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Currently have a 7870. Looking to decide between XFire or Single Card upgrade

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  • Games
  • Intel i5
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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October 30, 2013 5:37:32 PM

Hey everyone! So with BF4 just being released and with more games like The Division, Titanfall, etc being released soon, I'm looking to upgrade my rig.

Currently:
i5 3570k (@ 3.4k)
16GB Ram
ASRock Z77 Extreme4
XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Thermaltake 850W ATX12V
1080p Gaming

From what I can understand. XFire 2 7870s can be a very powerful combo, but it may not work with every game and the drivers are still a little iffy.

My other options I've looked at are:
GTX 770
GTX 780
R9 280x
7970

I want to continue playing at 1080p for now, but if I add another monitor, I would like it to be supported (but this is not my primary concern). I'm also curious about AMDs new Mantle coming out and how it will affect gameplay (how much gain will it provide for me).

I don't want to spend more than $200, but if I end up doing something different than XFire, than I would sell my used 7870 for about $120-140. I also want to pick this up during Black Friday, so if the choice comes down to 2 or 3 cards, and they are all extremely close in comparison, then I'll pick up whatever one has the best price during the sales.

Thanks!

More about : 7870 decide xfire single card upgrade

October 30, 2013 7:08:26 PM

my personal experience with crossfire, when it works well it works well. But it doesnt always work well, sometimes not at all. Keep in mind you would need a good quality 650w psu or better to run 2 7870's. crossfire produces more frames per second, this is true, but in many games these frames are not evenly spaced, this gives microstutter. If you put 2 machines side-by-side, one with a 7970, one with 2 7870's, in a game that displays microstutter, the 7970 single card would feel smoother as the frames display evenly one after the other on your monitor, even though it may produce less FPS. the unevenness between the frames can make 60fps look like 40fps on your monitor. This problem has been fixed for many games with amd's latest beta driver with frame-pacing, but many games are still unsupported by this feature. If you like to fiddle around and tweak things you can use fps limiters, or make sure you hit your 60fps vsync limit for 90% of the game, this removes microstutter. I sold my 6850's in crossfire and wont go back till there is a confirmed fix for microstutter in all scenarios, right now the fix is just for dx11 games at resolutions 1440p or lower. but AMD claims a fix is coming for all games. So if you want no fuss, smooth gameplay, then single card is for you. If you like to fiddle and tweak, you may benefit more from crossfire.
October 30, 2013 7:20:59 PM

I have a Sapphire 2GB 7870GHz Ed that is right at 45 days old (so I can't return it) but I'm building a different gaming system and want to sell it. I've already posted on Tom's earlier today.

I only want $120 for it. It's mint, still has all of the original packaging and parts and hasn't been registered with Sapphire, so you can still have the warranty. I can provide the original Newegg shipping info for proof of age if you want.

PM me if you're interested.
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October 30, 2013 8:15:26 PM

@ IAm2: I forgot to post my PSU, but it's 850W, so power won't be an issue. I don't see myself going over 1440p if I upgrade my monitor, but that likely won't be for awhile. I'll have to see what other's are saying about the AMD 'fix' timeline. But, I won't hold my breath for it.

@ Chris: That sounds like a great deal, but since I haven't decided yet on what my goals are, I'm not going to commit to anything yet. I will keep your offer in mind though, thank you.

I guess it's too early for anyone to have any real testing with the 280x, but that certainly sounds like my main competitor to the XFire, with the second close being the 770.

If I found a 680 4GB for under $350, I would be tempted to snatch that. I also have to keep in mind that future games may require more than 2GB of VRam, so I'm not sure how that'll play out.
October 30, 2013 9:16:33 PM

it will be a long time before games "require" more than 2gb vram, but if you have 2gb you may need to turn detail settings down on future games to conserve vram. its ok to go over the vram but when it spills to system ram you can get a big slow down.
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