Crossfire 7950's or single R9 290??

[Jitz04]

Hi Guys, looking to upgrade my powercolor 7950..

Should I go crossfire or single R9 290, I'm looking at the powercolor R9 290 pcs+, if you think I should upgrade to a single gpu which non-reference 290 do you suggest? Thanks

So many mixed feelings.. Here's more information to help:

System specs:
Amd fx-8320 @stock, coolermaster hyper 212x
Msi 990FXA-GD65 V2 mobo
2x4GB G.Skill Ares 1600mhz
Powercolor ax7950 v6 boost state
Thermaltake Litepower 650W

I will only be gaming at 1080p, no more, single monitor at 60Hz.
Thanks for the awesome advice so far.

 

[g0l1athrulz]

i have 7950 cf, and love it, but at the same time all my games play fine at 1920x1080 on a single 7950

 

[Plazmadawg]

I would say cf 7950 is a lil over kill. I would just go with a single R9 290, use the extra cash on something nice maybe perhaps a new game or two.

 

[Jitz04]

The cf option turns out cheaper than the 290..

 

[Plazmadawg]

Agh sorry my bad.

Im getting mixed up with my cards over here I was assuming HD7950.

I would go the CF 7950 to save cash but if you want a nice card go with non reference R9 920 plus it makes your rig look so awesome.

 

[Cxb3r]

2x HD7950's

 

[JollyJamma]

Judging by the complaints on the reference 9000 series, go the CF route.

 

[Moolz]

What's the actual processing power of the CF vs the 290. The views above only seem to based on opinions. I'm keen to see the facts behind the two.

 

[SilvRav]

From tomshardware forum search it seems the average is a 16% better performance for the CF 7950's over the R9 290.

However, remember if you play older games (or even newers once) that dont support CF profiling you will effectively run the game on a singular 7950.

 

[Jitz04]

[MENTION=6409]g0l1athrulz[/MENTION] could you do me a favour, since the 7950 is an older card there aren't many benchmarks that show the performance of newer games.

The synthetic benchmarks such as heaven and valley are an unfair comparison since all if not most support crossfire completely.. So would you mind posting some in-game benchmark scores of some newer games like bioschock, tombraider, metro last light, hitman absolution, grid 2, sleeping dogs etc.

Much appreciated

 

[Moolz]

What's the actual processing power of the CF vs the 290. The views above only seem to based on opinions. I'm keen to see the facts behind the two.

 

[Zef]

I've never had CF but don't the fans make a huge amount of noise under load (assuming you're using stock coolers)

That would also be something to consider IMO - hearing the fans blasting near full speed while I'm gaming annoise me.

 

[BatterybOy]

One 290 rocks.

 

[stevenwiner]

IMHO
2x 7950's is quite close in performance to a 7990, so look at this: Radeon HD 7990 vs Radeon R9 290 for a rough idea.

You will get better gpu processing power on 2x 7950's in CF, but consider the following: there are some games with no or bad CF support, you will have more noise, you will draw more power (check if your current PSU will support the 2 cards), consider the extra heat generated especially if you plan on overclocking at all.

I ran a pair of 6970's in CF for some time but eventually switched to a single card which, although it does not give the raw gpu power of the CF setup, does run quieter, cooler, draws less power and still runs all the new games perfectly at 1080.

It also depends on what screen/ screens you are running and what resolution you plan on running.

On the plus side of CF, IMHO it looks much cooler than a single card.

Your call.

 

[g0l1athrulz]

[MENTION=6409]g0l1athrulz[/MENTION] could you do me a favour, since the 7950 is an older card there aren't many benchmarks that show the performance of newer games.

The synthetic benchmarks such as heaven and valley are an unfair comparison since all if not most support crossfire completely.. So would you mind posting some in-game benchmark scores of some newer games like bioschock, tombraider, metro last light, hitman absolution, grid 2, sleeping dogs etc.

Much appreciated

I will do so when i get a gap, on the crew i get a solid 30fps lol, will do some fraps benches for the games i have on my pc

 

[Suberman]

I'm just going to say, if you have a 1080p screen at 60 hertz then one 290 is more than enough for any game. I have a 290 + 1440p and hardly ever see dips below 60 fps. 2x 7950 will just be a better room heater / background noise maker.

 

[g0l1athrulz]

@g0l1athrulz could you do me a favour, since the 7950 is an older card there aren't many benchmarks that show the performance of newer games.

The synthetic benchmarks such as heaven and valley are an unfair comparison since all if not most support crossfire completely.. So would you mind posting some in-game benchmark scores of some newer games like bioschock, tombraider, metro last light, hitman absolution, grid 2, sleeping dogs etc.

Much appreciated

Ok i have 2 asus 7950 dcu2 v1 cards, at 100% fan speed, they are softer then what my 1 msi 7950 tf3 was.

Relavant system specs

i7 3820(stock)
16gb ram(corsair dominator gt 2133mhz 4*4gb)
gigabyte ga-x79-ud5
sandisk 128gb ssd(os)
2x500gb seagate baracuda sata3 raid0(games/apps)
asus 7950 dcu2 v1(stock clocks 800mhz core)
screen res 1920x1080

GRID AUTOSPORT
Below is a race i did

Frames	Time (ms)	Min	Max	Avg
36233	296699	90	165	122.12

In game benchmark

settings

grid2(this game doesnt work well with crossfire, on a single card i get 10fps less)

race i did

Frames	Time (ms)	Min	Max	Avg
28036	211381	108	184	132.633

In game benchmark

setting

when i get a gap, I will run a few more games

 

[PancakesZA]

I can't believe you guys are recommending 7950 Crossfire over a single R9 290?

Why would anyone spend money on getting previous gen cards over a new card?
The 290 is piss fast, they generally overclock well and they can handle 1440p no problem.
Yes the reference cards are very loud, no they aren't hot. If you have a very agro fan profile setup they generally don't get hotter than 75c

It also opens up his upgrade path if he goes with a 290, if he wants more horse power in the future he can just grab another 290 and cf them.
Buying 2x 7950's now is a poor choice unless they are incredibly cheap, and by cheap I mean R3000 max for both.

 

[g0l1athrulz]

I can't believe you guys are recommending 7950 Crossfire over a single R9 290?

Why would anyone spend money on getting previous gen cards over a new card?
The 290 is piss fast, they generally overclock well and they can handle 1440p no problem.
Yes the reference cards are very loud, no they aren't hot. If you have a very agro fan profile setup they generally don't get hotter than 75c

It also opens up his upgrade path if he goes with a 290, if he wants more horse power in the future he can just grab another 290 and cf them.
Buying 2x 7950's now is a poor choice unless they are incredibly cheap, and by cheap I mean R3000 max for both.

I can see why you say all this just im prepared to bet that when he got the 7950 he was told "later on get another 7950 if you need more gpu power", and this is where the problem comes in, in 2 years time when he askes should i go r9290 cf of amd xxxxxx he will be told go for new tech and get another on later on, he already has a 7950, thats probly why guys are telling him to get another(and yes i do prefer dual cards over single cards and no use to debate why a single/dual card setup is better its the same as saying opel is better then vw/bmw better then merc/ferrari better than lamborghini ect)

 

[Jitz04]

Thanks for the benches Goliath, I've added some additional info to the original post, hope that helps?

 

[SoloMid]

Single card any day. Less heat. Less noise. Less power. Less issues.
Ive ran both crossfire and 3 way crossfire with 7950s. I also ran crossfire R9 290 and single R9 290. All crossfire configs gave me issues. Sell the 7950 and buy a 290. It will work you out pretty much the same price.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Moolz]

I have a Gigabyte R9 290 (reference). My rig is basic - i5 2500k @ 4.2, 16gb ram, Samsung PRO SSD.

 

[Jitz04]

I want to thank everyone for their opinions, it is highly appreciated, I've made a decision as follows.. I've posted the card here carbonite.co.za/f40/powercolor-ax7950-83420/#post554329 if it sells then I'll get a 290, if it does not sell then I'll have to go crossfire, both configs have their advantages.. So yeah thank you again