6870..should I crossfire or not?

dwighet

Lads currently I have a 6870 and its working sweet as a nut and the mrs just asked me what do I want for xmas..So im thinking another card to xfire..

The games im playing are fairly intensive(dirt2,crysis,arma2) and was thinking would I notice a big improvement in a crossfire set up with the 6870?

Im currently running a small monitor but have a iiyama ProLite E2607WS-1 on the hit list and should have it in front of me in a few weeks..

TBH im happy enough with the gfx running slightly overclocked as is but if the xfire will make thing look even better I will go for it...

My rig is as follow
I5 760
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4
700watt psu

Also my psu has no more connections to run an extra card as it only has two pci-e 6 pin connectors and the single 6870 uses them both.Is there an adaptor I can get or will I need to replace the psu if I go down te xfire route...

Im only new to this craic so please be gentle:)

Cheers
Dwighet

Deano12345

You'd want to get a new PSU, a 700W PSU that only has 2 6Pins is not going to be a great quality unit. Yes there are adapters, but you would need a pair of 2 molex to 6 pin adapters, I really wouldn't recommend it though, the 12V rail might not take the load of another GPU.

Now I'm on a 5850, which is similar in performance to the 6870 and its a great card for most games at full HD and above (I play on 1920x1080, your screen is 1920x1200) about the only things i cant max out are ARMA and Crysis, both can play with acceptable settings at a good frames. For the ultimate detail at high FPS, a second card would be ideal, although its an expensive upgrade considering you would need a new PSU.

Just out of interest, what make/model is your PSU ?

dwighet

Deano12345 wrote: »

You'd want to get a new PSU, a 700W PSU that only has 2 6Pins is not going to be a great quality unit. Yes there are adapters, but you would need a pair of 2 molex to 6 pin adapters, I really wouldn't recommend it though, the 12V rail might not take the load of another GPU.

Now I'm on a 5850, which is similar in performance to the 6870 and its a great card for most games at full HD and above (I play on 1920x1080, your screen is 1920x1200) about the only things i cant max out are ARMA and Crysis, both can play with acceptable settings at a good frames. For the ultimate detail at high FPS, a second card would be ideal, although its an expensive upgrade considering you would need a new PSU.

Just out of interest, what make/model is your PSU ?

Thanks for the reply...

The psu is a osz mod xsteam pro700watt...It was a quick replacement as the psu I ordered from HWVD lasted all of 15 minutes.It was one of these.
As you can imagine I was mad to get this rig runnnig and all my options on a same day pick up here in Eire for a new psu was the ocz which I collected in Cellbridge/Kildare.which is getting the job done for now until I hear back from Germany about a refund on the faulty psu I received...

With the refund or store credit I get should I go for something in 800-850 watt for the xfire? Maybe corsair?

What are your thoughts?

Thnxs
Dwighet

Solitaire

Don't even think about going multi-GPU on that PSU, its low-end Sirtec trash that's barely any better than that Casing Macron PoS you blew at the start! :eek::o

EDIT - OCZ are selling that as a 700W unit but from what I've seen Sirtec say its based on a unit they only rate for 500W!

Deano12345

Those ModXStreams are terrible alright, i think it may have been JG who did a review on one, I seen the insides of that model and ran a mile.

A good 600W PSU would be fine, what sites do you buy off ?

dwighet

Deano12345 wrote: »

Those ModXStreams are terrible alright, i think it may have been JG who did a review on one, I seen the insides of that model and ran a mile.

A good 600W PSU would be fine, what sites do you buy off ?

Im not having much luck hey!!
Live and learn..:o

I will be placing an order with hwvs next week. will this psu do the job for 2 cards.

Deano12345

Yeah, they are an excellent unit, CWT internals IIRC (not that im biased or anything ! )

Solitaire

I think the HX series are mostly Seasonic units? Very expensive but very good indeed :cool:

Deano12345

Solitaire wrote: »

I think the HX series are mostly Seasonic units? Very expensive but very good indeed :cool:

Most of them are, the HX750 and HX850 are CWT though. Both great platforms