Should I abandon my Crossfire setup for a single GPU?
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
Hey there --
I'm debating if it is a good time to pick up a GPU upgrade after the new year. I've been running 2 6950s in Crossfire for the last year and overall I've been disappointed. I feel like I should be getting more horsepower out of a dual GPU setup, but perhaps my expectations were too high in the first place. Also, ATi's drivers and Catalyst Control Center just seem to suffer from poor support compared to nVidia. I'm not a fanboy either way, and have essentially jumped between both vendors over the years.
What should I do?
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Mid-January
BUDGET RANGE: $300 (see additional comments) After Rebates
USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (Skyrim, DayZ)
CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY:
2x MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III PE/OC Radeon HD 9650 2GB
OCZ ZX Series 850W 80+ Gold PSU
OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS:
i5 2500k @4Ghz
Hyper 212+
AsRock P67 Extreme 4 (B3)
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2x4GB)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US
PARTS PREFERENCES: MSI for Twin Frozr cooling, good driver support
OVERCLOCKING: Yes (CPU) SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Likely not, after having a multi-gpu system for a year, I’m not convinced that it’s worth it.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080 @ 120hz
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I can potentially sell my two 6950s, which could push me into a higher budget. Ideally, if I could get about $500 for them, I could get a more expensive card.
I'm debating if it is a good time to pick up a GPU upgrade after the new year. I've been running 2 6950s in Crossfire for the last year and overall I've been disappointed. I feel like I should be getting more horsepower out of a dual GPU setup, but perhaps my expectations were too high in the first place. Also, ATi's drivers and Catalyst Control Center just seem to suffer from poor support compared to nVidia. I'm not a fanboy either way, and have essentially jumped between both vendors over the years.
What should I do?
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Mid-January
BUDGET RANGE: $300 (see additional comments) After Rebates
USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming (Skyrim, DayZ)
CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY:
2x MSI R6950 Twin Frozr III PE/OC Radeon HD 9650 2GB
OCZ ZX Series 850W 80+ Gold PSU
OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS:
i5 2500k @4Ghz
Hyper 212+
AsRock P67 Extreme 4 (B3)
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2x4GB)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: US
PARTS PREFERENCES: MSI for Twin Frozr cooling, good driver support
OVERCLOCKING: Yes (CPU) SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Likely not, after having a multi-gpu system for a year, I’m not convinced that it’s worth it.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080 @ 120hz
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I can potentially sell my two 6950s, which could push me into a higher budget. Ideally, if I could get about $500 for them, I could get a more expensive card.
More about : abandon crossfire setup single gpu
Well, if you are waiting til January, you might just want to wait until the 8000/700 series comes out. There is probably going to be new ones coming out soon. What fps are getting? I don't think it would be a good idea for you to get a new card. The most powerful card for $300 or less is the 7950, you probably won't see any performance at all from that card. My brother got a good performance boost from with a 7970, but it needs to be mentioned that his cards had a bottleneck in his mobo. The 7970 I think would still get a small boost, over your set up. So, in conclusion the lowest I would go is getting a 7970. But that will not be a $400+ boost in performance. I would try to sell those now so you can afford a 7970, or wait for the 8000/700 series to come out and get a 8950 8970 or 770/780 (depending on which brand is better next year.)
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