7950 Crossfire or Nay?

[DTJR32]

I am looking to do a graphics upgrade to my computer. I've been looking for something greater than just 1920x1080 monitor (any suggestions would be helpful). The main concern I have is my graphics card. I've been wanting to upgrade it and am not sure if i should just CF it or if I should upgrade. I like the idea of CF, as i would be running dual monitors if everything budget wise goes well. The only concern i have is game compatibility which has been a big gripe of the CF. If you think I should upgrade, what would be an upgrade worthy to do at a cost of around $200-250?

Current Build: (http://pcpartpicker.com/p/f4mzRB)

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card
Case: Cooler Master Storm Stryker (White) ATX Full Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Gold 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor

 

[Darkbreeze]

Since the HD 7950 is a GCN architecture card and is supposed to be supported by directx 12, I think I'd crossfire that card. There are no 250 dollar cards that will offer better, or even close, performance as the HD 7950 CF, plus you're current PSU is more than capable of handling it.

 

[DTJR32]

Since the HD 7950 is a GCN architecture card and is supposed to be supported by directx 12, I think I'd crossfire that card. There are no 250 dollar cards that will offer better, or even close, performance as the HD 7950 CF, plus you're current PSU is more than capable of handling it.

I didn't necessarily mean just $250 flat out, this would be added on to what ever i could get for a 7950 if i sold it.

 

[Darkbreeze]

If you can make the 300 dollar range, there are some much better options. Since a lot of the HD series cards had crossfire issues, many of which have since been resolved, a newer card is probably a better choice, but it's up to you. For around three hundred bucks you can get a GTX 970 or R9 290x, both of which are likely to be capable of running most any title with ultra settings on a single 1080p monitor.

 

[Darkbreeze]

If you were able to pull the trigger RIGHT NOW, this would be the way to go. You won't see anything near this price, for this card, anytime soon. I paid about seventy five bucks more for mine.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121922

 

[photonboy]

If you were able to pull the trigger RIGHT NOW, this would be the way to go. You won't see anything near this price, for this card, anytime soon. I paid about seventy five bucks more for mine.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121922

The GTX970 beats this card for only slightly more and runs far, far quieter as well. The "slow" memory issue on the 970 is confusing so I won't discuss it here. It's not a non-issue but I still recommend the 970 at this price point.

I suppose it's worth considering at $280 however for $40 more you can get one of several 970's.

As for Crossfire of HD7950 I can't recommend it. I just did an extensive comparison of GTX970 vs HD7990 (HD7990 is same as 2xHD7970 @950MHz).

The FPS was almost identical, but game smoothness was not. Noise was a huge issue. Crossfire stutter. Other features like MFAA, PhysX etc.

The ONLY way I could see a use is if you can find an HD7950 dirt cheap ($100 or less).

As for the $200 to $250 range if you can sell your HD7950 that might make the GTX970 an option.

(FYI, the HD7950 gets 55% the FPS of an Asus GTX970 so if we factor overclocking and MFAA we can just simply say about 2X the frame rate. Such as 60FPS instead of 30FPS).

Monitor?
Depends on budget, but I suggest a single 2560x1440 monitor. I love my 27" 2560x1440 screen but my U2711 is too expensive likely. My next monitor will be one with these specs but not for a while:
- 2560x1440 or 3840x2160
- 27" to 30"
- IPS or similar
- Response time lower than current IPS
- GSync
- Refresh 100Hz or higher.

 

[photonboy]

GPU comparison: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_970_STRIX_OC/25.html

FYI, in terms of frame rate only 2xHD7950 is comparable go a single GTX780 on average.

 

[DTJR32]

If you were able to pull the trigger RIGHT NOW, this would be the way to go. You won't see anything near this price, for this card, anytime soon. I paid about seventy five bucks more for mine.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121922

The GTX970 beats this card for only slightly more and runs far, far quieter as well. The "slow" memory issue on the 970 is confusing so I won't discuss it here. It's not a non-issue but I still recommend the 970 at this price point.

I suppose it's worth considering at $280 however for $40 more you can get one of several 970's.

As for Crossfire of HD7950 I can't recommend it. I just did an extensive comparison of GTX970 vs HD7990 (HD7990 is same as 2xHD7970 @950MHz).

The FPS was almost identical, but game smoothness was not. Noise was a huge issue. Crossfire stutter. Other features like MFAA, PhysX etc.

The ONLY way I could see a use is if you can find an HD7950 dirt cheap ($100 or less).

As for the $200 to $250 range if you can sell your HD7950 that might make the GTX970 an option.

(FYI, the HD7950 gets 55% the FPS of an Asus GTX970 so if we factor overclocking and MFAA we can just simply say about 2X the frame rate. Such as 60FPS instead of 30FPS).

Monitor?
Depends on budget, but I suggest a single 2560x1440 monitor. I love my 27" 2560x1440 screen but my U2711 is too expensive likely. My next monitor will be one with these specs but not for a while:
- 2560x1440 or 3840x2160
- 27" to 30"
- IPS or similar
- Response time lower than current IPS
- GSync
- Refresh 100Hz or higher.

As for the monitor, I have been thinking of this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005749), is that worth it? My budget is around 250-350, and i am trying to get a 26+'' screen.

 

[DTJR32]

Ok, since I am thinking of future-proofing this for as long as i can, which would be better in a CF/Sli, the R9 290X or the 970?

 

[Coolboy951]

i crossfired my current 7950 3gb boost to test out and i wasnt having any issues with it except one of them would hit 80c and would stutter a bit but i fixed that issue. i would go for it since the GCN cards will support DX 12

 

[DTJR32]

i crossfired my current 7950 3gb boost to test out and i wasnt having any issues with it except one of them would hit 80c and would stutter a bit but i fixed that issue. i would go for it since the GCN cards will support DX 12

As far as being future proof, though, is it really worth it to CF?

 

[Coolboy951]

i crossfired my current 7950 3gb boost to test out and i wasnt having any issues with it except one of them would hit 80c and would stutter a bit but i fixed that issue. i would go for it since the GCN cards will support DX 12

As far as being future proof, though, is it really worth it to CF?

right now im not using my other 7950 im using one and it works perefect for me, once 1 cant handle newer games im gonna crossfire the other one, but yes i do think it is

 

[DTJR32]

Ok. I guess my main question is, is my 7950 boost powerful enough to compensate for games that cannot utilize Crossfire? I am leaning more towards the CF, as I am already dropping like 350 on a monitor and I feel like by the time that my 7950s run out of juice, I'll have more money to spend on the newer generation gpus

 

[DTJR32]

Found a 7950 for $130, I think i am going to go ahead and run Cf with it and then when my budget allows, just upgrade later to a completely new graphics setup.

 

[WhiteSnake91]

I long had the same thought of crossfiring my 7950s. Just the power consumption of the 7950s bothered me, I watched some vids and on Crysis 3 crossfire 7950s were pulling 500w (or more) from the wall.

you could get a single r9 290 for...200 or so and that's pretty much the same as 7950s in crossfire while consuming less power and with none of the problems associated with crossfire.

 

[Coolboy951]

Found a 7950 for $130, I think i am going to go ahead and run Cf with it and then when my budget allows, just upgrade later to a completely new graphics setup.

crossfire the 7950 will be stronger than the 290 and will pull 2 fps ahead of the 290x if you have the 3gb version. theyll will use 20-30 more watts then the 290