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Is Crossfire For me?

MrGuvernment

MrGuvernment

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Aug 3, 2004
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i was considering 2 x 3870's and a new mobo for my E4400 @ 3.2 and better cooling to take the cpu higher.


but reading, crossifre may not be for me, i have 5 games i plan to play more or less exclusivly for the next while, but reading it seems XFire doesnt work for CoD4 and Ut3 (i will be using XP pro)

CS:S
TF2
CoD 4
UT 3
Gothic 3 (i can get it running smooth and fine so dont bash it)

i have a dell 24" running 1920 x 1200, i do enjoy some eye candy, but prefer smoother game play

would i be better with an 8800 GT 512?, currently just have a 7600GT.
 
I just upgraded to a 3870 from a 7800GT and also game on a Dell panel at 1920x1200. I've had good results with my Q6600 @ 3ghz and 4gb PC800. I'm getting perfectly smooth framerates in Source Engine games @ 4xAA 16AF. At this high of a resolution, I can't see a reason to go with higher filtering in a FPS. UT3 is mostly staying above 60fps. Its a bit inconsistent in larger team based maps. I imagine if you had a 8800GT it would fare slightly better. But it is most certainly playable at 1920x1200 with 2xaa 16xAF.

I don't think getting a faster CPU is going to help you out too much, even with a 3870 in crossfire you're likely limited by the GPUs. If you want a single card solution I'd say go for the 8800GT. If you'd like to go the ATI route, I'd hold off and see how the 3870X2's pan out.
 
i was thinking about the X2's, but since i am in Toronto Canada now i can buy it while here instead of ordering online, also i just have a urge to buy something new and purdy :)

Cause if i got Xfire, i do need to get a new mobo, currently i have an Abit ip35-e.
 
reading some more, apparenrly UT3 and CoD 4 are fully working under Xfier, crysis is the only one with issues, but some hotfix patch fixes it kind of and it is a crysis issue, not an ATI / SLI one...
 
Catboxer said:
(snip)
I don't think getting a faster CPU is going to help you out too much, even with a 3870 in crossfire you're likely limited by the GPUs. If you want a single card solution I'd say go for the 8800GT. If you'd like to go the ATI route, I'd hold off and see how the 3870X2's pan out.
Click to expand...

It will help your minimum framerates though. Not to mention there is overhead from running two cards, either in SLi or Crossfire. Basically, your choppy spots will be less choppy.

Rather than get a new motherboard, I'd pick up an E6550/6750, and sell your E4400. As for your video card, you can find 8800GTX cards for about $425 after MIR, or wait and see how the 3870 X2 pans out. (IIRC the 3870 X2 needs an 8 and a 6 pin PEG connector, just like the 2900XT, but I'm not sure if you can get away with just two 6 pins if you're not going to OC it...)
 
i am thinking an quad core 6600 as i am doing more 3d work again, or was considering moving to WC set up and take my 4400 as high as possible,..

i just wanted to try and get the part while in toronto since i head back to costa rica in 3-5 days, be nice to buy and make sure it works vs ordernig online as sending anything back i might as well just buy it new again due to shipping costs out of costa rica and customs issues with it coming back in.


So i am thinking possibly either (this also pends on if my wired pay ever comes in and isnt lost again)
  • 2 x 3870 in Xfire + new mobo + new cpu cooler
  • 6600 and an 8800GTS 512 card and new cpu cooler

i am more now leaning towards the single 8800 and quad as the more reading i do, the more issues Xfire seems to have with working for some, not working for others, giving worse performance in CF then single card, driver issues, drivers turning off features you turn off (CF not really being on, exe profiling et cetera)
 
Honestly, at you resolutions, GTS may not cut it. I play at 1680x1050 and I do get some performance issues, that's on 8800GTX. I think when working, crossfire could be a much better solution...when working.
 
I'd personally get an E6850 over the Q6600, as games (still) don't really take advantage of four cores. I'd also stick with your abit IP35-E and go for the fastest nV card I could.

Although since you're gaming at 1920x1200, I couldn't recommend anything less than a GTX, and you can find them online now for less than the price of two 3870's. My bad for not catching that earlier.

If you want to take a chance on Crossfire, go for it, but be aware it doesn't usually scale as well as SLI. I'd still try and fit in a CPU upgrade though.
 
i went with the 8800GT 512 for now, with nvidia ne cards possibly coming soon, i wenmt for this, i am not a huge AA or AF so i dont use it much, going to stay with one card, with all the various "possible" bugs or glitches or working and not working with sli and Xfire in certain gamesd, just seems like alot of "possible" headaches.
 
MrGuvernment said:
i went with the 8800GT 512 for now, with nvidia ne cards possibly coming soon, i wenmt for this, i am not a huge AA or AF so i dont use it much, going to stay with one card, with all the various "possible" bugs or glitches or working and not working with sli and Xfire in certain gamesd, just seems like alot of "possible" headaches.
Click to expand...

Then you should be good to go. Not so much with AF, but when you start turning on the AA at 1920x1200 the GTS 512MB starts to wheeze a bit on intensive games. You should be happy.

And unless you plan on doing lots of video encoding or with rendering software, I'd still get the E6850 over the Q6600. You'll get more out of it.

Enjoy your 8800GTS 512MB. :)
 
MrGuvernment said:
i am thinking an quad core 6600 as i am doing more 3d work again, or was considering moving to WC set up and take my 4400 as high as possible,..

i just wanted to try and get the part while in toronto since i head back to costa rica in 3-5 days, be nice to buy and make sure it works vs ordernig online as sending anything back i might as well just buy it new again due to shipping costs out of costa rica and customs issues with it coming back in.


So i am thinking possibly either (this also pends on if my wired pay ever comes in and isnt lost again)
  • 2 x 3870 in Xfire + new mobo + new cpu cooler
  • 6600 and an 8800GTS 512 card and new cpu cooler

i am more now leaning towards the single 8800 and quad as the more reading i do, the more issues Xfire seems to have with working for some, not working for others, giving worse performance in CF then single card, driver issues, drivers turning off features you turn off (CF not really being on, exe profiling et cetera)
Click to expand...

i'll go with a 6400 and 8800 gt sli if i had the dough
 
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