Graphics Cards related queries here.

S

smltngs

Broken In
Thanks for the info. Tried GPU_Z and HWMonitor along with MSI AB.They both showed lower max temps compared to AB. When AB showed 84 C, GPU_Z showed 75 C and HWMonitor 78 C.

someone please help me with this issue:
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/power-supply-cabinets-mods/149731-coolermaster-elite-334-front-fan-install-help.html
 
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C

clear_lot

Journeyman
^ try the latest beta version of MSI AB.
MSI Afterburner 2.2.0 Beta 9 download from Guru3D.com

should give you voltage and frequency control too.
 
C

chandra1106

Right off the assembly line
I have a MSI R6850-PM2D1GD5 graphic card and i wanted to cross-fire it with MSI R6870-2PM2D1GD5 card as both the graphics engine is an AMD graphics, so is it possible to link this two different cards through crossfire OR is it a good option or not to crossfire two graphic cards or should i go for a better single graphic card, if yes which graphic card should i go for as i am a heavy gamer and apart from that please recommend me a good motherboard with dual x16pci slots and a good power-supply to handle two graphic cards...my budget is around 40,000....please please help me.
 
C

clear_lot

Journeyman
1. 6850 and 6870 can be crossfired.
2. BUT, AFAIK, the 6870 will perform like a 6850 when in crossfire as when in CF, the higher card defaults to lower cards speeds and memory and probably shaders too.
3.you dont need two electrically x16 pcie2.0 slots for crossfire. any GPU of this generation is not bottlenecked by x8 pcie slot.
so any mobo that supports x8/x8 crossfire (most of 1156,1136 and 1155 boards) should do. dunno about amd boards.

4. a single card solution is usually better in terms of power, hassle,temperature and noise and microstuttter. a multi card setup is awesome in terms of price/performance and usually are quite faster than a high end single gpu solution.

your 6850+6870 > gtx580 by about 15%-20% . but it can also cause microstutter.
also, CF depends on drivers. IMO, AMD drivers are crappy w.r.t CF support in games.

personally, i would rather get an expensive and slower high end single gpu than use CF.
 
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Cilus

Cilus

laborare est orare
Regarding Crossfire, HD 6870 and HD 6850 can be crossfired and they will work as per their own frequency. Unlike SLI, in Crossfire both the cards can work at different Core and memory clock speed. So HD 6870 and HD 6850 will work at their own frequencies, 6870 won't be downclocked to HD 6850's clock speed.

If you want a VFM solution then Crossfire of two middle range cards is always better than the higly priced top end cards.
Also the CF scaling of the HD 6000 series cards are very good, offer almost 2X scaling. The driver problems have also been resolved in large extent with 11.XX drivers. AMD also releases Crossfire Application Profiles frequently to add support for the latest games. Although using a single card is little hassle free but dual GPU setup is also not that tough as projected.

chandra1106, we cannot suggest you anything unless we don't know what existing components you are having. SO better create a thread in the PC Components / Configurations - Digit Technology Discussion Forum section.
 
Skud

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
@ clear_lot:-

Dual GPU should be seen in the context of getting a card today, and adding another one a year or more later to increase the value of your existing card. And in CF, cards can be used of different speeds and shaders etc. and they will perform at their max possible level without lowering down. Only exception afaik is VRAM, which will be the lowest of the two cards.

What you say about microstutter is correct. Toms Hardware has a detailed analysis here and recommend 6950 and above for CF:-
Micro-Stuttering And GPU Scaling In CrossFire And SLI : Micro-Stuttering, Multi-Card Scaling, And More!

However, Cilus runs 6870 CF and has not reported any problems regarding microstutter so far.

And for AMD boards, they support more PCI-e lanes for 990fx chipsets than Intel's 1156/1155 based boards, so no issues on that front. For dual GPUs, you are going to get x16/x16 in most 990FX boards. ;)

Driver support for CF for newly released games is still not up to the mark if you ask me. So if you are in a habit of playing games on the day of the release, this may be a matter of concern. But then, if you are really in a habit of playing games on their release date, you should be able to take care of drivers, disabling CF if necessary and other nuances of dual GPU setup.
 
Cilus

Cilus

laborare est orare
chandra1106 said:
I have a MSI R6850-PM2D1GD5 graphic card and i wanted to cross-fire it with MSI R6870-2PM2D1GD5 card as both the graphics engine is an AMD graphics, so is it possible to link this two different cards through crossfire OR is it a good option or not to crossfire two graphic cards or should i go for a better single graphic card, if yes which graphic card should i go for as i am a heavy gamer and apart from that please recommend me a good motherboard with dual x16pci slots and a good power-supply to handle two graphic cards...my budget is around 40,000....please please help me.
Click to expand...
Already answered in *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/graphic-cards/149830-graphic-card-crosslink-help.html.

Don't create duplicate posts for the same reason.

Skud, We both posted at the same time. Regarding Micro-Stuttering, unless yo are a pro and while gaming only looks for it rather than concentrating in the game, you can't find the issue. It is more than okay for 90% of the users.
 
Skud

Skud

Super Moderator
Staff member
I have a video of micro-stuttering in Fallout 3, and frankly it looks pretty irritating. But then I think it will be a problem occasionally; for majority of the times, dual GPU is good value with fantastic performance.
 
C

clear_lot

Journeyman
But then, if you are really in a habit of playing games on their release date, you should be able to take care of drivers, disabling CF if necessary and other nuances of dual GPU setup
Click to expand...

I have a video of micro-stuttering in Fallout 3, and frankly it looks pretty irritating. But then I think it will be a problem occasionally; for majority of the times, dual GPU is good value with fantastic performance.
Click to expand...

@ chandra1106:
these two statements sum up CF nicely. when it works, it beats the hell out of any single card setup.
when it doesnt, it is a PITA, to put it nicely. there could be microstutters, crashes and CF just not working.
 
Cilus

Cilus

laborare est orare
Guys, one suggestion from my side. Don't post information of the Gfx cards which are not available in India or if mentioned then also try to mention the availability of the product. Otherwise it may conuse the new guys asking for help.

The MSI GTX 560 2GB version is not available in India AFAIK.

thetechfreak, there is no performance difference between the 2GB and the 1GB version of HD 6950 @ 1080P/1200P resolution, infact the 1GB version performs marginally better. It is observed that the Overclocked versions of HD 6950 1GB perfoms resonably better than the reference 2GB model, even @ >1080P resolution. So it is better to get a factory oced version of HD 6950 1GB than a reference model of HD 6950 2GB version, if available at the same price point.
 
Extreme Gamer

Extreme Gamer

僕はガンダム！
Vendor
So it is better to get a factory oced version of HD 6950 1GB than a reference model of HD 6950 2GB version, if available at the same price point.
Click to expand...

Not trying to war with you but 1GB wont last the coming years. You have 6850s in CF man, you should see what maxing out GPU intensive games does to your setup.
 
max_snyper

max_snyper

Maximum Effort!!!!!!
one thing i wanted to know exactly how much powerful is the intel hd3000 igp in sb ?
i tried it on each and every game it works good enough without some hiccups here and there but end result it works on newer games too....
is there a comparison charts between low end cards and intel graphics hd3000?
 
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