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Advice needed on my Gfx options

shawsy109

shawsy109

shawsy109

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Joined
11 Feb 2012
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1,086
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Up north.
So, I have asked a fair few questions the last 2 months ive been a member.

I have posted various times about 6950 ICEQ crossfire. The problem is I have a
GA Z68AP D3 mobo, it has 2 pci-e x16 2.0 lanes. The top lane will run at x16 with my card in there but I just want more oommph so I want a 2nd card, when i plug that in it will lower both lanes to x4. From what i have researched the drop in performance wont be to much.

I have realized I dont actually want to spend £350 plus on a new gfx card like a 7970 or equivalent. I can get a 2nd 6950 ICEQ from a friend of a friend rather cheap and brand new. I have also bought the a PSU (750w) with the required 4 x 6pin pci-e connectors and the amount of money spent will amount to around £250, which is considerably less than a new 7970 or 680 which i was thinking of.

I dont want to buy a new mobo. Just a card, already got the PSU.

The one and only thing stopping me is the 2 cards both running at x4/x4, from what i read as its pci-e 2.0 its effectively running the cards at x8/x8. I have looked at so many posts today on literally 60 or so threads all over the net. Some say do it, some say not to.

What do you guys think? If you were in my boat, what would you do?
 
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I have no experience with xfire but have read incompatibility in certain games (don't quote me on that please). Personally though I would prefer* a single card however others will tell you they have no xfire problems hopefully.

*I still might go SLI though
 
PCIe 2.0 x4 is eseentially PCIe 1.0 x8 speeds, meaning that you are looking at a 10-15% performance penalty.
I'm not sure off the top of my head which would be quicker, but the 7970, even at it's current price, is a bit expensive. What about a 7950? Can be had for 300 and there'll be no Multi GPU issues (not had any myself with past CF setups but there's always the chance)
 
Mojo said:
PCIe 2.0 x4 is eseentially PCIe 1.0 x8 speeds, meaning that you are looking at a 10-15% performance penalty.
I'm not sure off the top of my head which would be quicker, but the 7970, even at it's current price, is a bit expensive. What about a 7950? Can be had for 300 and there'll be no Multi GPU issues (not had any myself with past CF setups but there's always the chance)
Click to expand...

I already have the PSU I wanted for 80 quid. The 2nd 6950 is dirt cheap, like 170 cheap. I mean, I could in theory get a new card for £300 but then id have to sell the current 6950 I have. Not sure its worth the hassle. Wouldnt I just be better of getting the 2nd card cheap and running them at x4/x4?
 
erm, surely you can keep using the 6950 until you sell it?
if you've got the money to pay 170 for another 6950 then you can't be far off once you've sold yours

it sounds like you've already made your mind up and are looking to justify it, rather than looking for actual opinion
 
No, I have not made my mind up, I have so many things to pay for living alone in rented accommodation that takes all my spare pennies. I have the money to buy the 2nd card yes, but £170 to me is a lot of money. If i get the card and xfire results are rubbish, I have wasted money I otherwise could have used elsewhere. Yeah i could sell on again but thats money wasted again as I wont get all my money back. I wanted opinions before i jumped in, thats all.

Xfire is something I have wanted to try for a while, but like i said, i have other financial commitments that make it difficult to throw money around at pc parts.
 
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