Going from 580 SLI to 7970 CF?

[BallaTheFeared]

You posted that 7950NonB perform as the same as GTX 580, that's not right(nowdays).

I said basically the same, should I have said for 4-6% more performance the 800 MHz 7950 crushes the 580 into submission?

 

[OCGuy]

OP, find an instance where a game you play/want to play, at the resolution you play at, is noticeably improved by 580SLI to 7970CF. (80FPS to 91 FPS is not an improvement in real-world terms)

I promise you, the road ahead has much more potential with a 290, without all of the headache. Also, I thought it was pretty well known that chicks dig new tech. 7970 was launched during the Nixon administration.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Wouldn't, given your example, the frame rates be 80 FPS for 580 SLI 91 for 7970 CF and 70.5 for the 290?

 

[Techhog]

OP, find an instance where a game you play/want to play, at the resolution you play at, is noticeably improved by 580SLI to 7970CF. (80FPS to 91 FPS is not an improvement in real-world terms)

I promise you, the road ahead has much more potential with a 290.

Then wouldn't it make more sense by that logic to wait another year instead of having less performance for 6 months?

 

[OCGuy]

Wouldn't, given your example, the frame rates be 80 FPS for 580 SLI 91 for 7970 CF and 70.5 for the 290?

Yep..and 65 is fine as well, but here is the difference in 2014 when OP gets the upgrade bug again:


Goes with 7970XF:

- Sell/dispose of two cards that are now 4 years old

- Buy a Hawaii, which he already could have had, basically another side-grade

- Buy a 20nm card, which will be much more than $399 at launch, and slower than:


Goes with 290/780 now:

- Buy a 2nd one for less, insert, play

- Sell one year old card, buy 20nm card



Unless you are buying top of the line or at a resolution where the legs can be stretched, Xfire and SLI should be an upgrade path, never a starting point. You put yourself in a corner right out of the gate.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Psh next year it's 20nm, 290 won't matter either nor will adding another power hungry card vs what will be available!

Probably get two cards much faster that use the same amount of power as one 290!

 

[el etro]

Wait I was under the impression that the 7970 CF is stronger than a single R9 290 and single GTX 780. I mean I can still return them. I thought it was going to be a nice upgrade. The main thing I disliked about my 580s was the VRAM being so low.

Masterpiece, it's stronger, but costs like a 290x(and don't outperform 290x(uber) by a reasonable margin - especially if you care about total power consumption and on gaming noise) - And will not scale to total power until you go above 1080p.
For 1080p and under the paired cards will not achieve max performance scaling, and you will end going with low value on a budget(yes, $400 for a crossfire setup is going budget).
If you want real performance gains without leaving 1080p, go for an customized high tier card(custom GTX 780s). If you want to continue crossfire upgrading, go for a 2560*1600/3x1080p monitor setup in order to achieve full power of high tier cards multi-gpu setups.

So, if you still don't get it, i make it clear for you.

Continues at next post...

 

[el etro]

Then Look at these graphs now:

You saw it? Saw the performance difference from single to Multi Gpu Setups on every card at low resolutions? Until the cards get into 1600p and above, they will not get full scaling. That's why i'm advising you to get rid of your multi-gpu setup for now.

A good example of Multi-GPU performance scaling here: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gtx_780_ti_sli_geforce_review,22.html (see next page too to get more awesome scaling results!)

A example of good scaling(with the right resolution) for your desired two 7970's setup(7990 results || 4k have four times the pixel count of your 1080p resolution!):

Seeing this results, what about thinking of to wait a custom 290(Non-X) come to market or Pick up a new monitor before go Crossfire?

 

[CarpeDiem99]

From Anandtech Benchmark comparing 7970 Ghz Crossfire vs 7970 GHz: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/769?vs=768

Dirt Showdown - 1920x1080 - Ultra Quality + 4x MSAA + Adv. Lighting 158.1 fps vs 91.3 fps (73.2% Scaling)

Total War: Shogun 2 - 1920x1080 - Ultra Quality 112.2 fps vs 62.3 fps (80% Scaling)

Hitman Aboslution - 1920x1080 - Ultra + 4x MSAA 89.3 fps vs 58.6 fps (52.4% Scaling)

Sleeping Dogs - 1920x1080 - Ultra Quality + High AA 129.4 fps vs 97 fps (33.4% Scaling)

Crysis Warhead - 1920x1080 - Ultra Quality + 4x MSAA 69.8 fps vs 39.6 fps (76.3% Scaling)

Farcry 3 - 1920x1080 - Ultra Quality + 4x MSAA + Enh. AtoC 77.3 fps vs 43.2 fps (78.9% Scaling)

Battlefield 3 - 1920x1080 - Ultra Quality + 4x MSAA 144.6 fps vs 74.4 fps (94% Scaling)

Civilization V - 1920x1080 - Maximum Quality + 4x MSAA 113 fps vs 94.8 fps (19.2% Scaling)

Bioshock Infinite - 1920x1080 - Ultra Quality + DDoF 132.9 fps vs 74.4 fps (78.6% Scaling)

Crysis 3 - 1920x1080 - Very High Quality + FXAA 75 fps vs 40.4 fps (85.6% Scaling)

Depending on which games you play, you can see up to 94% scaling from crossfire 7970 Ghz in 1080p. Whether or not it is worth upgrading from 580 SLI is up to you, but you can sell the 580 SLI for $150 - $180 each and recoup majority of the cost. I would say that is a pretty good upgrade.

 

[nOOky]

I always buy first and ask questions later.

The cards are on their way, I suggest you maybe do things backwards from what you are doing now it really saves on shipping and some hassle.

Good luck with the new cards, hope a monitor upgrade is in your future too to take advantage of all the horsepower you'll have.

 

[Haserath]

Got a good deal on 2 7970 today (Sapphire Vapor X 3 GB version new). I will have about 30 days to return them. Just wondering what kind of upgrade this will be when compared to the 580 SLI set up I have now. Reason I bit on them without doing research was because of the price ($220 each). I always buy first and ask questions later.

I run a single 1080p 120hz monitor. Should I keep them? They should be here in a week.

You could sell the 580's for around $200 each or sell the 7970's for upper 2's and make some profit.

They're only a bit better at that resolution, maybe 30-40%. But Nvidia has the upper hand for high hertz.

 

[wilds]

1.5gb of usable memory to 3gb is a nice jump. I wouldn't be surprised if OP's current 580 SLI uses all the memory available on some games.

I would return the 7970's and get the R9 290. You get 1gb of more VRAM, and the opportunity to CF it later on.

The aftermarket 290's are only worth upgrading to IMO. The 7970's are still good cards but for $440 it makes you question if it.

 

[el etro]

Two R9 290 lightning plus 2 more monitors: call it a day.

 

[themasterpiece1]

The cards are on their way, I suggest you maybe do things backwards from what you are doing now it really saves on shipping and some hassle.

Good luck with the new cards, hope a monitor upgrade is in your future too to take advantage of all the horsepower you'll have.

Nope. I used shoprunner, which means free return shipping. I have learned when it comes to deals always buy first and then discuss things later. If I decide not to keep them then I just ship them back. No big deal. No charge to ship back and no restocking fee.

Just came here to see people's opinions before I start doing my own research.

 

[spinejam]

xfire 7970s should satiate you for at least the next 12 months @ your res. Now save up for a new monitor. 🙂

 

[Pariah]

Unless you plan to upgrade your monitor to something higher res (1440p/1600p), I would return them. There's no denying the 7970's will be faster, but you should not be hurting with SLI'd 580's while at 1080p. The 7970's are not going to noticeably improve your gaming experience, making it a wasted $440.

Wait until you upgrade your monitor. If you skip to 4k, you're going to want something better than a 7970CF setup, so you could end up spending $440 to not improve your current experience only to realize you also didn't get enough horsepower to drive your new setup forcing you into another upgrade.

 

[CarpeDiem99]

Unless you plan to upgrade your monitor to something higher res (1440p/1600p), I would return them. There's no denying the 7970's will be faster, but you should not be hurting with SLI'd 580's while at 1080p. The 7970's are not going to noticeably improve your gaming experience, making it a wasted $440.

Wait until you upgrade your monitor. If you skip to 4k, you're going to want something better than a 7970CF setup, so you could end up spending $440 to not improve your current experience only to realize you also didn't get enough horsepower to drive your new setup forcing you into another upgrade.

What if he would sell his 580s and get back $360, making it an $80 investment, would it be worth it?

 

[raghu78]

for all of those people misleading the OP that the HD 7970 Ghz is not a meaningful upgrade over GTX 580 SLI you could not be more wrong.

http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/2013/amd-radeon-r7-260x-r9-270x-und-280x-im-test/6/

1920 x 1080 4x AA

HD 7970 Ghz - 153
HD 7870 - 103
GTX 660 - 100

GTX 580 is on par with HD 7870 and slightly ahead of GTX 660. this means HD 7970 Ghz is 50% faster according to this review

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_280X_Gaming/26.html

1920 x 1080

MSI R9 280X (1050 Mhz) - 100 (HD 7970 Ghz with the latest drivers performs the same. tpu did not test the older cards with newer drivers)
GTX 580 - 73

in this review its close to 40% faster.

take a modern DX11 game like BF4

http://www.sweclockers.com/artikel/17810-prestandaanalys-battlefield-4/3#pagehead

R9 280X CF - avg 115 fps min 84 fps
GTX Titan SLI - avg 114 fps min 85 fps
HD 7970 Ghz - avg 65 fps min 48 fps
R9 280X - avg 64 fps min 44 fps
GTX 580 - avg 40 fps min 26 fps

HD 7970 Ghz is 60% faster and crushes the GTX 580. In BF4 R9 280X CF (which is HD 7970 Ghz CF) is on par with GTX Titan SLI. how is that for an upgrade. the most important factor is the massive 3GB VRAM on HD 7970 Ghz. The OP is well placed for the next couple of years. games like BF4 run out of VRAM at max setting at 1080p with 1.5 GB VRAM.

 

[nOOky]

Nope. I used shoprunner, which means free return shipping. I have learned when it comes to deals always buy first and then discuss things later. If I decide not to keep them then I just ship them back. No big deal. No charge to ship back and no restocking fee.

Just came here to see people's opinions before I start doing my own research.

Okay, fair enough. I usually research things before I buy, and then find the best deal when I've determined what suits my needs. Guess I've been doing backwards all of these years...

 

[Pariah]

What if he would sell his 580s and get back $360, making it an $80 investment, would it be worth it?

No, it still isn't. It doesn't matter how much faster the 7970's are. The 580 SLI is more than enough for 1080p. He'd be paying $80 for a 0% improvement in user experience. Is that a worthwhile investment? Most sane people would say no.

Is it worth upgrading a Toyota Camry to a Corvette if all you do is drive through school zones? Only if you have self confidence issues.

 

[OCGuy]

for all of those people misleading the OP that the HD 7970 Ghz is not a meaningful upgrade over GTX 580 SLI you could not be more wrong.

So 90 to 100+ FPS is meaningful? lol.

 

[themasterpiece1]

To be fair one of the reasons I have not upgraded my monitor is because my monitor is 120hz. Probably won't upgrade until the higher res monitors can get refresh rates as high as 120hz.

 

[CarpeDiem99]

No, it still isn't. It doesn't matter how much faster the 7970's are. The 580 SLI is more than enough for 1080p. He'd be paying $80 for a 0% improvement in user experience. Is that a worthwhile investment? Most sane people would say no.

Is it worth upgrading a Toyota Camry to a Corvette if all you do is drive through school zones? Only if you have self confidence issues.

Even for a 1080p @ 120 Hz? The 7970s would be putting up better fps, therefore in a 120 Hz situation, gameplay experience should be better. At 60 Hz, I would agree that the experience would probably be similar.

 

[3DVagabond]

That just isn't worth it...a single 580 is within 6% of a single 7970 according to TPU: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7970_CrossFire/23.html

If you had $400+ blowing a hole in your pocket and wanted to see a difference, I would have gone either 290 pro + new HSF, or GTX780. Not even close.

OMG! This chart is from Jan. 2012! A complete waste of bandwidth every time it loads. 😀

Seeing as how a single 7970GHz is approx. on par with a 590, OP, you'll notice an appreciable upgrade.

This chart is from June 2012. With driver improvements performance has improved quite a lot since then even. Also, crossfire at 1080p has improved dramatically with AMD's frame pacing drivers. 7970's @ $220 ea. is a massive bargain.

 

[raghu78]

So 90 to 100+ FPS is meaningful? lol.

where did you get that 90 to 100+ fps rubbish. you are badly misleading the op. 🙄

http://www.sweclockers.com/artikel/17810-prestandaanalys-battlefield-4/3#pagehead

1920 x 1080

R9 280X CF - avg 115 fps min 84 fps
GTX 760 SLI - avg 86 fps min 65 fps
R9 280X - avg 64 fps min 45 fps
GTX 760 - avg 57 fps min 37 fps
GTX 580 - avg 40 fps min 26 fps

the GTX 760 is roughly 40% faster than GTX 580 in BF4. it scales by 50% when a 2nd card is added. with similar scaling the GTX 580 SLI would still be running at avg 60 fps. the R9 280X CF is running at 115 fps. thats 2x the perf. i think you need to just leave the OP in peace without crapping this thread with your misinformation :whiste:

No, it still isn't. It doesn't matter how much faster the 7970's are. The 580 SLI is more than enough for 1080p. He'd be paying $80 for a 0% improvement in user experience. Is that a worthwhile investment? Most sane people would say no.

Is it worth upgrading a Toyota Camry to a Corvette if all you do is drive through school zones? Only if you have self confidence issues.

i think you did not read the OP at all. he has a 1080p 120 hz monitor. so he will definitely see the performance improvement as he he is not stuck with a 60 hz monitor. try running BF4 ultra 4x MSAA on a GTX 580 SLI at 1080p. it will be a miserable experience as you would run out of VRAM and see in-game stuttering. the HD 7970 Ghz CF is close to double the GTX 580 SLI perf (see the chart above) due to massive single GPU perf lead and which increases in dual GPU as CF has much better dual GPU scaling.