Yes, another GPU upgrade question.

[hlxbravo]

Hi guys, with the new GPU prices hitting the shores lately from both of the big two, I am thinking of an upgrade, like a lot of people probably .

I currently run a Sapphire 7950 Vapor-X at stock speeds, playing CoD/BF series games on an Asus VG278HE 27" 144Hz monitor. Now my dilemma is do I get another 7950 and go XF, or do I dump the existing 7950 and go for a more powerful single card. The downside for a single card route is that I do not really have £400+ to spend on one item at the moment, as I need new headset and also want a decent soundcard too.

However if I do go XF, I presume my PSU is up to the task : Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M High Performance 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply, it is also supplying a 2500k @ 4.2, an Alpenfohn K2 doom cooler one SSD, one HDD, an ext USB HDD, all sat in a NZXT Phantom Enthusiast USB3.0 full tower case, with blue lighting (standard) and 3x120mm, 1x200mm and 1x140mm fans.

Cheers guys.

Damn OCUK making us make these kind of decisions, with these crazy prices

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

Crossfired 7950's can nearly reach Titan speeds. I know what I'd be doing

 

[LtMatt]

Hi guys, with the new GPU prices hitting the shores lately from both of the big two, I am thinking of an upgrade, like a lot of people probably .

I currently run a Sapphire 7950 Vapor-X at stock speeds, playing CoD/BF series games on an Asus VG278HE 27" 144Hz monitor. Now my dilemma is do I get another 7950 and go XF, or do I dump the existing 7950 and go for a more powerful single card. The downside for a single card route is that I do not really have £400+ to spend on one item at the moment, as I need new headset and also want a decent soundcard too.

However if I do go XF, I presume my PSU is up to the task : Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M High Performance 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply, it is also supplying a 2500k @ 4.2, an Alpenfohn K2 doom cooler one SSD, one HDD, an ext USB HDD, all sat in a NZXT Phantom Enthusiast USB3.0 full tower case, with blue lighting (standard) and 3x120mm, 1x200mm and 1x140mm fans.

Cheers guys.

Damn OCUK making us make these kind of decisions, with these crazy prices

Taking all things into consideration in your instance i would recommend a powerful single gpu. Either a 290X or a 780, depending on your preference. The reason for this is simple, Battlefield 3/4. Your i5 is not going to have enough cpu grunt at 144hz to power a multi gpu setup. You should only consider a multi gpu setup if you plan to upgrade to an i7 or higher and overclock it.

 

[NoNameNoNumber]

I understand that running 144Hz will increase GPU loading but I was under the impression from these forums that an OC'd i5 could keep up with crossfired 7950's?
I'm quite happy to accept I'm wrong though LT.

 

[LtMatt]

I understand that running 144Hz will increase GPU loading but I was under the impression from these forums that an OC'd i5 could keep up with crossfired 7950's?
I'm quite happy to accept I'm wrong though LT.

Generally speaking it can, but not in Battlefield games. Battlefield loves cores/threads. If you're willing to grab an i7 then by all means do it. If you're sticking with your i5, clock it and buy a 290x or a 780.

 

[4737Joker]

290/290x with trueaudio may rule out your need for a souncard too, id wait and look at the 290 non x though myself.

 

[nicnik]

You might get £130 for the card if u flog it, i think.

The r290 (non x) could quite possibly be the best option here, if it's exclusively BF4 you're upgrading for.

 

[4737Joker]

i'm looking forward to seeing what the 290 brings to the table, if it's anything like Gibbo has suggested it would certainly be my choice. Depending on what happens to prices over the next couple of weeks/months.

 

[hlxbravo]

Cheers for the advice folks, so LtMatt.....you know of an i7 going cheap ?

Gonna pop over to MM see what the going rate is for an i7 although it's probably gonna be beyond my reach at present, with my other outlays

 

[LtMatt]

Cheers for the advice folks, so LtMatt.....you know of an i7 going cheap ?

Gonna pop over to MM see what the going rate is for an i7 although it's probably gonna be beyond my reach at present, with my other outlays

I'm keeping hold of mine mate. At 4.8ghz as my 24/7 overclock it drives my dual 7950's nicely. As long as you can get 4.5ghz or higher out of an i7 you'll be golden.

 

[4737Joker]

Just buy a 7950 and go xfire, see how you get on with BF4 etc. Lets face it you have 2 weeks to try it, you can allways send it back within 14 days if it doesn't live up to expectations. Your GPU usage may not hit 100% but you will still get decent frames.

Edit: Or if budget allows sell your i5 and replace it with an i7 if you don't think it cuts it for xfire.

 

[hlxbravo]

Well thanks for the input guys. Have just read the other thread going in here, with a similar vein to this one.
LtMatt, I appreciate what you say, as I have you down as one of the more knowledgeable guys on this area (along with tommybhoy too - no offence to you other guys) and there are many others with the same view on the net, also, obviously, others disagree. Have seen comments about mantle, including your own but this is not something I have followed, so I shall be reading more about that later.

I think for now I will go Jokers suggestion and pick up a new 7950, with a view to getting an i7 a little nearer Xmas, will prob drop the soundcard for now....BANG, there's £100 towards one right there

Had a quick look over at tomshardware regarding power draw and they bench 6 of the 7950's, although my exact one isn't there, the highest wattage drawn was 188w, after 10 mins bitmining. So assuming I double this to about 380 (2x7950) does that leave enough headroom in my PSU?

Cheers lads

 

[LtMatt]

PSU should be fine. I'm using a 750W PSU safely.