Is i5 6500 sufficient for RX480 in crossfire

[Captainblackops]

Hello guys,
Is my i5 6500 sufficient enough to handle RX480 in Crossfire or will there be any bottleneck issues?

 

[amtseung]

The real question is, are your power supply and motherboard sufficient enough to handle two RX480's in crossfire?

I'd be more worried about the potential fire hazard over a bottleneck.

 

[Captainblackops]

The real question is, are your power supply and motherboard sufficient enough to handle two RX480's in crossfire?

I'd be more worried about the potential fire hazard over a bottleneck.

Of course i wouldn't ask about crossfire if i don't have a sufficient mobo and Psu.

 

[synphul]

It depends on the game, resolution, refresh rate of the monitor etc. along with what fps you're hoping to achieve.

 

[Captainblackops]

It depends on the game, resolution, refresh rate of the monitor etc. along with what fps you're hoping to achieve.

It will be all AAA titles, 1080p (will be upgrading later), 60hz(current monitor) and a good fps with ultra settings. Is it ok or is there anything i could do to avoid bottleneck issues incase ?

 

[sizzling]

Can't see the point. You must be able to nearly max all games at 1080p 60Hz and its pointless trying for higher fps as it will just give more screen tearing and you will be limited in some games by your CPU. If you we're wanting run 1440p or 4k then maybe worth it.

Not all games support crossfire and some that do don't support it very well. Then you have the other possible downsides of crossfire such as micro stutter and extra heat. For 1080p 60Hz it just seems a lot of money and hassle for not a lot.

 

[amtseung]

At 1080p60, a single RX480 should be plenty enough to play all the recent triple A titles maxed out, or nearly maxed out. Two RX480's might send you the wrong direction.

Besides last year's Tomb Raider, I think you'll find nothing but headache by attempting crossfire. Crossfire/SLI profiles have long been associated with terrible stutter and frame latency, and can ruin what was otherwise a perfectly playable experience. If you're going to attempt this, I caution against raising your expectations too high. Or at all. Keep in mind that Xfire/SLI scaling is closer to 1.2x than the 2x most would expect, and there are plenty of titles that have a pretty nasty 0.8x or less scaling.

Obligatory YMMV included.

 

[synphul]

Unfortunately "AAA titles" still doesn't mean a whole lot, games differ. In most games it should be fine though not sure you need crossfire'd 480's for 1080p/60hz. The 480 is competitive with the gtx 1060 and both are solid 1080p cards. So long as the game supports crossfire ultra settings shouldn't be an issue at that resolution. The cpu will do well in most games, some it will have a little trouble with such as bf1. A single 480 likely wouldn't reach 100% use in that game while the cpu would be maxed out.

For instance just looking at a few benchmarks at 1080p with the 480 both single and crossfired. Far cry primal, single 480 44fps/59fps, xfire 48fps/70fps min/max. Not much difference. Metro last light averages 81fps with 1 card, 130fps crossfired but the min fps drops from 27fps to 16fps when adding a second card. Shadow of mordor shows an improvement in min fps going with crossfire and averages are above 60fps with even 1 card. Thief, minimal improvement and a single 480 averages 80fps. Tomb raider a single 480 manages well over 100fps both min and average. It's a bit of a mixed bag.

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/7770/amd-radeon-rx-480-crossfire-beating-geforce-gtx-1080-4k/index5.html

The i5 6500 will do well for most games but keep in mind that with 2 480's there may be times they won't be used to their full potential at 1080p. It's more about gpu capability vs resolution, much like a gtx 1080 is a bit overkill for 1080p gaming. At 1440p and 4k it starts making more sense. These are a few bench's of an i5 6500 paired with a gtx 980 at 1080p.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/71760-intel-skylake-i5-6500-i5-6400-i3-6100-review-10.html

In a few games like witcher 3, bf1 etc hyper threading with the i7 can help maintain higher min fps, improve frametimes and achieve higher fps. A faster clocked i5 like a 6600k with an oc would improve fps a bit as well, those games are fairly cpu intensive. Adding more gpu's to the system will only increase fps if the gpu is the limiting factor, crossfire can't overcome situations where the cpu is pushed to the limits. Only a faster/stronger cpu can achieve that.

That's why I say it depends on the game, all of those are AAA titles but they behave differently.

 

[Captainblackops]

Can't see the point. You must be able to nearly max all games at 1080p 60Hz and its pointless trying for higher fps as it will just give more screen tearing and you will be limited in some games by your CPU. If you we're wanting run 1440p or 4k then maybe worth it.

Not all games support crossfire and some that do don't support it very well. Then you have the other possible downsides of crossfire such as micro stutter and extra heat. For 1080p 60Hz it just seems a lot of money and hassle for not a lot.

I see your point. When i upgrade to a better monitor i think it will be worth it. Thanks for your assistance

 

[Captainblackops]

At 1080p60, a single RX480 should be plenty enough to play all the recent triple A titles maxed out, or nearly maxed out. Two RX480's might send you the wrong direction.

Besides last year's Tomb Raider, I think you'll find nothing but headache by attempting crossfire. Crossfire/SLI profiles have long been associated with terrible stutter and frame latency, and can ruin what was otherwise a perfectly playable experience. If you're going to attempt this, I caution against raising your expectations too high. Or at all. Keep in mind that Xfire/SLI scaling is closer to 1.2x than the 2x most would expect, and there are plenty of titles that have a pretty nasty 0.8x or less scaling.

Obligatory YMMV included.

Got your point. Almost everyone is cautioning against CF. Maybe later when i get a better monitor. Thanks for your assistance

 

[Captainblackops]

Unfortunately "AAA titles" still doesn't mean a whole lot, games differ. In most games it should be fine though not sure you need crossfire'd 480's for 1080p/60hz. The 480 is competitive with the gtx 1060 and both are solid 1080p cards. So long as the game supports crossfire ultra settings shouldn't be an issue at that resolution. The cpu will do well in most games, some it will have a little trouble with such as bf1. A single 480 likely wouldn't reach 100% use in that game while the cpu would be maxed out.

For instance just looking at a few benchmarks at 1080p with the 480 both single and crossfired. Far cry primal, single 480 44fps/59fps, xfire 48fps/70fps min/max. Not much difference. Metro last light averages 81fps with 1 card, 130fps crossfired but the min fps drops from 27fps to 16fps when adding a second card. Shadow of mordor shows an improvement in min fps going with crossfire and averages are above 60fps with even 1 card. Thief, minimal improvement and a single 480 averages 80fps. Tomb raider a single 480 manages well over 100fps both min and average. It's a bit of a mixed bag.

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/7770/amd-radeon-rx-480-crossfire-beating-geforce-gtx-1080-4k/index5.html

The i5 6500 will do well for most games but keep in mind that with 2 480's there may be times they won't be used to their full potential at 1080p. It's more about gpu capability vs resolution, much like a gtx 1080 is a bit overkill for 1080p gaming. At 1440p and 4k it starts making more sense. These are a few bench's of an i5 6500 paired with a gtx 980 at 1080p.
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/71760-intel-skylake-i5-6500-i5-6400-i3-6100-review-10.html

In a few games like witcher 3, bf1 etc hyper threading with the i7 can help maintain higher min fps, improve frametimes and achieve higher fps. A faster clocked i5 like a 6600k with an oc would improve fps a bit as well, those games are fairly cpu intensive. Adding more gpu's to the system will only increase fps if the gpu is the limiting factor, crossfire can't overcome situations where the cpu is pushed to the limits. Only a faster/stronger cpu can achieve that.

That's why I say it depends on the game, all of those are AAA titles but they behave differently.

Got clarified about few things. I think i will hold for now with my single MSI rx 480 8gb and will consider CF later when i get a better monitor or if games becomes more GPU.intensive. Thanks for your detailed assistance.