Safe to crossfire?

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Nerdboy

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Jun 22, 2014
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I have 7 fans 4hdds 1 DVD player an amd fx 8350 and a r7970, id like to crossfire my gpu to save money and still have a high frame rate. Also my psu is a 1080w cooler power. Thanks In advanced
 
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Need info on the model of the PSU. The wattage is there, but the Amps on the +12v rail and quality might not be.
 
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I wouldn't use that PSU to crossfire with. It's not 80+ certified, has poor reviews and doesn't have the right connections to run more than 1(one) mid to upper range card. A PSU with that high a wattage and only 2 PCI-e connectors is troublesome and brings into question the quality, as I'd expect to be able to crossfire and have the proper connections for it. If you want to replace the PSU to crossfire, here is a good list to pick from:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html#15349669
 
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Thats not a PSU, that's a joke masquerading around as a power supply. It only has 1 6-pin and 1 6+2 pin connection, which is just ridiculously lacking on a supposed 1000w psu(which i highly doubt it can even get close to delivering). If you want to crossfire a 7970 you are going to need a better power supply.
 
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Theoretically it probably works with an adapter though you'd have to know the power distribution (i.e. how much through a particular MOLEX). As said though, just not a good idea as this PSU sucks. Sorry.

$100 EVGA Gold 850W (and feedback seems good about 4.5/5 with 64 ratings):
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-220g20850xr

Other:
How much is another HD7970? They seem to be SOLD OUT or really expensive.

(FYI, I really don't recommend Crossfire in terms of game smoothness. Others may disagree, and unsure if latest drivers help much.)

Anyway, unless someone's giving you an HD7970 it looks like you aren't getting on for cheap.

My advice?
Save up for a GTX980Ti or similar AMD.
 
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Crossfire with R9-280X?
http://wccftech.com/amd-radeon-r9-280x-compatible-hd-7970-crossfire-mode-r9-270x-compatible-hd-7870-ghz/

Performance:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_970_SC_ACX_Cooler/25.html
As I said, I don't see the HD7970 for sale at a reasonable price. THIS R9-280X is about $230:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003634l

Is it worth it?
Here's the problem. You'll be paying about $330 (including $100 PSU) which is the same as a GTX970. The GTX970 gives a much better gaming experience. If you compare to my Techpowerup and use the HD7990 which is a dual HD7970 card they got almost the same frame rate once the GTX970 is further overclocked which isn't hard.

As most people know, Crossfire or SLI is not as smooth as a single card. Maybe a huge frame rate difference would matter but based on comprehensive testing the frame rates ON AVERAGE are nearly identical. Plus, these are mainstream games; not all have Crossfire support.

I also haven't factored in:

a) GTX970 is far quieter (can even turn fans off)
b) new features
c) MFAA can boost frame rate by over 10% for supported games usually
d) PhysX

(Not to mention you might be able to sell your HD7970 since they seem to be in demand perhaps for those wishing to Crossfire)

Summary:
An R9-280X seems the only option if it really works, but for the above reasons it's really hard not to recommend a GTX970 instead. Based on performance and pricing I can't find a single benefit that the Crossfire solution offers vs a GTX970. And that's parity in price without counting the option to sell your HD7970.
 
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Worth considering if the final price is low enough. I haven't seen a good card sold for under $200USD final price.

Seriously consider all my points especially subjective performance (smoothness) and noise. I've looked at this quite hard and maybe if he got a card for $150USD and also didn't need a new power supply that would change things but AFAIK he might be paying nearly the same as a GTX970 for a used card (again including power supply for Crossfire).

Update:
Okay a used R9-280X for $160 used in bitcoin mining. Anyway, the details are pretty much all laid out now.
 
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Again though, if you add in $100 for the PSU I suggested which you'd have to do this brings you almost up to the cost of a GTX970. Add in the fact that you can SELL your current HD7970 and your solution is more expensive.

As I've shown the performance in raw FPS is very SIMILAR averaged over 20 modern games. There is no Crossfire for some, and there's LOTS of advantages using the single GTX970 setup as I discuss.

So what you'll end up with is a slightly more expensive, far noisier system which STUTTERS more, has less Warranty, missing features like MFAA, PhysX, H.265, HDMI 4K@60Hz, voxel lighting support for future games and HUD latency optimizations.

*So I ask again, what is the ADVANTAGE to the Crossfire solution if you read my previous lengthy comparison?
 
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