Hardware Wanting to Crossfire

[Zaertix]

So I've been wanting to do this for ages and I finally have the ability to do. CROSSFIRE HO!

I'm running an MSI Twin Frozr 7950 and want to crossfire it. Now I know about microstuttering, games not supporting, etcetc. But my question is this.

Is it better (not necessary I know) to get the same exact card, or should I go with something a bit more powerful, in the same range? Or does it really matter?

 

[Ericthegreat]

EDIT: "they don't have to be exactly the same but they have to be the same model with the same memory amount ex. GTX768+ GTX768, GTS 640+ GTS 640, etc. They don't have to be from the same manufacture either and they don't even have to be running at the same speed as one can be an OC version while the other is not so long as they are the same model. Keep in mind that by default if one runs faster than the other, they will both link up at the slower of the two speeds. You can fix that by using Rivatuner or similar to manually OC both back up to a common higher speed. If you're brave you can also flash the bios of the slower one to that of the faster one and then they will both detect as the same speed so long as the slower card can handle the OC."

-stolen from tomsharedhardware or w/e its called

 

[Originality]

To my knowledge, it has to be the same model (7950) but doesn't have to be the same brand (MSI). On the other hand, if it is the same brand then issues are less likely due to same clock speed, etc.

Remember to uninstall graphics drivers and restart before installing the new crossfire drivers. This will reduce driver conflicts.

 

[Zaertix]

I thought they had to be the same card, maybe I'm wrong tho.

That's for SLI aka Intel/Nvidia.

To my knowledge, it has to be the same model (7950) but doesn't have to be the same brand (MSI). On the other hand, if it is the same brand then issues are less likely due to same clock speed, etc.

Remember to uninstall graphics drivers and restart before installing the new crossfire drivers. This will reduce driver conflicts.

That's what I was thinking. Thanks bud, you're always one of the few who speaks sense and educates, instead of rages. Appreciate your knowledge.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

To my knowledge, it has to be the same model (7950) but doesn't have to be the same brand (MSI). On the other hand, if it is the same brand then issues are less likely due to same clock speed, etc.

Remember to uninstall graphics drivers and restart before installing the new crossfire drivers. This will reduce driver conflicts.

It could also be used with a 7870XT or a 7970, but the faster card would downclock itself.
Source: E-mailed AMD.

 

[Originality]

It could also be used with a 7870XT or a 7970, but the faster card would downclock itself.
Source: E-mailed AMD.

So the advice would probably remain the same - get a matching card to get the most out of it.

EDIT: and I vaguely remember that CrossFire between different series (6xxx, 7xxx) was just simply impossible.

 

[Zaertix]

EDIT: and I vaguely remember that CrossFire between different series (6xxx, 7xxx) was just simply impossible.

Yeah it's not possible by any standard.

 

[Thanatos Telos]

Yeah it's not possible by any standard.

Actually, if it's a rebranded card (5770,6770 and 7670 and 6670), you can.

 

[trumpet-205]

You can CF any card so long as they use the same family of chip.

7870 XT, 7950, 7970, and 7990 all use Tahiti chip, so they can be CF together. Keep in mind that faster card will slow down to match the performance of slower card. So ideally you want another 7950 to keep the same speed.

Also, is there a reason you want to do CF? 120 Hz monitor? Triple monitors? 3D gaming? Or very high resolution?