolution + bigger screen.

Yeah. I may go back to my 20in HP monitor. I'll leave the 55in for the PS3 and the 360. The HP monitor is capable of 1400 x 900, so that'll be fine for now. For some reason I prefer that with the PC anyways. Not sure why. I guess I get sick of having to type on my coffee table or sofa with this wireless keyboard and mouse.
#34 Posted by thekey (5096 posts) -

I'm thinking of picking up another 6870 to run in Crossfire and was curious, are there a lot of games supporting this function , or is it losing support? I have the IceQ Turbo 6870, wich overclocked rather well, so I'll indeed pick up another one of the same to match. While some games play flawlessly on Ultra, games like The Witcher 2 seem to only run @ medium to high settings. I'm wondering if another 6870 will help, or is it best to just get a 6970 or 6950? I just didn't want to have to spend that kind of money, especially if running two 6870s will give me a almost equal experience. Thanks for your input.

godzillavskong

 

Yes crossfire is worth it A pair of HD7870's will definately do it. Also you can try pairing up some HD 7950's will absolutely do it. 

#35 Posted by kraken2109 (13033 posts) -

[QUOTE="godzillavskong"]

I'm thinking of picking up another 6870 to run in Crossfire and was curious, are there a lot of games supporting this function , or is it losing support? I have the IceQ Turbo 6870, wich overclocked rather well, so I'll indeed pick up another one of the same to match. While some games play flawlessly on Ultra, games like The Witcher 2 seem to only run @ medium to high settings. I'm wondering if another 6870 will help, or is it best to just get a 6970 or 6950? I just didn't want to have to spend that kind of money, especially if running two 6870s will give me a almost equal experience. Thanks for your input.

thekey

 

Yes crossfire is worth it A pair of HD7870's will definately do it. Also you can try pairing up some HD 7950's will absolutely do it. 

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