Crossfire 7850's with i5 3750k

[xendazzle]

Hi im thinking of trying out crossfire....what are the max recommendations for a crossfire set up for me, as in, what is my set up capable of? i would prefer not to overclock cpu.
i was thinking of another exact same card from sapphire would be the best choice, was curious is it a bad idea to mix brands?

i have windows 7
i5 3570k,
sapphire hd 7850 2gb oc
g.skill 8gb 2400 (only working at 2200 due to current mobo incompatibility)
asrock z77 extreme 4-m
thermal take 800w pwr sup.


if crossfire isnt recommended, then as an alternative, can somebody also tell me what is the best GPU i can get with my set up to replace my 7850?

thanks alot

 

[joedjnpc]

Get the same card again, better not risk mixing if you don't have to. You're pretty much set to go with crossfire, the PSU is more than capable.

 

[xendazzle]

to joedjnpc-
thank you sir, will do. can tell me if i can downgrading to a 500w pwr sup is out of the question if im going to crossfire? my 800w has this slight high pitched noise that is highly annoying, its very slight but once you hear it you cant ignore it.

 

[xendazzle]

Best answer selected by xendazzle.

 

[Thomas_89]

500 watt is a bit on the low side, but a 600-650 watt should do nicely. I have the Antec HCG 620 and I plan on CF with another HD 7850 too (and 3570K) in the future.
Get any of these, whichever you can find cheapest:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371059
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014

 

[Traciatim]

i would prefer not to overclock cpu . . . i5 3570k

Does . . . not . . . compute . . .

Don't replace your power supply with a 500W if you are going to crossfire 2 cards, though it might work it will be very close to your power supplies capacity, you would have to be very careful about your selection to ensure your 12v lines have the capacity to run your machine. If you are looking to get a new one look for something that is fairly good quality in the 650+ range, at least that way you know you are sure to have headroom available.

What resolution are you playing that you need more performance than a 7850? Crossfire will help in certain scenarios, but depending on the game you may find more GPU power isn't going to fix performance problems. However, for single cards your options are pretty limited in terms of upgrades, essentially just the 7950/7970 or an NVidia 670 or 580/680. There are a few other cards slightly faster, but probably not worth the cash to swap them out with what you already have.

 

[xendazzle]

thanks for the upgrade options. i have a 500w spare i thought it wouldnt be sufficient i was just checking cause wasnt sure. im running a bravia 46" 1920 x 1080. to be honest what i got is good enough most things run 100% on high settings i just wanted to get my uber on.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey