7970 Matrix Crossfire

DJ_Bucho · 15 Jul 2014 at 10:43

So I already own a 7970 Matrix Platinum and I absolutely love it. It's never given me any problems although I've heard quite a few others have had them. I don't really have the money to purchase a brand new card, although I'd really love a R9 290X.

So I have been thinking about purchasing another 7970 Matrix to run in crossfire.

Would this be a worth while upgrade and what sort of price are these going for 2nd hand (as I've check the auction sites and they still seem to be about £200 which is only £50 less than I paid for mine brand new :mad:

snips86x · 15 Jul 2014 at 10:47

Sounds about right. In all honesty if you are looking to purchase a 7970, I would strongly consider getting a 290 as they're around the £200 mark. You could alternatively pick up a 280x which would crossfire with a 7970.

DJ_Bucho · 15 Jul 2014 at 10:49

snips86x said:
Sounds about right. In all honesty if you are looking to purchase a 7970, I would strongly consider getting a 290 as they're around the £200 mark. You could alternatively pick up a 280x which would crossfire with a 7970.

I had considered purchasing a 280x, but I've got a bit of OCD and I'd want two cards that are identical, so that it looks better in my case :rolleyes:

postmanfw · 15 Jul 2014 at 17:07

Sell the 7970 and buy 2x290

DJ_Bucho · 15 Jul 2014 at 17:30

I had also considered that, but the cheapest 290 is still £276, so that's like £552 for a pair of them. Even if I was to sell my current 7970 for £200, that's an extra £352 I'd have to find and I simply don't have that kind of money.
I was thinking if I could get another 7970 Matrix for like £150, then that'd be a good investment...

postmanfw · 15 Jul 2014 at 17:38

oops my bad...saw the mention of 290 for £200 but guessing thats in the MM

Marine-RX179 · 15 Jul 2014 at 17:50

7970 Matrix Platinum is 3 slots card if I remember correctly? Then you wouldn't really want to crossfire them...

DJ_Bucho · 15 Jul 2014 at 18:01

postmanfw said:
oops my bad...saw the mention of 290 for £200 but guessing thats in the MM

No I meant that the 7970 Matrix Platinum's seem to be going for about £200 on the auction site.

Marine-RX179 said:
7970 Matrix Platinum is 3 slots card if I remember correctly? Then you wouldn't really want to crossfire them...

Yeah they're a 3 slot design, but my motherboard (Asus Crosshair V Formula-Z) actually has 3 unused PCI-E slots between the primary and secondary PCI-E slots designed for graphics cards. So if I was to run duel 3 slot coolers, I'd still have an empty PCI-E slot between the two cards

ALXAndy · 15 Jul 2014 at 18:52

Yeah the nice thing about the CHVFZ is the lane layout, and the fact it supports Tri SLI. This means the top and bottom PCIE slots are miles apart, fine for triple slot coolers.

Kaapstad · 15 Jul 2014 at 21:19

ALXAndy said:
Yeah the nice thing about the CHVFZ is the lane layout, and the fact it supports Tri SLI. This means the top and bottom PCIE slots are miles apart, fine for triple slot coolers.

Two Matrix Platinum 7970s produce a lot of heat and it still could get very toasty in there.

DJ_Bucho · 15 Jul 2014 at 21:38

Kaapstad said:
Two Matrix Platinum 7970s produce a lot of heat and it still could get very toasty in there.

Their housed in a Cooler Master Haf X case with a 200mm fan mounted on the side, which blows a nice constant supply of cool air over the lower portion of the Motherboard, so IF I was to run duel 7970 Platinum's they should be kept under control temp wise...

Kaapstad · 15 Jul 2014 at 21:42

DJ_Bucho said:
Their housed in a Cooler Master Haf X case with a 200mm fan mounted on the side, which blows a nice constant supply of cool air over the lower portion of the Motherboard, so IF I was to run duel 7970 Platinum's they should be kept under control temp wise...

Case air flow is very important, mine produce massive amounts of heat when I start putting serious volts through them.

DJ_Bucho · 15 Jul 2014 at 22:31

Kaapstad said:
Case air flow is very important, mine produce massive amounts of heat when I start putting serious volts through them.

I'll keep that in mind should I ever actually get hold of a second card, thanks

anthony566 · 16 Jul 2014 at 08:53

DJ_Bucho said:
Their housed in a Cooler Master Haf X case with a 200mm fan mounted on the side, which blows a nice constant supply of cool air over the lower portion of the Motherboard, so IF I was to run duel 7970 Platinum's they should be kept under control temp wise...

I have the same case and I am running 2 x 7970's and its nice and cool IMO :-)

Kaapstad · 16 Jul 2014 at 09:32

Here is mine.

The HD7970 Matrix Platinums are big cards and they get a bit warm even with a gap between them.

snips86x · 16 Jul 2014 at 09:37

Are there any cards you don't own kapp?

DJ_Bucho · 17 Jul 2014 at 07:37

anthony566 said:
I have the same case and I am running 2 x 7970's and its nice and cool IMO

Awesome mate, Snap

Your running a very similar overall setup to me.

My system:
Asus Crosshair V Formula-Z
AMD FX-8350 cooled by a Corsair H105 (top mounted)
Asus Matrix 7970 Platinum
Housed in a Cooler Master Haf X case.

I see your also running an addition 200mm fan in the top of your case, do you have another 200mm fan mounted on the side? Also what sort of temps are you getting on both cards under general gaming use?

Any info would be greatly received

jimhaumman · 17 Jul 2014 at 16:03

anthony 556
Where did you get this psu cable which you have connected to your gpu?Did you get it with your psu cables or you bought it separately?What psu do you have?

DJ_Bucho · 17 Jul 2014 at 16:36

I'm pretty sure they're the standard cables that come with that model of Corsair Power Supply.

jimhaumman · 17 Jul 2014 at 16:51

I've got BeQuite!Dark Pro 750W,no cables like this in my bag...