5 way Crossfire

LiquidAMD

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G'day all,

Any ideas if the above contraption could work.

What I am looking at is having a 6970 in between 2 6990's.

Or a 7970 between 2 7990's.

Use the long bridge connectors available and use the 2 bridges on the middle card to connect to the 1st and 3rd cards.

Your insights would be most..... insightful!!! :lol:
 

LiquidAMD

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Thanks refillable,

In case of single slot liquid cooled 7970's is there any reason that 5 cards couldn't work on a MB with 5 slots. For whatever reason if they could, then a 3 card quint config should be possible, shouldn't it??
 

po1nted

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And for the cost vs. improvement in framerate there would be no feasible reason to do this. It would serve no purpose, unless you are trying to run a farm that processes data against the GPUs, not playing games.

That is the only reason I could see for cramming so many GPUs into a single machine.
 

stingstang

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Adding to po1nted's topic, the 5970 gpu computes better than the 6000 series for things like bitcoin. You would be better off not buying anything for that purpose anyway, since bitcoin has been 'mined out' as of late. You can't turn a profit with it anymore.
 

LiquidAMD

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Well, I was thinking of going 2560p 3x eyefinity portrait mode (I am on 1600p right now). That is 12.2MP, that needs a lot of GPU at max detail!! :bounce:
 

LiquidAMD

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Sooo the 5th adapter will be shown as 'disabled adapter' in catalyst hardware info??
 

LiquidAMD

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Have been sussing it out but knew there were gonna be issues, so never really got on board!
 

slicedtoad

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even 4way is problematic. Unless you love tweaking settings and trouble shooting compatibility before playing every game, it's not worth it.

3 680s would run a 3x2560x1600 quite well. As would 3 [strike]7870s[/strike] 7970s.

Watercooled and overclocked, your machine would be a beast. Currently, only the x79 platform would handle it well. You would need a heavy cpu overclock as well.

total cost would be around:
>$1500 in gpus
$600 + >$250 in cpu and mobo
>$400 in waterblocks
>$300 in pump, res, rad, fans, etc
>$250 in PSU
$200-$500 in the rest of the system
$2400-$3500 in screens.

total of at least $5900. Ouch.
 
If you absolutely are getting THREE monitors, the best choice is this:

2xGTX680 4GB

(4GB models coming soon. Should add about $50 so $550 would be the cheapest.)

SLI and Crossfire don't add VRAM, it is cloned. If you don't buy cards with more VRAM you will end up with a memory bottleneck at the resolution of three monitors.

That's why the HD7970 has 3GB, it's for Crossfire not single card configurations. NVidia wanted to keep the cost down so the GTX680 has 2GB which is plenty. There are rare scenarios where a little more memory would help such as Total War Shogun 2.

SUMMARY:
- single GTX680 2GB for single monitor high-end gaming
- 2xGTX680 4GB for triple-monitor gaming
 

slicedtoad

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^right, forgot the 680 only has 2GB version out right now.
But two 680/7970 aren't going to play 3x2560x1600 at max settings. And if you're spending a minimum of $2400 on screens, you're clearly not on a budget.
 

LiquidAMD

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About 4k more for my other 2 NEC PA301W screens :eek:
Wanted to save costs on that WC setup, so was looking on that 3 card 5 way setup. Have 1.5kw PSU, may need more.
2GB might just be on the lower end. GK110 would have to be it. 7870 is low spec I think especially considering 7970 can't beat 680.
 

slicedtoad

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one less card only saves you $100-$200 in WC equipment.

i meant 7970, lol, mistyped that. And as photon pointed out, the 680 will have problems at that resoltution due to vram. So 7970 would be the way to go atm.

btw, how serious are you about this?

edit: why are you using color perfect monitors? they are for professional photo/movie editing, not gaming. And they cost a fortune.
 

LiquidAMD

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or the Sapphire Toxic 6GB 7970- another TBR model. 3x cards would still be needed IMO.
 

LiquidAMD

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If I lose my mind I might. Then again u could say that I could afford that 5 way attempt anyway. If the 5 way was to work I would really consider it. Rampage iv and 3960x combo with 32-64GB RAM for base system.
Outside work, my life is 'digital reality', also they had good reviews so I bought 1. Good for RTS, racing, GTA, so no issues for me, get immersed in the colour perfection of a game's intended colour scheme!! 1 billion colours is great, though not sure if the cards can actually display them??
 

LiquidAMD

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Also with 3 card setup I wouldn't need any WC with the right MB.
 

slicedtoad

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Even if 5 way worked, and if it scaled well, it would be overkill.

4-way would already get you 60fps with max graphics on any game (unless the cpu turns out to be a bottleneck). Even 3way should be able to get you around 60fps.

Damn, just talking about it makes me wish i had 6 grand to blow. Watercooling is too fun.

edit: try using the edit feature when you want to add something to your post, rather than double posting.
 

LiquidAMD

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True, edit button, I also meant no WC for that 3 card 5 way setup, 6 slots covered, fit easy. Scaling will be a big issue for sure in 5 way :cry:
 

LiquidAMD

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Have a NZXT Phantom with all fan mounts filled (7 I think). May look at 10 slot case, perhaps not required though.
 

slicedtoad

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LiquidAMD

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Speculation only rests whether it is 4 way or 5 way :bounce:

Will OC the primary GPUs 1 and 2 only, scaling should cover my needs hopefully (in games with CFX CAP available). Don't mention GTA IV- I hate that useless engine!!! Also tks for the link, will check it out.

CPU will be OC obviously, otherwise I would be going E5-2687Ws on a Z9PE-D8 WS. If only :fou: