Considering SLI? My first experience here...

[SmoulderingCircuits]

I am debating whether to upgrade to a second 6950 but heat and crossfire are putting me off. I think that I am just going to keep this single card until I start to run into some difficulty playing games and then get one of the new cards next year possibly.

Crossfire runs hotter, but not THAT much hotter.

You're talking 65*c up to 80*c (at stock fan speeds, at 80% and above there is no real difference at all), when you consider overclocking adds next to no heat and there is usually a 100*c threshold, there is no reason not to crossfire

 

[StreekG]

Awesome to hear of your pleasant experience with SLI.

I am thinking to add another GTX 580 a couple of months down the track when they don't cost over $500 anymore, the same Super Over Clock version by Gigabyte, i hope i have the same experience.

Having two of these bad boys running over 900mhz core each would be nice.

 

[Scoob]

That would make a very respectable system indeed!

Scoob.

 

[corban]

Really nice read , and very interested , i was actually outbid last second on an inno3d 570 i was trying to get it makes me wonder!!!! haha.

In all seriousness tho theres a chance ill be picking up a very cheap 5850 to go with my current one which id like to try xfire with, having come to this forum to try and learn more about overclocking its sucked me in and im now rethinking my entire system from the bolts up!

Would have to say your posts are excellent and just what ppl like me need (newcomers) along with the other friendly helpful staff and members here.

Im awaiting my PSU being RMA'd and its from corsair a HX650 do you think this will suffice for 2x 5850s and my i7 rig ?

Thanks

Corban

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

Really nice read , and very interested , i was actually outbid last second on an inno3d 570 i was trying to get it makes me wonder!!!! haha.

In all seriousness tho theres a chance ill be picking up a very cheap 5850 to go with my current one which id like to try xfire with, having come to this forum to try and learn more about overclocking its sucked me in and im now rethinking my entire system from the bolts up!

Would have to say your posts are excellent and just what ppl like me need (newcomers) along with the other friendly helpful staff and members here.

Im awaiting my PSU being RMA'd and its from corsair a HX650 do you think this will suffice for 2x 5850s and my i7 rig ?

Thanks

Corban

I'm pretty much maxing out my 750w Fatal1ty with a pair of 5870s and a 1090t along with the rest of my sig rig, so I'd say no, you need a bare minimum of another 100w, especially if you plan on any overclocking. Get an AX850 or 1000w unit

 

[Scoob]

I'm pretty much maxing out my 750w Fatal1ty with a pair of 5870s and a 1090t along with the rest of my sig rig, so I'd say no, you need a bare minimum of another 100w, especially if you plan on any overclocking. Get an AX850 or 1000w unit

I agree, I had a CM 650 PSU beforehand and they didn't even give that enough PCI-E power connectors for two cards (well, two that need 2x 6 pin PCI-E power anyway) so I knew I'd need a new PSU regardless. I'd done some homework and Corsairs HX750 and HX850 were highly regarded so I thought about getting the 850, to give me a little wiggle room you understand. When Ruthless Villain on here had a new 570 and a 3 month old HX750 for sale cheap, well I just went for it as it saved me about £85 or so vs. new.

So far my HX750 has been fine for my setup, the PSU not even breaking a sweat (i.e. getting hotter/noisier) - though the 500 series GPU are better on power than the prior gen. If I'd been running twin 480 for example, I think I would have really been pushing things as they really do use some power. Afrain I don't know, without looking, how much power a 5850 uses.

All in all I'm happy with my setup, though I do hope to migrate the lot to a TJ07 and water cool is before too long.

Cheers,

Scoob.

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

I agree, I had a CM 650 PSU beforehand and they didn't even give that enough PCI-E power connectors for two cards (well, two that need 2x 6 pin PCI-E power anyway) so I knew I'd need a new PSU regardless. I'd done some homework and Corsairs HX750 and HX850 were highly regarded so I thought about getting the 850, to give me a little wiggle room you understand. When Ruthless Villain on here had a new 570 and a 3 month old HX750 for sale cheap, well I just went for it as it saved me about £85 or so vs. new.

So far my HX750 has been fine for my setup, the PSU not even breaking a sweat (i.e. getting hotter/noisier) - though the 500 series GPU are better on power than the prior gen. If I'd been running twin 480 for example, I think I would have really been pushing things as they really do use some power. Afrain I don't know, without looking, how much power a 5850 uses.

All in all I'm happy with my setup, though I do hope to migrate the lot to a TJ07 and water cool is before too long.

Cheers,

Scoob.

I'd say around 200w

 

[corban]

Well i didnt win the 5850 and its probably just as well but couldnt resist trying as it was going for what i thought was a steal.

Now i am back looking at 570s i think i will probably upgrade my psu to the AX850 and try and grab 1 if not 2 570s as if im honest when im playing crysis 2 atm its not all good

.

 

[Scoob]

Well i didnt win the 5850 and its probably just as well but couldnt resist trying as it was going for what i thought was a steal.

Now i am back looking at 570s i think i will probably upgrade my psu to the AX850 and try and grab 1 if not 2 570s as if im honest when im playing crysis 2 atm its not all good

.

I found Crysis 2 to be perfectly playable with just the one 570, I put all settings to their highest. However adding the 2nd 570 just made everything silky smooth so gameplay just felt a lot better. Similar to other titles really. I imagine it'll be a while before something will challenge these cards, even at stock.

Scoob.

 

[corban]

I found Crysis 2 to be perfectly playable with just the one 570, I put all settings to their highest. However adding the 2nd 570 just made everything silky smooth so gameplay just felt a lot better. Similar to other titles really. I imagine it'll be a while before something will challenge these cards, even at stock.

Scoob.

Yep thats what ive been reading also so im on the hunt for a cheap 1 atm then ill see about a 2nd , this forum isnt good for my bank balance tho so far its got me swopping out my psu now maybe my gfx ive been thinking of changing my board/cpu/ram and have a watercooling setup planned also.

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

Well i didnt win the 5850 and its probably just as well but couldnt resist trying as it was going for what i thought was a steal.

Now i am back looking at 570s i think i will probably upgrade my psu to the AX850 and try and grab 1 if not 2 570s as if im honest when im playing crysis 2 atm its not all good

.

Get a pair of cheap 5870s like I did, they're similar performance and they're being flogged as old stock (or stocks may have dried up I don't know)

 

[corban]

Get a pair of cheap 5870s like I did, they're similar performance and they're being flogged as old stock (or stocks may have dried up I don't know)

Being quite a gamer i really wanted to go for something i feel would be a bit more future proof as i have BF3/MW3/ Diablo 3 / DoTa 2 and SWTOR all coming out in the next few months and i really want to be able to run them flawlessly.

My cheap hope was picking up another 5850 as would save me selling it and maybe give me enough , 2x 5870 i hadnt thought of but would they cope with all those games running at high specs ?

My poor 5850 struggles with crysis 2 when i push things up (with the dx11 patch+textures)

Decisions decisions.

Also i think id like to try the 500 series cards and the 570s seem to be the best bang for buck.

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

Being quite a gamer i really wanted to go for something i feel would be a bit more future proof as i have BF3/MW3/ Diablo 3 / DoTa 2 and SWTOR all coming out in the next few months and i really want to be able to run them flawlessly.

My cheap hope was picking up another 5850 as would save me selling it and maybe give me enough , 2x 5870 i hadnt thought of but would they cope with all those games running at high specs ?

My poor 5850 struggles with crysis 2 when i push things up (with the dx11 patch+textures)

Decisions decisions.

Also i think id like to try the 500 series cards and the 570s seem to be the best bang for buck.

My 5870s run Crysis 2 no lower than 30fps in the most demanding moments, and even then that's a cpu bottleneck. Usually get 55 - 80fps @1600x900 ultra DX11

 

[peircevongoth12]

I am running XFX 6950 2gb in Xfire. And I would have to say my expiriance has been the same as OP. Even under the most demanding loads and both cards pushed to the top of what Overdrive can set them to (840mhz GPU clock, 1325mhz memory clock) they are both quiet and cool. Neither card's fans go over 36% and the max temp I have seen was 65c on the top card. Granted the cards have the twin fan cooler which might be helping that alil.

 

[SmoulderingCircuits]

I am running XFX 6950 2gb in Xfire. And I would have to say my expiriance has been the same as OP. Even under the most demanding loads and both cards pushed to the top of what Overdrive can set them to (840mhz GPU clock, 1325mhz memory clock) they are both quiet and cool. Neither card's fans go over 36% and the max temp I have seen was 65c on the top card. Granted the cards have the twin fan cooler which might be helping that alil.

Gratz on the memory clock

 

[Scoob]

I am running XFX 6950 2gb in Xfire. And I would have to say my expiriance has been the same as OP. Even under the most demanding loads and both cards pushed to the top of what Overdrive can set them to (840mhz GPU clock, 1325mhz memory clock) they are both quiet and cool. Neither card's fans go over 36% and the max temp I have seen was 65c on the top card. Granted the cards have the twin fan cooler which might be helping that alil.

Cool, it's good to hear a Cross-fire user post their experience with the latest gen of cards. I assume you've experienced no micro-stutter issues that appeared to be common on the older hardware?

Some excellent temperatures there too, that's very cool indeed. The better coolers with the twin large fans really do work well if they get a good air feed.

Cheers,

Scoob.

 

[peircevongoth12]

Gratz on the memory clock

thanks

Cool, it's good to hear a Cross-fire user post their experience with the latest gen of cards. I assume you've experienced no micro-stutter issues that appeared to be common on the older hardware?

Some excellent temperatures there too, that's very cool indeed. The better coolers with the twin large fans really do work well if they get a good air feed.

Cheers,

Scoob.

No micro-stutter, no realy issues of any kind. They just chew up and spit out anything I throw at them.

As for the temps, I have a Fractal Define XL with the front HDD Cage removed. So I have a 140 fan blasting straight from the front to the cards, plus a 140 in side blowing right onto the cards. So feeding them fresh air is under control. Do think I would WC them tho if I was to try pushing them harder. Cause I'm pretty sure an Airforce Base would be quieter then both cards with fans at 100%.

 

[SPS]

I want NEED another 6950

 

[Scoob]

I want NEED another 6950

I think it's only right you do your part to support our fragile economy during these troubled times...BUY IT - it's the responsible thing to do

Peirce_VonGothton: That explains your temperatures nicely!

Scoob.

 

[SPS]

I think it's only right you do your part to support our fragile economy during these troubled times...BUY IT - it's the responsible thing to do

Wise words