Crossfire 6870 vs ....

[RichH]

Hi Guys,

I have a 6870 1GB at the moment, but want a bit more grunt.

My first thought was to go crossfire becasue if it works properly it is really good bang for buck, but just wondered what everone elses opinion is.

A new 6870 is about £130, and mine is probably still worth £100 second hand, so the budget is £230.

The options seem to be:

CF 6870 (most powerfull, but lowest VRAM)
6970
7850 (Newest tech, lowest power?)
570 (Worst option due to low VRAM and not as pwerfull as CF6870?)

I was planning on buying this week, but if people think it really is worth waiting for GTX6xx I may do that.

Thanks in advance.

 

[RichH]

I have recently upgraded to a 680 from CF6870. In my opinion (@1080P), based on my experience with the setup, two 6870s just doesn't cut it.

What exactly do you mean by this?

 

[RichH]

Hmm, I can run BF3 on high at 1080p with a single 6870.

I would be pretty upset if i couldn't run ultra with crossfire.

 

[RichH]

hmm, i see. Tricky one then.

 

[RichH]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

I have just ordered a second 6870. It seems to me that this will offer the biggest improvement over what i already have. If I get a 7850 I will be relying on overclocking potential that will only "probably" be there, besides I will probably just want to crossfire 7850s in a couple of months if i get one now.

If the crossfire 6870 doesn't work out for me I can always sell and get a 7870.

Thanks again, and for reference with one 6870 (core 990, mem stock): Heaven 3.0 1080p 4x AA, Tesselation normal = score of 995.

I'll post a CF result in a couple of days.

 

[RichH]

Yeah I know I might not be able to play BF3 with everything on Ultra. But it seems like this is the only game which i really limited by VRAM at the mo, and I don't even really like BF3 that much.

TBH doubling my FPS in Crysis maxed out would be a better improvment to me than playing BF3 on Ultra textures rather than high.

 

[RichH]

I'll post back on BF3 Ultra performance as well in a couple of days.

 

[RichH]

Well I'm about to find out tomorrow.

If you are right I am going to feel like an idiot and there will be a pair of nearly new 6870s on the market....

 

[RichH]

Sod that - if you do have problems just DSR the new one and sell then old one

Not that, that is what DSR is really for and you shouldn't make a habit of it mind ha ha

Can you do that if you have opened the box?

 

[RichH]

Trust me, it won't be good. Stutter city.

We will see.

 

[RichH]

OK, you guys have talked me out of it.

I have cancelled the order for the 6870.

 

[RichH]

Thanks for the DSR info. As i said though i have cancelled the order now anyway.

I hate you guys, I want a 7870 now...

 

[RichH]

Sorry if I peed on your bonfire a bit there mate, but I am only basing it on my experience with CF6870@1080. BF3 was a slideshow sometimes on high (intense action) and unplayable at ultra. I'd hate for you to waste your money and be disappointed. You can get about 90-100 for your current GPU so that should contribute nicely to a new card. Good luck.

No problem, thanks for the advice.

I do like the idea of crossfiring mid-range cards, but i think you are right that it is silly to do it with 1GB cards at the mo.

 

[RichH]

OK, after reading the 7850 OC thread I have just ordered one, it should be here tomorrow.

Will now just have to resist the urge to buy a second one for crossfire in a week and a halfs time...