Does My PCIE Lanes Fully Support XFire?

[ZZZAAA]

EDIT: Change Thread Topic! Do My PCIE Lanes Fully Support Xfire?

My motherboard has two PCIE lanes with only crossfire supported. I think they are two 16x PCIE 3.0 with the second lane notching down to 4x if I am right. Would I lose performance crossfiring with this motherboard? It's a ASUS z170m-plus (which I really happen to dislike).

 

[ZZZAAA]

My spare computer is a 860K btw with no SLI lanes (for both computers).

 

[Tweak155]

If you can grab a used 970 for that price... it sounds like a great option. I personally avoid mGPU for the time being, although I've considered doing it at some point down the road. But I think in your case you wont get a huge boost anyway.

 

[ZZZAAA]

I was leaning towards the 970 too. Hopefully I can find one at a good price. BTW, the next gpu I'm getting for my main build has to be new architecture and I'm torn between the 1080 and dual Polaris XT's. If the Polaris XT were to come in around the $400 mark beating the 1070 in performance, do you think it would be a better option for myself at 4k than the 1080 considering I have $800ish to spend?

 

[RussianSensation]

My spare computer is a 860K btw with no SLI lanes (for both computers).

That processor is too slow for $200+ cards. Don't get anything above a $100 GTX950 for it.

http://slickdeals.net/f/8772443-asus-geforce-gtx-950-video-card-dual-cooling-fan-100-after-30-rebate-free-store-pickup?src=SiteSearchV2_SearchBarV2Algo1

 

[SPBHM]

I agree, I think the 950 is a solid choice, it's fast enough for most current games at 1080P medium, which gives you most of the experience, more or less like a PS4, also if you use it for video decoding, it's the best you can get

or wait for Polaris 11..

 

[Elixer]

I also say it is better to wait to see the new line of GPUs, and you may be able to get a faster GPU for cheaper, then spend some $$$ on a new CPU.

 

[ZZZAAA]

There is no way I'm going to get rid of this processor anytime soon. I just got this CPU as a backup build less than a month ago after careful consideration. I was thinking of buying the g3258 only to learn the overclocking feature had been disabled in newer motherboards. Anyway, I have the 860K paired with a 6970 I had from an older computer and was thinking about crossfiring it with a 1 GB 6950 for 70 bucks with directx11 games in mind. However, I was persuaded by other board members to look for another gpu and that it would be a waste of time since I wouldn't be able to play most newer titles. If I recall correctly, the 6950 1 GB I wanted to would have given me around 280 performance although I would have been limited by the RAM on certain games. There's a large back catalog of games that I missed out on over a span of three years that I would like to revisit. What do you some of you think about this option?

 

[ZZZAAA]

Russian Sensation, that 950 looks like a really great deal although I hate having to do rebates unlike most people because I don't own a printer. It's such a hassle and I've always rolled with the "out of pocket" cost as my purchasing factor. That TWO GB would go a long way though, wouldn't it?

 

[ZZZAAA]

Also, I don't mind being a little GPU-heavy and gain some more frames. BTW, this CPU socket is dead, correct?

I had this paired with a 270 that got RMA'd. Would it be smart to repurchase that videocard?

 

[boozzer]

you really should take your time when posting, there is no need spread them.

 

[ZZZAAA]

boozer, I don't think this forum is moving at all so it shouldn't matter if I double or triple post in my own thread. You can see the last post was by me from the front page so why should it confuse you in any way? Not unless you're just trolling...

 

[Crono]

boozer, I don't think this forum is moving at all so it shouldn't matter if I double or triple post in my own thread. You can see the last post was by me from the front page so why should it confuse you in any way? Not unless you're just trolling...

Use the edit button. There's no reason to bump your thread or artificially inflate your post count.

 

[ZZZAAA]

Sorry about that. You have some good points there. I'm a little edgy because I had some alcohol not too long ago. Will definitely take into consideration.

 

[Crono]

Sorry about that. You have some good points there. I'm a little edgy because I had some alcohol not too long ago. Will definitely take into consideration.

Well, not a huge issue, but a mod would probably say same thing at some point.

Also I would agree with the 970 suggestion. I don't think the 970 is excessive if your 860K is overclocked. You will probably be GPU bound in more games with a 950 than CPU bound, especially as it's 2GB and you mentioned playing more older games on that system. At least get a 4GB version of the 960 if you can find it on sale new or deeply discounted used... though for value you will usually be better off with a R9 380.

There's little point in getting a 2GB card if you want to futureproof the system as a light gaming, secondary machine. The 950 will likely only be good for HTPC duties going forward (and it's good price for that, certainly) but a 4GB card (3.5GB usable, in the case of the 970) will prove more useful for longer. You should be able to run new games on low or medium settings with it for a few years more. And you'll at least be able to crank up texture mods in older games like Skyrim, where the CPU is still plenty fast enough.

I would have suggested the 390, but it's not a power efficient card (and puts out a fair amount of heat), and usually for a second machine that's what I myself am looking for.

 

[ZZZAAA]

Funny thing is, everybody keeps telling me to stay away from multi-gpu when I see so many people with giant SLI rigs. They're everywhere! I would think most people that frequent a technical forum such as this one would have higher-res screens already... So annoying almost.

 

[SPBHM]

multi GPU was always problematic and it's even less attractive than it was a year ago because most DX12 games have no support for it, same for VR.

also, multi GPU makes more sense when you want to go beyond the fastest single GPU card available, like 2 980 TIs or 2 1080s (or something close enough, like probably the 1070), not for an $200 budget and slow CPU, because multi GPU will add some problems, that you would be better avoiding if you can (more dependent on driver support, variable scaling, frame delivery problems with latency/consistency, specific bugs, higher power draw/cooling/space requirements, at least 2x8 pcie slots needed...), even when it works well, and as I said in some situations it's simply not working...

 

[AtenRa]

You are going to get 2x Polaris in the next one-two months but you also need a $200 GPU today ???

Did I read that correctly ??

 

[XiandreX]

You are going to get 2x Polaris in the next one-two months but you also need a $200 GPU today ???

Did I read that correctly ??

The Polaris are for his main rig, the $200 is for his backup rig.

 

[AtenRa]

The Polaris are for his main rig, the $200 is for his backup rig.

Ahh ok thanks.

@ ZZZAAA,

Get an R9 380, it should be much better for DX-12 games than the GTX 950.

But, personally I would wait for Polaris 11.

 

[R0H1T]

Wait for P11.

 

[tweakboy]

770 or 760 if you dont want to spend the extra timings.

 

[ZZZAAA]

multi GPU was always problematic and it's even less attractive than it was a year ago because most DX12 games have no support for it, same for VR.

SP, there are about ten games out that use directx12 or are going to use directx12. Are you saying most of them have no support for multi-gpu? How would they run at 4k on a single gpu then?

You are going to get 2x Polaris in the next one-two months but you also need a $200 GPU today ???

Did I read that correctly ??

I plan on buying both sometime in the next week or month. I'm still debating between nonref 1080 and dual Polaris xt for my 6700k build. I would like dual GPUs for light 4k gaming.

Also have a budget of roughly 200 for a new videocard for my second/spare computer I use for browsing and light gaming but looks like I am severely limited by my cpu.
This 860K purchase could be one of the worst purchases I have made in a long time.

 

[XiandreX]

SP, there are about ten games out that use directx12 or are going to use directx12. Are you saying most of them have no support for multi-gpu? How would they run at 4k on a single gpu then?



I plan on buying both sometime in the next week or month. I'm still debating between nonref 1080 and dual Polaris xt for my 6700k build. I would like dual GPUs for light 4k gaming.

Also have a budget of roughly 200 for a new videocard for my second/spare computer I use for browsing and light gaming but looks like I am severely limited by my cpu.
This 860K purchase could be one of the worst purchases I have made in a long time.

Don't feel bad, we all have made some questionable purchases.

 

[prtskg]

People have already written why you should not go for multigpu setup. You can go for non - reference 1080 if you want the best.
For the back up rig, wait for p11. Depending on review buy it or get a maxwell gpu. Prices of old gpus will continue dropping as new ones arrive. I don't see the need for buying too powerful gpu for this one nor too powerful cpu.