One or two 7950's for 2560x1440 Skyrim Ultra with mods?

[mazeroth]

I have yet to play Skyrim due to being super busy but now finally have the time I need to sink in the 100+ hours I plan on playing. I currently have a 7950 and want to play Skyrim with every graphic mod and setting to the absolute highest. I see the 7950's have dropped a ton in price so I can pick another one up for < $200 and Crossfire them. Is this going to be necessary or should I just stick with the single?

 

[tviceman]

Depends on exactly which mods and if you plan to use high amounts of AA, but if you go with demanding mods then yeah crossfire is going to help (assuming AMD has a frame metering option for Skyrim).

EDIT: Excellent deal for a hd7950: http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/101296

 

[futurefields]

At 1440p regardless I would recommend 2 cards, as a single 7950 isn't even able to max out everything at 1080p @ 60fps. This also depends on what it takes to satisfy you. For me I am old school and come from the era of shit game performance, so having something like Skyrim locked at 30fps for me is pretty damn playable, in which case a single card might suffice at 1440p.

 

[Jimzz]

If you already have a single 7950 then overclock it and try the game out. I think you will be fine but will not know till you try.

 

[Enigmoid]

Skyrim is a DX9 game.

AMD framepacing does not currently work with DX9 games.

You will not see any visible difference between one 7950 and two 7950s due to dropped and runt frames.

There will likely be a driver in that future that fixes this.

 

[Pandora's Box]

And that driver was supposed to be released this month. No sign of it so far.

 

[el etro]

With a single GTX 670, i maxed out this(The Real Vision ENB with all mentioned updates) at 60 FPS+(on 1080p)(For information puporse, my 6850 could max out it at 1440x900 but having serious issues with lack of Vram). With Tri-Def the 3D effect in the game looks very good, but i could not run my configs with 3D enabled at more than 35 FPS(most of times staying under the 30).

Maybe the 7950 extra Vram will help you in adding more mods.
What i want to say to you is because the Skyrim Engine be so strange i can't tell you your exact performance at 1440p with the mods. But i recommend you try the game with the mods you want and test your play before picking up the second card. The only thing i can tell is the Crossfire will scale very well if/when you need.

 

[Stuka87]

Skyrim is a DX9 game.

AMD framepacing does not currently work with DX9 games.

You will not see any visible difference between one 7950 and two 7950s due to dropped and runt frames.

There will likely be a driver in that future that fixes this.

I disagree. There is a different. He may get a jerk now and then, but it is still very playable and at a higher frame rate.

 

[Elfear]

I tested a single 7970 in this thread and found that at 1325/1550 a single 7970 was just enough to play at 1600p with 8xAA and tons of mods. A 7950 with an uber clock might be fine but I'd think you'll probably want two of them to play comfortably.

 

[seitur]

I tested a single 7970 in this thread and found that at 1325/1550 a single 7970 was just enough to play at 1600p with 8xAA and tons of mods. A 7950 with an uber clock might be fine but I'd think you'll probably want two of them to play comfortably.

You miss some of heavy hitters eye candy though like:
some kind of ENB
Lush Trees and Grass (or other heavy grass mods)
Skyrim Bigger Trees
Realistic Light Overhaul
Ultimate HD Fire Effects

etc

 

[Elfear]

You miss some of heavy hitters eye candy though like:
some kind of ENB
Lush Trees and Grass (or other heavy grass mods)
Skyrim Bigger Trees
Realistic Light Overhaul
Ultimate HD Fire Effects

etc

Ya I tested Skyrim over a year ago so the mod list today would probably be different.