CoD: MW2 and CoD4 CrossfireX issues.

[GotNoRice]

I was playing MW2 the other day and noticed it only using 2 GPUs (instead of all 4). I checked with a friend running 5970+5870 Tri-fire and he confirmed that the game was also only using 2 GPUs for him also. He also mentioned that he had dusted off CoD4 and experienced the same issue. I tried CoD4 and confirmed those results also. Neither of us was able to determine why that is the case.

Now there are games that don't scale past 2 GPUs but CoD4 and CoD:MW2 are not examples of that. CoD4 in particular was one of the very first games to work with quad crossfire ever since the 3870x2 was released. Not only that but the game has traditionally been an example of exceptional scaling, showing nearly 100% scaling all the way up to 4 GPUs. MW2 uses a modified version of the same engine CoD4 uses so it makes sense that their behavior is similar, but it doesn't make sense that they stopped working with more than 2 GPUs all of a sudden. There reviews of 38xx, 48xx, and 5xxx cards in triple and quad crossfire all over the net using both of these games and they all show good scaling.

Is anyone else running Triple or Quad crossfire and able to replicate this issue? Does anyone know why this would be the case?

My friend was running the 10.3b drivers + 4/7 app profiles when he tested and I was running 10.4a + 4/7 app profiles when I tested the game.

 

[NoForgiveness]

MW2 is locked at 85FPS, so using more than two won't do any good.

200FPS isn't good enough in COD4?

Sorry, but I don't understand what all the fuss is about.

Any way, I wonder if anyone actually got COD4 to work on all 4 GPUs (I mean verified), and from what I could find the verdict is still out on COD4 scalability: http://www.cluboc.net/reviews/video/ATi/hd4870x2_2GB_Quadfire/page5.asp

 

[GotNoRice]

MW2 is locked at 85FPS, so using more than two won't do any good.

200FPS isn't good enough in COD4?

If my hardware isn't working the way it's supposed to, I'd like to know why, regardless if the end result is "good enough" or not. And again, this is mainly about MW2 not CoD4. I don't even play CoD4 anymore but it's relevant in the sense that they use a modified version of the same engine and the games are experiencing the same problem. Also, you seem to be implying that only using 2 GPUs is intended behavior due to the game potentially not being demanding enough to stress the 3rd and 4th GPU. That is not typical for games that fall into that category; for example, games such as World of Warcraft and Counter-Strike: Source (both from 2004) still have full quad-GPU support and in the later case can result in 800+ fps - clearly it could get by just fine with even one GPU but crossfireX is still supported.

Sorry, but I don't understand what all the fuss is about.

A thread about computer hardware issues in a computer hardware forum = fuss?

Any way, I wonder if anyone actually got COD4 to work on all 4 GPUs (I mean verified), and from what I could find the verdict is still out on COD4 scalability: http://www.cluboc.net/reviews/video/ATi/hd4870x2_2GB_Quadfire/page5.asp

CoD4 scaling in Quad-Fire with 2x 3870x2: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article/2008/03/05/ati_radeon_hd_3870_x2_crossfirex/4
CoD4 scaling in Tri-Fire with 3870x2+3870 with http://www.legitreviews.com/article/671/6/
CoD4 scaling in Tri and Quad-Fire with 3870x2 and 3870 cards: http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=523&type=expert&pid=4
CoD4 scaling in Quad-Fire with 2x3870x2: http://www.rage3d.com/reviews/video/hishd3870x2cfx_p2/index.php?p=4
CoD4 scaling in Quad-Fire with 2x 4870x2: http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,...I-and-Quad-Crossfire-reviewed/Reviews/?page=5
CoD4 scaling in Tri and Quad-Fire with 3870s: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2451/3
CoD4 scaling in Quad-Fire with 2x 4870x2: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/766/5/

CoD5 scaling in Tri and Quad-Fire with 4870s: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2728/6

MW2 scaling in Quad-Fire with 2x 5970: http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=21212&page=4
MW2 scaling in Quad-Fire with 2x 5970: http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5970-review-test/23
MW2 scaling in Quad-Fire with 2x 5970: http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=890&pageid=15 / http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews.php?reviewid=890&pageid=16

Just sayin...

 

[NoForgiveness]

Good stuff. Lot of links there LOL.