Diamond HD 6570 Crossfire - Is it possible?

[SoundReason]

Hello,
I tried searching but didn't find anything on this. Everything I've read about the HD 6570 series says I need to have a crossfire connector to use this setup in Crossfire. However, the cards (which I have already purchased) DO NOT HAVE A CONNECTOR for a crossfire cable? I mean that there is nowhere on the card for me to even connect a Crossfire bridge, and not simply that they weren't in the package.

I'm quite miffed by this. I already opened and installed one card because all of the literature said it supported Crossfire. What is going on!? Will it crossfire through the PCI-E bus? Or have I been duped completely? I'm feeling ripped off at this point, and don't want to even open the second card.

Any insights would be very much appreciated, as I was looking forward to a smooth installation, and this has been a total buzz-kill.

My Mobo is an ASUS M4A78-E in case anyone cares, and I know for a fact that it support Crossfire. If any other system specs are required I would be happy to provide them.

Help!

 

[iam2thecrowe]

you dont need a crossfire bridge for low end cards like that, the data goes through the pcie bus. I wouldnt bother running them in crossfire, it will probably produce an insane amount of microstutter and you wont get better performance than a 6850.

 

[SoundReason]

Ugh, I probably should've done more research before going out to acquire these suckers. So you're saying I'm likely to encounter visual issues with them, but that I CAN crossfire them PCI-E alone? I'm worried I'm stuck with the opened one now, so is it worth opening and installing the second card, or should I just forget about it and return it?

Thanks for the initial reply. Any further feedback would be appreciated. I'm trying to max my performance for BF3, but it appears I've shot myself in the foot...?

 

[festerovic]

If you are gaming <1080p, the minimum card worth playing on is a 6850. Probably equivalent to a single 560ti.

 

[SoundReason]

Unfortunately I've already got one of these cards out of the box, and therefore won't be able to return it. I can, however, return it's intended twin. I'm gaming on a budget and was trying to beef my system by Crossfiring low-end cards, rather than spending more on mid or high range ones.

My real questions here are:

1./ Will microstuttering lead to perceptibly lower performance than a one card setup?

2./ Are we 100% sure I can crossfire the cards through the PCI-E bus without a connector cable (once I open the second card there's no going back...)?

3./ Should I just return the second card and play on the one I already opened? The performance off of one card is actually quite satisfactory, but I was hoping that adding a second would give marked increased in performance.

Thanks as well for your input.... I just have a decision to make about opening that second card, which depends on value, and compatibility.

 

[anti-painkilla]

I would try returning them, even if they say you have opened the box, try to say that explain what happened, ATI say they support xfire but really they dont support it sufficiently enough for todays gaming. The best you will probably get is a store credit. You might need to do a bit more research into how well they perform xfired before you take them back.

The worst that happens is they say no, make sure you speak to a manager or someone who cares about the customers.

 

[SoundReason]

I would try returning them, even if they say you have opened the box, try to say that explain what happened, ATI say they support xfire but really they dont support it sufficiently enough for todays gaming. The best you will probably get is a store credit. You might need to do a bit more research into how well they perform xfired before you take them back.

The worst that happens is they say no, make sure you speak to a manager or someone who cares about the customers.

Yeah it looks like this is the route I'm going to end up having to try. They are in perfect shape.

iam2thecrowe was right, microstuttering actually made the game visibly choppier when being run crossfire.

Hopefully the manager is a friendly character: these cards should be completely re-stockable. Fingers crossed.

 

[SoundReason]

Best answer selected by SoundReason.

 

[SoundReason]

Cards successfully returned. I'll probably go shell for a 6950 now, or something.