Crossfiring as an upgrade?

[chubbyfatazn]

I bought my 5770 since I figured I would be playing at 1280x720 for the indefinite future. Turns out I now have a 19x12 monitor.

I figured that adding another 5770 would be my best option, as it would nearly match the performance of a 5870 for the cheapest cost. I would probably pay ~$80 for such an upgrade, which beats out most of the other viable options (~$100-110 for a 6870 after MIR and selling the 5770, more for a GTX560).

Am I right in thinking this? I feel like I'm missing something.

 

[alcoholbob]

I hear 5xxx series crossfire isn't the best, but your performance should improve.

 

[happy medium]

I figured that adding another 5770 would be my best option, as it would nearly match the performance of a 5870 for the cheapest cost

You are right and it will exceed the performmance of a 5870 by a bit.

 

[Gikaseixas]

At that resolution yes, getting another 5770 is your best option.

 

[FalseChristian]

The 5770 is a damn good mid-range GPU. Get another one for that cheap price and have a real gaming computer!

 

[pw38]

I had the same scenario as you did and Xfired 5770s as it was the cheapest way to "upgrade" since I already had one. To be honest though once I sold those and went with a single 6950 performance seemed to improve across the board. I notice less noise, less heat, and maybe this is just wishful thinking but I notice improved performance.

 

[busydude]

Am I right in thinking this? I feel like I'm missing something.

I wouldn't do it. The problem is that.. not all games scale well.. and if you play a wide array of games, on average, a 5870..or even a 6870 performs better and the general gameplay experience will be significantly better.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Personally, I wouldn't do it. The only time to crossfire or SLI, is when you are building a system, and you need more GPU power than a single GPU provides. Otherwise, you are almost always better off getting a more powerful single GPU.

It might make financial sense in the short term, but does it make sense in the long run?

For example, I built my BIL's rig with two HD6870s. Those were the newest cards out, at the time. But showing the benchmarks, I wanted him to have 60+ FPS at all times, in nearly all games. So I threw in two cards, instead of one.

But had there been a single, more powerful card, that I could have used, well then, I would have gone with a single card.

 

[Gikaseixas]

Plus side
5870 performance for little $$$
no (new) driver installation

Minus side
5000 series CF not as good as last gen cards
Multi GPU gameplay not as robust as a single powerful GPU

Going by what the OP said he would like to save as much as possible. CF would sort his problems. No setup is futureproof...

 

[Mopetar]

I'd go with adding on the additional 5770. The only caveat is that you should look to see if there are any CF performance issues for any of the games you intend on playing. Otherwise I think it's a solid decision, especially if you just need something to tide you over.

 

[tweakboy]

Why even do SLI , get a 580 and call it a night. Or wait for 590 dual GPU

Why do CrossFire ? Are you ready to face problems and glitches and busted video drivers IMO, then choose ATI AMD,

Are you ready to have amazing drivers and performance and IQ choose nVidia

ty gl

 

[Soundmanred]

Are you ready to face problems and glitches and busted video drivers, then choose ATI AMD,

Are you ready to have amazing drivers and performance and IQ choose nVidia

Wrong.
Again.

 

[SickBeast]

OP I think crossfired 5770s would be a nice upgrade for you, especially if you plan to use eyefinity or extremely high resolutions. You might as well grab one before they're EOL'ed. I recently jumped on a GTX 460 for $100 for SLI and I'm extremely happy with it so far. These cards aren't going to be available for much longer, so unless you're comfortable going with a used one down the line, you should jump on this IMO.

 

[Lonyo]

Sell HD5770, buy HD5850.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-932-_-Product

 

[john3850]

Ran 6 sli setups and 2 cf setup and enjoyed everyone.
Both cf and sli just get better each year.
Why do people always put down cf and sli when they never even used the stuff.
I would always go for 2 cards rather then one dual GPU card.
Many times i had a single and there was a good deal on a second card so why not go sli or cf.
A pair of 5850s sounds sweet

 

[happy medium]

2 5770's + overclock = 6970, for 80$ thats a great upgrade

 

[betasub]

2 5770's + overclock = 6990, for 80$ thats a great upgrade

LOL, if only. 6870/5870 (or 6950 1GB), maybe.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I don't think I would CF/SLI two lower - mid range cards. I would only consider CF/SLI when the two GPU's are faster than any single GPU, or so much better value that it's hard to not consider. With 5850 prices in the gutter, I would pick up one of those.

2 5770's + overclock = 6990, for 80$ thats a great upgrade

I'm assuming that's a typo?

 

[tweakboy]

Sell HD5770, buy HD5850.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-932-_-Product

That's a nice price for a fast card.

 

[happy medium]

LOL, if only. 6870/5870 (or 6950 1GB), maybe.

2 stock 5770's are a bit faster then a 5870.
A 5870 is 8% slower then a gtx480/gtx570
A gtx570 = a 6970 @ 1900x1080

2 5770's + 10% overclock = 6970 easily.

Did you also know that 2 6790's is about = a gtx580?

A 5770 with a 10% overclock should be faster than or = to a 6790.

 

[SlowSpyder]

2 stock 5770's are a bit faster then a 5870.
A 5870 is 8% slower then a gtx480/gtx570
A gtx570 = a 6970 @ 1900x1080

2 5770's + 10% overclock = 6970 easily.

Did you also know that 2 6790's = a gtx580?

You said 6990 above, you meant 6970?

 

[happy medium]

You said 6990 above, you meant 6970?

opps sorry, yes 6970, fixed

 

[marsspirit123]

Its hard to say what is better .5870 is about 50% faster than 5770 .And I think most games will get 50% more from second 5770 .However some games might get more than 50% inprovement in cf .6870 is 5 to 10% slower than 5870 .Whatever you get will work on 1080 monitor very good.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Thanks guys for all the input. Seems like it's a divided camp for CF/not CF.

I was aware prior to that 5xxx series CF scaling sucked in comparison to 6xxx series scaling. I have a massive backlog from the Steam sales (who doesn't?) and most of the games I'm sitting on are the major titles, so probably not too much issue with CF/SLI support there. Some of the titles suck at scaling (GTA4) but I have other games to play.

The whole CF'ing a midrange card argument is making me think twice. The CF'ed 5770s would mean I can max out at a theoretical 5870, but a single more powerful card would allow for greater potential in the future. That said, I think I'll go with VirtualLarry's suggestion and try to buy a 6870 used and get rid of the 5770. Slightly better than a 5850, not too much slower than a 5870, when CF'ed can pretty much match 5870 CF. Yay? Nay?

Also, should I take into consideration the color of the PCB? I heard that all the different colors mean different performance specs for the same cards. I also heard that stickers on the coolers can make or break a card's performance. Anyone verify?

 

[Idontcare]

Also, should I take into consideration the color of the PCB? I heard that all the different colors mean different performance specs for the same cards. I also heard that stickers on the coolers can make or break a card's performance. Anyone verify?

LOL Now this man has a sense of humor!

I have it on good authority that PCB's which have the same color as that of an event horizon are to be considered superior to the colors of mere earthly PCB's.