Xfire hate!?

[bhavv]

I can't take anyone serioisly that actually believes xfire or sli is hard to setup, its exactly as simple as installing one graphics card.

I assume that people on these forums would be at least capable of checking if their motherboard supports multiple GPUs too.

 

[Gashman]

I am also a numerous time user of SLI and Crossfire, had no troubles with either of them to be honest though I do think the people who use 'high-end' cards in dual set-up are a bit deluded as it is essentially pointless for almost everything except benchmarking.

the whole point of SLI and Crossfire is mid-range, or at least that is my interpretation of it. right now two 6850/7770 cost significantly less than a GTX 580 but perform similar or better in a ton of circumstances, also produce less heat and consume less power (especially the 7770 Crossfire).

did in the first time with two 7600GT, which were mid-range cards at the time and got 7800GT or higher performance for less cost, less power consumption. also mid-range cards tend to be shorter than their high-end brothers for people with length restrictions in their cases, also microstutter is massively massively blown out of all proportion, using a Crossfire set-up no and get no obvious microstutter in anything I use it for but still gives strong performance.

to sum up my personal opinions on Crossfire and SLI, want 'the best' then go for the high-end single card solutions, want best 'bang for buck' go for dual mid-range cards and get similar/better performance for lower cost, no brainer.

 

[zuludawn]

I am also a numerous time user of SLI and Crossfire, had no troubles with either of them to be honest though I do think the people who use 'high-end' cards in dual set-up are a bit deluded as it is essentially pointless for almost everything except benchmarking.

It would be better to not generalize people and be a bit more in accurate you're summary.
If at only 1920x1080-1200 resolutions then perhaps you have a fair comment. But there are more and more people using 27inch 120hz and 2560x1440 resolution lately and you may be deluded if you thing anything but highend xfire\sli will run games a playable lvls (60fps)
Just as an example

A 5970-5870 trifre any game maxed out at 1920x1080 around 45 to 60fps.
At 2560x1440 maxed out ie Skyrim 10fps, BF3 12fps etc etc.
7970 same settings 35 to 45fps.
7970 xfire 77fps+, all real time tests using Fraps. (i know there is a vram issue but you can see my point just what is needed a higher res))

 

[Gashman]

It would be better to not generalize people and be a bit more in accurate you're summary.
If at only 1920x1080-1200 resolutions then perhaps you have a fair comment. But there are more and more people using 27inch 120hz and 2560x1440 resolution lately and you may be deluded if you thing anything but highend xfire\sli will run games a playable lvls (60fps)

right, the comment is a general one, not a definitive one. the great bulk of the PC gaming market do not game at ultra-high resolutions or use 27" 120Hz monitors, you would probably find that 1920*1080 would be more like a normal resolution hence how it was a valid comment to make. please don't forget that us, the people on this forum, computer enthusiasts make up a grain of sand in the overall market for computers therefore it isn't even worth considering us as an important part of the market.

how is it generalising people to state an obvious market fact, didn't once comment 'people on this forum using dual high-end cards are deluded...', think its normal to game at 2560*1440, go do a survey and would eat my hat (not that I wear one) if it was anything more than a tiny tiny minority that did. it would be more generalising people to assume that the market is dominated by those types of ultra high resolution, multi-screen systems, because it would be labelling the entire market 'high-end' or 'enthusiast' which isn't the case.

Edit: and I totally agree, for those types of set-ups high-end Crossfire is a fantastic and sometimes required solution for enjoyable game-play but its far from the norm.

 

[zuludawn]

think its normal to game at 2560*1440, go do a survey and would eat my hat (not that I wear one) if it was anything more than a tiny tiny minority that did.

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18372144

bottom 3 2560x1440/1600 and multi monitor setups at 18.38% combined, more than you think. Go buy a hat for lunch `;¬)

 

[rob77]

I'm quite new to crossfire having bought a second 6950 a few weeks ago. I had read all these horror stories about microstutter, driver and noise and heat issues but for me the experience has been very positive. I bought the second card as I wasn't able to max out the latest games and keep a constant 60fps and adding in an extra card took care of that by more or less doubling my fps. The top card does get a little warmer than it did when just one card was installed resulting in the fans spinning a little faster but I've set up a fan profile in afterburner and the noise isn't that much louder than what it was before. All the games I have tried work really well and I was surprised that even some older titles like outrun 2006 and virtua tennis support crossfire. The only title so far I have had issues with is battlefield 3 where it requires me to Alt-Enter a couple of times to get the game to use 2 gpu's. This could be because I'm using 2 monitors though, I've not had time to play around with the settings. Apart from that it's been a really positive and I would recommend it to anyone on a budget or just looking to boost there current set up.

 

[Steves1982]

Had 6950 xfire for the last year and honestly don't remember any issues at all and for the price I paid and what was available at the time I can't think of much better bang for buck.

Things change though so I think it's just best to see how much money you have to spend and then pick the most performance available, whether that be sli/crossfire or a single GPU for your budget.