7870 Xfire effectiveness

[Decepticon69]

Build:

Case: CM Storm Stryker
MB: GIGABYTE|GA-Z77X-UD5H Z77 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128545
CPU: i5 3570k
Cooler: CM V8 (may not be the best but I do love the look of it and won't overclock like crazy anyways)
HDD1: WD 1 TB Blue 7200 RPM
HDD2: Intel 335 240 GB SSD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167128
MEM: 16 GB (4x4) G.Skill 1600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231547
GPU: Gigabyte 7870 OC http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418&Tpk=gigabyte%207870
PSU: Corsair HZ 750W Gold http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

The rig will be used entirely for gaming and browsing, no video or picture editing of any kind. Play most of the popular FPS, Black Ops II, Planetside 2, also Skyrim, whatever is out I normally like to play. Although I would appreciate comments on the build in general (although I should mention that the SSD was on special down to $169 before anyone comments on why I chose that one), I am really curious about the advantage of adding a second 7870. I really struggled to find benchmarks with 12.11 drivers that show the performance of xfiring these cards vs a more powerful single gpu.

I know the normal suggestion is to go with the single card so you can really upgrade down the road, but I just don't see myself ever needing to xfire two 7970's, as an example, when I game on a single 1080p monitor.

FYI this is my first post and any suggestions on how to post in the future to make your job easier would also be very welcome.


Kind regards,

Mike

 

[alvine]

its better to have a single 7970 over two 7870's like you said you can add another card down the road but also if you have a single card you know it will be fully utilized, when a new game comes out you will experience less driver issues as crossfire profiles are added later on so you wont have to worry about how much scability the game provides, less heat, its also easier to upgrade when you have to sell a single component vs two, one less fan to run in your case so the system will be a little quieter