r9 280x & hHD 7950 OC crossfire on AMD CPU

[wjtk4444]

Hi everyone.
At first, sorry for bad english, hope you'll understand everything - i'll try to explain it my best
I really have no idea in which category should i put this thread, but main target is improving graphics performance, so i put it here.


My PC set at the moment is:

-fx 8350 (with mugen rev 3 cooler) CPU
-ASUS M5A97 evo r2.0 MB
-HD 7950 Sapphire Vapor-x (950/1250) GPU
-Corsair AX860 80PLUS Platinum 860W PSU
2 x 1080p displays
-unused at moment HD 5850 GPU


As i wrote, i want to improve graphics perfomance of my PC - i have 2 main questions:

-1st - is it possible to plug in 2 gpu's (7950,5850) to MB (without crossfire), plug 2nd display to 5850 card, primary (gaming) display to 7950 and set all applications (windows gui also) to run at 5850 (set 7950 to work with 100% of it's performance only with advanced 3d programs (games i mean))
- is it even possible, if it's - would it improve performance ?


-2nd question - propably this that i wrote upper is impossible to do, so what should i do - sell 7950 and buy new gpu (290x ?), buy 280x, oc 7950 a bit more (to reach similar to 280x preformance) and crossfire them ?
- does crossfire make sense on AMD CPU ? (i want to change MB and CPU after ~1y, while new 14nm intel CPU's will be available)

I have about ~300$ to spend

Maybe in few month's i'll get 3rd display, but i've seen how playing in eyefinity looks (non playable for me) and i definitely know than i would play only in 1920x1080p in future

 

[unknownofprob]

yes this is possible (one GPU to one screen and other to another). It does improve performance if you were previously using two screens on the one graphics card.

Keep your 7950, still a great GPU. What do you mean crossfire on AMD CPU, cards running separately is not crossfire.

 

[wjtk4444]

yes this is possible (one GPU to one screen and other to another). It does improve performance if you were previously using two screens on the one graphics card.

Keep your 7950, still a great GPU.

Some games are non playable with it (low fps) on ultra settings (and i like to play un ultra when game looks great) (ie. FC3, Metro LL)

 

[unknownofprob]

R9 280X can do this, that is for one 1080p screen. Then you can have your 7950 powering your other screen no problem, leaving your R9 280X unaffected performance wise, only powering one screen.

The R9 280X can max out any game at 1080p ultra 60FPS, you'll be able to play those games very well.

 

[wjtk4444]

R9 280X can do this, that is for one 1080p screen. Then you can have your 7950 powering your other screen no problem, leaving your R9 280X unaffected performance wise, only powering one screen.

The R9 280X can max out any game at 1080p ultra 60FPS, you'll be able to play those games very well.

I have no 280x for now, but i'm thinking about buying one to crossfie.

My 7950 gives me about 35 fps in FC3 and 20 in Metro LL on ultra settings - it's non playable. And that's why i want to improve preformance somehow. (i tried many versions of drivers, win 7 HP and Proffesional - no bigger differences)

 

[unknownofprob]

the R9 280X will solve that. Though you can't crossfire that card with a 7950!, you can only run them separately, unless you buy two R9 280X's, then you can crossfire.

 

[wjtk4444]

the R9 280X will solve that. Though you can't crossfire that card with a 7950!, you can only run them separately, unless you buy two R9 280X's, then you can crossfire.

7950 and 280x are mostly same card -> 280x = 7970 = 7950OC
I read somewhere that's no problem to crossfire them (7950 & 280X)

Would fx8350 be enough for this crossfire ? (I worry about bottleneck)

 

[wjtk4444]

I'll check perormance of 5850 connected to second display and 7950 to main at tuesday - that's when i'll get new PSU that i mentioned upper, in PC configuration (now i have 650W)

 

[pdasterly]

sli or crossfire cant be had for your $300 budget, gtx 760 sli will run min $450

 

[wjtk4444]

sli or crossfire cant be had for your $300 budget, gtx 760 sli will run min $450

I have 7950, so i need only to buy 280x to do it.
And it's about 300$ in my country.

 

[pdasterly]

not 100% but i think u need same card to enable crossfire mode

 

[wjtk4444]

not 100% but i think u need same card to enable crossfire mode

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-1842970/280x-7950-crossfire.html

7950 and 7970 has same gpu chipset as 280 and 280x

 

[pdasterly]

I say go for it, nothing like more power even if you cant use it

 

[wjtk4444]

I say go for it, nothing like more power even if you cant use it

Will i have fps drops (when crossfired 280x and 7950) or low peformance in case of weak CPU ?

 

[Damn_Rookie]

The R9 280X can max out any game at 1080p ultra 60FPS, you'll be able to play those games very well.

Yeah, no. Sadly the R9 280X can't 'max out any game' at 1080p and 60FPS. For example: Metro: Last Light, Crysis 3, Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider, etc etc.

I mean it's only a 7970, which came out over 2 years ago, we shouldn't expect miracles from it. It's still a very nice card, but the ultra settings of some games can bring almost any card to its knees (even if the averages hold up, the minimums will be very distracting). Sometimes it really is worth taking a slight step back from ultra settings; you can gain substantially on the FPS side of things for an often very very small drop in the visuals.

 

[pdasterly]

your cpu is ok

 

[wjtk4444]

The R9 280X can max out any game at 1080p ultra 60FPS, you'll be able to play those games very well.

Yeah, no. Sadly the R9 280X can't 'max out any game' at 1080p and 60FPS. For example: Metro: Last Light, Crysis 3, Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider, etc etc.

I mean it's only a 7970, which came out over 2 years ago, we shouldn't expect miracles from it. It's still a very nice card, but the ultra settings of some games can bring almost any card to its knees (even if the averages hold up, the minimums will be very distracting). Sometimes it really is worth taking a slight step back from ultra settings; you can gain substantially on the FPS side of things for an often very very small drop in the visuals.

yeah, i understand - but my main question is: is crossfire 7950 and 280x worth it on my pc configuration, or maybe better will be sell 7950 and buy 290x, or collect more money and change MB and CPU (to 4770k and asrock extreme 4 ie)
I'm not only curious about how much performance will it give to me, other thing is waht would you do in my place if you would want to play on ultra settings. (new series of CPU's and GPU's propably will come at autumn/winter - maybe i should wait few months?)

 

[pdasterly]

your cpu will be good for at least another year, get whatever is the cheaper option, they will give similar results. If you can find buyer for your old equipment then upgrade. nvidia maxwell will hit in 2015, so you have some time

 

[wjtk4444]

Thx everyone for help
I'll check performance one card to one display in days, if it wouldn't be enough for me i'll buy 280X and crossfire them.

 

[pdasterly]

whatever decision you make, you cant go wrong

 

[Damn_Rookie]

Sorry, I was just clarifying the point that Unknowofprob made and forgot to address your question!

A little late now, but I concur with your choice of plan; it sounds like the logical one. Best of luck to you.

 

[unknownofprob]

The R9 280X can max out any game at 1080p ultra 60FPS, you'll be able to play those games very well.

Yeah, no. Sadly the R9 280X can't 'max out any game' at 1080p and 60FPS. For example: Metro: Last Light, Crysis 3, Far Cry 3, Tomb Raider, etc etc.

I mean it's only a 7970, which came out over 2 years ago, we shouldn't expect miracles from it. It's still a very nice card, but the ultra settings of some games can bring almost any card to its knees (even if the averages hold up, the minimums will be very distracting). Sometimes it really is worth taking a slight step back from ultra settings; you can gain substantially on the FPS side of things for an often very very small drop in the visuals.

it's a 7970GHz, for reference, though it isn't 60FPS, I meant to say around.

 

[Damn_Rookie]

To be slightly pedantic (as I often am ), the 280X is slightly worse than a 7970GHz (it's still better than a reference 7970 though; I should have made that clear, so thanks for pointing it out).

7970GHz = Base clock 1000MHz, Boost Clock 1050MHz
280X = Base Clock 850MHz, Boost Clock 1000MHz

I'm really not too sure why AMD decided to lower the clocks slightly; bad yields maybe? Either way, it's not a massive difference

 

[unknownofprob]

haha, that's true, thanks for the correction, but to be even more pedantic, a 7970Ghz can be called a GHz if it has been overclocked.