Upgrade GPU for Eyefinity Advice - Titan or Crossfire

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defmetal

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Apr 25, 2013
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I currently have two AMD 7970s, and I have room for a 3rd GPU on my i7 evga FTW3 X58 motherboard that would be PCIe 2.0

I just got into Eyefinity (and I assume NVidia surround would be about the same) and I'm loving it for some games like Skyrim, Guild Wars 2, Bioshock Infinite, SWTOR, WoW, etc. I mostly play online games.

I am trying to decide, for playing games at a bezel-adjusted resolution of 5760x1080p (3 1080p monitors), would I be better off with 3 AMD 7970s in triple crossfire, or one Nvidia GTX Titan.

Here is my thought process:
Crossfire has hitching and a micro stutter
Eyefinity, according to most, is better than NVidia surround (but I've not used it)
AMD has terribad drivers for games, and I regret switching to AMD from NVidia
Three AMD 7970s only uses the vram of 1 gpu for the purpose of high resolution gaming


So, option one is, spend $400-ish to buy a 3rd GPU, or sell both GPUs for around $700 and spend $300 for a Titan.

Currently I get abysmal FPS gaming at max settings with the two 7970s, that is the reason I'm upgrading. Like ~30 fps in SWTOR, or 50 FPS in GW2 but with massive spikes down to 5 fps. Bioshock infinite was fantastic though, it stayed around 90 fps.

Outside of games like Crysis, should I expect better gaming performance using a single GPU Titan with 6gb of vram for gaming at 5760x1080? I do believe Crysis would play better with 3 gpus because of the nature of the game.


yes I know I'm going in circles here, thank you for any advice on this upgrade ~
 
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nguyenm

nguyenm

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May 1, 2013
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According to this article: "http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html", by going from Crossfire to Trifire reduce micro-stuttering significantly. This article is a bit outdated so by now AMD's drivers and Crossfire Profiles has been updated and optimized. From neutral POV, even though I've own only AMD GPUs (HD2400,5570,7750) but i have build various system for my highschool friends, crossfire has more value if electric bill isn't a problem.
What i would recommend is you should definitely get a third HD7970 since it's that easy in terms of compatibility, drivers and eyefinity advantage. Plus free games too if you haven't already got them.
My optimal solution can be found on this link "http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/5414/amd-radeon-hd-7990-6gb-and-hd-7970-ghz-edition-video-cards-in-crossfirex/index.html", of course, if you have the money.

anyways, hope that i help :)

Cheers from Vietnam and Canada.
 
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I

ikaz

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Dec 27, 2005
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Well the the problem is I doubt your going to get much better frame rates with a single Titan since its slower on average than a 690 which is two 680's. However you may get smoother game play in general since its only one card. That being said going with 3 tri fire is suppose also smooth out the frame greatly however I don't believe it will scale well.
 
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bryonhowley

bryonhowley

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Oct 24, 2011
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I have a Crossfire HD 7950 with a FX-8120 and a Crossfire HD 7970 with a FX-8350 both with 3 Asus 27" monitors in Eyefinity and my systems have no micro-stutter problems in any of my games. I also have a SLI GTX 670 with a i5 3570K running on a Surround with 3 Asus 27" monitors.

As for AMD/Nvidia drivers both have really good drivers I have not had any problems with ether company's hardware or drivers.

One exception to that would be with Eyefinity/Surround I have found that AMD has a much better Eyefinity setup. In games Surround works just fine but at the desktop level Nvidia has a way to go there are a lot of features that just do not work correctly with Nvidia's setup.

With a triple monitor setup at 1080p(5760x1080) you do not need more than two 7970. I personally do not see the need for a Titan I just can't justify that much money on one single card.

The one thing I would counter is that the AMD drivers are not terrible and in fact are really good as of late I have had more problems with the latest Nvidia drivers than I have with AMD for quite some time. For instance the latest Nvidia drivers has made Trine 2 to stop working correctly.

All in all the 7970 cards are really good and I would put a Crossfire 7970 up against a SLI GTX 670 any day and since I own both I can speak about both cards. Had I known the problems with Nvidia's Surround I would have staid with AMD for all three of my rigs.
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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Oct 30, 2004
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For multiple GPU builds, I have only been doing nVidia of late .... and everything is 120/144Hz ... for me 60 Hz "is over".

1. Well publicized Crossfire Issues
http://www.anandtech.com/show/6857/amd-stuttering-issues-driver-roadmap-fraps/6
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-benchmarking-frame-rate,3466.html
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Frame-Rating-Part-3-First-Results-New-GPU-Performance-Tools?page=2#comments

2. Outta the gate, eyefinity had a strong lead, but over time, I see most reviews started going nVidia's way
3. I found Batman AC in 3D stunning ... and I hate 3D movies.
4. GPU Boost / PhysX definitely enhance the gaming experience ..... one of those things that ya don't actually miss until ya turn it off ..... don't play enough to have an opinion on active V-sync
5. AMD and 120 Hz can be tough .... on 3 screens real tough....seems peeps reporting nVidia works "outta the box" and AMD folks struggling w/ adapters, software tweaks and more effort than ya might like.

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/5227/amd-eyefinity-issues-with-triple-screen-setups-and-120hz-refresh-rates/index3.html
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1677167
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/335529-33-120hz-questions-choosing-monitor
 
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B

bystander

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Dec 9, 2009
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That 3-way Crossfire test was on one single game. It has also been shown that FPS limiters and CPU bottlenecking can fix stuttering. It could have been CPU bottlenecking that solved it, and not 3-way Crossfire. Given that Crossfire has no frame metering according to AMD themselves, I believe this is more likely the case, which means if he is not CPU bound, 3-way wouldn't help.

Another option is to sell the 7970's and go 2 way 670/680 4GB. It won't help you get higher FPS, but it'll help with the stuttering issues. The Titan will cause you to have lower FPS, though they will be much more consistent without the stutter. Ultimately you'd want Titan SLI to reach your goal.
 
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17seconds

17seconds

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Jul 27, 2010
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Titan vs. Crossfire:
This quote seemed to stand out in terms of your preference for performance over cost:
" Crossfire is still riddled with stuttering and various other bugs while SLI has its own set of teething problems. This unfortunate situation leaves the TITAN’s position in the market relatively unscathed since it can deliver consistently high performance with none of the dual card solutions’ excess drama. Is that actually worth potentially hundreds of dollars more than a competing SLI or Crossfire setup with lower priced GPUs? For a discerning gamer with enough cash, absolutely."
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/60166-nvidia-gtx-titan-vs-sli-crossfire-15.html

Tri-Crossfire:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/04/22/nvidia_geforce_gtx_titan_3way_sli_review/10#.UYG40RPn-Uk

Apparently, the Titan holds up pretty well.
 
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B

bystander

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Dec 9, 2009
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Yeah, that article definitely shows 3-way Crossfire does not fix stuttering. Look at some of the benchmarks can show you that. The THG test was very incomplete at the time.
 
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