6870 crossfire

[purple stain]

After weeks of trying to deal with why i'm having such crossfire performance I'm on my last nerve.Basically the story is this...I get perfect scaling and performance when playing singleplayer in a number of games but whenever I play multiplayer my crossfire performance goes to crap.I've tried pingtest and speedtest and they both come back flawless.I've also installed the latest network driver for my mobo.

If anyone can shed some light of this please do.I really need help with this.

Also if someone could explain to me how the CPU and the network works and how it can cause stress for the CPU please explain.

 

[guavasauce]

as long as your cpu can keep up with the information requeste by the 2 cards, its ok. if it cant, youll see the cpu maxed out, but the cards may not be. but as far as the network stressing the cpu, i could even begin to imagine what could cause that. (virus, malware?) now, what game are you having issues with? BF3 maybe? with my crossfire set up, i have to increase my northbridge volts in order to stablize my rig (x58), and work with driversweeper and ccc installs to find a sweet spot. what are you using to monitor your fps/cpu/gpu?

could you add a bit more info on your problems? also add your system specs

 

[purple stain]

Phenom ii x4 965 @ 3.8ghz
Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3
8GB DDR3 1333mhz
XFX 750watt
2x XFX 6870

I'm using the Task Manager for CPU usage and MSI Afterburner for GPU usage.The CPU usage for BF3 is 90%-95% and the GPU usage is 50% or less.CPU usage for Dirt 3 is 60%-80% and GPU usage is 60% or less.CPU usage for Homefront is 70% and GPU usage is 50% or less.

GPU usage in singleplayer for those games is flawless with 100% usage for both GPU's.But when it comes to multiplayer scaling just goes to crap.

 

[chaosgs]

My processor is a 1055T, with 5850 crossfire and AMD processors are major bottlenecks. You will need to OC more or upgrade.

The multiplayer part of it is more is going on and the cpu has more to do.

Also this sounds weird, but I have been playing around with underclocking my cards. Currently underclocking them to 400-500MHZ and OC memory to 1200 gives me a few more frames.

Only an 2500K OCED to 4+GHZ can pull these cards on most games.

 

[guavasauce]

chaos, i dont think thats totally correct. and the comment on the 2500k is way off also imo.

OP, i cant speak for the other games, save bf3. (even my stock i7 920 could pull the 5870's) i had to safe mode+driversweeper, and install the newer 12.1 preview drivers, i also set my textures to medium, this worked wonders.

 

[chaosgs]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/322163-28-phenom-6100-phenom

and

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/radeon_hd_5870_crossfire_cpu_scaling_performance_part_2,3.html

 

[guavasauce]

Wow I feel sheepish. I had no clue they were that bad in multi house set up.

Op, sell a card off?

 

[need4speeds]

Maybe it's just your settings?

Setting the mip map slider lower can help, if you look at the detail box for 1080p because the resolution is already higher, there is no difference between the first few top settings.
Set vsync to on so the fps are capped at your display's refresh rate. Sometimes the cpu gets a break and runs smoother.
You don't need more than 4xaa/af in most games it looks the same as 16aa/af.

Is the Catalyst A.I. set to standard? It wont work right if its set to advanced when running crossfire.

 

[purple stain]

Yah the CCC is all set to defaults.

I'm still trying to understand how the multiplayer has an affect on the CPU vs offline/singleplayer.

http://www.sweclockers.com/artikel/14650-prestandaanalys-battlefield-3/5#pagehead

That's the only benchmark I could find that shows CPU performance in multiplayer.

 

[megamanx00]

You're going to have to turn down some of the more CPU intensive options.

 

[Gordon Freeman]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/322163-28-phenom-6100-phenom

and

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/radeon_hd_5870_crossfire_cpu_scaling_performance_part_2,3.html

1100T is not faster than FX 8150 and even my Deneb is better by just a bit over 1100T Thuban because on Thuban you have to shut down two of it's 6 cores to get it to perform on the same level as Deneb and Deneb is defiantly not as fast as FX 8150 unless in just maybe a single core application.

 

[Gordon Freeman]

After weeks of trying to deal with why i'm having such crossfire performance I'm on my last nerve.Basically the story is this...I get perfect scaling and performance when playing singleplayer in a number of games but whenever I play multiplayer my crossfire performance goes to crap.I've tried pingtest and speedtest and they both come back flawless.I've also installed the latest network driver for my mobo.

If anyone can shed some light of this please do.I really need help with this.

Also if someone could explain to me how the CPU and the network works and how it can cause stress for the CPU please explain.

If a 7970 plays just fine on any modern quad core I think you should be alright but it does say something in the article I will inclose the link to about CPU scaling and Online unit rendering etc and how it affects performance and hits the CPU but I was fine you should be to but I always play with V-Synch at 60hz refresh which is all you need for a perfect game play experience.

 

[Gordon Freeman]

After weeks of trying to deal with why i'm having such crossfire performance I'm on my last nerve.Basically the story is this...I get perfect scaling and performance when playing singleplayer in a number of games but whenever I play multiplayer my crossfire performance goes to crap.I've tried pingtest and speedtest and they both come back flawless.I've also installed the latest network driver for my mobo.

If anyone can shed some light of this please do.I really need help with this.

Also if someone could explain to me how the CPU and the network works and how it can cause stress for the CPU please explain.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-7970-cpu-scaling-performance-review/

 

[purple stain]

You're going to have to turn down some of the more CPU intensive options.

What settings are more CPU intensive?

 

[purple stain]

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-7970-cpu-scaling-performance-review/

I do need to make a note here as especially for BF3 it counts, this is a single player benchmark test. In massive online environment your CPU will become increasingly more important and stressed much worse. However, of we purely focus on the graphics engine versus the processors used, the difference remains rather small.

Yes I see that but by how much and is my processor truly holding back this crossfire setup and how exactly?

It just seems theirs no straight answers in this "realm" of crossfire problems/complications.People are saying it's the CPU others are not.Some say it's a network problem and others are saying it's a VRAM issue.

If it is a CPU bottleneck,I have a AM3+ mobo so with AMD not bringing anything to the table processor wise I'm pretty much screwed.

 

[jjb8675309]

@purp stank

Im sure you have heard my bitching on here before about similar problems in a similar system to yours...

welp as you probably already know I had to ditch my 6870s in crossfire bc the performance overall was absolute shitte...

now running SLi gtx 560tis there are absolutely zero problems...

AMD mid CFX solutions are just crap

I found that the 955 even when oc'ed is just not enough overhead to power 6870s in some games, it all depends on the gpu/cpu demands of the game to begin with...

After much tweaking I was fed up and made a change...

I hate to sound pessimistic but honestly who wants to spend nearly $400 on gpus to have them perform generally worse then its single card configuration counterpart...

not to mention lower minimums fps and all the specific minute problems that I experienced...

you may not agree with me or believe it yet but im singing the same old song that I have been for a while now...

 

[jjb8675309]

I doubt its vram bc in bf3 I can run maxed out gfx with 8xmsaa @ 1200p with 60+fps with my 1 gb gtx 560ti SLi... also you CPU should be adequate to run the game (but perhaps does not have the overhead to properly deal with dual 6870s)

 

[Gordon Freeman]

@purp stank

Im sure you have heard my bitching on here before about similar problems in a similar system to yours...

welp as you probably already know I had to ditch my 6870s in crossfire bc the performance overall was absolute shitte...

now running SLi gtx 560tis there are absolutely zero problems...

AMD mid CFX solutions are just crap

I found that the 955 even when oc'ed is just not enough overhead to power 6870s in some games, it all depends on the gpu/cpu demands of the game to begin with...

After much tweaking I was fed up and made a change...

I hate to sound pessimistic but honestly who wants to spend nearly $400 on gpus to have them perform generally worse then its single card configuration counterpart...

not to mention lower minimums fps and all the specific minute problems that I experienced...

you may not agree with me or believe it yet but im singing the same old song that I have been for a while now...

Funny cause 955 has plenty of power to run 60fps is any game depending on if you have the GPU firepower to drive it.

 

[jjb8675309]

@GordonFreeman (seriously dont ruin this legendary character)

wrong, I just went from a 955 @ 4.0ghz and the difference between it and my i52500k is night and day... even with only a single gtx 560ti

look at skyrim for example (yes I know demanding) you will not get above 40ish fps with a 955 at max settings, no matter what gpu u have... there are plenty of other examples out there of the 955 becoming a bottleneck way before the gpu(s) are

of course all this debate is all game specific

check this article out, it does not have a 955 in the analysis but you get the picture:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970_CPU_Scaling/

the 955 is fine (by fine I mean able to achieve 60+fps) for maybe 85% of games out there but if your looking for max graphics or trying to run a crossfire (6870) setup its going to be a huge fail

I speak from personal experience I have owned both p2 955 and i52500k also I have had 6870 crossfire with my 955 and it was miserable so Im not making this up these have been my experiences plain and simple.

Im not bashing the 955 it is a great chip but for high end graphics solutions the (especially SLi and Cfx) practically require an i5 to run without a hitch imo

again when I upgraded the difference in gaming performance and overall performance was night and day..

take it or leave it that is my 2 cents/qualifications for thinking so

 

[jjb8675309]

Funny cause 955 has plenty of power to run 60fps is any game depending on if you have the GPU firepower to drive it.

also take note that my dissection started with "@Purp Stank"

 

[Gordon Freeman]

also take note that my dissection started with "@Purp Stank"

also take note your in a public Forum lol.

 

[Gordon Freeman]

@GordonFreeman (seriously dont ruin this legendary character)

wrong, I just went from a 955 @ 4.0ghz and the difference between it and my i52500k is night and day... even with only a single gtx 560ti

look at skyrim for example (yes I know demanding) you will not get above 40ish fps with a 955 at max settings, no matter what gpu u have... there are plenty of other examples out there of the 955 becoming a bottleneck way before the gpu(s) are

of course all this debate is all game specific

check this article out, it does not have a 955 in the analysis but you get the picture:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970_CPU_Scaling/

the 955 is fine (by fine I mean able to achieve 60+fps) for maybe 85% of games out there but if your looking for max graphics or trying to run a crossfire (6870) setup its going to be a huge fail

I speak from personal experience I have owned both p2 955 and i52500k also I have had 6870 crossfire with my 955 and it was miserable so Im not making this up these have been my experiences plain and simple.

Im not bashing the 955 it is a great chip but for high end graphics solutions the (especially SLi and Cfx) practically require an i5 to run without a hitch imo

again when I upgraded the difference in gaming performance and overall performance was night and day..

take it or leave it that is my 2 cents/qualifications for thinking so

1 game outta a 1000

 

[purple stain]

What are some of the settings that are more CPU reliant that I can turn down to see if it improves?

 

[Gordon Freeman]

@GordonFreeman (seriously dont ruin this legendary character)

wrong, I just went from a 955 @ 4.0ghz and the difference between it and my i52500k is night and day... even with only a single gtx 560ti

look at skyrim for example (yes I know demanding) you will not get above 40ish fps with a 955 at max settings, no matter what gpu u have... there are plenty of other examples out there of the 955 becoming a bottleneck way before the gpu(s) are

of course all this debate is all game specific

check this article out, it does not have a 955 in the analysis but you get the picture:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7970_CPU_Scaling/

the 955 is fine (by fine I mean able to achieve 60+fps) for maybe 85% of games out there but if your looking for max graphics or trying to run a crossfire (6870) setup its going to be a huge fail

I speak from personal experience I have owned both p2 955 and i52500k also I have had 6870 crossfire with my 955 and it was miserable so Im not making this up these have been my experiences plain and simple.

Im not bashing the 955 it is a great chip but for high end graphics solutions the (especially SLi and Cfx) practically require an i5 to run without a hitch imo

again when I upgraded the difference in gaming performance and overall performance was night and day..

take it or leave it that is my 2 cents/qualifications for thinking so

If I dont have any trouble running games maxed out with a 955 and an Athlon X4 640 hasn't any trouble pushing a 7970 then what gives is fanbouism on your end here is a link. http://www.guru3d.com/article/rade [...] ce-review/

 

[purple stain]

You guys aren't getting it I think.I'm talking about multiplayer performance.Singleplayer runs just fine.I have no gripes about that.It's the multiplayer is where performance is lacking.I just want to know why....