Crossfire options with existing 6970?

[Achilles97]

I currently have a system with a 2500k @ 4.5, z68 Extreme3 mobo, and Sapphire 6970 (dual fan). Unfortunately, it seems as if I missed the boat on getting a Crossfire setup with the existing 6970 because they are no longer found at the usual vendors and the occasional find is overpriced.

What should I do? Am I basically stuck as is until I decide to totally replace my video card setup? Or is there a way to crossfire with an equivalent 7xxx card?

Thanks!

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Your crossfire options with a 6970 is any 69xx card.

If you are dead set on snagging a 6970 for an upgrade I'd recommend you look into picking up one used. Also you might find a 6950 for significantly cheaper than a 6970.

Do your homework first. Crossfire isn't perfect but it does offer some great performance.

Oh, also what is your PSU? What resolution are you gaming at?

 

[Achilles97]

My PSU is 650w. My computer is very light as far as power drain goes. I have a single ssd and no additional drives. But, I am sure I will buy a more powerful PSU if I went crossfire.


I game at 1920x1200.

I was not aware that it's possible to crossfire a 6970 and a 6950. How would that scale? Would it bottleneck the 6970 to basically perform like a 6950 to match the slower card?

Thanks!

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Good idea on that PSU front. 650 watts with an oc'd SB and potentially two 6970s is probably not a wise plan.

From my recollection 6950 and 6970 crossfire scaling works pretty well you'd end up between 6950 xfire and 6970 xfire. I'm having trouble finding a specific review at the moment. If you go with a 6950, make sure you get a 2gb version to crossfire with a 6970.

The one review I did find about mixing crossfire was with a 5870 and a 5850 and the results put it at around 5850 xfire performance. However the scaling with the 6xxx series cards is better than the 5xxx series cards. By that you'd be looking at at least crossfire performance.
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1107/8/

Just out of curiosity, what games are you wanting more performance in?

 

[Achilles97]

Thank you for the information. 6950 2gb cards are available for $230.

Right now I am playing BF3, Skyrim, Cliffs of Dover. I don't really have any low frames at the moment, most games are hitting 60fps, but I sometimes dip into the low 40s in BF3 during 64 player games.

Also, this is mostly a future-proofing measure because I am worried that if I don't grab a 69xx right now they will soon be gone and I will have to shelf my 6970 in a year or two when more demanding games come out. I figure that $230 now plus my existing 6970 will give me the same performance as a $400 single card upgrade in a year or two. Maybe that's a very wrong assumption?

Thank you!!

 

[RavenSEAL]

Thank you for the information. 6950 2gb cards are available for $230.

Right now I am playing BF3, Skyrim, Cliffs of Dover. I don't really have any low frames at the moment, most games are hitting 60fps, but I sometimes dip into the low 40s in BF3 during 64 player games.

Also, this is mostly a future-proofing measure because I am worried that if I don't grab a 69xx right now they will soon be gone and I will have to shelf my 6970 in a year or two when more demanding games come out. I figure that $230 now plus my existing 6970 will give me the same performance as a $400 single card upgrade in a year or two. Maybe that's a very wrong assumption?

Thank you!!

Not at all, go for it. HD6970 Crossfire is really solid.

Oops, edit for typo.

 

[nanaki333]

i crossfired a 6950 with my wife's 6970, both different brands too.

 

[Achilles97]

OK, I'm about to order the 6950. One quick question:

Does Crossfire load balance the cards to operate at 100% each, or does it do 50/50, meaning the 6970 will be held back slightly? If it does the former, I am basically looking at an average between a 6950x2 and a 6970x2. Is that right?

Thanks!

 

[RavenSEAL]

OK, I'm about to order the 6950. One quick question:

Does Crossfire load balance the cards to operate at 100% each, or does it do 50/50, meaning the 6970 will be held back slightly? If it does the former, I am basically looking at an average between a 6950x2 and a 6970x2. Is that right?

Thanks!

The 6970 is gonna get held back and you're gonna feel micro-stuttering. I would not suggest going with an HD 6950 to pair up with a 6970, even if get lucky and manage to unlock the 6950.

 

[Achilles97]

After researching microstutter, I've concluded to not get the 6950 to crossfire with my 6970. I think I will use the 6970 until its no longer adequate and then upgrade to the latest and greatest at the time.

Another reason for me to not go for the crossfire setup right now is that the 6970+6950 would still be the limiting factor compared to my 2500k @ 4.5. I dont want to spend even more money on a video card setup that would still potentially need an upgrade in the future.

Thank you for the information.

 

[RavenSEAL]

After researching microstutter, I've concluded to not get the 6950 to crossfire with my 6970. I think I will use the 6970 until its no longer adequate and then upgrade to the latest and greatest at the time.

Another reason for me to not go for the crossfire setup right now is that the 6970+6950 would still be the limiting factor compared to my 2500k @ 4.5. I dont want to spend even more money on a video card setup that would still potentially need an upgrade in the future.

Thank you for the information.

You can always grab a good deal on a HD6970 from our FS/FT forums if you don't feel like grabbing one from a retailer due to cost. Seen a few that look good from sellers with a good rep! You're looking at maybe $200~ for one and a lot of folks are willing to RMA for you in case anything happens; or, you can always grab a card with a serial based warranty and have no worries about that.