I experience half the FPS of one card with a crossfire R9 290 setup.

[GhostRyder]

I HAVE 290 CROSSFIRE AND FX 8350 AND 1300W PSU
NUMBER 1- 850W IS NOT ENOUGH YOU NEED 1000W MINIMUM FOR CROSSFIRE 290
NUMBER 2 TWO GPUS ON AN INTEL I5 IS A BAD IDEA YOU NEED UPGRADE TO AN INTEL I7 OR FX 8350

First of all, no that is not true in the slightest...

Power consumption on an R9 290 comes to roughly 255 on tomshardware but it can depend on where you look. But of course then you have to add in overclocking and after market coolers and such but even upping it to 300 for the heck of it (Which is 290x levels) you still end up with roughly 600 watts dedicated to GPU's at max load. On top of that an i5 2500k uses about 148 watts peak under heavy load (Which includes basic system amenities) which not even compensating the fact hes got a 2500 not a 2500k would still only add up to 748watts. That maybe rough numbers of course based off different websites but that leaves over 100watts sitting around. Even assuming the gaming cards use more watts than that I doubt they are using enough to harm the XFX 850 Silver PSU.

Last an i5 is one of the best gaming CPU's out there even for multi-GPU setups. Its a great processor so saying SLI/CFX with an i5 is a bad choice/idea is not true since most reviewers would beg to differ. I would also not say an FX 8350 would not be considered much if at all an upgrade because of what is required to be replaced. An i7 is also not needed in this scenario...

 

[Outback Bronze]

Hi guys,

Just did a few tests. This is what I got in Crysis 3 single player.

CPU is stock @ 3.46 ghz running no Hyper Threading, 2400 on the memory. Cards are also running stock speeds 16x/8x 2.0

1x290 = 36 fps

2x290 = 63 fps.

This is with v/sync off.

Settings were maxed (very high) using 2560x1600, SMAA Low (1x)

I really cant see how 2 cards is reducing the performance even with his CPU.

I thought todays games put more pressure on the GPUs than CPUs anyway.

 

[Batou1986]

ITT reasons why I tell people to avoid CF/SLI

 

[Dent1]

I HAVE 290 CROSSFIRE AND FX 8350 AND 1300W PSU
NUMBER 1- 850W IS NOT ENOUGH YOU NEED 1000W MINIMUM FOR CROSSFIRE 290
NUMBER 2 TWO GPUS ON AN INTEL I5 IS A BAD IDEA YOU NEED UPGRADE TO AN INTEL I7 OR FX 8350

Incorrect. 850W is plenty. 1000W says who? You need an i7 says who?

Plenty of people on this board run crossfire with their i5 without issue. I run crossfire on my crappy Athlon II without issue.

Also what's with the capitals? There is a big GREEN LED that warns you when its on!

ITT reasons why I tell people to avoid CF/SLI

More bad advice too. Plenty of threads on TPU where people complain they're not getting full performance from running a single card. Do you tell these people to avoid technology?

Come on.

 

[Aquinus]

I HAVE 290 CROSSFIRE AND FX 8350 AND 1300W PSU
NUMBER 1- 850W IS NOT ENOUGH YOU NEED 1000W MINIMUM FOR CROSSFIRE 290
NUMBER 2 TWO GPUS ON AN INTEL I5 IS A BAD IDEA YOU NEED UPGRADE TO AN INTEL I7 OR FX 8350

Not only is all of this information false, you're "all caps" mode of talking screams troll.

 

[Batou1986]

Incorrect. 850W is plenty. 1000W says who? You need an i7 says who?

Plenty of people on this board run crossfire with their i5 without issue. I run crossfire on my crappy Athlon II without issue.

Also what's with the capitals? There is a big GREEN LED that warns you when its on!




More bad advice too. Plenty of threads on TPU where people complain they're not getting full performance from running a single card. Do you tell these people to avoid technology?

Come on.

Double down on $500 gfx cards that have a very high chance of not working correctly even when you do everything right and meet all the requirements - good advice
Why dont you ask OP if he thinks 1000$ worth of non working crossfire was a good investment for something that should work flawlessly 100% of the time according to AMD.

 

[Dent1]

Double down on $500 gfx cards that have a very high chance of not working correctly even when you do everything right and meet all the requirements - good advice
Why dont you ask OP if he thinks 1000$ worth of non working crossfire was a good investment for something that should work flawlessly 100% of the time according to AMD.

That is ridiculous, so every user whom come to TPU complaining about poor performance on Thief, or BF4 or Crysis 3 etc we should say "excuse me was your i7 extreme edition and GTX Titan worth $1,000+?". Or do we only ask that question exclusively for crossfire users?

There is more people on this forum with single GPUs that complain about performance issues yet you seem to discriminate on the CF minority.

 

[Dent1]

Batou1986,

Your right. I actually started implementing what you said already. You're 100% right. See link below.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/t...nal-to-screen-help.203171/page-2#post-3147529

 

[Mussels]

I HAVE 290 CROSSFIRE AND FX 8350 AND 1300W PSU
NUMBER 1- 850W IS NOT ENOUGH YOU NEED 1000W MINIMUM FOR CROSSFIRE 290
NUMBER 2 TWO GPUS ON AN INTEL I5 IS A BAD IDEA YOU NEED UPGRADE TO AN INTEL I7 OR FX 8350

both of those are very incorrect.

 

[basco]

can ya confirm that the second card is not a fully 290x and its gpu-z misreporting.
and ya could try to force pci gen2 in bios.

and are we talking multiplayer here or single.
did ya try both in crysis.

 

[RCoon]

Hi guys,

Just did a few tests. This is what I got.

CPU is stock @ 3.46 ghz running no Hyper Threading, 2400 on the memory. Cards are also running stock speeds 16x/8x 2.0

1x290 = 36 fps

2x290 = 63 fps.

This is with v/sync off.

Settings were maxed (very high) using 2560x1600, SMAA Low (1x)

I really cant see how 2 cards is reducing the performance even with his CPU.

I thought todays games put more pressure on the GPUs than CPUs anyway.

Is this in crisis 3 or bf3 multilayer? I think everyone is missing the point that when he does benchmarks his performance results are perfect, his real issue is with those two games in multiplayer.

 

[Outback Bronze]

Is this in crisis 3 or bf3 multilayer? I think everyone is missing the point that when he does benchmarks his performance results are perfect, his real issue is with those two games in multiplayer.

Its Crysis 3 mate, single player. Yeah multiplayer is a different kettle of fish. If this is the case please ignore my results.

 

[kinggavin]

if you want problems then use an 850w and i5 cpu for a pair of 290s , if he run something like furmark i bet 850w is nearly getting to overheating point and i5 for high end cards like 290 is stupid , that is why theres the i7 for high end multi gpu builds an i5 is a mid range cpu fine for a single card my benchmarks and game performance is on youtube channel gavinking333

 

[Dent1]

if you want problems then use an 850w and i5 cpu for a pair of 290s , if he run something like furmark i bet 850w is nearly getting to overheating point and i5 for high end cards like 290 is stupid , that is why theres the i7 for high end multi gpu builds an i5 is a mid range cpu fine for a single card my benchmarks and game performance is on youtube channel gavinking333

So i7s are for multi cards and i5 is for single cards?

You do realise that what separates the two CPUs is typically hyper threading. Usually when an i5 and i7 of the same clock are benched in games the performance is often virtually the same. At best an average of 10% separation on a highly optimised application.

Intel actually make money off guys like you that would happily pay $100 extra for the same performance.


None of us have any clue what's wrong with the OP's system until he comes back to us. But what is clear is that many users whom have commented have i5s and CF builds and have no issue.

 

[kinggavin]

So i7s are for multi cards and i5 is for single cards?

You do realise that what separates the two CPUs is typically hyper threading. Usually when an i5 and i7 of the same clock are benched in games the performance is often virtually the same. At best an average of 10% separation on a highly optimised application.

Intel actually make money off guys like you that would happily pay $100 extra for the same performance.


None of us have any clue what's wrong with the OP's system until he comes back to us. But what is clear is that many users whom have commented have i5s and CF builds and have no issue.

intel i5 probably be ok on a pair gtx 760 or r9 270 but were talking about R9 290 its a high end video card i mean gtx 780 sli would u want run them on an i5 its bottleneck and , if you was buying a new system with 290 crossfire or gtxc 780 i dont think many retail pc build stores would recommend an i5 cpu , if the guy here wants to run 290 crossfire with no problems and good fps in games and benchmarks he should get an i7 and bigger powersupply

 

[Aquinus]

if you want problems then use an 850w and i5 cpu for a pair of 290s , if he run something like furmark i bet 850w is nearly getting to overheating point and i5 for high end cards like 290 is stupid , that is why theres the i7 for high end multi gpu builds an i5 is a mid range cpu fine for a single card my benchmarks and game performance is on youtube channel gavinking333

intel i5 probably be ok on a pair gtx 760 or r9 270 but were talking about R9 290 its a high end video card i mean gtx 780 sli would u want run them on an i5 its bottleneck and , if you was buying a new system with 290 crossfire or gtxc 780 i dont think many retail pc build stores would recommend an i5 cpu , if the guy here wants to run 290 crossfire with no problems and good fps in games and benchmarks he should get an i7 and bigger powersupply

Ugh... Don't you love it when people crawl out from the internets and start telling you how thinks are (not)?

An i5 and i7 will perform about equally with single or dual GPUs. The argument can be made for more than 2 GPUs that you should use skt2011 because you'll start running out of PCI-E lanes on skt1155/1150. Either way, if an i5 had 40 PCI-E lanes, it could handle 4 GPUs as well as a 6c CPU could. The simple fact is that more GPU power is needed at higher resolutions and that an i5 becomes less of a bottleneck the higher the resolution gets.

Now, an overclocked i5 with two overclocked 290 very well could stress out an 850w PSU and cause issues, but that really depends the exact PSU the OP has.

Considering no one likes reading the full thread, it's pretty clear that the airflow between his two 290 is incredibly poor which is why one GPU is running almost 20*C hotter than the other.

The answer is inadequate airflow across the GPUs, the i5 gets more air than both of the GPUs combines according to his pictures on the first page of posts.

 

[kinggavin]

Ugh... Don't you love it when people crawl out from the internets and start telling you how thinks are (not)?

An i5 and i7 will perform about equally with single or dual GPUs. The argument can be made for more than 2 GPUs that you should use skt2011 because you'll start running out of PCI-E lanes on skt1155/1150. Either way, if an i5 had 40 PCI-E lanes, it could handle 4 GPUs as well as a 6c CPU could. The simple fact is that more GPU power is needed at higher resolutions and that an i5 becomes less of a bottleneck the higher the resolution gets.

Now, an overclocked i5 with two overclocked 290 very well could stress out an 850w PSU and cause issues, but that really depends the exact PSU the OP has.

Considering no one likes reading the full thread, it's pretty clear that the airflow between his two 290 is incredibly poor which is why one GPU is running almost 20*C hotter than the other.

The answer is inadequate airflow across the GPUs, the i5 gets more air than both of the GPUs combines according to his pictures on the first page of posts.

heat could be an issue 290 crossfire generates a lot of heat he would been better buying the bigger 3-fan cooler versions like the sapphire tri-x ,or watercooling , if he dont want spend more money for the system he has now i would stick to a single 290 and sell the other one

 

[GhostRyder]

Whether it's an i5 or an i7 does not matter in multi-gpu. As stated the major difference is just hyper threading which in reality is not beneficial for gaming (rare situations aside at the moment).

An overclocked i5 is the best gaming processor on the market and would not bottleneck 2 gtx titan blacks, 290x, or whatever. Even an i5 2500k would not bottleneck so long as your overclocking same as a 2600k. Hence why so many people still run sandy bridge systems because of how well they have lasted.

The only thing holding back is the low clock speeds in multi-player because multi-player is beyond demanding compared to the campaigns.

 

[Dent1]

heat could be an issue 290 crossfire generates a lot of heat he would been better buying the bigger 3-fan cooler versions like the sapphire tri-x ,or watercooling , if he dont want spend more money for the system he has now i would stick to a single 290 and sell the other one

Yes, if we could confirm with 100% certainty it's heat related or an issue that requires a financial investment in new hardware. I would feel uneasy recommending the OP switch to a single 290 when the issue could be software related.

The next step is for the OP to get back to us with his WPrime results so we can compare it with other i5s and determine once and for all if his CPU is underperforming in general.

The heat issue can be determined by putting his GPU fans at 100% speed and seeing if the issue goes away.

 

[Batou1986]

Batou1986,

Your right. I actually started implementing what you said already. You're 100% right. See link below.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/t...nal-to-screen-help.203171/page-2#post-3147529

A cheap FM2 build not working has nothing to do with 1000$ worth of 290x's not working.
Thank you for getting mad please come again.

 

[Sir B. Fannybottom]

I don't know if anything has changed recently, but wouldnt the lack of a crossfire cable make some issues?

 

[Batou1986]

I don't know if anything has changed recently, but wouldnt the lack of a crossfire cable make some issues?

Actually it did change, with Hawaii chips they have done away with the need for a crossfire bridge.

 

[Mussels]

I don't know if anything has changed recently, but wouldnt the lack of a crossfire cable make some issues?

the new ones dont use it, but generally 8x 2.0 or above is enough.

 

[newconroer]

2 or 3 years ago being the key word there. Were talking about recent games and much higher power GPU setups and resolutions. The Sandy-Bridge architecture is a few years old, but maintains good performance when overclocked very far as it is excellent for that. The problem here is the i5 2500, its base and boost clocks are not extremely high mixed with the fact that its on an old architecture (Which would mean about a 20% increase give or take on new chips clock to clock) and its clocks are pretty low. An i5 2500k clocked at 4.5ghz would still be beyond excellent for gaming and a single GPU on the base clocks would be fine, however multi-gpu setups require a bit more CPU power in this day and age and that chip is just showing a bit of age.

Not a bad chip, he can follow what the others have stated and bump the clocks a bit to see how much that helps. However I do not know how far that will take him in the end.

Please note the part where I mention 'the performance loss he is describing.' He is getting worse frames with two cards than one, what combination (or lack of ) GPU usage % would that work, mathematically speaking?

If however the point was that he is getting XX frames on a single card, and only XX(+19 extra) under Crossfire, then we could say the CPU might be bottlenecking the TWO gpus and not returning the desired results - such as near 100% scaling, doubling the FPS.

As for your example of an i5 unlocked at 4.5ghz, wasn't it a big contention a few years ago that the i7 was a bit unnecessary for general home gaming use, in contrast to the cheaper i5? Yet the i7 does not bottleneck two AMD 290s? So why would the i5 at 4.5ghz? And furthermore, it's one thing to say performance may be different for any GPU setup when overclocking your CPU from 3.4 to 4.5ghz, but to say it renders a multi-GPU setup into a crippled state, with very poor results?

I apologize, though I think something far worse is going on here.

I HAVE 290 CROSSFIRE AND FX 8350 AND 1300W PSU
NUMBER 1- 850W IS NOT ENOUGH YOU NEED 1000W MINIMUM FOR CROSSFIRE 290
NUMBER 2 TWO GPUS ON AN INTEL I5 IS A BAD IDEA YOU NEED UPGRADE TO AN INTEL I7 OR FX 8350

Hi Gavin,

A lot of people are using quality 850 watt PSUs and run two 290s fine. Though if overclocking it would be advised to beef it up a bit, agreed.

 

[Final_Fighter]

well it looks like your cpu might be the problem. i might have missed it but could the op post a screen shot of the cpu usage while gaming on one card. im almost certain its the cpu. if that was my build though i would have only gone with 1 gpu just because its a modern age gpu with a 2nd gen mid range i5 cpu. dont get me wrong its not a bad cpu i have had one before but tech tends to have those problems after 3 years with the latest greatest. always plan for the futter when building a pc if possible. that i 5 was kick ass in the day and i would have not hesitated to suggest it for a 2 card sli or crossfire setup but today i would especially with the ops gpus. my suggestion would be sell that sucker on ebay and get the i7 3770k. look for ones made in costa rica they are usually 90% of the time good overclockers. you should be able to get half of what the i7 costs from yours. plus with that mobo and heatsink should get a nice overclock to match a hasswell i7 4770k. if not you could return or resell that 290 your choice


Edit: that heatsink you got can allow a nice overclock so i would not hesitate at all with the i7 3770k or even a 2700k with a 300-400mhz overclock. plus for us custom pc builders getting that extra bit of performance with stability while making our dollar go farther feels good. and your psu will do fine so no worry there. just to re assure you i have a z68 mobo with 2 gtx 560 ti sc 2gb with 8gbs dominator 2100mhz with that same heatsink and a i7 2700k. on a thermaltake tr2 600w for 3 years. i also have 3 hdds and 1 dvd cd drive i know i got lucky with my psu this far. but each card takes 180w each divide that by 12Volts and thats how many amps so.......... 180w/12v=15amps for each at 100% load so 30 amps for both plus my cpu i believe is 90w so 7.5amps there so 37.5 at max load is what my main system components take so my psu having 43 amps available on the 12volt rails that offer up to 465watts while my combined wattage for the 12volt components is 450watts cutting it close. my hdds run of the 5v rails that can offer up to 18 amps that have plenty and the dvd i believe does to so it worked out real nice for me but im a pc college geek so i know this stuff.