Crossfire this system?

jayhughes79

jayhughes79

jayhughes79

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27 Jun 2014
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Hello folks, I've recently bought a second hand PC with these specs:

i5-4670
H60 Watercooling
MSI Z87-G43
G-Skill 8GB 2133Mhz
ASUS HD 7770 2GB
500W Coolermaster PSU

I Like it a lot, use it for gaming. My friend has offered me his old GPU which is either another 7770 or a 7750 (can't remember) and I fancy trying to crossfire the 2.
I've read that Coolermaster PSUs ain't all that really and don't want to blow anything up - but the ************ estimated wattage for the crossfire system is about 370....sooooo what do you think? I intend on upgrading the card later anyway but thought this might be a nice little upgrade in the meantime especially since it's a gift. I'm not too sure about upgrading the PSU though, seems to have a lot of connections and stuff. I'm a bit nervous about blowing up my new toy.
 
Hi Jay, welcome to the forum.

You need to find out the exact model of the PSU, and the GPU has to be the same card (a 7770 2GB) although not necessarily the exact same model (i.e. can be Gigabyte, Sappire, Asus, anything as long as it's 7770 and 2GB).

To be honest, if you're seeking to upgrade on the card anyway, best to just save up for that, imo. But it's your money and if you want to try CrossFire for whatever reason, up to you. :)
 
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jayhughes79 said:
Thanks. :) The model of the PSU is RS 500 ACAB-M3.

I'm not sure exactly what the card is but after reading this, http://www.wsgf.org/f/u/contrib/article/18259/AMD_CrossfireX_Chart_1618W.jpg

I thought it might work.

Anyway I think maaaybe I'll leave it.
Click to expand...

Alright. Just so you know what that PSU can handle when you upgrade GPU:

It only has one PCI-E 6+2 pin connector. That means it can take a GPU with a single 6-pin or 8-pin power header.

It has dual 12v rails of 24 amps and 21 amps each. The CPU would be powered by one of them (preferably the 21 amp rail). So the GPU could not exceed 24 amp requirement (the manufacturers usually state the required amperage, or reviews will).

The max combined output of these rails is 408W.

http://www.coolermaster.com/powersupply/office-home-thunder/thunder-500w/


That all means it will take up to something like an R7 265 or a GTX 750Ti, GTX 660.

If you're lucky to find any 270X or GTX 760 with just a single power connector, then those would probably be okay too.
 
Hmmm getting complicated.. :)

It seems I'll have to upgrade the PSU anyway when I come to upgrade, was thinking along the lines of a GTX 760 at least, so perhaps I should get it out of the way now. Changing 1 component at a time seems far more doable and less scary.
 
jayhughes79 said:
Hmmm getting complicated.. :)

It seems I'll have to upgrade the PSU anyway when I come to upgrade, was thinking along the lines of a GTX 760 at least, so perhaps I should get it out of the way now. Changing 1 component at a time seems far more doable and less scary.
Click to expand...

Sounds good.

Just a caution - your motherboard will only do CrossFire (with Radeon cards) not SLI (with Nvidia cards), so you'd be limited to a single GTX 760.

Prices for R9 280's are now more or less even with GTX 760's. The former is the better card. So I'd go with one of those unless you need Nvidia for its features.

Plan your next PSU purchase carefully with that in mind. I'd say a good 550W for a single 280/280X/GTX 770, and a good 750W for 2 x 280/280x. For a single GTX 760 a good 450W (make sure it has two PCI-E connectors and check the 12v rail output) is fine.
 
For all the hassle of sli or crossfire, a single card is a great solution if you ever want to upgrade. Sometimes sli/crossfire can't double your fps.
 
Thanks for the advice Danny. I was checking the Power and energy rating but not the number of PCI-e connectors so that's saved me doing something dumb. Presumably if I can find one with 4 that will future proof me in case I ever want to crossfire 2 more powerful cards?

I'm aware that crossfiring is more of a hassle and can produce problems, but the real reason I'm considering it is because I have this card sitting around being unused. I wouldn't have bothered to buy another for the sake of crossfiring, but if it's there... I wasn't planning on buying another card for perhaps a year or so, if I can squeeze more performance out of this PC by upgrading the PSU (necessary anyway by the sound of it) and sticking the spare in then I think I might. :)
 
jayhughes79 said:
Thanks for the advice Danny. I was checking the Power and energy rating but not the number of PCI-e connectors so that's saved me doing something dumb. Presumably if I can find one with 4 that will future proof me in case I ever want to crossfire 2 more powerful cards?
Click to expand...

Exactly. And 6+2 pin connectors work out best.

Note that for CrossFire with 290/290X we're talking a good 850W PSU minimum. Good 750W will cover all the cards below that in CrossFire.

And I'd say a good 600-650W for single 290/290X/GTX780*/780Ti.

* Although many people are running 780's on 550W PSU's. Still, you want the PSU running at 50-70% on max load, ideally. And with any O/C, 550W may not be so comfortable.

That's it. I'm all out of warnings and cautions and biscuits. Hope this helps. :)
 
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