5750 Crossfire: Almost no improvement 3dmark06

[LxMxFxD4]

the comp in my sig at stock 2.83ghz cpu I get the following:

MSI 5750 stock speeds: 3dmark06: 13736 (5390,6233,4200)

MSI 5750x2 in crossfire: 3dmark06: 15,727 (5773, 8001, 4221)

Is this normal?

I am using the FREE 3dmark06 so its only 1280x1024... so I think it *COULD* be normal.. but.. figured I'd get a weigh in on this..

is there a better benchie that I can use to test more, perhaps that uses higher resolutions?

 

[digitaldurandal]

the comp in my sig at stock 2.83ghz cpu I get the following:

MSI 5750 stock speeds: 3dmark06: 13736 (5390,6233,4200)

MSI 5750x2 in crossfire: 3dmark06: 15,727 (5773, 8001, 4221)

Is this normal?

I am using the FREE 3dmark06 so its only 1280x1024... so I think it *COULD* be normal.. but.. figured I'd get a weigh in on this..

is there a better benchie that I can use to test more, perhaps that uses higher resolutions?

3dmark06 is outdated, use vantage. 06 is nearly a cpu test at this point, especially at that resolution.

 

[RaistlinZ]

What's the point of 3dmarkand Vantage anyway? All that really matters is what frames you're getting in actual games. These synthetic benchmarks completey pointless, IMO.

 

[Phynaz]

What's the point of 3dmarkand Vantage anyway? All that really matters is what frames you're getting in actual games. These synthetic benchmarks completey pointless, IMO.

They are not pointless in regards to having a standardized repeatable baseline test. They are tools to help get you to the goal of the desired frame rate in games.

 

[LoneNinja]

the comp in my sig at stock 2.83ghz cpu I get the following:

MSI 5750 stock speeds: 3dmark06: 13736 (5390,6233,4200)

MSI 5750x2 in crossfire: 3dmark06: 15,727 (5773, 8001, 4221)

Is this normal?

I am using the FREE 3dmark06 so its only 1280x1024... so I think it *COULD* be normal.. but.. figured I'd get a weigh in on this..

is there a better benchie that I can use to test more, perhaps that uses higher resolutions?

Are you really running everything in your sig off a 430W power supply right now? Wouldn't surprise me if your cards are starving for power. But as others have asked, has your game performance gone up?

 

[LxMxFxD4]

Are you really running everything in your sig off a 430W power supply right now? Wouldn't surprise me if your cards are starving for power. But as others have asked, has your game performance gone up?

I know right? I JUST added the 2nd card yesterday.. so I wanted to see if it would run on the Antec. The Antec is very underrated.. but it seems to handle it.

As for why I wanted to test with 3dmark - exactly - its a baseline. Apparently though at 1280 its not a very good test. Vantage also costs money and 3dmark is free :-D

The sad truth ALSO is I dont even game! I had an 8800GT in here and I just added a 3rd monitor (TV) and needed an HDMI port. So long story short.. I said eff it, spent the $200 on the cross fire config.

I mostly wanted to use 3dmark to MAKE SURE crossfire was functioning. Apparently it IS, but doesn't do much in that benchie. Just wanted tos ee if this is normal.

Now.. as for a game.. any suggestions? I used to warcraft but im NOT going back down that rabbit HOLE!

 

[spinejam]

run heaven 2.1 benchmark and compare.

 

[tweakboy]

I agree with Raison .. good thread.

 

[toyota]

you are really pushing your luck running all that stuff on your 430 watt psu.

 

[LxMxFxD4]

you are really pushing your luck running all that stuff on your 430 watt psu.

Not really.

Do you know how much your computer actually uses? My computer is using 123W as i type this. Yes it is the computer in my sig.

At boot up it maxes at about 290W.

During 3dmark06 it uses about 240W.

All this crap about having a 700W supply is completely bogus.

NOW GRANTED.. my 430W may not supply enough on the +12V rails to realize the full power of my cards.. thats a POSSIBILITY. But wouldn't the system crash if it was out of power? Not just underperform?

I did find a 3dmark06 bench from Tomshardware that shows I should be getting 22,000 on this bench.. NOT 15,727!

Another possiblity: According to ASUS, my slots work at x8 not x16 when they are crossfired. Would that account for this major differential?

 

[VirtualLarry]

3dmark06 is cpu-limited. What CPU do you have in there? That's probably the problem.

I get 13000+ in 3dMark06 with a single 4850 stock, with a Q6600 @ 3.6. I get 19500+ with crossfire 4850s.

 

[AdamK47]

you are really pushing your luck running all that stuff on your 430 watt psu.

Yeah, how is that even possible? I would think that after you turn the system on you would immediately be smoking that power supply.

 

[LxMxFxD4]

Yeah, how is that even possible? I would think that after you turn the system on you would immediately be smoking that power supply.

That is because you have been mislead.

Computers do not use anywhere near 430W of power..ever.

I just did some research..

5750 max amperage: 6.5
5750x2 = 13A

My 430W PSU supplies 34A total.. which leaves 21A for the rest of my system.

Highly doubt my system is using 21A

 

[LxMxFxD4]

3dmark06 is cpu-limited. What CPU do you have in there? That's probably the problem.

I get 13000+ in 3dMark06 with a single 4850 stock, with a Q6600 @ 3.6. I get 19500+ with crossfire 4850s.

Larry,

Now im seeing some agreement with you.

I just o/c the system back to 3.4ghz. I got 18,192 in 3dmark06 this time an increase of 2500 while the cpu part of the mark only increased 700!

Interestingly I see 14,726 on a single card though, which is only 1000 off from the bench posted at tomshardware.. I presume they are using faster ram and an i980 though.

Hmm, I guess everything *seems* to be working as it should.. cpu is the limiting factor

 

[blanketyblank]

Antec earthwatts are very nice psus. A 430W earthwatt is probably something like a normal 500 W PSU. I'm using an Antec Neo Power 550 and according to reviews it can deliver 650 W at 50 C. Their Basiq line maybe relatively crappy, but I think a 430 is fine.

You can test using 3d mark vantage for free. It's a trial so limited in usage and you have to give them an e-mail to sign up, but if you want to see if they are performing comparably to everyone else that's probably the best thing to do.

http://service.futuremark.com/3dmvantage-trial.action

 

[Meghan54]

That is because you have been mislead.

Computers do not use anywhere near 430W of power..ever.

That is a complete bullshit remark.


A Core i7 920 OC'd at 4.2GHz with a 4870 Toxic, running a Linx and Furmark, pulled well over 580W from the wall. At 85% efficiency, which the Corsair power supply that's being used is more than capable of doing, would produce a computer consuming 493W.


Your blanket statement is just full of fail.

Maybe YOUR pitiful excuse of a computer can't pull 400W, but to blanket state that NO computer can pull that much is just crap.

 

[dualsmp]

Not really.

Do you know how much your computer actually uses? My computer is using 123W as i type this. Yes it is the computer in my sig.

At boot up it maxes at about 290W.

During 3dmark06 it uses about 240W.

All this crap about having a 700W supply is completely bogus.

NOW GRANTED.. my 430W may not supply enough on the +12V rails to realize the full power of my cards.. thats a POSSIBILITY. But wouldn't the system crash if it was out of power? Not just underperform?

I did find a 3dmark06 bench from Tomshardware that shows I should be getting 22,000 on this bench.. NOT 15,727!

Another possiblity: According to ASUS, my slots work at x8 not x16 when they are crossfired. Would that account for this major differential?

Your PSU has plenty of power. Only if you have a very power hungry setup do you really need to go over 500w. Most basic PC's use around 200 watts max. The 5750 is low powered so even in crossfire a 400w PSU will be fine.

As far as being in 8x you would only lose a few percent (1% or so, 2% at most), so that shouldn't be a problem. I would fire up a few games and benchmark that way. Synthetic benchmarks sometimes give strange results.

 

[LxMxFxD4]

That is a complete bullshit remark.


A Core i7 920 OC'd at 4.2GHz with a 4870 Toxic, running a Linx and Furmark, pulled well over 580W from the wall. At 85% efficiency, which the Corsair power supply that's being used is more than capable of doing, would produce a computer consuming 493W.


Your blanket statement is just full of fail.

Maybe YOUR pitiful excuse of a computer can't pull 400W, but to blanket state that NO computer can pull that much is just crap.

Do you have a link to this?

CPUs are pretty efficient but I just maxed out my computer having 5 hard drives spinning, reading a blu-ray, xfired my 5750s with a cpu at 3.4ghz running 3dmark06.

Max power used: 322W

Granted its POSSIBLE that a 4.2ghz cpu would add anotehr 25w and the xfire mega cards another 100W.

So yes, maybe a $3000 computer can use 430W. MAYBE.. under extreme circumstances that even you would never use (who copies blu-rays to a 4 HD raid array while playing a video game?)

Also.. who has a $3000 computer on here? Not even you

 

[LxMxFxD4]

Your PSU has plenty of power. Only if you have a very power hungry setup do you really need to go over 500w. Most basic PC's use around 200 watts max. The 5750 is low powered so even in crossfire a 400w PSU will be fine.

As far as being in 8x you would only lose a few percent (1% or so, 2% at most), so that shouldn't be a problem. I would fire up a few games and benchmark that way. Synthetic benchmarks sometimes give strange results.

Do you or anyone else here know if HDs use the same power rail as the video card?

If so I can rule out a power problem.. I just got 18333 3dmarks with my raid array running and thats an extra 40W (4 drives) that would be running on the same rail as the video card?

Anyone know?

 

[taltamir]

the problem is obviously the resolution and age of the test...

at such a low resolution and such an old test the biggest limiting factor is the CPU, not the GPU.

and any game from that time period would be easily getting triple digit FPS

Try vantage at a higher resolution to get a good GPU test

 

[dualsmp]

Do you have a link to this?

CPUs are pretty efficient but I just maxed out my computer having 5 hard drives spinning, reading a blu-ray, xfired my 5750s with a cpu at 3.4ghz running 3dmark06.

Max power used: 322W

Granted its POSSIBLE that a 4.2ghz cpu would add anotehr 25w and the xfire mega cards another 100W.

So yes, maybe a $3000 computer can use 430W. MAYBE.. under extreme circumstances that even you would never use (who copies blu-rays to a 4 HD raid array while playing a video game?)

Also.. who has a $3000 computer on here? Not even you

What Meg is referring to is certain configurations can use tons of power. An i7 920 overclocked over 4Ghz uses a lot of power. The power requirement for the i7 ramps up quickly after 3.8Ghz if I remember. There are definitely times you need a hefty power supply. Most configurations though with dual core, no overclock and a mid-range video card don't need a lot of power. By all means though when you have two GTX 480 in SLI grab a 1000w PSU because they gulp tons of power.

 

[LxMxFxD4]

run heaven 2.1 benchmark and compare.

I shoulda just listened to you on this!

Ran the benchies...

Max settings in heaven @ 1920x1200 xfire: 17.2fps
Max settings in heaven @ 1920x1200 single card: 9.7fps

Conclusion:

Obviously xfire is working

Default settings in heaven @ 1920x1200 xfire: 30.6fps
Default settings in heaven @ 1920x1200 single card: 16.8fps

I even changed cpu speed and had almost NO effect (.1fps)

Guess this proves to me that 3dmark06 is a worthless bench nowadays.

Thanks for all your help guys. And rock on to my 430W antec earthwatts!

 

[Ben90]

Do you have a link to this?

CPUs are pretty efficient but I just maxed out my computer having 5 hard drives spinning, reading a blu-ray, xfired my 5750s with a cpu at 3.4ghz running 3dmark06.

Max power used: 322W

Granted its POSSIBLE that a 4.2ghz cpu would add anotehr 25w and the xfire mega cards another 100W.

So yes, maybe a $3000 computer can use 430W. MAYBE.. under extreme circumstances that even you would never use (who copies blu-rays to a 4 HD raid array while playing a video game?)

Also.. who has a $3000 computer on here? Not even you

Note thats just furmark on a barebones i7 system. Its very possible to go over 1KW, and with triple SLI and an insane overclock you could probably hit 1.5KW

And yes, hard drives run off the +12v rail

 

[busydude]

@OP :

Did you buy those $100 MSI cards? I suppose they use software crossfire, its even buggier than hardware crossfire and heavily dependent on the software.

 

[happy medium]

3d mark 06 is cpu dependent. I score over 16,000 with my single 5750 overclocked.