I am probably going to do a few upgrades to my rig by the end of this year, including RAM (doubling it to 16gb), GPU (moar speed by either going crossfire or way faster gpu), CPU (FX8350), and PSU if I go crossfire.
My setup is currently:
CPU-Phenom II x4 965BE
GPU-XFX HD 7870
RAM-Mushkin Blackline 2x4gb
SSD-ADATA SX900 128gb
PSU-Enermax Naxn 650w PSU
HDD-Random ones I found lying around
My question is, should I get another 7870 to crossfire, but have to front the expense for a new PSU with more PCI-E Power connectors and deal with crossfire headaches, but possibly save money, or buy a more expensive GPU and make a HTPC with the 7870 or something like that?
Thanks for the help!
Crossfire still isn't worth it unfortunately. You can even check logan's video when he crossfired his 2 7870's. He didn't enjoy the experience and couldn't make it work on a few games, although that was a year ago and there has been a few improvements since.
Crossfire is great when it works, sometimes doubling your FPS. The only problem is that there can be frame pacing issues quite often and the odd game just simple wont work.
A new 7870 still costs $200 (in canada anyways) and you would have to upgrade your PSU. I would recommend grabbing the 770 (which just had a huge price drop) or a r9 280x.
Thanks for the advice! Ill go check out some benchmarks and pricing!
The 280x is pretty much a 7970 GHz edition with a smaller die size, I'd reccomend he just get a 7950 then overclock it a little. Unless price isn't an issue. I'd love a 280x.
I think I can swing a 280x. I did see the video review by logan and the crossfire video. Do you know if mantle works on the 7970 or 7950, i don't know if it is just software and drivers or a physical hardware component. Hopefully there will be lots of discounts around Christmas :)
I'd have gotten a 7950, but locked GPUs freak me out. I don't know why. Also, that is why I got a 7970 not a TITAN. I'd get a 7970, 290X, 770, or 780ti.