I suggest you read this before going with Crossfire

[boxleitnerb]

My aim wasn't to upset you, my aim was to point out the review is doing something wrong because CF works in those titles. But while on that topic... I'm pretty certain that override does work with CCC in DX11 mode, because i've tried it before and I remember seeing a guru3d thread on that very topic with pictures of users having success. Anyway, i'm not going to get in a pissing match with you over that. Thats not even my main point.

Pissing match, lol. It is technically impossible from DX10 forward, that's a fact. But you right in that we see this in too many reviews. Reviewers should know what is possible and what is not.

 

[Rvenger]

I think they just don't put as much money into driver team.

Card would be useless without good drivers. I don't like the path AMD is going on the driver side. The 11.x series drivers were not as bad as the 12.x.

 

[SickBeast]

You know what Xbit might have done something wrong because I could swear I've seen reviews where Crossfire worked in those games.

I would be surprised to see Xbit mess up though; they are the best tech site out there IMO for their news and their reviews.

 

[guskline]

Maybe buying a Nvidia 680 GTX instead of an AMD 7970 wasn't such a bad idea afterall.

 

[SickBeast]

Maybe buying a Nvidia 680 GTX instead of an AMD 7970 wasn't such a bad idea afterall.

It's definitely the better choice and it was a complete no brainer when it first came out and the 7970 actually cost more than it was.

 

[guskline]

It's definitely the better choice and it was a complete no brainer when it first came out and the 7970 actually cost more than it was.

Actually I paid more. $579 less $30 rebate but I got what I wanted quickly. Beautiful, powerful and fills the need I have. ( Darned ssd died but a replacement is underway). I previously powered the 3 24" 1920x1080 monitors by a single 6970. Instead of going cross fire which would have required a much bigger PSU plus an additional 6970 I opted for the 680. I'm pleased. Faster smoother gameplay.

 

[Jaydip]

You know what Xbit might have done something wrong because I could swear I've seen reviews where Crossfire worked in those games.

I would be surprised to see Xbit mess up though; they are the best tech site out there IMO for their news and their reviews.

I doubt,Xbit is one of the best out there and their review quality speaks for itself.But did they follow up with AMD regarding their findings?I would like to hear their response.

 

[3DVagabond]

I know AMDs support is typically sub par. But come on, BF3 has been out for what, 8 months? And they cant get a profile out for you guys? It was only one of the biggest releases in 2011.

Don't believe everything you read.

From Blackened23's post.

Isn't it funny how there's always inaccurate info about AMD's drivers around and people just eat it up. Anyone who bothers to read reviews should know crossfire works on BF3.

 

[Mad_dawg]

Don't believe everything you read.

From Blackened23's post.

Isn't it funny how there's always inaccurate info about AMD's drivers around and people just eat it up. Anyone who bothers to read reviews should know crossfire works on BF3.

Really? Here's a recent review on 2x7970 using cap 12.3 drivers...

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/radeon-hd-7970-crossfirex_8.html#sect5

 

[chimaxi83]

Yea, OP, you obviously posted this without doing any research.

Really? Here's a recent review on 2x7970 using cap 12.3 drivers...

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/radeon-hd-7970-crossfirex.html

There is failure in your post, how about quoting a website other than the one in question? It only makes sense buddy :thumbsup:

 

[Jaydip]

They are on different drivers versions though.

 

[Mad_dawg]

Yea, OP, you obviously posted this without doing any research.




There is failure in your post, how about quoting a website other than the one in question? It only makes sense buddy :thumbsup:

Quote from Anandtech....

but as it stands Crossfire is simply too broken overall to recommend.

 

[chimaxi83]

Multi GPU has issues, Nvidia is just faster to fix them. You have nothing to go on, do you? Thread is about the blanket statement made by OP, which is false at worst, and cherry picking a specific situation at best.

What's your original account? :sneaky:

 

[ViRGE]

Crossfire definitely works in bf3 and crysis 2. Not sure what they're doing wrong, but I get 90-99% gpu usage across both GPU's in both games.

All the crysis games have a profile, as does bf3.

BF3:

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...sfire-graphics-card-review-battlefield-3.html

Crysis 2:

I don't know what they're doing wrong, but i've played both of these games extensively with crossfire working. BF3 had a profile at release as well. So I don't know whats up with their shit, but they screwed something up.

If anything CF just seems to be buggy/inconsistent right now. Xbit couldn't get it working in BF3 and AnandTech couldn't get it working in Arkham City (and no one can get it working in Skyrim). It's very odd to see sites have problems like these.

 

[Mad_dawg]

Multi GPU has issues, Nvidia is just faster to fix them. You have nothing to go on, do you? Thread is about the blanket statement made by OP, which is false at worst, and cherry picking a specific situation at best.

What's your original account? :sneaky:

Like AnandTech says... Cf is too broken to recommend.... Xbit review just reiterate what Anandtech is saying... ohhhh Hardocp says Gameplay on Sli is smoother than CF... Don't know how many more reputable reviewing sites needed to get the truth out....

 

[Silverforce11]

What a load of tripe.

CF works fine for BF3 and Crysis 2 and has been so since ages.

 

[3DVagabond]

If anything CF just seems to be buggy/inconsistent right now. Xbit couldn't get it working in BF3 and AnandTech couldn't get it working in Arkham City (and no one can get it working in Skyrim). It's very odd to see sites have problems like these.

I'm not a reviewer. So, this is just a "for my own info" question.

When reviewing hardware and something isn't working correctly do the manufacturers/AIB's offer any support? Do reviewers read other reviews and compare notes at all? For example, I would hope that if I were doing a review I could email/msg w1zzard @ TPU and consult with him. Or are all of these guys just too competitive or egotistical?

 

[Jaydip]

I'm not a reviewer. So, this is just a "for my own info" question.

When reviewing hardware and something isn't working correctly do the manufacturers/AIB's offer any support? Do reviewers read other reviews and compare notes at all? For example, I would hope that if I were doing a review I could email/msg w1zzard @ TPU and consult with him. Or are all of these guys just too competitive or egotistical?

Why should they consult with manufacturers/AIB's or review sites?AMD releases these drivers and they should directly contact with AMD.

 

[Jaydip]

Multi GPU has issues, Nvidia is just faster to fix them. You have nothing to go on, do you? Thread is about the blanket statement made by OP, which is false at worst, and cherry picking a specific situation at best.

What's your original account? :sneaky:

What kind of nonsense is this?OP didn't make any statement he just reiterated what many reviewers found during their time with Xfire.Xbit is a very respectable site and i trust them like so many others.What do u mean by that?

 

[3DVagabond]

Why should they consult with manufacturers/AIB's or review sites?AMD releases these drivers and they should directly contact with AMD.

I meant AMD when I said manufacturer. The AIB's often are the ones who supply the review samples. It's their product in question. If it was my product you were reviewing and it didn't seem to be functioning properly I'd like to know before you release a review. Just in case it's some simple error or fix that you might have missed. Other reviewers for the same reason we all ask each other here when we have problems.

 

[Jaydip]

I meant AMD when I said manufacturer. The AIB's often are the ones who supply the review samples. It's their product in question. If it was my product you were reviewing and it didn't seem to be functioning properly I'd like to know before you release a review. Just in case it's some simple error or fix that you might have missed. Other reviewers for the same reason we all ask each other here when we have problems.

I highly doubt the AIBs can help them with Xfire issues.Their tech support is average at best.AMD is their best bet and being a popular site i see no reason for AMD to ignore them.

 

[KompuKare]

If anything CF just seems to be buggy/inconsistent right now. Xbit couldn't get it working in BF3 and AnandTech couldn't get it working in Arkham City (and no one can get it working in Skyrim). It's very odd to see sites have problems like these.

That's what I though from reading some reviews, but then I saw the computerbase.de 690 review:

http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/...t-nvidia-geforce-gtx-690/20/#abschnitt_skyrim

and at 1080P it scales 144% / 163% / 170% (1AA+1AF / 4AA+16AF / 8AA/16AF),
and at 1600P it scales 192% / 178% / 188% (1AA+1AF / 4AA+16AF / 8AA/16AF),
With eyefinity scaling is a lot worse at 122% / 143% / 141%

So yes, CF has problems but so does SLI. Personally I am not in the market for top-end dual GPUs but I may want to try hybridCF if Trinity is good enough for my next CPU. And AMD certainly have to put more resources to getting CF working especially hybridCF since if that works right, AMD APU purchases would benefit more from getting Radeon than Geforces.

 

[ViRGE]

I'm not a reviewer. So, this is just a "for my own info" question.

When reviewing hardware and something isn't working correctly do the manufacturers/AIB's offer any support? Do reviewers read other reviews and compare notes at all? For example, I would hope that if I were doing a review I could email/msg w1zzard @ TPU and consult with him. Or are all of these guys just too competitive or egotistical?

I'm not a reviewer either, but this is my understanding: NV offers reviewers help with technical issues when they can. AMD used to do this, however they no longer have the capability since they terminated their PR program. So if these guys encounter issues with AMD cards there's really no one to help them.

 

[Lonbjerg]

Well I used to think Xbitlabs was ok but lately their reviews have been very poor. Although not that interested in CF, I was sure I had seen BF3 scaling before and sure enough for example the hardware.fr 690 review:

http://www.hardware.fr/articles/864-10/benchmark-battlefield-3.html

And sure enough BF3 actually scales better with CF vs SLI. So the Xbitlabs review was either incompetent or malicious.

Why does everyone only look at FPS when looking at multi GPU...is microstutter really THAT big a threat against people's e-Peen?

 

[3DVagabond]

I'm not a reviewer either, but this is my understanding: NV offers reviewers help with technical issues when they can. AMD used to do this, however they no longer have the capability since they terminated their PR program. So if these guys encounter issues with AMD cards there's really no one to help them.

Thanks for responding.

I should probably send AMD a CV/resume. For a mere 100K USD per anum (and swag) I'll coordinate with all of the review sites for them.