Can I crossfire/would it be worth it?

[jesus2nd]

Now then,

I was planning to crossfire with another 7950 some months back but had to postpone it for various reasons and what with Christmas coming up I'll have a bit of surplus cash floating about so I figured I'd reignite the dream.

My current specs are:

• Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (clocked to 4.0 GHz under pressure)
• Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77
• Gigabyte 7950
• XFX Pro 550W Core Edition
• 8gb Ram

All coming through a 27" monitor

I've returned to the game to notice that 7950's have been replaced by newer models, is it still possible to crossfire along side one? Or Would the crossfire simply not be worth the time or effort?

Thanks in advance, all input/criticism/insults appreciated
Sam

 

[Marine-RX179]

While the XFX is a good PSU, but I would still doubt that 550W is enough for for a CF7950 setup. You might need to upgrade your PSU if you were to crossfire two 7950- ideally at least a decent 750W.

Also I believe your motherboard would only runs in x4 for the 2nd PCI-E x16 when you crossfire...that would drag down the bandwidth by quite a lot. In some games you might lose around as little as up to 10%, whereas others that scale poorly could be no faster...or even slower than your single 7950...this is of course the worst case scenerio.

Considering neither your PSU nor motherboard is ideal for going crossfire, may be you should considering selling your 7950 and upgrade to either a 290s or 7990 (if you can still find one at reasonable price)? The 290/290x would be around 30-50% faster (dependent on the game) than the 7950 clock for clock, and the 7990 goes without saying would be around twice as fast as your 7950 (provided that the games scale well with crossfire).

 

[RanxZy]

This is probably not the best time to try and pick up a 7950 due to the high demand for all high end AMD cards, specifically the range between 7950 to 7990. They are also end of life so that makes them doubly hard to find for a decent price.

It's possible you could use a 7970/280X to crossfire to maybe make it easier to find a card and although it's not the ideal setup it should still give a significant boost in games that scale. Again though it's not easy finding a reasonably priced 7970/280X at the moment.

I wouldn't be too confident with your power supply either so that may need an upgrade. So usually the consensus would be adding a second 7950 is a great upgrade, but right now you'll have to have a good look to get a decent one for a good price.

 

[jesus2nd]

Cheers for the input lads!

Upgrading the powersupply was a given! Just wanted to know where I stood on the card compatibility side of things.

I know I should have snapped up a 7950 a couple of month back when they were cheaper but I never got round to it, Probably best just holding on a few months then until I really, really, really need an upgrade. Still manage to run most things on high like.

Wasn't aware that my motherboard would run in x4 for the 2nd PCI-E x16 either so I guess that will need some looking into.

Cheers lads