Will Crossfire ever work reliably?

[Masonisbetter]

I own two R9 280X's. I have yet to play a single game that didn't have artifacting to one degree or another and it has me at the end of my rope. Am I doing something wrong or is it still just an issue of drivers? Battlefield 4 especially makes me want to cry. It is virtually unplayable once the artifacting starts and I haven't seen any way to stop it. Are drivers going to improve or video games become more receptive to Crossfire or is it time to cut my loses, sell my cards and get a single GPU?

 

[Thelps]

If you're seeing artifacting it's likely one or both cards aren't sufficiently cooled.

Try GPU-Z and monitor the cards' temperatures during gaming:
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

AMD cards are known for running hotter than Nvidia units and, when placed close to one another, as with Crossfire, it's possible that case ventilation to one or both cards becomes compromised. If temperature is revealed to be your issue consider looking into methods of improving case ventilation or a custom cooler for one or both cards.

Ideally neither card should be above 80c. Anything above 80c seriously impacts the card's lifespan and anything above 90c is a real problem.

 

[Masonisbetter]

If you're seeing artifacting it's likely one or both cards aren't sufficiently cooled.

Try GPU-Z and monitor the cards' temperatures during gaming:
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

AMD cards are known for running hotter than Nvidia units and, when placed close to one another, as with Crossfire, it's possible that case ventilation to one or both cards becomes compromised. If temperature is revealed to be your issue consider looking into methods of improving case ventilation or a custom cooler for one or both cards.

Ideally neither card should be above 80c. Anything above 80c seriously impacts the card's lifespan and anything above 90c is a real problem.

First off I appreciate the response! I've been monitoring the temps and they are rarely above 70c. I've got 8 different chassis fans all cranked up to 3/4 speed and placed in the exact directions recommended by the case manufacturer. I will double check my temps when I get home but could it be another issue?

 

[Thelps]

Check your temps by alt-tabbing during the most hectic moments of a graphically demanding game. Temps will reduce significantly even while alt-tabbed out of a game so you need to look at the temp readout quickly.

Artifacting on screen is usually the result of hardware being physically damaged or drivers being incompatible with the demands of the graphics application/game. However, heat overload can also cause temporary artifacting that goes away when the GPU cools. Artifacting is usually a serious warning sign of overheating unless it indicates out of date drivers.

I did a quick google search on your Graphics Card's name, the word Crossfire and battlefield 4. It seems there are many crossfire incompatibilities with the game but, equally that many have successfully run Crossfire setups on BF4.

If it turns out heat really isn't your issue you may want to start troubleshooting by game. I'll continue to assist where possible.

 

[Masonisbetter]

Check your temps by alt-tabbing during the most hectic moments of a graphically demanding game. Temps will reduce significantly even while alt-tabbed out of a game so you need to look at the temp readout quickly.

Artifacting on screen is usually the result of hardware being physically damaged or drivers being incompatible with the demands of the graphics application/game. However, heat overload can also cause temporary artifacting that goes away when the GPU cools. Artifacting is usually a serious warning sign of overheating unless it indicates out of date drivers.

I did a quick google search on your Graphics Card's name, the word Crossfire and battlefield 4. It seems there are many crossfire incompatibilities with the game but, equally that many have successfully run Crossfire setups on BF4.

If it turns out heat really isn't your issue you may want to start troubleshooting by game. I'll continue to assist where possible.

Thank you! I'll check my temps first thing when I get home and get back to you. I appreciate the help!

 

[Masonisbetter]

Check your temps by alt-tabbing during the most hectic moments of a graphically demanding game. Temps will reduce significantly even while alt-tabbed out of a game so you need to look at the temp readout quickly.

Artifacting on screen is usually the result of hardware being physically damaged or drivers being incompatible with the demands of the graphics application/game. However, heat overload can also cause temporary artifacting that goes away when the GPU cools. Artifacting is usually a serious warning sign of overheating unless it indicates out of date drivers.

I did a quick google search on your Graphics Card's name, the word Crossfire and battlefield 4. It seems there are many crossfire incompatibilities with the game but, equally that many have successfully run Crossfire setups on BF4.

If it turns out heat really isn't your issue you may want to start troubleshooting by game. I'll continue to assist where possible.

It looks like my top card was hitting ~84°C so I cranked up the fan and lowered the clock speed a bit and it's down to an average of like 70°C and the artifacting seems to have stopped. Is this a safe temp for the cards to run at regularly?

 

[Thelps]

70C is a very healthy temperature for a Graphics Card card to run at.

The cooler the component the longer its lifespan. It's accepted on these boards that 70C is a good working temperature for a GPU. Always remember, the cooler it is the longer it lives. It's a sad fact of most modern GPUs that their stock cooling units aren't necessarily totally adequate to run the card healthily at maximum load. Anything you can do to increase ventilation, cool the computer's case or attach custom cooling solutions will always result in a performance increase and an increase in the component's lifespan.

My current card, at Max-load hits about 75-76C. It's been stable with that so far but I'm considering a custom cooler when my budget will allow. Just to be safe. However, anything below 80c should be stable.

 

[MkGriff1492]

Time for new thermal paste if your hitting the 80s. I run CF 7950s in BF4 without problem. My max temp on my top card is 72 bottom 68. The bottom has been rebuilt top still has stock thermal paste and pads. I recommend new thermal pads also since your artifacting. Your vram must be overheating get good thermal pads and replace paste on gpu. Heat up the gpu to release paste and pads. You can use a hairdryer if it's giving you a hard time. First unplug the 3 pin power from the pci board and be careful. You can get thermal pads from anywhere that sells computer parts. Just make sure there good and not garbage. The artifacting isn't being caused by your gpu temp but your vram temp.