Add another HD 7870XT to an existing one for crossfire, or replace with an entirely different card?

nitzanj · Nov 5, 2015

I want to upgrade my system to be able to play new games decently. I'm not looking for ultra settings - aiming for Fallout 4 high/very high.

My current setup (pretty much the minimum specs for fallout):
GA-Z77-D3H mobo
i5 3570K
16GB ddr3
Radeno HD 7870 XT

I'm trying to figure out what will get me better result - a completely new GPU or going for CrossFire with a second HD 7870XT - Around here I can get one for 170 US$.

I have a cooled big case and a 700 watt PSU so no problem there. The motherboard officially supports CrossFire but I'm not sure it's good enough. The specs say:
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4)
(http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4140#sp)

They also state that if I'm only using only one GPU I should use the 1st slot. Does that mean a crossfire setup won't really work that well? shouldn't both slots work at x16 for an optimal crossfire?

If I'm going for a new card I'm willing to spend ~250$ or so - will anything around that price out-perform two 7870s? will it have any other benefits? DX12 support or anything like that?

Thanks

LookItsRain · Nov 5, 2015

I would suggest a 970 or a r9 390 over crossfire simply because 2gb vram is not enough. The extra 50 dollars would be well worth it, or wait for the 380x, which is rumored to appear this month with 4gbs of vram.

nitzanj · Nov 5, 2015

Apparently prices here are ~30% higher than US, both the 970 and the r9 cost north of 400$... too much for me at the moment :/

LookItsRain · Nov 5, 2015

What currency then? Ill have to check prices.

nitzanj · Nov 6, 2015

LookItsRain :

Israel, the 7870 costs here around 650 NIS (~170 USD). The r9 390 goes for 1600 NIS (~410 USD)...

A few examples if 3/4 gb cards at around 1000-1100 NIS (that's under 300 USD):
R7 370 4GB
R9 270X 4GB
R9 280 3GB
750 Ti 4GB

Oh, btw playing on 1920X1080 monitor and I won't replace it any time soon. Not sure how much I really need the extra vram.

Sahaj Pal · Nov 6, 2015

Stick with the 7870 for now. R7 370, R9 270X, R9 280, GTX 750 Ti - None of these are worth upgrading to. Also, Crossfiring might prove to be troublesome. I'd always buy single gpu for my rig

You do need that extra VRAM. Newer games are proving to be VRAM hogs even on 1080p

madmatt30 · Nov 6, 2015

You're not going to match a 7870xt cf setup performance wise with your budget - that's a plain & simple fact.
The cards virtually identical performance wise to a 280.
However temps on those xt model are insane once you run a cf setup (I know because I've done it)

You'll lose a Max of 10% performance with a 16/4x cf configuration - it sounds's a lot but in all honesty its not.

LookItsRain · Nov 6, 2015

madmatt30 :

Agreed.

nitzanj · Nov 8, 2015

madmatt30 :

How bad is the cf temp situation? This is a very hot country... standard cooling in a fractal design R4 won't do?

Search

Add another HD 7870XT to an existing one for crossfire, or replace with an entirely different card?

nitzanj

Reputable

LookItsRain

Distinguished

nitzanj

Reputable

LookItsRain

Distinguished

nitzanj

Reputable

Sahaj Pal

Honorable

madmatt30

Titan

LookItsRain

Distinguished

nitzanj

Reputable

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page