2900XT CrossFire

[asdftt123]

I was thinking through all my options for my Sept rig and I'm considering purchasing a single 2900XT and later on putting in CrossFire with another card for games like Crysis, etc... Does anyone here run CF'ed 2900XT's and how does it run? Would you say it's better than SLI? What kind of mobos and PSU should I consider if I decide to go this route? Also, how is power consumption and heat output? How does it work for Vista x64? Thanks.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

Here's a nice review - PC Perspective

Vista x64 and comparison of:
-HD2900XT 1GB Crossfire
-HD2900XT 512MB Crossfire
-8800GTS 640MB SLI

The Single card comparison includes the 8800GTX (not tested in SLI)

That's the performance side of things. More importantly, consider user opinions and people who have been living with the setup for a month or two.

 

[asdftt123]

Thank you for the read...it was very interesting and informative. I'm still unsure if I should go the CF route or stick to a single GTX/Ultra. In the long run, I'm not sure if a single GTX/Ultra will be enough to keep up with upcoming releases and the HD2900XT looks like a tempting card as it has fewer Vista driver issues and performs on PAR to the 8800GTS 640. If I get my second CF card this winter I hopefully won't be paying more than $650 for the setup. I'm also skeptical of going with a single card for the time being and upgrading in the future to the new line of cards because I have no idea what kind of hardware will be needed to run them or how they will perform. If anyone could give me some insight on 2900XT CF vs single GTX/Ultra vs SLI, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[nullpointerus]

When the HD2900XT was released, people had trouble getting crossfire enabled and working at full 3D clocks on both cards, especially on Vista x64. However, several driver releases have passed. The changelogs indicated fixes for crossfire, and I haven't heard any complaints lately, so it's probably working fine now.

Just make sure you have the PSU. I've heard 750w minimum for 2900XT CF. AMD has a PSU compatibility list somewhere on their site, so you should probably find the 2900XT product page and find a compatible PSU if needed. I believe a single 8800GTX or 8800GTS/SLI will use much less power if that's useful to you.

EDIT: If you have questions that do not end up being answered here, rage3d.com has forums that deal with ATI hardware. You'd likely find a few 2900XT CF users there.

 

[miker75]

I've been running a 2900XT in Vista 64-bit for a while now (got it about a week after it was released)... haven't had any major (or minor for that matter) problems with it..

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: miker75
I've been running a 2900XT in Vista 64-bit for a while now (got it about a week after it was released)... haven't had any major (or minor for that matter) problems with it..

But he is asking about running crossfire which uses 2 cards.