First Time AMD Crossfire Setup Questions

[Gmonst]

Hi y'all, I'm about to buy my second 7950 to add to my setup and crossfire it with my current one, but I just had a couple questions that I either couldn't find online or didn't exactly know how to search for the answer to.

1. Is it at all advantageous to use identical cards in a Crossfire setup? Example: I already own a Sapphire 100352-3L 7950, is there any reason performance-wise, or stability-wise that I may want to choose a duplicate Sapphire 100352-3L as my second card, or does it not really matter? My current card: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202026

2. Will I lose performance for the second card being in a 8x lane where the primary one is in a 16x? Or does it matter? This isn't a huge issue, as motherboard is next on the list to upgrade anyway, so even if I lose a bit of power, no big deal.

3. Is microstutter really that bad, or is it not something I should worry about? Also, is it really a guaranteed issue or does it only happen with some unlucky people/setups?

4. What are the known, if any, fixes to stop microstutter? I've heard using two bridges between the two cards can help fix it, but maybe that was just an isolated incident.

5. Can I plug monitors in to both graphics cards? For two reasons, A: if I want more monitors than there are ports for on my primary card, say if I want five monitors but my card only has four ports, can any number of those monitors be plugged in to either card? And B: To avoid using DisplayPort monitors or the expensive active adapters for such port, can I use, let's say four monitors, if two are plugged in to DVI on one card, and two are plugged in to DVI on the other?

6. Any last suggestions, tips, or things that I should know about before jumping in to crossfire?

Bonus Question: (Not exactly related to original topic) I plan to do a five monitor eyefinity setup eventually, is there anything I should know about choosing the right monitors for this setup?

I appreciate any relevant and constructive responses, thank you in advance fellow PC Gamers

 

[Gate9er]

Hi

1. Dual card configurations must be done using two identical cards. If this is not the case, then both cards will be running at the performance levels of the weakest card (i.e. your strongest card will basically downgrade)

2. Well a x16 card on a x8 pcie slot THEORETICALLY means that the card won't be able to reach its maximum potential. On the other hand, after research you will find out that the performanc is almost negligible (about 1% from Pci-e 3.0 x16 to Pci-e 3.0 x8)

http://tpucdn.com/reviews/Intel/Ivy_Bridge_PCI-Express_Scaling/images/perfrel_1920.gif

3. Well microstuttering exists whether we like it or not and can be really frustrating IF you give extreme attention to fps. So if you are not to horrified with the fact of not having a constant 30 or 50 fps, then it will not be an issue.

4. Microstuttering cannot be solved at the moment, even though ATI and Nvidia claim to have made huge steps towards eliminating it. Nvidia's G-SYNC is one of the latest technologies but STILL won't manage to fully eliminate the problem. As to a double bridge, I honestly haven't heard of it.

5. Yes you can run multi monitor setups using different outputs from all the graphics cards in the Crossfire X configuration.

6. Well depending on what resolution you are gaming and obviously what games do you play, you should only then consider a dual card configuration. Sometimes it is not as cool as it sounds, and there are even times where a stronger single card will give you extremely high end gaming.

Finally, for gaming monitors check for high contrast ratio screens, (million:1), probably 2ms of response time (though this value won't affect gaming at all), 50-60Hz refresh rate and obviously LED with thin design so you can have a "clearer" screen area. You could also consider the value of screen luminosity which typically lies between 250-300 cd/m2. This indicates how well you can view the monitor in brighter lighting conditions. The higher the value the brighter the screen will be and the easier it will be to see in bright light conditions. Be careful though since as the above values go up, the price goes up as well!

Hope all of the above help!

 

[Gmonst]

Hi

1. Dual card configurations must be done using two identical cards. If this is not the case, then both cards will be running at the performance levels of the weakest card (i.e. your strongest card will basically downgrade)

I understand that my configuration will only be as strong as the weakest card, but I mean if I pick two 7950s, clock them to the same speed, and assuming they have the same specs, would there be any reason I should choose the same Sapphire 7950 as my second card, the same as the one I already own or would it really matter if my second card is a different Sapphire 7950 model, or a different brand 7950 such as MSI or HiS, etcetera?