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Should I upgrade?

Tags:
  • Core
  • Intel
  • AMD
  • Crossfire
  • Graphics
  • HD
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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October 5, 2013 9:55:21 PM

My current setup:
- AMD Radion HD 6900 x 2 (crossfire).
- Intel Core i& 2600 at 3.40GHz
- 16 GB DDR3 memory.
- ASUS P*P67

I upgraded the mainboard BIOS and the graphics performance just hasn't been the same. I have no idea why.

If I replace the xfire video cards I have now with a single or a pair of 780's? OR, would it be better to upgrade the main processor?

Thanks.

More about : upgrade

October 5, 2013 10:08:58 PM

haven't been he same as in better or worse?are you on the latest driver?
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October 5, 2013 10:13:00 PM

Worse since the firmware update. More choppy and I assume lower FPS.
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October 5, 2013 10:14:36 PM

What ccc version are you on,
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October 5, 2013 11:22:38 PM

The latest, I assume:

Display Driver ver. 13.152
OpenCL(tm) Driver ver. 10.0.1268.1
Catalyst Control Center ver. 2013.0830.1943.33589
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Best solution

October 5, 2013 11:44:18 PM

The 2600K CPU is still a very formidable processor. What do you mainly use your system for? If you are a gamer, don't bother upgrading the CPU, save the money and go with a new GPU.

A single GPU is always going to be better than multi-GPUs in several critical ways:
1. A single GPU will consume much less power compared to multi-GPUs.
2. Multi-GPUs will produce a huge amount of heat, causing your entire system to run hotter.
3. Not all games support multi-GPU, and dozens of games have bugs and glitches when played in multi-GPU configuration, not even mentioning that many games will not see a significant benefit from running multi-GPUs.

If you want to upgrade to a newer GPU, I would recommend the ASUS GTX 780 DirectCU II or the EVGA GTX 780 ACX. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to see what AMD will bring to the table when they release the R9 290X within a week or so, it's rumored to rival the GTX Titan, MSRP ~$700.
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October 6, 2013 12:20:52 AM

are you overclocked?just so u now bios update reset all setting to default.you might have to change it again in bios.also if you are planning to upgrade the 780 is a good choice if you have the budget.games are becoming more and more gpu intensive nowdays.only console port games tend to hit the cpu more than gpu.but for the long run a cpu upgrade wouldn't hurt.
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October 6, 2013 12:40:18 PM

Thanks for the very helpful replies:

I don't overclock. I am far from an expert in these things and don't want to mess things up.

I mostly play Battlefield 3 but will be getting BF 4 soon and want to make sure it will run smoothly. This is really the only game I play that has significant graphics.

Budget is not a major issue. I don't want to waste money, but will buy a good GPU (or 2) if it will make a difference.

I get the sense that I will see a good performance improvement going from two Radion HD 6900 cards to a SINGLE GTX 780. Is that correct? Also, getting a second GTX 780 is probably not worth it.

The GTX Titan is about $1150 (Canadian) while the GTX 780 is about $680. On option would be to buy one 780 and then only get a second if I want more performance in the future.

My monitor's resolution is 1920x180.

Am I understanding this correctly?
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October 6, 2013 3:17:45 PM

For today standard a single gtx 780 is powerful enough to play game at max setting at 1080p.crossfire and sli still have issue(especially micro stutter and scaling).but sli tend to scale better than crossfire.or you can wait for the new amd card which is said more powerful than the titan and cheaper.also once you get the 780,instead of getting a second one i recommend a cpu upgrade to avoid bottleneck
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October 6, 2013 5:06:04 PM

kookie3010 said:
For today standard a single gtx 780 is powerful enough to play game at max setting at 1080p.crossfire and sli still have issue(especially micro stutter and scaling).but sli tend to scale better than crossfire.or you can wait for the new amd card which is said more powerful than the titan and cheaper.also once you get the 780,instead of getting a second one i recommend a cpu upgrade to avoid bottleneck


^This, and which Radeon 6900 card do you have? There will probably be a price drop on the GTX 780 soon, or you might pick up a crazy deal on Black Friday, who knows. Sit tight for now because the game is going to change when the new AMD cards hit the market. Might as well get an SSD if you don't already have one, they are becoming more affordable.

Your i7 2600 is still plenty sufficient for gaming. Even in the most extreme cases, it will not bottleneck a game more than ~5FPS compared to a 4770K. Most games are 80% GPU and 20% CPU. Unless you play a lot of RTS games.



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October 8, 2013 1:10:17 PM

Thanks again for all the advice.

After looking some more...The only game I really play is Battlefield. So, I'll probably wait for the AMD R9 290x card which should be out shortly.

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