Crossfire with 4770 or new GPU for Skyrim?

[smooney]

Here are my PC's current specs:

1 x GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
1 x SAPPHIRE 100277L Radeon HD 4770 512MB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
1 x CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
1 x AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ940XCGIBOX
1 x G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I want to be able to run Skyrim (well). I was wondering if I should buy another HD4770 on ebay (~$50) and run crossfirex or if I should buy a different more powerful GPU.

Also, does the 2nd Radeon 4770 have to be a sapphire or can it be a different brand?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

EDIT:
Just read the sticky...... here's some more info...

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: ASAP

BUDGET RANGE: Whatever will get the job done

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Skyrim & Diablo 3

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: ATI Radeon HD 4770 and Corsair 650W PSU

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: See Above

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES:None

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

Thanks Again!

 

[jmccarty13]

It would run it on medium pretty good at a lower resolution.

 

[duxducis]

get at least AMD 6850 (or nvidia equivalent) better yet amd 6870 if you got spare $.... to enjoy Skyrim
I tested the game on 4850 and can see that its aged, (playable around 30fps but dip a lot)
crossfire will not double performance and with 4770 you better off getting something new and better
1920x1200 is premium resolution if you want to play game nice,,, need to spend some $$

(you can get ether pretty much for same price if you wait bit for sale or use rebate and its about 150$ upgrade)

 

[Kari]

skyrim doesn't like crossfire, some get it to work, others don't...
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7950_CrossFire/18.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7750_7770_CrossFire/18.html

safer bet would be a faster single card, but if you like to gamble... lol

 

[LiqMat]

What Kari said. I run Skyrim on dual 6990M GPUs. No difference in Crossfire mode at all. I just run in single GPU mode and I get the exact same performance. Using AMD's latest 12.2 Preview driver with their latest 12.1 CAP 3. I rarely go under 60fps @ 1920x1080 in Ultra mode with official Bethesda high res texture pack enabled. I have found an odd anomaly, like some have, that indoor areas are actually choppier than outdoor areas even though the FPS does not drop. I think this has to do with so many close-up high res textures in one small area, but oddly enough the FPS count does not reflect this. I think the indoor lighting also has something to do with it as well.

 

[esrever]

I wouldn't crossfire the 4770s.

Skyrim also isn't too gpu demanding so a 6770 or higher card should run it no problem. I'd suggest the 6870.