x-Fire 7950 vs one 970?

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wotot2

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Hello
In my rig I currently have 2 hd7950's in crossfire, with 3gb of vram available. I game across three monitors, with a resolution somewhere in the neighborhood of 5790x1080 (not exactly). Those cards can handle most games I throw at them on high, averaging about 55-60fps but dipping in some areas to 35-40.

I'm interested in upgrading cards, and the card I have my eye on is the newer gtx 970. I would probably sli down the road, but not immediately. I am interested in that extra gig of vram, as well as better heat performance that the card offers. Will it be able to keep up with or outperform my current setup? Is it worth buying into this generation or should I wait?
 
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4745454b

4745454b

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? I don't see the 7950 (280) in that chart, let alone the CF setup he has. The closest CF setup I see there would be the 7990, which is 22% faster then the OC'd 970. Naturally the 7950/280 will be slower then that card, but not by much. Even if we take it down to 100%, then the new card is only just as fast as your current setup. On that basis I'd suggest staying with what you have.

The 280 goes for ~$125 online used, so you might want to consider selling them. You might be able to get $250 for the both of them, if they both sell. This still means you'll need to shell out ~$80+ just to keep the performance you already have. Even with the lower power draw it will take a long time for the power difference to make that up.
 
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wotot2

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Thanks for the response, I appreciate it. So off that chart the R9 290 will actually offer similar performance to the 970?

 
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rolli59

rolli59

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Single HD7950 at 56% performance of a 970OC at 2560 x 1600 Knowing that good crossfire gain is 60% it will not get there!
 
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rolli59

rolli59

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290X is right there by the 970!
 
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wotot2

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Interesting. I am interested in selling right now, because I still can get about 100 for each of them. I'm worried if I wait it will go waaaaaay down on AMD's next release

 
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4745454b

4745454b

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Why are you looking at 2500x2600 when the 5670x1080 chart is up there? That's what he plays at, so I'd use that. Going the route you used, the 280X is at 73% of the OC'd 970. Lets say the 280 is at 60%. Yes CF won't double, but I'd still say on average that it should be close to that 100% I mentioned earlier by working back from the 7990 figures. He would be, on average, getting similar performance. So I stick with my no unless he can sell them for a great price.
 
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Wisecracker

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Why are you looking at 2500x2600 when the 5670x1080 chart is up there? That's what he plays at, so I'd use that. Going the route you used, the 280X is at 73% of the OC'd 970. Lets say the 280 is at 60%. Yes CF won't double, but I'd still say on average that it should be close to that 100% I mentioned earlier by working back from the 7990 figures. He would be, on average, getting similar performance. So I stick with my no unless he can sell them for a great price.
Click to expand...

I'm going with this.

It's essentially a parallel move roughly 6 months before new cards debut on a smaller node...

 
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rolli59

rolli59

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I do not use the 280X because it is about 25% more powerful than a HD7950 http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_280X_ that will put the 7950 at 73 x 3/4 = 54.75% so any way you look at it I believe the GTX970 is better.
If OP's cards are boost edition wee will get closer to what you are saying with 280 performance.
Any way there will be less dips in fps on the single card and some games are not that great with dual cards and his plan is to get another one for SLI later.
 
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4745454b

4745454b

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I don't mean to say that CF 7950s are the cards to get. But he already has them. As wisecracker, it's a sideways move at best. With new AMD cards coming. I can't see spending ~$100+ just to get similar, or even 10% faster speeds. If I was starting from scratch I would totally get the 970. If I knew of two people who would give me $200 each for my 7950s then I would do it. But I really don't see the 970 as an upgrade to the current 7950 setup.
 
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wotot2

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Thanks for the answer. My struggle at this point is, when those new cards come out, my current cards value is going to tank. I know that I can get ~115 for both of them now, but I doubt I'll be able to get that 6 months from now. If I can find a good deal this winter on a 970, and its a sidestep, wouldn't it make sense to do that since that card is newer and the price won't drop as much? I know that I am in the wrong hobby to be worried about resale value haha, just something that has me thinking.
 
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rolli59

rolli59

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To me it makes sense since it is no loss in performance with massive gain when you go SLI. I have seen those HD7950 cards selling up to $150 on ebay.
 
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wotot2

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Thank you sir or madam. Just wanted to make sure I wouldn't lose any performance dropping to one card. I appreciate it!
 
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