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[PCWorld] AMD Radeon phases out the CrossFire brand as multi-GPU gets more complicated

3K views 45 replies 26 participants last post by  SoloCamo 
#1 ·
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3227865/components-graphics/amd-radeon-phases-out-the-crossfire-brand-as-multi-gpu-gets-more-complicated.html
Quote:
When AMD released the Radeon Software 17.9.2 drivers that enabled support for multi-GPU solutions in Radeon RX Vega cards this morning, the announcement post didn't mention CrossFire-AMD's longstanding brand for multi-GPU (mGPU) solutions-a single time.

An AMD representative revealed why in response to a PCWorld query: In this complicated mGPU age, Radeon is abandoning the CrossFire brand.
I understand why with moving forward with DX12, but a part of me is still sad to see the brand name go. My graphics setup a couple upgrades back were dual HD 6950s in CrossFire mode.
 
#2 ·
Makes sense, the only multi-GPU tech from AMD that people really used lately is CrossMine.
 
#3 ·
Good riddance. The sooner SLI and CFX both officially die off, the sooner hardware neutral DX12/Vulkan implementations can see the light of day.
 
#4 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zero4549 View Post

Good riddance. The sooner SLI and CFX both officially die off, the sooner hardware neutral DX12/Vulkan implementations can see the light of day.
My thoughts exactly. I get it, for some extreme setups it was the only option - but it's negatives far outweighed any pro's in the long run.
 
#5 ·
no longer must the graphics card handle the game, now the game must handle the graphics card

pc gaming is slowly dying :/

well, at least we still have the indies filled with original concepts...

"This is simply a branding thing." this is so incorrect, because in the past decade our software (pc) has been stagnant and its been complicated in the last 2 years with the drop of multigpu from games developers and card makers.

99% of triple A is now focused on console.
 
#7 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmcosta View Post

no longer must the graphics card handle the game, now the game must handle the graphics card
thats been the long standing practice with CPUs.
the games are needed to be coded with self-sufficient thread scheduling for higher core scaling efficiency.

i'm pretty surprised that games hadn't taken over micromanagement of GPU resources until recently.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmcosta View Post

no longer must the graphics card handle the game, now the game must handle the graphics card

pc gaming is slowly dying :/

well, at least we still have the indies filled with original concepts...

"This is simply a branding thing." this is so incorrect, because in the past decade our software (pc) has been stagnant and its been complicated in the last 2 years with the drop of multigpu from games developers and card makers.

99% of triple A is now focused on console.
2001
Is PC Gaming Dying?
2002
IS PC Gaming Dead?
2004
Doom 4: End of the Game Industry?
2005
PC Gaming is Dying
2006
The Loop: Is PC Gaming Dead?
Analyze This: The Current State of the PC Game Business
2007
PC Gaming is Dead
2008
Is PC Gaming Dying? Or Thriving?
Joystiq interview: Demigod, Sins, and the death of PC gaming
2009
THE DEATH OF PC GAMING - AGAIN
2010
Five reasons why Steam will destroy the PC games industry
Kinect Developer Declares PC FPS Gamers A Dying Breed (This one is my favorite)
2011
Forget the gaming PC, buy a console
The decline in PC gaming
So PC Gaming is Really Dying, Eh?
PC gaming is dead, even id says so
2012
ESA Figures Prove What We've Suspected For Years: Classic PC Gaming is Dying
2013
"Piracy is Killing the PC" - Game Devs Predict a Grim Future for PC Gaming

Credit skepticink

After that is pretty hard to find people claiming PC gaming is dead/dying.

2016
GAMING MARKET EXPLODES FOR $91 BILLION IN 2016, LED BY MOBILE AND PC GAMES

2017
As PC sales shrink, the gaming PC market grows faster than expected
PC Gaming Market Reaches $30 Billion All-Time High





But sure, PC gaming is dying because AMD dropped the name Crossfire.
rolleyes.gif
 
#9 ·
#10 ·
See i never/rarely had issues with crossfire/sli setups and i typicly had rigs that fully pushed and utilized them to the max where a single card was either way too pricey or wouldn't suffice for my use-set, While it is anecdotal evidence, mGPU systems having problems is so over stated and over exaggerated, Most of the time they will work at acceptable scaling when you don't screw around with them.
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rayleyne View Post

See i never/rarely had issues with crossfire/sli setups and i typicly had rigs that fully pushed and utilized them to the max where a single card was either way too pricey or wouldn't suffice for my use-set, While it is anecdotal evidence, mGPU systems having problems is so over stated and over exaggerated, Most of the time they will work at acceptable scaling when you don't screw around with them.
It was fine right until 2015. Once DX12 was out it was all over for CFX/SLI. I had CFX since HD 4870 up to 290X and really it worked 80% of the time. Now you are lucky to get something to run 20-30% of the time.
 
#12 ·
Just finished Dishonored 2, don't know how many times I saw the Fine Wine barrels
rolleyes.gif
Still liked it a lot.

But this...

Fine Wine?

It should still be fine. I'm sure they aren't going to just abandon dx11 support since that isn't going away until Nvidia says so.
Probably just a trial balloon.
 
#15 ·
Seems like they realized the lazy ass devs wont be coding for crossfire so screw it. Kind of makes sense actually. Dx11 profiles will still be coming out from amd, but dx12 is the future

A sad thing indeed. Imo crossfire and sli was doomed from the jump, not due to lazy devs, but greedy companies looking to maximize profits

I used to love crossfire/sli, but moving back to single card has been like a dream come true
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by epic1337 View Post

60FPS or 120FPS? if its the latter then two more generations.
60FPS is achievable with current OCed Pascal TXp.
Steady 60 fps depends on the game and settings. OC isn't what it used to be. Even Metro 2033 can squash a single OCed Txp on the bench at max settings after the tank thing.
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by rluker5 View Post

Steady 60 fps depends on the game and settings. OC isn't what it used to be. Even Metro 2033 can squash a single OCed Txp on the bench at max settings after the tank thing.
Metro is not optimized. Look at stuff like BF1. I get 90 fps + with 1080 Ti in Ultra. What more can you ask. Also dropping from Ultra to High in almost every game you gain a lot of fps with minimal IQ difference.
 
#18 ·
It is a "branding" thing.

Hardware independant mGPU is the future. Coming from one of the first crossfire users from the external dongle days(yes, in the past you needed a special "Y" cable to go from GPUs to your monitor!) - good riddance to SLI and Crossfire
smile.gif
.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Puck View Post

It is a "branding" thing.

Hardware independant mGPU is the future. Coming from one of the first crossfire users from the external dongle days(yes, in the past you needed a special "Y" cable to go from GPUs to your monitor!) - good riddance to SLI and Crossfire
smile.gif
.
Both SLI and CFX failed to change for the past 10 year hence their position now.
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmcosta View Post

no longer must the graphics card handle the game, now the game must handle the graphics card

pc gaming is slowly dying :/

well, at least we still have the indies filled with original concepts...

"This is simply a branding thing." this is so incorrect, because in the past decade our software (pc) has been stagnant and its been complicated in the last 2 years with the drop of multigpu from games developers and card makers.

99% of triple A is now focused on console.
While I see that as a true statement myself, more money for games are made on PC, so to say that PC gaming is dying would mean that you're more likely to be wrong. Desktop PC sales are declining and mobile sales are increasing. If anything people area realizing in order to make games prettier they just... get a better single card for a little more, or wait a year.
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Imglidinhere View Post

While I see that as a true statement myself, more money for games are made on PC, so to say that PC gaming is dying would mean that you're more likely to be wrong. Desktop PC sales are declining and mobile sales are increasing. If anything people area realizing in order to make games prettier they just... get a better single card for a little more, or wait a year.
Its because AAA devs dont know how t make money off PC gamers. They also want fast returns.
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZealotKi11er View Post

Its because AAA devs dont know how t make money off PC gamers. They also want fast returns.
Oh I totally get that! ^_^ But I mean... alls I'm sayin' is that, this move isn't necessarily a bad one from AMD. Nvidia pretty much stopped support for SLI except for the top GPUs. Heck, the days of budget SLI options are over. Kinda sad really. I miss those days.
 
#23 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by black96ws6 View Post

https://www.pcworld.com/article/3227865/components-graphics/amd-radeon-phases-out-the-crossfire-brand-as-multi-gpu-gets-more-complicated.html
I understand why with moving forward with DX12, but a part of me is still sad to see the brand name go. My graphics setup a couple upgrades back were dual HD 6950s in CrossFire mode.
I just got a second unlockable 6950. I like crossfire, I don't care what others say. It's certainly running great in BF3, I'd never know it was crossfire if I didn't install the card.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ZealotKi11er View Post

Metro is not optimized. Look at stuff like BF1. I get 90 fps + with 1080 Ti in Ultra. What more can you ask. Also dropping from Ultra to High in almost every game you gain a lot of fps with minimal IQ difference.
Metro is pretty good. I can almost max LL without the super high end AA and stuff.
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidiaftw12 View Post

I just got a second unlockable 6950. I like crossfire, I don't care what others say. It's certainly running great in BF3, I'd never know it was crossfire if I didn't install the card.

Metro is pretty good. I can almost max LL without the super high end AA and stuff.
I waited to play LL Redux with 1080 Ti and really setting it to Ultra there was some problem because fps would tank from particle effects. High was fine getting 90 fps+ 90% of the time. The game looked good back in day but now not so much. Hope the new one is better made.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Imglidinhere View Post

Oh I totally get that! ^_^ But I mean... alls I'm sayin' is that, this move isn't necessarily a bad one from AMD. Nvidia pretty much stopped support for SLI except for the top GPUs. Heck, the days of budget SLI options are over. Kinda sad really. I miss those days.
I never sow CFX or SLI as the budged gamer solution. For me it was to get to lower end AMD GPUs and beat Nvidia top end big die GPUs. Stuff like 2 X 4870, 2 X 6970. After that it was basically get best single GPU first and than if you got money to blow get a second one. On paper getting slower card to CFX/SLI seemed good but in practice it was never a good idea. Even now for example if you look at raw power 2 x 1070 is only a bit faster than 1080 Ti but cost is almost 1:1 while 1080 Ti provides 100% the performance 100% of the time.
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZealotKi11er View Post

Metro is not optimized. Look at stuff like BF1. I get 90 fps + with 1080 Ti in Ultra. What more can you ask. Also dropping from Ultra to High in almost every game you gain a lot of fps with minimal IQ difference.
It does look pretty much the same at high settings and even my old 780tis had no problem handling that at 4k. I was just making the point that multi gpu can still improve 4k60 above what the Txp has to offer. Where it works of course.
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by rluker5 View Post

It does look pretty much the same at high settings and even my old 780tis had no problem handling that at 4k. I was just making the point that multi gpu can still improve 4k60 above what the Txp has to offer. Where it works of course.
Yes but at that point you are pushing limits that do not need to be pushed. Game where the fasted GPU get 35-40 fps, SLI/CFX will not save 75% of the time even if they work as intended. You are better going for High and get 50 fps vs keeping Ultra with SLI and getting 60-70 fps. There are exception to every rule though. BF3 and BF4 which I have played a lot with HD 6990, 2x HD 7970 , 2x 290X just worked so good that I had to keep the cards. SW:BF and BF1 started having a lot of problem so I basically gave it up.
 
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