280x TOP and 7950 1 Ghz edition Crossfire

[GlockonDock]

Hi,
I got a question I'd like to ask,
namely I got a 7950 installed in my PC, I want to Crossfire it with a 280x for some uberly good performance, as I saw 280x CF is better in some benchmarks than a 970 or 980 (non-Ti).

So now on the the question.. I want to make my 7950 run as close as my 280x can in Crossfire, so how could I make it so that 280x as a primary would clock 7950 to its standard clocks?
I know it is possible to overclock each individual card but I would like to keep them at near same level. Could I do that? I know that 280x TOP runs at 1070 mhz core and 1600 memory, not so sure about memory, but 7950 is overclockable to 1070 and 1575 memory, I don't want my 7950 to overheat, so would it be possible to do?

Thanks a lot!
GlockonDock

 

[RobCrezz]

Yeah you should overclock your 7950 as high as possible first (but fully make sure its stable).

Put the card with the best cooler at the top as the primary card (probably the 280x). Make sure your PSU is sufficent to power both, and make sure you have enough fans and airflow in your case as running dual cards increases heat a lot.

 

[GlockonDock]

Yeah you should overclock your 7950 as high as possible first (but fully make sure its stable).

Put the card with the best cooler at the top as the primary card (probably the 280x). Make sure your PSU is sufficent to power both, and make sure you have enough fans and airflow in your case as running dual cards increases heat a lot.

Well the 280x TOP I got has a damaged fan that I has an improvised fix on it, (95mm processor fan in it).
But since it is ASUS it should withstand heat more, my 7950 has 3 fans though.
Also would a 1000w Xilence do? I got an 500w installed at the brief moment I plan to do this Crossfire at Christmas time, I also have 2 case fans on the side but I put filters on it since the room can get quite dusty, I hope they can do the work, I don't care about the noise since I have headphones. Now about clocking the 7950, I've never been a big overclocker, I am just trying to get it somewhat equal to the 280x I got, I wonder if putting the selected 280x clocks would still keep it stable since it is a 1 ghz card sent out by factory, I can't oc with the 500w PSU at the moment, it will blackscreen since PSU doesn't have enough watts and it meets the minimum requirement of this card.

 

[RobCrezz]

OK, well test them both at full load and see which is the cooler running card and let that one be top.

I wouldnt touch a Xilence PSU, not known as a good brand. I would look at a good 750w + from Seasonic, XFX, EVGA G2, SuperFlower etc

 

[GlockonDock]

OK, well test them both at full load and see which is the cooler running card and let that one be top.

I wouldnt touch a Xilence PSU, not known as a good brand. I would look at a good 750w + from Seasonic, XFX, EVGA G2, SuperFlower etc

I think of setting them in Crossfire, see what has lower temps and then set the one on top.. I never hit over 70 Celsius with the 7950, like 65 has been somewhat the gaming temperature, also I really can't buy a new PSU since I already have the 1000w Xilence in my drawer sitting for use it does have a 80+ guarantee or what is it called though, can't be worse than my stock old school looking 500w PSU can it?

 

[RobCrezz]

Its probably better than your old 500w, but that doesnt make it good... Up to you if you want to take the gamble and use it...

 

[GlockonDock]

Its probably better than your old 500w, but that doesnt make it good... Up to you if you want to take the gamble and use it...

What would be the risks of a bad PSU? I've never seen PSU-s as competing pieces of hardware.

 

[RobCrezz]

Good quality psu is important, even more so if your system is going to draw a lot of power like a system with two GPUs.

If the psu is poor quality it can cause issues from instability and crashing to actually hardware failure blowing up itself or other components. Im not one of these people who suggest you go for $300 high end PSU all the time, but I would suggest going for something from a reputable brand thats been reviewed and tested and shown to perform within margins.

 

[GlockonDock]

Good quality psu is important, even more so if your system is going to draw a lot of power like a system with two GPUs.

If the psu is poor quality it can cause issues from instability and crashing to actually hardware failure blowing up itself or other components. Im not one of these people who suggest you go for $300 high end PSU all the time, but I would suggest going for something from a reputable brand thats been reviewed and tested and shown to perform within margins.

I watched some videos about this PSU, it seems that it's not that low in quality after all, it might have a fewer cables than other 1000w PSU-s but in video it was said while checking with the Amp meter - Don't really know what you call it in English, was said it was very stable, therefore I hope it's a quality PSU + it does have a 80+ certified thingy on it, of course I know there are better PSU-s but I am more of a budget builder, as you can see I am trying to get a gtx 980 power with these 2 cards since buying the card itself can be quite expensive, stupidly expensive. I don't mind small CF stutters in a game if I get smooth experience for the rest of the game + newer games support Sli and Crossfire even more.

Now thanks for helping me solve my problem, I didn't know that placing a cooler card on top was a thing to do, I'll try to go 1075/1575 with the 7950 when I get my PC upgraded.

Thanks a lot RobCrezz!

 

[RobCrezz]

Fair enough, good luck with it, might be fine but never heard of that brand.

Yeah, dont be surprised that the card on top runs a lot hotter when you have both cards in, as it has to cope with all the heat rising from the bottom card.