Card Upgrade Advice: 5850x2 to?

R

Rycon

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
97
I just need some simple advice.

I currently have two 5850s in Crossfire.
They have served me well but lately I have been a little disappointed.
Crossfire in my opinion, is completely useless. Seems like almost every game has some sort of driver issue where it simply 'doesn't work' and needs to be turned off. I'm sure there is a huge argument to this, but honestly, I find it completely frustrating to have to deal with it. While I'm waiting for updates or installing beta drivers and screwing with video settings, other people are simply enjoying the game.

My specs are in my signature. I'm thinking about getting a 7950 boosted:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006

Any thoughts are appreciated.
 
I say go for it. What resolution are you running? Posts like yours are why I tend to steer away from multiple card setups - doesn't seem like it's worth the hassle.
 
I have used Crossfire a long time.
It vastly improved in the 6000 series and now in the 7000 is quite good. Not perfect but good.
There will always be issues and slow to fix.

Res less than 24" I'd get the 7950.
24" and above 7970 GHz editions.:D
 
Rycon said:
I just need some simple advice.

I currently have two 5850s in Crossfire.
I'm thinking about getting a 7950 boosted:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006

Any thoughts are appreciated.
Click to expand...

excellent choice. the sapphire HD 7950 boost will give better performance at stock and with overclocking you will crush the HD 5850 cards in CF. the card comes with stock voltage of 1.25v. just max out power control and you can easily overclock to 1100 - 1150 mhz at stock voltage and match HD 7970 ghz performance. good luck. :)
 
raghu78 said:
excellent choice. the sapphire HD 7950 boost will give better performance at stock and with overclocking you will crush the HD 5850 cards in CF. the card comes with stock voltage of 1.25v. just max out power control and you can easily overclock to 1100 - 1150 mhz at stock voltage and match HD 7970 ghz performance. good luck. :)
Click to expand...
lol, again with the comments on overclocking the new cards but not the old cards. oc the 5850 cards too and the crushing will not be so bad.
 
Bump. Im in the same place and im wondering how much i would have to spend to match my current performance. And then surpass it.
 
with a 7950 you will have the same performance as your current setup unless you play at high res.. I'd just wait for next gen since there's barely any game at the moment that requires anything more than what you have.

got two 5850's 2gb each and can play every game, sure new releases can have crappy crossfire issues but you can usually get around that with radeonpro
 
What percentage of improvement would i expect to see with an overclocked 7950 over 5850s in crossfire?

What dollar value or card would roughly equate the performance i currently get? So i can compare Fps in games i will consider buying.

I currently get about 40fps in skyrim with these settings


http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u211/0ceanic/skyrimscreenie.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u211/0ceanic/skyrimscreenie3.jpg

No reason to upgrade if it only gonna net me a gain of 15fps in skyrim or 10fps in guild wars 2.

Im trying to determine if it is worth it for the games i play currently or should i wait for future titles generations of cards.
Im confused because ive read in this thread both the oc'ed 7950 parity with, and crushing of, the 2x 5850
 
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Rycon said:
I just need some simple advice.

I currently have two 5850s in Crossfire.
They have served me well but lately I have been a little disappointed.
Crossfire in my opinion, is completely useless. Seems like almost every game has some sort of driver issue where it simply 'doesn't work' and needs to be turned off. I'm sure there is a huge argument to this, but honestly, I find it completely frustrating to have to deal with it. While I'm waiting for updates or installing beta drivers and screwing with video settings, other people are simply enjoying the game.

My specs are in my signature. I'm thinking about getting a 7950 boosted:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202006

Any thoughts are appreciated.
Click to expand...

crossfire sucks, and amd ati drivers are slightly worse than nvidia drivers. wait for a sale and get a gtx 670. they are around $300.
 
bAMtan2 said:
crossfire sucks, and amd ati drivers are slightly worse than nvidia drivers. wait for a sale and get a gtx 670. they are around $300.
Click to expand...
Nonsense, and the 7950 is faster, especially when overclocking is taken into account. The GTX 670 needs to be $25+ cheaper than the 7950 to make it worth it.

As far as performance increases, it will depend on the clock speeds you settle on, and the clock speeds of your 5850's, but at least doubling is a safe assumption. I doubled my performance in some games when I moved from a "6970" to a 7970 overclocked last January, and drivers have very much improved since then.
 
cannondale06 said:
lol, again with the comments on overclocking the new cards but not the old cards. oc the 5850 cards too and the crushing will not be so bad.
Click to expand...

Anyway overclocking in CF is going to be more difficult than overclocking a single card. Also the heat and power problems are compounded in a CF setup. The performance scaling with overclocking on a HD 7950 is better than a HD 5850. the OP is actually having problems with CF and is having to turn off CF. so if you look at it from that perspective its going to be more than double the performance. :)
 
Kaori said:
with a 7950 you will have the same performance as your current setup unless you play at high res.. I'd just wait for next gen since there's barely any game at the moment that requires anything more than what you have.

got two 5850's 2gb each and can play every game, sure new releases can have crappy crossfire issues but you can usually get around that with radeonpro
Click to expand...

thats not entirely accurate.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7950_X2_Boost/28.html

HD 6870 - 55
HD 7950 iceq boost - 100
HD 7970 Ghz - 115

HD 5850 (725 mhz) matches a HD 6870(900 Mhz) . CF scaling is 1.8x in the best cases. so you are talking of just matching a stock HD 7950 boost. And when the scaling is poor the HD 7950 boost will be significantly faster. Also the HD 7950 boost easily overclocks to 1.15 Ghz and matches the HD 7970 Ghz performance.

Please read the OP's post. he has faced issues with CF and did not get the required performance and trouble free gaming experience. He is upgrading for a consistent experience and to get rid off the CF issues he is facing.

its a significant upgrade for the OP. heck there are people who have moved from HD 6950 CF to a HD 7950 boost and found it a improvement.:)
 
raghu78 said:
Anyway overclocking in CF is going to be more difficult than overclocking a single card. Also the heat and power problems are compounded in a CF setup. The performance scaling with overclocking on a HD 7950 is better than a HD 5850. the OP is actually having problems with CF and is having to turn off CF. so if you look at it from that perspective its going to be more than double the performance. :)
Click to expand...
well even stock 5850 crossfire is about the same as a 5970 which is nearly dead even with a stock 7950. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7950/27.html
 
cannondale06 said:
well even stock 5850 crossfire is about the same as a 5970 which is nearly dead even with a stock 7950. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_7950/27.html
Click to expand...

are you kidding? why did you pick a year old review of a stock HD 7950 at 800 Mhz when I posted a month old review of the HD 7950 boost with the latest 12.11 drivers.

The OP said he is buying a Sapphire HD 7950 boost. you did not even read that i guess. :rolleyes:
 
The 5xxx series had a similar driver boost near the end of their product cycle as the 7xxx just got, but not many review sites took note of it. So comparisons at anantech, techreview....etc... and such sites are off by approx 5-15% in performance in most cases in their comparison charts and such.

Just something to keep in mind.
 
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raghu78 said:
are you kidding? why did you pick a year old review of a stock HD 7950 at 800 Mhz when I posted a month old review of the HD 7950 boost with the latest 12.11 drivers.

The OP said he is buying a Sapphire HD 7950 boost. you did not even read that i guess. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I know what I linked to so perhaps you should pay more attention yourself. you said he would more than double his performance with overclocking the 7950 which is a load because a STOCK 7950 and STOCK 5850 crossfire are about even and its not like the 7950 is going to oc by 100%. :rolleyes:
 
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If your 5850's in CF are still running most (or all) games you play on acceptable resolutions, I would also consider waiting it out for the next gen. cards.
 
cannondale06 said:
I know what I linked to so perhaps you should pay more attention yourself. you said he would more than double his performance with overclocking the 7950 which is a load because a STOCK 7950 and STOCK 5850 crossfire are about even and its not like the 7950 is going to oc by 100%. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I never said HD 7950 will double HD 5850 CF performance.

this is what the OP said

"Crossfire in my opinion, is completely useless. Seems like almost every game has some sort of driver issue where it simply 'doesn't work' and needs to be turned off. I'm sure there is a huge argument to this, but honestly, I find it completely frustrating to have to deal with it. While I'm waiting for updates or installing beta drivers and screwing with video settings, other people are simply enjoying the game. "

in that context this is what i said

"the OP is actually having problems with CF and is having to turn off CF. so if you look at it from that perspective its going to be more than double the performance. "
 
I'd say go for it. I went from a 5870 (950/1200) to a 7970 Lightning (1070/1400). The jump was huge and in many cases it was unplayable to playable (BF3, APB, Nexuiz).
 
Ocean said:
What percentage of improvement would i expect to see with an overclocked 7950 over 5850s in crossfire?

What dollar value or card would roughly equate the performance i currently get? So i can compare Fps in games i will consider buying.

I currently get about 40fps in skyrim with these settings


http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u211/0ceanic/skyrimscreenie.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u211/0ceanic/skyrimscreenie3.jpg

No reason to upgrade if it only gonna net me a gain of 15fps in skyrim or 10fps in guild wars 2.

Im trying to determine if it is worth it for the games i play currently or should i wait for future titles generations of cards.
Im confused because ive read in this thread both the oc'ed 7950 parity with, and crushing of, the 2x 5850
Click to expand...

The foilage, outdoors looks great, what mods are you using?
 
mickeykool said:
The foilage, outdoors looks great, what mods are you using?
Click to expand...

Another_Texture_for_panties_by_Thumpbunny-13004-1-0.7z
ApachiiSkyHair_v_1_2-10168-1-2.7z
A_Quality_World_Map_Installer-4929.7z
BarenziahQuestMarkers_Droppable_v1-0-14525-1-0.rar
Better_Females_by_Bella_Version_3-2812-3.zip
Better_Skill_and_Quest_Books_Names_-_BS-10125.rar
Better_Sorting_v-2-06-2730-2-06.rar
Caliente_Female_Body_Mod_BBE_v3_1_for_NMM_Install-2666-3-1.7z
CategorizedFavoritesMenu_v0_1_14-4862-0-1-14.zip
Companion_Ari_CBBE-17302-1-2.7z
Conjurable_Chest-19303-v1-0.zip
Crimson_Tide_-_Blood_Classic_Red_Crimson___v1-5-12798-1-5.rar
Enhanced_Distant_Terrain_1-4_HD-1598.7z
Enhanced_Distant_Trees-3389-1-0 (2).7z
eyes_1-4869.rar
Glowing_Ore_Veins_300_2_00-193-1.rar
HD_Furniture_and_Barrels_added_cross_and_bark-238-final.rar
Hide_DB_Helms-13346-1-1.rar
HighRes_4K_CBBE_Nude_Female_Re-Texture_Mod_Pack-2841-2-2.7z
High_Quality_Eyes-1_20-498-1-2.7z
Improved_Skill_Books-9960-1-1.zip
Lush_Grass_1-4-1-3288.7z
Vurts_Skyrim_Flora_Overhaul_v109a_Hi-Res_version-141-1-0-9a.7z
Lush_Trees_1-3-3385-1-3.7z
Lush_Trees_-_Vurts_Compatibility_Patch_1-3-3385.7z
No_Panty_Mod_for_Remodeled_Armor_3_4-16877-3-4.7z
PAPER_HD_1K_v1_1-1618.rar
Pretty_Face_Pack_with_Enhanced_Character_Edit-7887-1-6.7z
Realistic_Lighting_3_4a_NMM_Install-7654.7z
Remodeled_Armor_3_3-13004-3-3.7z
Skyrim_HD_v1_5_FULL_-_Dungeons-607.7z
Skyrim_HD_v1_5_LITE_-_Landscape-607.7z
Skyrim_HD_v1_5_LITE_-_Misc-607.7z
Skyrim_HD_v1_5_LITE_-_Towns-607.7z
Skyrim_Realistic_Overhaul_v1_1-1024k-5400-1-1.7z
SMIM_v1-21-8655-1-21.7z
SkyUI_2_2-3863-2-2.7z
Substitution_with_the_vanilla_equipment_3_3-13004-3-3.7z
Unlimited_Bookshelves_1-7-10891-1-7.zip
Unread_Books_Glow_v1_3-10012-1-3.7z
WATER_1_4a_High_Res-13268-1-4a.rar
worthy_noble_furniture_0_3-2411 (2).rar

not all these are active, i used nexus mod manager to replace files, and the list of which originals have been replaced might be lost forever. (someone tell me where nexus keeps enabled disabled list please?) (install oreder played a significant part to the plant textures)
there is an enb mod kane .112, that was modded from a nexus ?mod? (tweaked to work with crossfire with an assassins creed brotherhood profile.)

i spent more time making the game pretty than playing the game.

its not as pretty as others, but its the nicest i can make it with my hardware and the shittyness of crossfire and still be playable.
 
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