6870x2 vs 6870 then crossfire later?

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2/29/12 at 8:33am

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mike.dp.05
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I'd like to ask if the 6870x2 are a good buy? What are possible crossfire issues between the 6870x2 and 2 separate 6870s in cf? and also, which is better, 2 cards in cf/sli or 1 higher end card? what are common crossfire/sli issues?

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post #2 of 9

2/29/12 at 8:36am

2thAche
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2 cards in SLI/XF are usually faster than a single dual-GPU card, because they scale-down the units for dual-GPU cards due to heat/power etc.

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2/29/12 at 8:41am

Hatchet
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Quote:

Originally Posted by mike.dp.05

I'd like to ask if the 6870x2 are a good buy? What are possible crossfire issues between the 6870x2 and 2 separate 6870s in cf? and also, which is better, 2 cards in cf/sli or 1 higher end card? what are common crossfire/sli issues?

The cheapest 6870x2 i could find was from newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131446

Here is a review of said card from a trusted hardware site:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_6870_X2/31.html

Yes, adding a (or 2) 6870's to a 6870x2 is possible, but.....

1x-6870x2 $350
1x-6870 $159
=$510

For that money you can get a 7950, and are close to 7970 money.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_7950_Twin_Frozr_III/

My opinion: Unless you already have a 6870, spend you money on getting a single fast card. While the actual FPS from a 6870x3 would be higher than a 7950, image quality, microstutter, heat, power consumption are all a concern.

Not to mention you would be spending aloot on money on graphics cards that are 2+ years old.

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post #4 of 9

2/29/12 at 9:00am

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mike.dp.05
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatchet

The cheapest 6870x2 i could find was from newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131446
Here is a review of said card from a trusted hardware site:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/HD_6870_X2/31.html
Yes, adding a (or 2) 6870's to a 6870x2 is possible, but.....
1x-6870x2 $350
1x-6870 $159
=$510
For that money you can get a 7950, and are close to 7970 money.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/HD_7950_Twin_Frozr_III/
My opinion: Unless you already have a 6870, spend you money on getting a single fast card. While the actual FPS from a 6870x3 would be higher than a 7950, image quality, microstutter, heat, power consumption are all a concern.
Not to mention you would be spending aloot on money on graphics cards that are 2+ years old.

thanks for all the inputs. I'm not going with 3x 6870. is it good to get a single now, then cf later or just get the 6870x2 now? so 2 separate 6870s are better than 6870x2 in a single card?

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post #5 of 9

2/29/12 at 9:03am

axipher
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Form my understanding, the 6870x2 isn't scaled down at all and does really amazing in matching two single 6870 in Crossfire. It also does really amazing in Tri-Fire with a 6870 if you went that option down the road.

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2/29/12 at 9:05am

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Quote:

Originally Posted by mike.dp.05

thanks for all the inputs. I'm not going with 3x 6870. is it good to get a single now, then cf later or just get the 6870x2 now? so 2 separate 6870s are better than 6870x2 in a single card?

2 separate $6870 will overclock better, run quieter and cooler.
Depending on your budget ( im guessing $300-350 since thats the price of 2x6970's) i would strongly suggest grabbing a 560ti 448 or a 6970. While they will preform slightly less FPS wise, the image quality, expand-ability, power consumption, lack of microstutter, and extra VRAM will all help you in the long haul.

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post #7 of 9

2/29/12 at 9:41am

drBlahMan

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Quote:

Originally Posted by axipher

It also does really amazing in Tri-Fire with a 6870 if you went that option down the road.

Absolutely

There's even far less microstuttering (almost none

) with tri-Crossfire when compared to dual Crossfire

Here's the proof...Micro-Stuttering And GPU Scaling In CrossFire And SLI

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post #8 of 9

2/29/12 at 9:09pm

TheophilusFTW

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I am seriously considering getting just the 6870 x2. For the price of $350.00 you are getting a card that beats the gtx 580 in over 75 percent of all tests... the next option is to get the visiontek 6870 x2 which costs $550.00!

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post #9 of 9

3/1/12 at 4:57am

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Quote:

Originally Posted by mike.dp.05

I'd like to ask if the 6870x2 are a good buy? What are possible crossfire issues between the 6870x2 and 2 separate 6870s in cf? and also, which is better, 2 cards in cf/sli or 1 higher end card? what are common crossfire/sli issues?

Multi-GPU setup is not for everyone. It's not how much you can afford to spend. User must have some basics to get into Multi-GPU. Or there will be another Crossfire/SLI hater.

Which is better for starter? Minimum with 2GB VRAM.

A single 7970 > 7950 > 6970 > 6950 > 6870.

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