Radeon HD 5570 Crossfire vs Single 6670

[scienceboyroy]

Hello,
I'm upgrading my wife's video card (a Sapphire Radeon HD 5570). We're on a tight budget, so we're going with the Radeon HD 6670 ($50 after MIR).
Currently, my computer is running two 5450s in Crossfire. I know how ridiculous that sounds, but I already had one 5450, and when I upgraded my motherboard, another $20 to double the (albeit low) performance was fairly decent.
My question is this: Would I be better off using her 5570 and spending ~$50 to add another in Crossfire, or should I spend that same $50 to buy a 6670 for myself? I've heard that the 5570 does well for itself in a Crossfire setup, but I haven't seen it compared to a 6670.
Thanks!

My system specs:
Motherboard: BIOSTAR TA990FXE
CPU: Phenom II X4 910 (@2.86 GHz)
RAM: 12 GB @1333MHz
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 120 GB
Current video card(s): 2 x Sapphire Radeon HD 5450 1GB 64-bit DDR3 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102882 )

EDIT: Here's the review I found of the 5570 Crossfire setup: www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3152/his_radeon_hd_5570_1gb_gddr3_video_card_in_crossfire/index.html
It looks like the CF'd 5570 actually beats the numbers I've seen for the 6670 in 3DMark Vantage. Those are the only numbers I've been able to compare so far.

 

[rdc85]

As I remmember 5570 cfx perform simmilar with GTS 450 (a bit weaker), and above 6670....

Is your true question is 5450 cfx vs 6670 ? in that case 6670 is better...

edit: as 5450 cfx vs single 5570, 5570 is more powerfull than 5450 in cfx

 

[scienceboyroy]

Well, I'm pretty sure I'll take her old 5570 at the very least. Even one of those is better for gaming (which, I should have stated, is my primary goal) than the two 5450s.

Specifically, I'm hoping to get the most out of Guild Wars 2. The final Beta Weekend Event is coming up next weekend, and I'm hoping to have my system where I want it before the beta weekend starts. They were still in the process of optimizing the game client a month ago, so I don't know what to expect from it in terms of performance. Still, the 5570 handled it fine (it was actually in my computer at the time-- long story), so either option should be acceptable. I just want to know which one will be better.

I've just about talked myself into ordering another 5570 from eBay. The challenge will be justifying the expense to my wife. I'll have to show her that two 5570s are about $50 better than one 5570. I don't think it will be too hard, though, since she's getting a 6670.

 

[rdc85]

The problem is, when dealing with cfx or sli (U might already guesed)..

The driver will need to be tweeked to perform well (that why aplication profile is very important in dual card setup)....

Since u will tested in new game don't get your hope high, they will need time to tweek the driver to benefit from dual gpu setup...

 

[scienceboyroy]

Yeah, I figured that. I think I've pretty much made up my mind on the 5570, and I mostly just wanted confirmation that this wasn't a bonehead move that would get me laughed out of the forum (for example, if I had suggested that my current 5450 CF setup could compare to the 6670, which I know it couldn't). All driver issues aside, I'm glad to hear that the 5570 Crossfire is decent. I thought it looked like my best option, but I couldn't be sure before asking the experts.

I have to say, I'm kind of glad my wife's motherboard ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131657 ) only has one PCI-E slot. When she gets a new card, I can Crossfire her hand-me-downs!

Thanks for the help!

 

[scienceboyroy]

Best answer selected by scienceboyroy.

 

[clutchc]

Beware of micro-stutter with low and mid range cards in CF or SLI.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

 

[scienceboyroy]

My, but that's a depressing article.

Let me get this straight... According to the reviewers, what I really need is a THIRD 5570? ;-)
Actually, my board does claim to support x16/x16/x4... I guess we'll see how it goes. Given that I've been using two 5450s for a while now, I'm going to go ahead and say I probably wouldn't have noticed the micro-stutter if I hadn't read that article.

 

[clutchc]

Some people don't seem bothered by it. I had 2 HD 6850s in CF, and never noticed it until I played DE:HR. Now with 2 GTX 570s I haven't noticed m-s rear its ugly head yet.

But if I were you, I wouldn't get a 3rd HD 5570. Besides, the 3rd slot being x4 would probably lower the performance of the other two cards. Instead, I would get the largest single card you can afford. Those two HD 5450s will return you some money on ebay.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey