6950 2GB Crossfire - held back by CPU?

[r1sefromru1n]

I have been thinking of adding another 6950 to my rig to put them in Crossfire mode. I am currently still running:

gigabyte ud3p-ep45 rev1.6
Intel Q9650 (no overclock)
8gb corsair xms2 DDR2
xfx 6950 2GB
2x WD Blue 7200rpm 1TB drives
1x Corsair M4 128GB SSD
1x HP dvd-r drive

I mostly play BF3, but I also play lots of RPGs such as Skyrim, The Witcher 2. I play other genres but at this juncture BF3 is my main game.

Is it worth doing this crossfire thing at all with my current rig or will I be running into a bottleneck issue? Or would I be better served to take the potential $220+ spent on a second 6950, and put it towards bigger system upgrade, and selling my current mobo, cpu, and ram to subsidize some of the overall cost? Any thoughts would be welcome. Sorry if I am missing anything. Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[aaksheytalwar]

You will see a significant increase in minimum FPS and smoothness (besides via FPS) if you upgrade to Core i5 2500k or even i5 750 but 2500k will be a huge difference. That will help your overall gaming experience far more than a second 6950.

 

[Don Karnage]

Its time for a Z77/3570K combo

 

[Zargon]

with my 2500K at 4.3 I still peg the CPU on 6970/6950OC crossfire

 

[el-Capitan]

I'm with the others. Putting the money into a new CPU will get you farther. I have a 2500k and a single 2GB 6950 and all of my games run smoothly maxed out.

 

[jacktesterson]

Its time for a Z77/3570K combo

I don't agree. No offense Don, not everyone needs this.

That CPU of yours (OP) is still fine for 1080p gaming if you Overclocked it. Any reason why you havent done so?

I think you would see a good 60-70% performance boost in most games.

A IB/SB will improve Minimums, but at a signicifant cost.

Go for it. My 2 cents.

 

[blastingcap]

OP needs to specify resolution. If he's at 5760x1080p for instance he may be more GPU limited than CPU limited in many games.

 

[Termie]

I don't agree. No offense Don, not everyone needs this.

That CPU of yours (OP) is still fine for 1080p gaming if you Overclocked it. Any reason why you havent done so?

I think you would see a good 60-70% performance boost in most games.
A IB/SB will improve Minimums, but at a signicifant cost.

Go for it. My 2 cents.

He might see a 60% boost (maybe), but then he's leaving 30-40% on the table. Is that a good upgrade? Not so sure. I think he needs either at least an overclock to 4GHz to justify the upgrade or else he should just get a new CPU first.

Remember, BF3 needs a ton of CPU power, and a C2Q@3.0 simply isn't enough with the kind of GPU power he's interested at throwing at it.

 

[blastingcap]

Remember, BF3 needs a ton of CPU power, and a C2Q@3.0 simply isn't enough with the kind of GPU power he's interested at throwing at it.

O RLY?

http://www.techspot.com/review/458-battlefield-3-performance/page7.html

And those are at low to medium resolutions. If OP is gaming at 2560x1600 would that change your mind?

 

[jacktesterson]

He might see a 60% boost (maybe), but then he's leaving 30-40% on the table. Is that a good upgrade? Not so sure. I think he needs either at least an overclock to 4GHz to justify the upgrade or else he should just get a new CPU first.

Remember, BF3 needs a ton of CPU power, and a C2Q@3.0 simply isn't enough with the kind of GPU power he's interested at throwing at it.

I think its pretty safe to say he will see at least 50% boost.

You can now buy 6950's for under $200 used.


He hasn't stated he can afford a CPU Upgrade and a GPU upgrade. If not, here are the scenarios

1) C2D Quad with 2 x 6950's

2) 2500k/3570k with 1 6950

What performs better in gaming, including BF3? And not to mention cost of upgrade, and the fact he can still later upgrade his CPU/Motherboard?

I'd be all over adding a 2nd 6950.

Depends on budget.

 

[Termie]

O RLY?

http://www.techspot.com/review/458-battlefield-3-performance/page7.html

And those are at low to medium resolutions. If OP is gaming at 2560x1600 would that change your mind?

Single-player benchmarks = different game.

I think its pretty safe to say he will see at least 50% boost.

You can now buy 6950's for under $200 used.


He hasn't stated he can afford a CPU Upgrade and a GPU upgrade. If not, here are the scenarios

1) C2D Quad with 2 x 6950's

2) 2500k/3570k with 1 6950

What performs better in gaming, including BF3? And not to mention cost of upgrade, and the fact he can still later upgrade his CPU/Motherboard?

I'd be all over adding a 2nd 6950.

Depends on budget.

Assuming he doesn't have a budget for a full upgrade, I'd rather see him just sell the 6950 and buy a 7950 - he'll get basically the same performance upgrade (50% after OC), at the same cost, with much lower power use. And he'd still be CPU-limited in BF3.

 

[blastingcap]

Single-player benchmarks = different game.

Assuming he doesn't have a budget for a full upgrade, I'd rather see him just sell the 6950 and buy a 7950 - he'll get basically the same performance upgrade (50% after OC), at the same cost, with much lower power use. And he'd still be CPU-limited in BF3.

OK fair enough, I had forgotten about that difference SP vs MP.

Agreed, I almost never think multi-GPU is a good idea.