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So how good or bad is Crossfire really with R9 390?

S

shaolin95

Senior member
Hello!
I was going to go with R9 390 to add a second one later because of its bigger RAM compared to dual 970s but then I was warned about "nightmare" issues with Crossfire. I used to run SLI and it was overall a very nice experience so is Crossfire REALLY that bad or people talking nonsense?
Thanks!
 
The rumors that you heard, were they specifically about the R9 390?

Crossfire was fine for me when I used a R9 280 and 7950 together.
 
Yes, but it was mostly people posting when I was asking about 390s crossfire for surround gaming vs 970s SLI. Even though most posters just said...get a 980ti lol
 
I used to have a 290 Crossfire setup. I'd advise against it. Sold off my cards during the summer.

The performance was actually quite awesome. Crossfire today has better driver support than SLI. Less stutter, etc. People who think otherwise are outdated(perceptions change slowly, because it's true that Crossfire used to be awful compared to SLI, but no longer. Hasn't been true since mid-2014 at least, possibly further back).

Still, the reason why I'd advise against is the massive heat output. I was having my own little personal sauna in my living room. It's not a good way to play games. I could only really get it to be comfortable during our winter, but otherwise no.

The 390 doesn't have less power consumption than the 290s, so while I'd say it's a great single dGPU, I would advise against Crossfire.

If you need max performance it's better to get a 980 Ti. If you're fine with a high-end GPU, having a 390/X is great. I'd even say, look at air-cooled Fury(non-X). The Sapphire version is amazingly cool and quiet(check Anandtech's GPU review). It's also more affordable than a 980 Ti.

But if you really need the utmost best, go with a 980 Ti Lightning Edition. It's an amazing card. See TPU's recent review.
 
The only bad issue with CF is is NV sponsored GameWorks titles before they are patched up to fix bugs and add CF support. Games like Far Cry 4, Dying Light and ACU are prime examples where the devs patched the game up 3 months after release to finally support CF.

In other games, CF has always performed excellent.
 
Modern CF is actually a superior implementation to SLI. With that said, a faster single card would be best, but there isn't really a single card better than 2 390s.
 
Shmee said:
Modern CF is actually a superior implementation to SLI. With that said, a faster single card would be best, but there isn't really a single card better than 2 390s.
Click to expand...


It's ironic that the fastest single gpus right now still are not fast enough to handle the expected resolutions of a flagship gpu, ie. 4k. If you are running at 4k or hell even triple 1080 or any resolution near 5mp and up you have to run multi gpu to maintain enough horsepower. I find that ironic.
 
thesmokingman said:
It's ironic that the fastest single gpus right now still are not fast enough to handle the expected resolutions of a flagship gpu, ie. 4k. If you are running at 4k or hell even triple 1080 or any resolution near 5mp and up you have to run multi gpu to maintain enough horsepower. I find that ironic.
Click to expand...

I wonder if it's the software industry's fault, where they design their software to max out current cards at common 1080p or 2560x1440 or whatever more common resolutions.

I just think they could make the software more demanding, or less demanding, and have to choose a sweet spot somewhere. But hardware is just doing the best it can.

So software has flexibility to be easier on cards or harder on cards, but hardware is stuck trying to do the best it can.

So if you can't max out the software, my finger points at the software not the hardware.
 
I'm curious about Crossfire too. I have a 4-way Xfire setup that one day soon (after I sell everything I have in boxes) I can setup. With current Windows drivers is it pretty much a guarantee I'll be looking at issues or just a possibility?
 
I'm currently running 2 R9 290s in xfire using free sync and have no problems using xfire at all. Drivers update smoothly and performance is pretty sweet. I chose these over a single solution because I already had one of the 290s, just needed one more. These are xfx black ed double d.
 
guskline said:
My 2 r9 290s in CF are water cooled so the heat issue is addressed.
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, what do you use the two systems in your sig for? It would seem in most cases that gaming in general would be better on the 5960X/980Ti/BenQ system.
 
My xfire 390's haven't given me any trouble in the short time I've owned them. The top card does get toasty following 2-3 hours of gaming as one would expect. Overall, I am happy with the performance and would definitely buy them again for the price I paid ($268 each shipped)! 🙂
 
KingFatty said:
I wonder if it's the software industry's fault, where they design their software to max out current cards at common 1080p or 2560x1440 or whatever more common resolutions.

I just think they could make the software more demanding, or less demanding, and have to choose a sweet spot somewhere. But hardware is just doing the best it can.

So software has flexibility to be easier on cards or harder on cards, but hardware is stuck trying to do the best it can.

So if you can't max out the software, my finger points at the software not the hardware.
Click to expand...
4k isn't really considered when making a game I bet. So I think you're right in part that we'll have to throw a ton of hardware at 4k until people start making games/engines that are intended to scale o high resolutions. Remember a lot of games aren't the most playable at high resolutions due to hud scaling etc.
Witcher 2 was unplayable for me without comfy couch mod. I think it's a lot of factors!
 
Both are my "fun" rigs; just different. The 4790k with 2 R9 290s in CF is about as fast as the 5960x with a single GTX980 TI. Both rigs give me the chance to compare game performance for the crimson team (AMD) vs the green team (Nvidia).
 
CF is very solid these days. My cousin has Fury CF and it works flawlessly (for the games he plays) so check reviews for both SLI and CF to see what games are supported
 
Gikaseixas said:
CF is very solid these days. My cousin has Fury CF and it works flawlessly (for the games he plays) so check reviews for both SLI and CF to see what games are supported
Click to expand...
I wouldn't get it if you launch day or play gameworks games a lot. But if you're willing to wait for a crossfire profile, it's an unbeatable level of performance for the price.
My largest concern is heat. Gaming for a long period with 1 card heats my room up to almost unbearable levels. 2 cards? I dunno if I can stomach it.

I'm curious on the 380x performance because if it can almost match the 290, I may trade it so I can have access to 4k vsr lol..... (crossfire 380x).
 
Mondozei said:
Still, the reason why I'd advise against is the massive heat output. I was having my own little personal sauna in my living room. It's not a good way to play games. I could only really get it to be comfortable during our winter, but otherwise no.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you had the blower type 290s, not the tri-X or the DD versions.
Those make a world of difference.
 
Elixer said:
Sounds like you had the blower type 290s, not the tri-X or the DD versions.
Those make a world of difference.
Click to expand...

They make a huge difference in how loud the coolers are, but not really in heat output. This is a 1030MHz Vapor-X OC'd version so you'd expect higher heat output than ref, but those transistors are still switching and producing heat regardless of the cooler on it. My two 290s in CF stay very cool and quiet, but they sure dump out the heat when spooled up.
 
It's curious how many people can not make the distinction between GPU produced heat and GPU temperature.
 
Been using X fire with R9 290s reference cards. And as long as you have a good case the noise isn't too bad. Reason I bought them was to watercool them but atm I bit in a limbo.
As per case, I use a Corsair 540 Air case and it has worked very well
 
tential said:
4k isn't really considered when making a game I bet. So I think you're right in part that we'll have to throw a ton of hardware at 4k until people start making games/engines that are intended to scale o high resolutions. Remember a lot of games aren't the most playable at high resolutions due to hud scaling etc.
Witcher 2 was unplayable for me without comfy couch mod. I think it's a lot of factors!
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say it's that 4K isn't considered, it's that 4K is automatically taken care of if they design a game to max out 1080p. 4K just has to turn some settings down. If you design a game for 4K, then 1080p will leave loads of performance on the table. The dev's would rather have both maxed out, than just 4K.
 
I've run up to triple Crossfire 290s in a Corsair Air 540, watercooled. I don't buy most games on day 1 so I haven't had any major issues related to Crossfire that I can think of. Ever since the 290 was released with bridgeless Crossfire, it's been the best multi-card setup to own in a dual/triple configuration.

390/X with 8GB gives you some options in regards to future releases and extreme texture mods. Though by the time you need that much VRAM there will likely be much better GPUs out.

Crossfire/extreme performance isn't for everyone, of course. Any time you run multiple 250W TDP video cards (AMD *and* nVidia) you are going to be dumping that heat back in to your environment. If you have a small room you will very much notice it. I don't, and I have very efficient and inexpensive climate control so not a big deal for me. Yeah, my rig can dissipate 1000W at full tilt - or more when OC'd.

Simple physics. If anyone tells me their heavily OC'd MSI Lightning 980 Ti is "only" using 250W I just laugh in their face. Always remember to check what a card actually draws at stock speeds, then remember that power usage scales linearly with clock speed and with the SQUARE of the voltage difference. Underclocking with an undervolt can drastically reduce the power usage, if you need it.
 
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