7970 Matrix Crossfire

[DJ_Bucho]

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

 

[DJ_Bucho]

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

 

[DJ_Bucho]

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...

 

[DJ_Bucho]

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.

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

 

[DJ_Bucho]

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...

 

[DJ_Bucho]

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

 

[DJ_Bucho]

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

 

[DJ_Bucho]

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

 

[DJ_Bucho]

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

I must admit I've got a OCZ Fatality 1000W PSU and I don't have any cables like that either

 

[DJ_Bucho]

HD 7970 isn't that much slower than a R9 290 and when you crossfire you get more performance, if you sell the HD 7970 you are looking for £120 so a second hand R9 290 will cost £100 or if you buy a HD 7970/R9 280x second hand it will cost £120 for more performance than a R9 290, sorry if that is hard to understand a little tired :/

That was my plan, get another 7970 for £120-£150 and that'll give me a setup that's more powerful than an R9 290 Now I just need to find one

 

[DJ_Bucho]

anthony566,
What temps are you getting on each card under general gaming use? also do you have a side mounted fan on your Haf X case?

 

[DJ_Bucho]

hi Yes I have replaced the top & side mounted fans with Spectre Pro red LED fans :-
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-054-BX&groupid=701&catid=2331&subcat=2335

I have the two top fans extracting and the front/side and the H80i fans pulling air into the case and side 200 mm fan pulls air across the 7970's helping with cooling temps are between 50 to 60 C depending on game and load.

I run in SLI all the time as I have 3 x 24" screens and where ever possible I run games across the 3 screens.

So the side 200mm fan pulls air from outside and blows it over the two graphics cards? That's the way I've got mine as well

 

[DJ_Bucho]

Just noticed you mentioning of the CPU...now I don't think it is such a good idea to crossfire 7970 after all, unless you game at above 1920 res.

At the minute I only game at 1920x1080, but I've got the money together to buy another two monitors so will be going to an eyefinity setup running three 24" 1080p monitors. I play a lot of Borderlands, and am really into racing games and First Person Shooters as well (hence I want to go to an eyefinity setup).
I know an Intel CPU would give me better outright maximum performance, but there's loads of people running crossfire 7970 on AMD CPU's so why don't you think it'll be a good idea for me to do the same?

 

[DJ_Bucho]

I think he means that graduating to a higher resolution for games will help to reduce the cpu bottleneck. It'll put more stress on the cards rather than the cpu, which in this case is what you want.

Ah right nice one. I just thought that three monitors running off one card would be a bit much if I wanted everything pretty much maxed out. But with two cards, I should be able to have all the eye candy on display

 

[DJ_Bucho]

Nice one mate, I think I'll keep a look out for another 7970 Matrix then, easier said than done.

 

[DJ_Bucho]

Were are you in the UK ? as I still have the single top fan that I have taken out of my case if you haven't already put a second one in I am sure we can sort something out ??

I'm already running two 200mm fans in the top of my case mate, thanks for the offer though

 

[DJ_Bucho]

Also not sure how you have your power supply setup but I have mine pulling air in from under the case ans out the back of the supply and not into or out of the case.

I've got my PSU setup so that it draws cool air in from under the case and the blows the warm air out of the back, so sounds the same as you matey What graphics cards are you running with that triple screen setup mate, that looks awesome

 

[DJ_Bucho]

Hi I have 2 x Sapphire HD 7970 OC's

DOH! Sorry mate I hadn't even realized it was you that posted the pictures, should have clicked on, lol.
So your running the same case as me, and the same motherboard, also an AMD CPU (what CPU you got, and what speed is it running at), and your running dual 7970's powering an eyefinity setup made up of three 24" monitors.

That sounds exactly what I'm after, if you could let e know your CPU specs etc, I'm going full steam ahead for another 7970 Matrix

 

[DJ_Bucho]

Brilliant, thanks very much 'anthony566', my system is remarkably similar to yours
What games do you play on your eyefinity setup, I've never gone eyefinity before, but really want to give it a go and it looks SO immersive.

 

[DJ_Bucho]

I give them all a go .... not all games play or support it very well but the ones that I am playing atm do they are are :-

BF 3 & 4
Crysis 3
Arma 3
DCS World ( flight sim )
Sniper Ghost Warrior 2

Yeah I understand that not all games support eyefinity, COD: Ghosts for one (which I play a lot of), but I also really like Battlefield 3, Crysis 3, Payday 2, and I'm also really into Grid: Autosport and Assetto Corsa