Is it bad to run these 2 video cards at the same time??

[BIGbang200]

I just built a new pc and i heard it was pointless running 2 video cards with 1 monitor. heres the specs!


CPU: AMD Phenom™II X6 1100T Six-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
HDD: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
MEMORY: 8GB (2GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
MOTHERBOARD: Asus M4A87TD EVO AMD 870 Chipset CrossFireX Support DDR3 Socket AM3 ATX w/ 7.1 Audio, GbLAN, IEEE1394a, USB3.0, SATA-III, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI
MULTIVIEW: Xtreme Performance in SLI/CrossFireX Gaming Mode Supports Single Monitor
POWERSUPPLY: 950 Watts - CyberPowerPC Gaming 80 Plus Power Supply
VIDEO: AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card [+66] (Major Brand Powered by AMD)
VIDEO2: AMD Radeon HD 6970 2GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card [+152] (Major Brand Powered by AMD)

 

[Madcatatlas]

Your thinking of buying 1x 6950 and 1x 6970 and running them together?

And MAN was that a chaotic way to present your new computer build.

Its more than enough to mention:

display and resolution
motherboard
CPU
GPU
Memory(system ram)
Harddrive/SSDrive



welcome btw!

 

[ghost recon88]

I hope you plan on unlocking that 6950 to 6970 specs.

Also, what is your question exactly?

And yes as mentioned above, it's much easier to read your system specs if you don't just copy and paste them from the invoice.

 

[pw38]

I see 2 6970s. As for bad running them together, what would give you that impression? Other than you just "heard"? What's the monitor?

 

[at80eighty]

if by pointless you mean overkill - depends on the resolution.

 

[MustangSVT]

yes

 

[SlowSpyder]

What is the resolution of the monitor? If it's not too high you might be better off going with one 6970 and saving the cash or getting an SSD.

 

[Red Hawk]

If you mean it's pointless to run them in Crossfire mode, then no, running them together gives you a performance boost. You'd just have to run at a really high resolution for the boost to be noticeable. Or wait for high-end games in four years or so.

 

[FalseChristian]

If you mean it's pointless to run them in Crossfire mode, then no, running them together gives you a performance boost. You'd just have to run at a really high resolution for the boost to be noticeable. Or wait for high-end games in four years or so.

That's not true in my experience. I'm running 2 GTX 460 1GB in SLI and I'm seeing excellent SLI frame rates at 1680x1050. This is still a high resolution and one that people from from the past would just dream of using.

 

[Skurge]

Whatever the resolution is, that motherboard has a X16 slot and an X4 slot. Not the kind of configuration you want with high-end cards.

 

[Petey!]

And unless your running programs that really need those 6 cores, you'd be way better off going Sandybridge for gaming

 

[Skurge]

And unless your running programs that really need those 6 cores, you'd be way better off going Sandybridge for gaming

+1

 

[bobwagner]

First, to answer your question, 2x 6970 is not overkill if you have a 27" or 30" monitor. The most demanding games will definitely not be silky smooth at those resolutions with only 1 6970. This is from firsthand experience.

Second, I noticed that you're ordering from CyberpowerPC. I need to warn you that they are unscrupulous crooks. I ordered a system from them a while ago. Upon opening it, I discovered that they didn't screw in a 6970. In fact, the power cable was sitting between the board and the video card so it appears that it wasn't even plugged into the slot. It looks like they just placed the video card in the case for later assembly and then just completely forgot about it and shipped it out that way.

What happened as a result:

1) Video card banged around and broke the cover off itself
2) Video card broke the PCI-E lock lever
3) Video card was dead on arrival

Other issues:

1) PSU was not the one I ordered. They used a cheaper one.
2) One of the rubber feet to cushion the PSU was ripped out and just floating around the case
3) Cable management was horrible--they just secured the cables in random places and didn't use any of the cable management holes.
4) Because the video card was never installed, it clearly indicates that they have ZERO QA process because if anyone actually bothered to turn the damn thing on, they would've noticed the problem. They basically shove everything together and ship it to you and hope for the best.

What happened next:

I called them up and told them what of their assembly error. They proceeded to yell at me over the phone for the next 30 minutes about how they QA everything and that it's not possible that they screwed up. I told them that I wanted my money back and they informed me that I would have to pay for shipping it back myself AND they won't refund me the original shipping charge. At that point, I stopped dealing them and initiated a chargeback through my credit card to get a full refund and paid shipping return.

It was the worst customer experience I have ever had with an online retailer. I just wanted to warn you how unscrupulous they are. Yes, they're cheap...but if anything goes wrong, they will screw you over hard. Plus, even if your system does boot, my experience doesn't bode well for how long that system will last given the lack of care they put into assembly and complete absence of testing.

 

[Awkward]

That's not true in my experience. I'm running 2 GTX 460 1GB in SLI and I'm seeing excellent SLI frame rates at 1680x1050. This is still a high resolution and one that people from from the past would just dream of using.

What lol.

Also, there is a huge difference between 2x 6970s and 2x 460s...

 

[lsv]

Why are you on Ibuypower? It's a terrible company.

 

[Borealis7]

apparently money's no object in this case.
what brand are the 6970s? "major brand" sounds vague.
running them together is fine as long as your PSU can handle it (and it can).
just make sure to get a motherboard with dual PCIe 2.0 X16 slots.

 

[aigomorla]

if by pointless you mean overkill - depends on the resolution.

^ LOL +1 all the way.

<--- running 2 x GTX 580's in SLI for a center 27". + GTX 550Ti for my side 24's :X

And no its not overkill, as i try to go after no less then 50fps on max settings in any game i play.