A quick easy question.

[Greenman]

Is crossfire worthwhile if you use lower end cards? To be clear, I'm asking if two $150 cards net better performance than one $300 card. Or it could be two $400 cards and one $800 card.

 

[dpk33]

Two GTX460s (~$150 ea) are almost equal to a single GTX 580 (~$500).
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/314?vs=305

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot it was crossfire, not SLI.
Two 6850s (~$150 ea) blow away a 6970 (~$350) and trades blows with the GTX580.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/302?vs=292

 

[MentalIlness]

I agree with dpk33 about the 6850's. You can get 6870's for $164 AMIR as well. Just food for thought.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I switched from 2 5870s back to a single card solution and while i didn't go to 1 5870, i went to GTX 480 and the 480 has been a nicer experience so far.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Well, you question is kinda skewed given that the $300+ cards are overpriced right now. The $230 6950 is the end of the good price/performance cards.

You should prioritize a single card over CF/SLI because CF/SLI can have scaling issues, low minimum framerates (which don't show up in average framerate benchmarks), straight compatibility issues (where you have to manually disable CF/SLI to even get a game to run), and microstutter. CF/SLI will also almost always run hotter and louder than a single card.

If you can find a steal on a low-end card the performance can be worth the headache, but at normal prices I'd just get a 6950.

 

[dpk33]

Well, you question is kinda skewed given that the $300+ cards are overpriced right now. The $230 6950 is the end of the good price/performance cards.

Don't forget that a lot of 6950s with a bios switch have unlockable shaders, which give even more performance for the price - about 6970 performance, for ~$230.

Also, if you have the money for two $150 cards, a 6950 should be no big deal for you.

Crossfire and SLI offer better performance, at the cost of more heat and noise being created, more power being used, and possibly poor scaling in some games.

 

[Necc]

The thing i hate about crossfire or sli is that it increases only max fps, min fps always remain the same, thats why i prefare single card solutions, and lets not forget about heat/power.

 

[Spikesoldier]

You should prioritize a single card over CF/SLI because CF/SLI can have scaling issues, low minimum framerates (which don't show up in average framerate benchmarks), straight compatibility issues (where you have to manually disable CF/SLI to even get a game to run), and microstutter. CF/SLI will also almost always run hotter and louder than a single card..

scaling is now pretty much linear with 6xxx series. OP would see nearly 100% performance increase with the second card. agree though, that microstutter is the biggest thing out of the list that kills me with running dual cards. ive yet to run into a game that refused to run with CF enabled though.

in genreal though, OP, a greater single card is worth it over two lesser powered cards. I see CF or SLI as an upgrade path down the road where you can buy the top card at launch, and later when you need more power add a second used one for cheap.

 

[Greenman]

Thank you all for your responses.

I haven't paid attention to video cards for a few years, so I'm way out of the loop. I might give BF3 a shot, and I doubt the 4850 in my computer right now will do the job. I thought I might get away with a second 4850, but it looks like a new something is in my future.
When BF3 launches, I'll be back asking what card I should get.

 

[greenhawk]

I thought I might get away with a second 4850, but it looks like a new something is in my future.
When BF3 launches, I'll be back asking what card I should get.

as mentioned, the 6xxx series from AMD/ATI crossfire excellently. The 5xxx and 4xxx did not do it anywhere as good.

As to which card, nothing is expected that comes to mind at about the time of BF3's release.

By then though, I suspect you will not be the only one asking for advice for BF3. People are already asking about systems for the game for the last month going by the forums I visit.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

I haven't paid attention to video cards for a few years, so I'm way out of the loop. I might give BF3 a shot, and I doubt the 4850 in my computer right now will do the job. I thought I might get away with a second 4850, but it looks like a new something is in my future.
When BF3 launches, I'll be back asking what card I should get.

You're going to need a quad core processor to get decent framerates too.

 

[Greenman]

You're going to need a quad core processor to get decent framerates too.

Have that.
My 2004 ASrock motherboard died a couple weeks back. A trip to Fry's netted me a quad core phenom and 8 gigs of ram.