Radeon HD 7990 CrossFireX Smiles for the Camera

[cadaveca]

Since Dave has earned people's respect they listen and ended up taking that text too literal imo.

Sure, but me saying that right from the word go, gets it out of the way. I also said "this is why AMD is going to fix it". Can't blame anyone else for the text I wrote, that's all on my head.


Because for me, it is literally as bad as that. I literally explored every possible avenue for why CrossfireX was behaving poorly, visually, to me, when benches said otherwise, and even FPS. Drives, PSUs, boards, memory, CPUs, SDDs/HDDs, blah blah blah, ad naseum. I'm left-handed. To some, that's explain why I'm more sensitive to this issue than most. I also tend to run high-end configs, multi-monitor and such, that few users do.


For me, that second, third and fourth card I have, they are basically useless. I expect, that when this card launches, that will change. Actually, I expect the first WHQL after the card lunches to fix it for all cards, honestly.

 

[m1dg3t]

If anyone on this forum knows CrossFire, it's Dave. IIRC He has ran 2/3/4 card setups since HD49xx days.

I wonder if something like this would work on my z77e itx, prolly not...

All things aside i think AMD is making a HUGE push in the gaming industry and the next year or 2 should hold a lot for the Red "team"

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Sure, but me saying that right from the word go, gets it out of the way. I also said "this is why AMD is going to fix it". Can't blame anyone else for the text I wrote, that's all on my head.


Because for me, it is literally as bad as that. I literally explored every possible avenue for why CrossfireX was behaving poorly, visually, to me, when benches said otherwise, and even FPS. Drives, PSUs, boards, memory, CPUs, SDDs/HDDs, blah blah blah, ad naseum. I'm left-handed. To some, that's explain why I'm more sensitive to this issue than most. I also tend to run high-end configs, multi-monitor and such, that few users do.


For me, that second, third and fourth card I have, they are basically useless. I expect, that when this card launches, that will change. Actually, I expect the first WHQL after the card lunches to fix it for all cards, honestly.

I didn't know you were left handed Dave! I am too. Join the club!

If anyone on this forum knows CrossFire, it's Dave. IIRC He has ran 2/3/4 card setups since HD49xx days.

I wonder if something like this would work on my z77e itx, prolly not...

All things aside i think AMD is making a HUGE push in the gaming industry and the next year or 2 should hold a lot for the Red "team"

Why wouldn't it work. That board has a PCIe 3.0 slot right?

 

[EarthDog]

That makes 3 of us wrong armers.

Yeah, I hear ya dave... Ive seen it too... at times from both camps really. Nothing you could have done about it really. It is what it is.

 

[m1dg3t]

I didn't know you were left handed Dave! I am too. Join the club!



Why wouldn't it work. That board has a PCIe 3.0 slot right?

For the record, i'm ambidextrous I have 3 wrongarms in my immediate family...

The board is PCIe 3.0 but doesn't support CF/SLI due to be itx. I was just curious for the future upgrades available to me with this machine I have no idea how it would work with it being single card, admittedly i know nothing about multi card GFX

 

[cdawall]

If anyone on this forum knows CrossFire, it's Dave. IIRC He has ran 2/3/4 card setups since HD49xx days.

I have run xfire since the 3 series days as well. Games then were heavily hit or miss at least now its a lot more likely they will support it rather than not.

 

[manofthem]

The board is PCIe 3.0 but doesn't support CF/SLI due to be itx. I was just curious for the future upgrades available to me with this machine I have no idea how it would work with it being single card, admittedly i know nothing about multi card GFX

Your board doesn't support cfx/SLI in the sense of 2 individual cards since it has a single pcie slot. But a dual gpu card (7990/690) will work on that board.

If you're interested in taking a gander at 690 in an ITX build, mosey on through this thread on [H], pretty nice.

 

[Prima.Vera]

Because for me, it is literally as bad as that. I literally explored every possible avenue for why CrossfireX was behaving poorly, visually, to me, when benches said otherwise, and even FPS. Drives, PSUs, boards, memory, CPUs, SDDs/HDDs, blah blah blah, ad naseum. I'm left-handed. To some, that's explain why I'm more sensitive to this issue than most. I also tend to run high-end configs, multi-monitor and such, that few users do.


For me, that second, third and fourth card I have, they are basically useless. I expect, that when this card launches, that will change. Actually, I expect the first WHQL after the card lunches to fix it for all cards, honestly.

Ha, exactly! Is nice to see that is not only me that gets only 50% (at tops) working games on CrossfireX. Actually I have just noticed that mostly all the games that support Unreal Engine works very good on Crossfire. The other engines...lottery.

 

[NeoXF]

I hope this official move to 2x7970 will lead to acceptable Xfire performance so that I may buy a 2nd 7970...

My toughts exactly...

So on topic, I'm excited for the 7990, and depending on price, I would be interested in one. Any word on whether it can be crossfired with a 7970?

I'm a bit fuzzy on this one... on one hand, look at R7870XTs CFing with R7970GHzs... on the other, they're both Tahiti chips... (official) R7990 isn't...

 

[cadaveca]

If anyone on this forum knows CrossFire, it's Dave. IIRC He has ran 2/3/4 card setups since HD49xx days.

I've run Crossfire since it came out on the X800. Those cards were hard to get, X850, using the funky DVI-like link cables, was much more common.

I have run xfire since the 3 series days as well. Games then were heavily hit or miss at least now its a lot more likely they will support it rather than not.

Crossfire has never been this bad OVERALL. Nearly 90% of DX10/11 titles have issues for me, and DX9 games are fine. 6-series Crossfire has like 95% scaling, and none of the issues the 7-series does, at least...the drivers back then weren't such a problem. But back then, we never had the GPU power we have now, too. I think that might be part of it.


However, this is the second generation that AMD has had a design that wasn't used fully at launch...the first 512 MB card only used 256 MB of ram for MONTHS after they first came out(I clearly remember everyone saying 512MB was useless, then a driver came out and boost performance). That says a lot about how much the 7-series driver base has changed, and I am pretty sure that the whole driver team changed over the life of the 7-series, too. I knew about this problem, yet still have four AMD 79xx-series GPUs, so clearly I still have some faith in AMD.

 

[radrok]

so clearly I still have some faith in AMD.

Man I honestly admire you.

 

[fullinfusion]

Paper weight imo. Sorry amd to little to late... oh hey why dont ya just do a rebrand and call it a 8990 lol

Sorry bur couldnt help myself on that.

 

[m1dg3t]

I have run xfire since the 3 series days as well. Games then were heavily hit or miss at least now its a lot more likely they will support it rather than not.

So you are familiar yourself. SLI Isn't all that great either IMO. They may be better at it than ATi currently is but i still don't see the value in it personally at this time

Your board doesn't support cfx/SLI in the sense of 2 individual cards since it has a single pcie slot. But a dual gpu card (7990/690) will work on that board.

If you're interested in taking a gander at 690 in an ITX build, mosey on through this thread on [H], pretty nice.

Wasn't sure, thanks for clearing it up! That is a pretty nice mod, that case is REALLY small and dude did it great job getting everything in there!

I just think the he could have saved on the CPU, IIRC that board can't OC

I've run Crossfire since it came out on the X800. Those cards were hard to get, X850, using the funky DVI-like link cables, was much more common.

HaHa Grampa CrossFire in Da Hizzouse! I remember the dongle days PCIe only

Crossfire has never been this bad OVERALL. Nearly 90% of DX10/11 titles have issues for me, and DX9 games are fine. 6-series Crossfire has like 95% scaling, and none of the issues the 7-series does, at least...the drivers back then weren't such a problem. But back then, we never had the GPU power we have now, too. I think that might be part of it.

This is both sad to hear and hard to believe I'm wondering if it is because you run Eyefinity/MultiPanel? Like if you were running single panel only would you still have as many issues? I'm sure you tried everything...

However, this is the second generation that AMD has had a design that wasn't used fully at launch...the first 512 MB card only used 256 MB of ram for MONTHS after they first came out(I clearly remember everyone saying 512MB was useless, then a driver came out and boost performance). That says a lot about how much the 7-series driver base has changed, and I am pretty sure that the whole driver team changed over the life of the 7-series, too. I knew about this problem, yet still have four AMD 79xx-series GPUs, so clearly I still have some faith in AMD.

Well IIRC Nvidia had years to work with SLi tech before they released it to the masses so naturally they should have the better overall product. That said, i don't doubt ATi's ability with this new architecture and the ability of the driver team to get things sorted out a bit better in the near future. Especially considering the parterships AMD/ATi is currently involved in, and will be in the near future. I'm thinking that in ~2yrs i'll be installing a dual GPU card into my system

 

[Prima.Vera]

This is both sad to hear and hard to believe I'm wondering if it is because you run Eyefinity/MultiPanel? Like if you were running single panel only would you still have as many issues? I'm sure you tried everything...

I can confirm Dave's posting. I'm running 2x 5870s and most of DX10/11 games work worst in Crossfire than in single card mode.

 

[terrastrife]

What are you talking about? Linking 2 of the cards together or for the GPUs within the card?

Dual GPU cards like the 7990 and 690 is basically SLI and Crossfire on a stick. There is a chip on them to make the GPUs run in sync like a bridge would do for 2 separate cards.

the plx pcie chip is simply there to mux the dual pcie 16x lanes of each gpu to a single pcie 16x slot. it's like a fancy Y splitter.

there would still be traces for a 'crossfire ribbon' on the card.

because seriously, if plx owned the tech to enable sli or crossfire through their pcie ic's they would make a killing.

Well IIRC Nvidia had years to work with SLi tech before they released it to the masses so naturally they should have the better overall product. That said, i don't doubt ATi's ability with this new architecture and the ability of the driver team to get things sorted out a bit better in the near future. Especially considering the parterships AMD/ATi is currently involved in, and will be in the near future. I'm thinking that in ~2yrs i'll be installing a dual GPU card into my system

3DFX SLI 1998
ATI "MAXX" (crossfire) 2000
Nvidia SLI 2004

 

[cdawall]

So you are familiar yourself. SLI Isn't all that great either IMO. They may be better at it than ATi currently is but i still don't see the value in it personally at this time

I have had a lot less issues running SLi than I ever had running crossfire. That I have ran since the 7 series to include the 7950GX2's. My other brother is actually running a GTS250/9800GTX+ SLi setup right now. He only plays things like minecraft (he is 13 years old) and CS:S so it's plenty for his 1680x1050 panel and boy was he excited on his bday when I found him that second card

 

[dir_d]

I can confirm Dave's posting. I'm running 2x 5870s and most of DX10/11 games work worst in Crossfire than in single card mode.

I dont think anyone should go xfire if they can manipulate it and get it to work for them. IE using Radeon Pro when viable and vsync.

 

[HumanSmoke]

3DFX SLI 1998
ATI "MAXX" (crossfire) 2000
XGI (based on SiS) early 2004 (Volari Duo V8 Ultra)
Nvidia SLI 2004

/fixed

 

[Xzibit]

I still find the SLI vs Xfire debate strange

If your going by what PcPer data and saying that SLI is better is just plain silly.

Its like saying your still willing to be robber but aslong as the robber makes the robbery as smooth as possible for you its okay. Although the robber will only be smooth at 1080p and at 1440p he start roughing you up and at 5760x1080 the robber will call his buddy and they both rough you up

I personally rather not be robbed at all.

I'm sure theres plenty of web-site for that kind of fetish/mind set and cost far less then buying two GTX 680s.

 

[cadaveca]

I still find the SLI vs Xfire debate strange

If your going by what PcPer data and saying that SLI is better is just plain silly.

Its like saying your still willing to be robber but aslong as the robber makes the robbery as smooth as possible for you its okay. Although the robber will only be smooth at 1080p and at 1440p he start roughing you up and at 5760x1080 the robber will call his buddy and they both rough you up

I personally rather not be robbed at all.

I'm sure theres plenty of web-site for that kind of fetish/mind set and cost far less then buying two GTX 680s.

Well, the truth of the matter is that most SLI users are happy. As you can see, there are CrossfireX users who are not happy, so they have a larger voice right now. Welcome to the internet. No complainers = it works.


Unless of course, you want to tell us you run SLI and have issues, and can document them like PCPerspective does...then...people might actually listen to what you have to say. Until then, your comments are gonna fall on deaf ears. This is, after all, a 7990 thread, not an SLI thread. Crossfire has something to do with the OP, since the card in question is "Crossfire on a stick", which makes the comments from Crossfire users relevant. What Nvidia does, or is doing, or offers...doesn't matter here.

 

[Xzibit]

Well, the truth of the matter is that most SLI users are happy. As you can see, there are CrossfireX users who are not happy, so they have a larger voice right now. Welcome to the internet. No complainers = it works.


Unless of course, you want to tell us you run SLI and have issues, and can document them like PCPerspective does...then...people might actually listen to what you have to say. Until then, your comments are gonna fall on deaf ears. This is, after all, a 7990 thread, not an SLI thread. Crossfire has something to do with the OP, since the card in question is "Crossfire on a stick", which makes the comments from Crossfire users relevant. What Nvidia does, or is doing, or offers...doesn't matter here.

Then i dont think SLI user are that knowledgable if they are looking at PCPer data and coming out satisfied.

I guess they can be satified compared to what or whom? Not getting as screwed as Xfire users ? They are still getting screwed nonetheless.

I dont see how you or anyone can be happy about that. Although your saying as long as the user is oblivious its okay because there happy ?

 

[cadaveca]

Then i dont think SLI user are that knowledgable if they are looking at PCPer data and coming out satisfied.

I guess they can be satified compared to what or whom? Not getting as screwed as Xfire users ? They are still getting screwed nonetheless.

I dont see how you or anyone can be happy about that. Although your saying as long as the user is oblivious its okay because there happy ?

If someone is enjoying Crossfire, then sure, I have no problem with that(works fine for me for benchmarking, and for DX9 titles). To me, what PCPerspective has done is not shown that Crossfire was broken.. I already knew that, and had been posting that for months and months.

All that PCPerspective offers, to me, is a reasonable explanation as to why, and it's and explanation that AMD verified. It also explained why AMD didn't release a driver in March to help fix this, as they had said they would.

That's all. SLI plays no part in this, for me. I don't compare the two. I also don't compare AMD vs Nvidia, since for me, AMD is the only option for VGAs. If a user likes Nvidia videocards, I'll tell them to buy one. I don't make such choices, and don't play favorites. Both sides have their benefits and consequences of use.


What I don't understand is why you care what other people think, and why you make these assumptions?

 

[Fluffmeister]

Xzibit is just a fan of all things AMD, I hope he gets paid for all his hard PR work, because he certainly does a better job than the people that actually do.

 

[Xzibit]

What I don't understand is why you care what other people think, and why you make these assumptions?

I like to think its the same as anyone else. To have a more informed user forum base then the hand full of regulars posting the usual post.

Xzibit is just a fan of all things AMD, I hope he gets paid for all his hard PR work, because he certainly does a better job than the people that actually do.

I'll take that as a compliment

I doubt i'd be good at it since only one of my four current PCs in my house have a AMD product in them.

Intel/Nvidia
Intel/Nvidia
Intel/Nvidia
Intel/AMD (Current one in my signutare since its the newest one)

I build a new one and giveaway one every 2yrs sometimes i'll update the GPU sooner. I just gave away the oldest pc to my neighbor which had Intel/Nvidia. He mentioned he was struggling to talk to his son back east with his PC so after a few visits I gave him a PC which was atleast 3gens higher then what he was using.

So if anything I should be getting paid by Intel/Nvidia for providing PCs to old and needy people.




Anyhow I think i've taken the topic way off course. Back on track I'm still curious to know what chip it will be using ?

 

[TheGuruStud]

I had 4890s and that shit was rock solid (upgrade from 8800GT SLI).

I also had 6950s (flashed of course lol) and games were fine except for the troublesome ones that also caused serious SLI issues.

7900 series scales far better than the 6900 series...but I only have one currently. Take away nvidia trickery and I don't think the problems are that bad (they can suck a giant one for all the AA problems that they intentionally cause).