CF 7870 LE or R9 290

[Dopekitten]

Hi,

I'm going to buy a new video card(s) today, and what I'm looking at right now is the R9 290 since it seems like a pretty good deal. However, there is a deal for a 7870 LE for $140 AR right now:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131484

From what I understand, if I CF two of these, I should get performance that is above that of the R9 290, for cheaper ($280 vs $400).

My question is, should I do this? Are there any downsides? I know that CF works fine with the R9 290/290X, does it work well with the 7xxx series?

 

[Attic]

My answer assumes two things, you are gaming at 1080P or lower and want to game at med/high details.

I'd recommend the 7870. Cheaper and doesn't have the concerns about heat/noise that the current 290's are displaying with some reviewers/users.

Current cards are 28nm, it appears to me that the time to go for the $300+ upgrade for a vid card will be when 20nm parts come out.

As of today the 290 is overkill for 1080P, though it will last for sometime at that res. But I wouldn't overshoot the gap right now at 1080P by spending over 200 box on a video card.

 

[Dopekitten]

Yea, my monitor is 1920x1200.

With regard to heat noise, I personally don't think the 290 will be an issue. I have no issue running my video card at 95 C (my 4870 already has been doing that for 5 years, lol). I will be using a mATX case though, so that may be an issue with two of those 7870's since they're not blower types.

I really want to know if there are significant downsides that I will experience from using crossfire though. Obviously the 7870 is a better deal from the price/performance aspect, but I need a minimum level of performance, probably around that of a 7970 at the very least.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I'd personally opt for the 290. Then add a second one later for xfire after they drop in price or you find a good deal from someone upgrading.

I'm not a fan of the cooling the 290 has but if you don't think it'll be an issue then that's your answer IMO. It also has the benefit of more memory.

 

[tonyfreak215]

Crossfire for the 7XXX series is still wonky. They haven't released their frame pacing fix yet. Plus you have to deal with dual GPU issues. (not all games support them, etc..)

I would get the 290.

 

[Attic]

Yea, my monitor is 1920x1200.

With regard to heat noise, I personally don't think the 290 will be an issue. I have no issue running my video card at 95 C (my 4870 already has been doing that for 5 years, lol). I will be using a mATX case though, so that may be an issue with two of those 7870's since they're not blower types.

I really want to know if there are significant downsides that I will experience from using crossfire though. Obviously the 7870 is a better deal from the price/performance aspect, but I need a minimum level of performance, probably around that of a 7970 at the very least.

My misunderstanding. I misread and thought it was 1 7870 or 1 290, if it's 2x7870 vs 1x290 i'd go the 290. I don't think the heat/noise will be something you can't counter effectively.

Given your thoughts were CF of the 7870 vs single 290, i'd highly recommend single 290. xfire is useable if needed, but their are downsides with game support and frame latencies (new drivers solved Dx10 and DX11 to some degree but AFAIK DX9 titles still suffer). If you are perceptive to and bothered by frame tearing you'll probably be bothered by micro stutter. The drawbacks of xfire are from what I can tell dependent on the user to some degree.

 

[chimaxi83]

I agree, single faster card > multi GPU. As long as your case has decent airflow, the 290 would be my pick. You want decent airflow because if you're constantly at 94C, you will be in constant throttle. Not my idea of a fast card.

 

[Jimzz]

Yep single R290

 

[24601]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16814131458R

Your CPU is terrible, and will bottleneck a stock 7950 let alone a 290.

 

[tential]

My answer assumes two things, you are gaming at 1080P or lower and want to game at med/high details.

I'd recommend the 7870. Cheaper and doesn't have the concerns about heat/noise that the current 290's are displaying with some reviewers/users.

Current cards are 28nm, it appears to me that the time to go for the $300+ upgrade for a vid card will be when 20nm parts come out.

As of today the 290 is overkill for 1080P, though it will last for sometime at that res. But I wouldn't overshoot the gap right now at 1080P by spending over 200 box on a video card.

Yup this is what I think as well.

I like the 290 but IMO, I think the 20 NM cards will be great as right now Nvidia and AMD really seem pushing the performance pretty hard (especially AMD). If your target is 1080p, I don't think the 7870s will have trouble with that for awhile. By the time you need to upgrade again, assuming you're keeping that same $400 budget, you'll have an extra $120 left over.
Also, since you seem to need a new CPU, that's ane xtra $120 you can spend towards your CPU.

 

[raghu78]

OP R9 290 might be overkill for 1200p. but i would still recommend it as it has the best price perf of any high end cad. always get a single GPU. provides the best and most consistent experience. lower frametimes , smoother gameplay. you can overclock the R9 290 to 1100 mhz at 70% fan speed. its a beast of a GPU. on avg across many games R9 290 is faster than HD 7870 LE CF. btw 20nm GPU are not going to be here for atleast 9 months and maybe even 12 months. if you want you can wait for custom R9 290 like asus dcii top or his iceq x2. should be out by early Dec.

 

[Rezist]

I'd probably get that 7870 since that's a great deal

 

[Enigmoid]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16814131458R

Your CPU is terrible, and will bottleneck a stock 7950 let alone a 290.

+1
Core 2 quad and R290 will be a huge bottleneck. Upgrade your CPU.

 

[ZGR]

Your CPU can bottleneck a single 7870 as is. I would upgrade to an i5 and then get an R9 290. The other option is to sell your current build and rebuild. Core 2 is not good enough in 2013 in my opinion.

 

[rothchilds]

Your CPU can bottleneck a single 7870 as is. I would upgrade to an i5 and then get an R9 290. The other option is to sell your current build and rebuild. Core 2 is not good enough in 2013 in my opinion.

he is thinking of Cross Firing 2x7870. Reading is fun!