Crossfire Question

[TantrumusMaximus]

I currently own a Powercolor X1900XTX (love it) and am considering upgrading to a core 2 duo 975x chipset motherboard with an E6600.

What board would I need to buy to run crossfire? I am seeing X1950XTX Crossfire boards but not X1900XTX Crossfire Edition boards....

To Crossfire Owners: Do you like it? Has it worked for you?

I have been off the scene for about a year so I'm a little behind, any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[TantrumusMaximus]

?

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Any 975x mobo will do the trick. I am using the p5wdh. 965 will also work but not without a hit. The DFI RD600 board will be out VERY soon so you may want to wait for it. Here's a relevant article: http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2891

 

[josh6079]

Any 975x mobo will do the trick. I am using the p5wdh. 965 will also work but not without a hit.

Yeah, the 975X is allows CrossFire as well as the P965. The difference between the two is that the P965 has one 4x PCI-E lane and one 16x PCI-E lane, so they're not synchronized as well as the 975X's 8x8 PCI-E distribution.

However, this doesn't necessarily mean that the P965 can't perform right along side the 975X in terms of CrossFire. In fact, most games don't show much of a difference either way, and the P965 seems to be generally get better overclocks and has other features that make it a really good buy.

Here's a really good comparison between the 975X and the P965 - Click

 

[TantrumusMaximus]

After some research I think Crossfire is probably a waste of money with the 8800GTX out. Let me know if I'm nuts!

 

[josh6079]

CrossFire is just as much of a waste as SLi, but if there is a single GPU out that can perform up to par with two other GPU's out it is more ideal to have the single. If you just want one 8800GTX it shouldn't matter what PCI-E motherboard you use. I would honestly go with an Intel brand because their chipsets are damn good.

 

[BFG10K]

After some research I think Crossfire is probably a waste of money with the 8800GTX out.

I agree completely. This business of buying a single card now and a second card later almost never works.

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

After some research I think Crossfire is probably a waste of money with the 8800GTX out.

I agree completely. This business of buying a single card now and a second card later almost never works.

I currently own a Powercolor X1900XTX

Hmm $300 vs $650

HOWEVER, you don't have a crossfire mobo, so it is true that you're better off with an 8800GTS/X

 

[BFG10K]

Hmm $300 vs $650

That's under the assumption he can't sell his old X1900 XTX when he gets his 8800 GTX.

Also the 8800 GTX will be faster than the Crossfire system plus he won't have to deal with Crossfire scaling/issues/limitations.

 

[TantrumusMaximus]

Here's my situation...

My system currently is overkill for the main game I play: WoW

But I play a lot of other games mainly shooters, the problem is the Dell 2405 I have runs a native res of 1920x1200 so the more video power the better. Now with that said I have 3 other systems that 2 of those can play pretty much any game out fairly well but ONE of those 3 is below par for todays games (P4 1.6A and 5900SE vid card.)

I am thinking of moving my current system (Asus A8N-SLI/Opty165 & X1900XTX) to that system, then build my dream (for the year lol) system with a Core2 Duo E6600 & 8800GTX... from reviews I've read this setup is powerful enough (to later purchase) run a Dell 30" LCD at 2560x1600 at playable framerates.....

So far I've chosen:

Corsair 600W PS (or insert your choice/recommendation under $200)
2GB DDR2 800 Corsair
EVGA 8800GTX
Case: TBD (as 8800GTX won't fit in many cases) I'm looking for something looking more conservative and clean like most lian-li boxes. So far was leaning towards a V1200 since they are real deep.

Have not chosen motherboard yet, but am leaning towards the stock Intel 975 chipset board so I can add an 8800GTX at the time of gettin the 30 incher later if I find it's still not fast enough with a single board.

I would love to hear all your thoughts & suggestions!


Note: I won't be purchasing anything until about 2/15 so I have some time to ponder!

 

[Whirlwind]

I would certainly think with two X1900XT in Crossfire would be a sweet set-up....maybe not BETTER than an 8800GTX....but still DARN good! Should be able to crank some AA on....if you like that sort of thing....also go to higher resolution....more AA and a higher resolution is a nice upgrade in my book.