Radeon 6790 Crossfire Performance

[MentalIlness]

I became curious about 6790 Crossfire, so did a search. And nothing really showed up in the search results here or in the 6790 thread. So I figured I would start one.

Seems to scale pretty good actually. In some games, 6790 Crossfire is able to match a GTX580. Which I for one think is pretty good for about $300 US.

6790 Crossfire links.....

http://translate.google.com/transla...en&safe=off&sa=G&biw=1200&bih=559&prmd=ivnsfd

http://www.techno-labs.com/1/24197/5/Test:_AMD_Radeon_HD_6790_Crossfire.html

http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/sapphire-hd6790-crossfirex-review/2/

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...aphics-card-review-crossfire-performance.html

Here are some various slides from the reviews.

 

[Powermoloch]

:thumbsup:

I love my HD6850 CF setup

 

[Arkadrel]

you can get a 6850 for 149$ after Mail in rebate... same price as most 6790's go for.

6850 for 149$:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-374-_-Product


the 6790 does okay... but... really its abit overpriced atm... better off with 2x 6850's, where you just go for the best price at the time.

2x 6790 in crossfire matching a single 570/6970 or 580 in performance... is okay I guess for under 300$.... But 2x 6850 is still better fps/$ atm.

 

[MentalIlness]

you can get a 6850 for 149$ after Mail in rebate... same price as most 6790's go for.

6850 for 149$:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-374-_-Product


the 6790 does okay... but... really its abit overpriced atm... better off with 2x 6850's, where you just go for the best price at the time.

2x 6790 in crossfire matching a single 570/6970 or 580 in performance... is okay I guess for under 300$.... But 2x 6850 is still better fps/$ atm.

I agree.

However, If your like most people, and do not deal with rebates it is still pretty good. So two 6790's is around $40-$45 less than a pair of 6850's.

I for one cannot stand rebates. They suck. Always have, and always will. Hard to get them to honor them anyway "depending on company. At least that is the luck I have had with them. And more than likely, most GPU purchasers don't care about rebates either.

As a matter of fact, as I think about it. I am "still" waiting on my rebate for my ATI X800 Pro. :\

 

[ripwind]

I've been pondering 6790x2 or 6850x2 for a few days now. However, I'm curious if anyone has ideas as to power consumption?

If possible, I'd like to keep my existing 600W OCX StealthXStream, which may rule out the 6850x2 setup - not only from a cabling standpoint, but from a power consumption standpoint as well.

Thanks!
-Rip

 

[Termie]

I've been pondering 6790x2 or 6850x2 for a few days now. However, I'm curious if anyone has ideas as to power consumption?

If possible, I'd like to keep my existing 600W OCX StealthXStream, which may rule out the 6850x2 setup - not only from a cabling standpoint, but from a power consumption standpoint as well.

Thanks!
-Rip

Both the HD6790 and HD6850 use a single power connector in most configurations. Some HD6790s may end up with two power connectors. The reviews I've read have been split 50/50 on whether the 6790 actually uses more power than the 6850. Some actually show it using less. Either way, they are very close in power consumption, and should run fine in crossfire on your 600w PSU. Given current pricing, the 6850 combo is preferable, as noted by others above. The 6790 would have to be about $125 for it to be considered over the 6850.

 

[Termie]

:thumbsup:

I love my HD6850 CF setup

Did you have any problems with the setup? I know others say that they'll never consider crossfire again, despite the reported 100% scaling on current cards.

I agree.

However, If your like most people, and do not deal with rebates it is still pretty good. So two 6790's is around $40-$45 less than a pair of 6850's.

I for one cannot stand rebates. They suck. Always have, and always will. Hard to get them to honor them anyway "depending on company. At least that is the luck I have had with them. And more than likely, most GPU purchasers don't care about rebates either.

As a matter of fact, as I think about it. I am "still" waiting on my rebate for my ATI X800 Pro. :\

Didn't you try your 6870s in crossfire at one point? Was there a problem with that setup?

I'm still considering crossfire, after many years of buying motherboards that could run it. Just upgraded PSU with dual cards in mind.

 

[MentalIlness]

Did you have any problems with the setup? I know others say that they'll never consider crossfire again, despite the reported 100% scaling on current cards.



Didn't you try your 6870s in crossfire at one point? Was there a problem with that setup?

I'm still considering crossfire, after many years of buying motherboards that could run it. Just upgraded PSU with dual cards in mind.

Yes, I have. But at my resolution, it isn't needed yet. But I fail to understand what that has to do with my post that you quoted. lol. :\

 

[Termie]

Yes, I have. But at my resolution, it isn't needed yet. But I fail to understand what that has to do with my post that you quoted. lol. :\

Oh, it wasn't related to your post - I forgot that the sig wouldn't be included in the quote. I was really just getting at the fact that you have experience with crossfire.

 

[Lonyo]

I've been pondering 6790x2 or 6850x2 for a few days now. However, I'm curious if anyone has ideas as to power consumption?

If possible, I'd like to keep my existing 600W OCX StealthXStream, which may rule out the 6850x2 setup - not only from a cabling standpoint, but from a power consumption standpoint as well.

Thanks!
-Rip

I run a 6850 on a 400w PSU.
200w extra for a single 6850 should be more than enough, and you just have to look at any review to see that even in Crossfire, dual 6850's don't use that much power.

 

[MentalIlness]

Oh, it wasn't related to your post - I forgot that the sig wouldn't be included in the quote. I was really just getting at the fact that you have experience with crossfire.

:thumbsup:

Of course, when I was running them dual, they ran fine. Never experienced any problems with them. But until my resolution increases, there just isnt any need for it. Especially at 1440.

Hell, one 6870 is overkill for 1440.

 

[ripwind]

I run a 6850 on a 400w PSU.
200w extra for a single 6850 should be more than enough, and you just have to look at any review to see that even in Crossfire, dual 6850's don't use that much power.

You're probably right. I've seen quotes in the 300w range for a last-gen i7 running crossfire 6850's. Even at 80% efficiency that would put me at ~480w with my current PSU.

With a i5-2500k, 6850's in crossfire, an SSD and DVD drive I'm probably well within range - even after OC'ing. Thanks, everyone, for at least putting my mind at ease!

-Rip

 

[Powermoloch]

Did you have any problems with the setup? I know others say that they'll never consider crossfire again, despite the reported 100% scaling on current cards.

CF is great and can have it's own risks. For me atleast I can deal with it because I like to trouble shoot things and not give up. For example, COD series (MW2 and BLOPS especially) is notorious with dual GPU setups, but I manage to get great performance (stable frame rates surprisingly) and IQ by cranking the AA to 24X balls to the walls so most of the work is offloaded to the GPU instead of the CPU.

I began to play oblivion GOTY again with my old save file from 5 years back!, and really loved how my setup handle the game at 16X AA @ 1080P. Loving the setup since.

 

[Termie]

:thumbsup:

Of course, when I was running them dual, they ran fine. Never experienced any problems with them. But until my resolution increases, there just isnt any need for it. Especially at 1440.

Hell, one 6870 is overkill for 1440.

CF is great and can have it's own risks. For me atleast I can deal with it because I like to trouble shoot things and not give up. For example, COD series (MW2 and BLOPS especially) is notorious with dual GPU setups, but I manage to get great performance (stable frame rates surprisingly) and IQ by cranking the AA to 24X balls to the walls so most of the work is offloaded to the GPU instead of the CPU.

I began to play oblivion GOTY again with my old save file from 5 years back!, and really loved how my setup handle the game at 16X AA @ 1080P. Loving the setup since.

Awesome - thanks for the feedback guys. Sounds like it's fun to try, even if not perfect (or needed) all the time.