Should I prepare for Crossfire or is HD7950 enough for next-gen gaming?

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Mike Shiner

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May 28, 2013
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Hi there, would just like to say Hi, I've been a fan of these forums for a while but only just joined :)

My question is simple, I have just put some money into my first gaming build and now it comes down to the graphics. My build is as follows:

  • Intel i5 3750k (stock cooler, not overclocked)
    Zalman Z11 Pro case
    Gigabyte Z77-DS3H motherboard (F10 BIOS)
    8GB Corsair Vengence DDR3 RAM (1600Mhz, Dual Channeled)
    120GB Samsung Pro SSD (OS only)
    2x 1TB WD hard drives
    430w Corsair builder series PSU - Now sent back

I'm moving from console to PC gaming as I'm a bit of a graphics enthusiast but currently have an AMD HD5570 so i'm due an upgrade :p

I was looking at multiple graphics cards for my first 'up to date' build and have settled on the
SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD 7950 Vapor-X 3GB GDDR5

My question is, should I prepare my system to crossfire these cards for future gaming when my card gets a bit old a few years down the line? Or is it worth me waiting until this card is old in like 3-4 years and just upgrade the entire card?

This decision decides whether I get a 750w PSU or a 500w one so I'm not sure. I'm trying to save as much money as I can.

At the moment I will only be playing these games on a 1920x1080 (60hz) screen, but in the future I will probably look to get a bigger/better monitor.

I would like to play all latest games, bioshock, Battlefield 4, GTA5 etc on pretty much ultra settings. I have never experienced Anti-Aliasing so I probably won't have this on if it hurts my fps too much.

Thanks guys,

Mike.

 
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redeemer

redeemer

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May 30, 2004
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For the most part the 7950 does well and can handle most games and all games if your willing to comprise a little in fidelity. Really maxing out games and next gen game requires a lot of grunt something like a 7970Ghz or even a GTX 780 which is 20 sometimes 30% faster. Crossfire/SLI does boost performance big time but sometimes there are issues like support, heat and noise. Your CPU and board are excellent and as the for the 7950 is the best card you can get for $300 but it is considered a mid-range card. For Crossfire I recommend a high quality 800w PSU.

However if you want no compromises than you need to save more money and buy a GTX 780
 
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Mike Shiner

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May 28, 2013
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Thank you for your answer, you have answered my question, but I simply cannot stretch from £250 to £600 (in UK). I will just have to downgrade the graphics with newer games (I've heard the PS3 is visually equivalent to medium - high anyway haha) so I will probably be impressed anyway.
I think I'l stick with the 7950 and put the extra money into an aftermarket cooler and over clock both the CPU and GPU to squeeze a little bit more juice out of it.

I have looked at the 7970 before, but I read about the power of the 7970 being 'near-enough' achievable with a little voltage overclock on the 7950 card so I don't think it warrants an extra £100, unless someone has an altercation as to whether these two cards are more different than I think?
 
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MainStreaming

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Jun 13, 2013
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If you are running at 1080P then you won't have to turn the graphics down much at all, you probably will only have to turn off AA in BF4 because that is a huge GPU hog, adds around 30-40% boost in FPS!
 
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