crossfire XFX 7950 3GB vs R9 290X?(7950 with a AMD CPU vs 7950 with an Intel CPU)

Moffe-greven · Oct 1, 2013

Hi!
This is my first post here.
At the moment i have a single XFX 7950 3GB black edition, I am wondering if its good to buy another
XFX card and run crossfire or wait for the new AMD R9 series and sell my current GPU?
My system spec:

AMD fx 6100 (3.30 GHz stock)@ 4 GHz (Upgraded CPU to Intel i5 3570K running @4.2 GHz (3.4 GHz stock) Water cooling)

8 GB RAM @ 1333 MHz (same Ram running @1866 MHz)

GPU: XFX Radeon HD 7950 black edition 3GB (Still the same but when i changed the CPU i got a lot of improvements)
GPU core 1100 MHz (900 MHz stock)
VRAM core 4x 1575 MHz (6.3GHZ) (5ghz stock)
GPU volt 1.162v (1.031v stock)
VRAM volt 1.6v (same)

MOBO:Gigabytes FXA- UD3 (Upgraded to MSI Z77A G65 Gaming motherboard)
OCZ PSU 750 Watt.
(Also Upgraded the OS from windows 7 64 bit to Windows 8.1 pro 64 bit.)

My problem is solved now thanks to dg2903.
A single GPU is the best to get.
My Graphic card is not bad, the problem was with the AMD processor the chip-set doesn't support PCI-Express x16,
it was x8 only so the Graphic card was running at x8 only, here is the 3D mark test http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7118706.
When i upgraded to Intel the performance improved and the GPU runs at x16 instead of x8
(3D mark test) http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/7479419.

SilverWolf9000 · Oct 1, 2013

Although the crossfire may theoretically run faster, there is no telling as nothing about the r9 290x has been confirmed really. I would, however if the rumors were true, would wait for a 290x as its power seems to be quite impressive. Theres a rumor going around that the 290x was not in crossfire when playing the triple 1080p Battlefield 4 Demo... Pretty impressive if true, eh?

dg2903 · Oct 26, 2013

Running dual GPU really hit & miss, it depends a lot on the driver. If you run CF in games like BF3, you will get almost double the performance of a single GPU, but if you run CF on games like Crysis 3, you will only get about half the performance of the second GPU, for example: 1 GPU in crysis 3 gives you 40fps, CF will give you about 55 fps instead of 80. the 290x is about 10% better than the 7970. CF 7950 is absolutely better than one 290x, but it does not guarantee you the full performance from the two cards, the 290x is not as good as CF 7950, but it will guarantee you 100% performance. It is also depend on what games you are playing and at what resolution you are playing at. If you play BF3 at 1080p, one single 7950 is enough to run at ultra setting. Unless you are playing at 1440p then you will need CF, but like i said, it is depend on the game, the GPU developer has to work with the game company so they can make the driver, if they don't, you won't get any benefit out of the CF, it is a waste of money. If i was you, i would sell the 7950 and buy 290x, you should be able to sell your 7950 from $100-$150. If im not mistaken, the 290x will be sold at around $550. One single GPU require less energy and release less heat than CF, and it also quieter. Plus 7950 is an old card compare to 290x, with all the future that the 290x has, it is worth it to sell your 7950 and get it. If you want to get CF, make sure to check your power supply (you did not mention it), you need at least a good 750W PSU to be able to run CF 7950, and also, upgrade your CPU, im afraid that CPU will bottle neck your CF.

Moffe-greven · Dec 10, 2013

dg2903 :

Running dual GPU really hit & miss, it depends a lot on the driver. If you run CF in games like BF3, you will get almost double the performance of a single GPU, but if you run CF on games like Crysis 3, you will only get about half the performance of the second GPU, for example: 1 GPU in crysis 3 gives you 40fps, CF will give you about 55 fps instead of 80. the 290x is about 10% better than the 7970. CF 7950 is absolutely better than one 290x, but it does not guarantee you the full performance from the two cards, the 290x is not as good as CF 7950, but it will guarantee you 100% performance. It is also depend on what games you are playing and at what resolution you are playing at. If you play BF3 at 1080p, one single 7950 is enough to run at ultra setting. Unless you are playing at 1440p then you will need CF, but like i said, it is depend on the game, the GPU developer has to work with the game company so they can make the driver, if they don't, you won't get any benefit out of the CF, it is a waste of money. If i was you, i would sell the 7950 and buy 290x, you should be able to sell your 7950 from $100-$150. If im not mistaken, the 290x will be sold at around $550. One single GPU require less energy and release less heat than CF, and it also quieter. Plus 7950 is an old card compare to 290x, with all the future that the 290x has, it is worth it to sell your 7950 and get it. If you want to get CF, make sure to check your power supply (you did not mention it), you need at least a good 750W PSU to be able to run CF 7950, and also, upgrade your CPU, im afraid that CPU will bottle neck your CF.

Thanks for the help dg2903. I have upgraded my CPU and the motherboard instead, i have an Intel core i5 3570K @ 4.2 GHz on a MSI Z77A G65 gaming motherboard and a 8 Gb Ram @1866 MHz, i still got my single 7950 GPU and it's doing very well i run BF4 on Ultra settings @ 60-70 FPS (120-144 fps @ Medium settings)

FranAmestoy · May 8, 2015

dg2903 :

Hello and sorry for reviving an old thread.
I already bought 2 7950 cards and I'm planning to do the same, I did some research on the Internet about the PSU and I found that 750 seems to be that recommended option, however I'm not sure if will be enough or I need a bigger one. I'm only planning to play at 1080p with no overclock.

Also, a Core i5 4690 is a good choice? Not sure here since I'm a newbie

Thanks in advance.

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crossfire XFX 7950 3GB vs R9 290X?(7950 with a AMD CPU vs 7950 with an Intel CPU)

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