How reliable / polished is crossfire in general?

jaxor24 · 23rd January 2012, 1:47 PM

I'm considering installing a second 6870, however, I am a bit suspicious of dual GPU drivers / implementation. I used to have 2 x 7800GT's in SLI back in the day and I spent more time setting up game profiles and troubleshooting screen flickering than actually playing.

My main question is, how much have SLI/Crossfire drivers and implementation improved? Is it simply a matter of turning it on nowadays?

ysu · 23rd January 2012, 2:48 PM

as always, depends on the software

but my sli setup is working very well, I've no complaints.
well, only little ones.

terrastrife · 23rd January 2012, 2:55 PM

turn it on and you will get:

everything perfect with decent scaling,
micro stutter or,
no cf at all.

if you stick with modern and popular games then everything should be ok. and i dont mean shit with the frostbite2 engine which is gay

C-BuZz · 23rd January 2012, 9:08 PM

Ran Xfire with a couple of different setups over the last few years. If it works, it's fully sick & scales very well. But if it doesn't, then it's annoying as hell.

Microstutter
Flickering
Random unexplained crashes in games & windows for no apparent reason (never happens on single card)
Extra heat
Driver issues

To name a few.

Bertross · 23rd January 2012, 9:42 PM

Noise and Heat will be the biggest issue. I HATE IT.

PiNoY · 23rd January 2012, 9:45 PM

buy a gtx580 and OVERCLOCK IT!!!!

D_W_Y · 23rd January 2012, 9:49 PM

if you get under 60fps in what ur playing youll hate it.

ysu · 23rd January 2012, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C-BuZz

Ran Xfire with a couple of different setups over the last few years. If it works, it's fully sick & scales very well. But if it doesn't, then it's annoying as hell.

Microstutter
Flickering
Random unexplained crashes in games & windows for no apparent reason (never happens on single card)
Extra heat
Driver issues

To name a few.

that's actually very true - when I run ATI setup I had similar problems...hence my change to nVidia.
I'm trying not to be a fanboi, but nVidia - in my experience - just works far better.

The heat - well, it's only an issue if your setup can't handle it, or if you're a small badly ventilated room on a hot summer day

demowhc · 24th January 2012, 4:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ysu

that's actually very true - when I run ATI setup I had similar problems...hence my change to nVidia.
I'm trying not to be a fanboi, but nVidia - in my experience - just works far better.

This ^

10 char

CM96 · 24th January 2012, 5:45 AM

I spose I'll put in something since I ran CF 6870's for a month or two last year, plus for a week I even ran CF 6950s (but I guess I'll focus on the 6870s since it's a bit more relevant).

Frankly what some of the people above mentioned is true, although some of it I never noticed or came across. Some people have bad luck with CF, others just exaggerate things and then some have few to no problems with it at all. Point is most people have different experiences with it.

Noise: The 6870s I owned had these wanky aftermarket coolers which were loud as all hell anyway so running two cards was just as loud was running one. Couldn't get rid of them fast enough tho. Pretty much had to give them away just so I could get a quiet 6950

If the cards have quiet coolers on them in the first place you probably won't notice the difference.
Heat: Depends on your ventilation. The coolers were the ones which exhaust hot air inside your case, but even then I used an Antec three hundred with no intake fans and only the two stock exhaust fans on the lowest speed I never saw temps on either card go above 75-80°C.
Flickering/microstuttering: Never came across it frankly.
Driver issues: Never had any. But then again I've never had any issues with ATI/AMD drivers except a BSOD when uninstalling them from time to time.

Although as mentioned it won't work in every game, for me the ones where it was most effective was BF:BC2 and ArmA2 (running both of those on max everything was amazing

) but I can't really comment on more recent games.

flu!d · 24th January 2012, 7:18 AM

Two 570's in Surround here, no issues.

At default clocks the cards run at around 70 degrees while gaming, overclocked that jumps to around 80 degrees, fans are audible but acceptable.

I have no microstutter issues and everything just works, most of the time I actually forget I have two cards under the hood....

Not too sure on CF and it's reliability however.

hotpants86 · 24th January 2012, 4:40 PM

I have a 5970 + 5850

5970 in crossfire works like a dream I haven't had any issues.

In tri-fire I had them working really well for a few hours, minimum 100fps in bf3 on ultra (except MSAA) except very occasionally it might dip to 80.
After that I got massive stuttering. I don't mean micro stuttering either I mean game play would halt for seconds which rendered it pretty much unplayable. I've spent the last few days trying different driver and CAP combos and nothing seems to work. It's so good for the first 60 seconds or so then it becomes unplayable and/or crashes.
It's fine on 3d mark and gives me 10,000 3d marks on 3d mark 11.
It's fine on skyrim and I can max out everything completely.
It was fine on BC2 but now I get black flickering.
Unfortunately I want to play BF3 and it wants to be a pain in the ass and not let me

The hardware is there which is the sad part as for those few hours I had it running and the 60 seconds before it fails it's awesome.

Some people have said the third card fixed their issues but for me it created them lol

I'm pretty much at my wits end and I think I'll have to just sell the 5850.

clinic · 24th January 2012, 5:15 PM

Tried setting up a crossfire with two 5850s last night. Both cards work fine individually, windows device manager recognises both, crossfire bridge in place..

... CCC driver refuses to even display crossfire settings. FML. Looking on google this seems to be a fairly common problem, with no standard answer on how to overcome it.

Thus, in a nutshell, no hasn't improved.

walker_2003 · 24th January 2012, 10:49 PM

No dramas here, doubled FPS in Bf3 with second 5870.. some games on release wont work but doesnt take long till its fine..

Just make sure you dont run them in wedge and temps shouldnt be an issue.

michaeljf · 25th January 2012, 8:09 AM

I ran a couple of 5850s last year for a while @1080p. Had no problems with micro stutter (that I could see anyway). Performance varied but the most demanding game I was playing was Arma 2 and it scaled maybe 50-60%. The 6000 series are better at this but ity can still be pot luck with getting it to work.

Heat and noise was a problem as the cards were o/c versions that didn't vent externally. The top card would see 85C+ in games like F1 2010 that seem to use 100% GPU all the time. Never had crashes or artifacts but I had to crank case fans to maximum and on a hot day as it nudged 90 I'd stop playing.

Went back to a single 5850 and performance was adequate until I bought a 27" 2560x1440 monitor. Decided to hold out until the 7000 series before deciding which way to go. Needing 2GB cards I ended up just buying a 7970 but seriously considered reference 2GB 6970s but the price would have been close to a single 7970 without any potential cross fire hassles.

23rd January 2012, 1:47 PM	#1
jaxor24 Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brisbane Posts: 217	How reliable / polished is crossfire in general? I'm considering installing a second 6870, however, I am a bit suspicious of dual GPU drivers / implementation. I used to have 2 x 7800GT's in SLI back in the day and I spent more time setting up game profiles and troubleshooting screen flickering than actually playing. My main question is, how much have SLI/Crossfire drivers and implementation improved? Is it simply a matter of turning it on nowadays? __________________ Successful Trades: BuD, WooKiE_MaN, Cursed, Gristy, Freshwat3r, omnivl, aXLe

23rd January 2012, 2:48 PM	#2
ysu Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Central Coast Posts: 799	as always, depends on the software but my sli setup is working very well, I've no complaints. well, only little ones. __________________ Montagio Custom Tailoring & SmarterSoft ASUS P6X58D Premium \| i7 920 & Scythe Mugen v2 cooler \| 6GB RAM Corsair TR3X6G1333C7 \| 2x GTX670 SLI \| SB recon3D SilverStone Fortress FT02B-W with Antec 850W Signature Series PSU \| Eyefinity on 3x24" 2407 & 2xu2410

23rd January 2012, 2:55 PM	#3
terrastrife Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: ADL/SA The Monopoly State Posts: 15,970	turn it on and you will get: everything perfect with decent scaling, micro stutter or, no cf at all. if you stick with modern and popular games then everything should be ok. and i dont mean shit with the frostbite2 engine which is gay __________________ D90/35mm1.8/SB900 Main/X58-USB3 F5/4GHz i7 950/48GB RipjawsZ/GTX 670/SSD 520 Series unRAID5/X2 4000+/30TB/16 Disk MidiTower/NeoHE

23rd January 2012, 9:42 PM	#5
Bertross Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Melb, CBD Posts: 8,760	Noise and Heat will be the biggest issue. I HATE IT. __________________ LIAN LI PC-7FNWX - 3570K/PHANTEK - ASROCK EXTREME 6 Z77 - ASUS CU2 7970 - 16GB 2133MHZ - U2711 - SHURE SRH940/BEYERS DT880 PRO 250-OHMS - FICLO/PBT POKER DIABLO 3 ACCOUNT

23rd January 2012, 9:45 PM	#6
PiNoY Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: doncaster east, vic Posts: 698	buy a gtx580 and OVERCLOCK IT!!!! __________________ NZXT Phantom WHITE - Intel Core i5 2500K @ 5.0ghz ASUS P8P67 Deluxe - 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws 2133mhz - SLi EVGA GTX 660TI 3GB (+70/+530) - 2 x 120GB Intel 520 Raid 0 - Corsair AX1200 PSU - DELL U2711

23rd January 2012, 9:08 PM	#4
C-BuZz Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Melb, East Posts: 3,889	Ran Xfire with a couple of different setups over the last few years. If it works, it's fully sick & scales very well. But if it doesn't, then it's annoying as hell. Microstutter Flickering Random unexplained crashes in games & windows for no apparent reason (never happens on single card) Extra heat Driver issues To name a few.

23rd January 2012, 9:49 PM	#7
D_W_Y Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Brisbane Posts: 273	if you get under 60fps in what ur playing youll hate it.

24th January 2012, 7:18 AM	#11
flu!d is a dad at last :D Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Mt Martha,Victoria,Oz Posts: 8,601	Two 570's in Surround here, no issues. At default clocks the cards run at around 70 degrees while gaming, overclocked that jumps to around 80 degrees, fans are audible but acceptable. I have no microstutter issues and everything just works, most of the time I actually forget I have two cards under the hood.... Not too sure on CF and it's reliability however. __________________ Show us yer HTPC! 2700k @ 4.8 1.36v, 8GB Corsair Vengeance C8, ASUS Maximus IV Extreme Z, 2 x EVGA 670FTW @ 1231/3420, Sandisk 128GB Extreme SSD, OCZ 60GB Vertex 2, 5TB WD green storage, 3 x Acer V243HQ in Surround, 1 x Acer AL718 4th accessory display, Windows 7 Ultimate, Corsair H100, Heavily modded Zalman GS1000.

24th January 2012, 4:40 PM	#12
hotpants86 Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 74	I have a 5970 + 5850 5970 in crossfire works like a dream I haven't had any issues. In tri-fire I had them working really well for a few hours, minimum 100fps in bf3 on ultra (except MSAA) except very occasionally it might dip to 80. After that I got massive stuttering. I don't mean micro stuttering either I mean game play would halt for seconds which rendered it pretty much unplayable. I've spent the last few days trying different driver and CAP combos and nothing seems to work. It's so good for the first 60 seconds or so then it becomes unplayable and/or crashes. It's fine on 3d mark and gives me 10,000 3d marks on 3d mark 11. It's fine on skyrim and I can max out everything completely. It was fine on BC2 but now I get black flickering. Unfortunately I want to play BF3 and it wants to be a pain in the ass and not let me The hardware is there which is the sad part as for those few hours I had it running and the 60 seconds before it fails it's awesome. Some people have said the third card fixed their issues but for me it created them lol I'm pretty much at my wits end and I think I'll have to just sell the 5850. __________________ i7 930 @ 4GHz 1.29v core \| ASUS P6T \| 6gb G.Skill NQ DDR3 1600 \| Tri-Fire HIS Radeon HD5850 (840/1200) + XFX Black Edition 2gb 5970 (840/1200)\| 1TB Seagate Barracuda \| Antec 1200 \| Antec CP-850 \| Noctua NH-U12P \| Samsung 2494HS

24th January 2012, 5:15 PM	#13
clinic Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Western Sydney, Australia Posts: 290	Tried setting up a crossfire with two 5850s last night. Both cards work fine individually, windows device manager recognises both, crossfire bridge in place.. ... CCC driver refuses to even display crossfire settings. FML. Looking on google this seems to be a fairly common problem, with no standard answer on how to overcome it. Thus, in a nutshell, no hasn't improved. __________________ Visit my build log: Violet Violence Logi G owners club #102 Successful trades: JimG, dragon7 (x2), phat larry, mikio, edhn, Freakn, Vohaul, trippinonprozac, munted123, Excess, Multiplexer Last edited by clinic; 24th January 2012 at 5:32 PM.

24th January 2012, 10:49 PM	#14
walker_2003 Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Canberra Posts: 4,339	No dramas here, doubled FPS in Bf3 with second 5870.. some games on release wont work but doesnt take long till its fine.. Just make sure you dont run them in wedge and temps shouldnt be an issue. __________________ My rig i7-2600k@4.6 \| Z68X-UD7\| 16 GIG \| GTX 690 \| 120 Intel 520 \| Win 7 64-Bit \| D5 & XSPC W/C \| 800D \| 24" ASUS 120hz I am the 120fps Nazi

25th January 2012, 8:09 AM	#15
michaeljf Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Canberra Posts: 50	I ran a couple of 5850s last year for a while @1080p. Had no problems with micro stutter (that I could see anyway). Performance varied but the most demanding game I was playing was Arma 2 and it scaled maybe 50-60%. The 6000 series are better at this but ity can still be pot luck with getting it to work. Heat and noise was a problem as the cards were o/c versions that didn't vent externally. The top card would see 85C+ in games like F1 2010 that seem to use 100% GPU all the time. Never had crashes or artifacts but I had to crank case fans to maximum and on a hot day as it nudged 90 I'd stop playing. Went back to a single 5850 and performance was adequate until I bought a 27" 2560x1440 monitor. Decided to hold out until the 7000 series before deciding which way to go. Needing 2GB cards I ended up just buying a 7970 but seriously considered reference 2GB 6970s but the price would have been close to a single 7970 without any potential cross fire hassles.