Crossfire

[agktiger]

Hi. Im am buildin my own computer right now. I have heard about the option for crossfire. Basically 2 gpu running at sametime i believe. I am aware that in order to crossfire, well more likely to have the most out of it, u need a high resolution monitor, tv, etc. Is it possible for me to buy a single card, then later on if i get a bigger screen, crossfire? Also on a 24-32 in screen, should i crossfire?

 

[rolli59]

The question about CF is not that simple. I prefer a single more powerful card than 2 weaker ones in CF. It has more to do with resolution than actual size of the monitor and there is plenty of cards on the market that can handle full HD1080P by themselves.
Yes to the question about getting a single card and then adding another one later.

 

[purple stain]

It's not that you need a bigger resolution to get the most out of the cards.You just need more power graphical power at higher resolutions.A crossfire or SLI setup will actually be faster on a lower resolution like 1080p.

I agree with rolli.A single faster card is always better.Not only to add another later but also because not every game supports crossfire or SLI.

What kind of parts were you planning on getting?

What is your budget?

 

[horaciopz]

Hi!

Let me clarify a couple of things.

Crossfirex is indeed the use of 2 GPUs at the same time, for this you need a motherboard that supports it and also cards capable of doing it.

Most of the times using multiple GPUs comes with as much problems as advantages

Pros:

For High end gaming at 2560x1600 or more monitors is completly necessary have more power to achiev the necessary smoothyness in actual demanding games, this allos us to get that scale, most of the times it is as much as 80% of scale using 2 GPUs.

Sometimes it has proven to be efective at the mid range market, where using a couple of mid range GPUs will throw the same or better performances than a single but most costly GPU.

Cons

It does not work always and it depends about what card are you Crossfiring/SLI, because some games are not optimize for multiple GPUs and it will completely ignore the 2nd card. Also It comes with the gamble of driver issues well known for AMD/ATI Radeon users with Crossfirex.

By the time it has been getting better, but normally a single bigger card will work better than a couple, mostly because 2 cards generate more heat, power needs, noise and needs space.

Multiple GPUs will have tear/rendering problmes sometimes. There's people that actually can live with it and dont look at it like a problem but the price of getting more power.


for all i said it comes now your actual situation:

It's great Crossfirex/SLI, those sometimes get us bang for the buck for some games.

But for you it is not completly necesary, bigger screens doesnt meant always more power to use. It dependes on the resolution in that screen, some 32" LCD TVs are just 1280x720 and you wont need more than a single entry lvl card to play on it. And also theres many monitor with only 22" are 1920x1080 and needs $300 to have aceptable frame rates while playing.

It's always possible to do what you want, it's actually a good idea for upgrade,but before you buy a card, read reviews and check websites to see how that card scale in crossfirex.

Also its good to note that you should prepare your system for that upgrade, as the PSU, space in your case and slots enough in your motherboard to not stack all your cards together and experiment heat problems. Crossfiring and SLI i guess that is more for advance gamers, for normal people like me its better a single card and forget about all the problmes, but also all those good things that multiples GPUs have.

Cheers! hope it helps, sorry for the long post