Poor 4870 Cross Fire Performance

Lavacon · 12-28-09, 01:40 PM

I know this is a beaten topic, but, I figured it doesn't hurt to ask for some opinions :-)

The system I am running is in my Sig.

I am comparing my results to the $700 pc shown recently on THG
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...PC,2509-9.html

Using the same benchmark settings on Far Cry 2 for Instance, I am hitting 42fps avg with my cards OC'd to 800/1100. Single Card performance is around 36 FPS on the same benchmark.(Ultra High Quality, 4x AA 1680*1050)
This puts me 9fps under the lesser system used in their guide.

Really? A gain of 6 fps using 2 cards?

All drivers are up to date and installed clean.
PCI-E is locked at 100 in bios.
My overclock is solid and my components are for the most part better.

What gives?????

PS: Running W7 Ultimate

EarthDog · 12-28-09, 01:48 PM

Welcome to the wonderful world of SLI/Crossfire... 1 great GPU over 2 lesser GPUs anyday.

On a more serious note. Im not sure why you would be seeing those results. I figured it would scale better than that...

Xtreme Barton · 12-28-09, 01:53 PM

have you tried swapping cards and benching them both as singles ?

Lavacon · 12-28-09, 02:07 PM

Yup, 36fps single card vs 41-42 Xfire.

I would have bought a 5XXX series had I not already had a 4870. It made more sense at the time to pick up another 4870 for $125 and go for Xfire until Ati & Nvidia goto war in the spring.

Lavacon · 12-28-09, 02:12 PM

PS:

Earthdog.... I want your case....Now LOL

Xtreme Barton · 12-28-09, 02:50 PM

what brand are your ati's ?? the specs ..memory size, etc.. maybe a new flash is available

Lavacon · 12-28-09, 02:58 PM

1 is a Sapphire 512 and the other is a Diamond 512. All bios listed on techpowerup are from 2008. I suppose having 2 different cards could be a problem, but, being reference models, I don't see where the problem could be. Both are 750/900 @ stock

EarthDog · 12-28-09, 02:59 PM

2 models should NOT be the cause of this issue. Even if they were clocked differently, I believe in Crossfire it just takes the lower cards' clocks for both.

Lavacon · 12-28-09, 03:03 PM

From what I understand, the lower clock is taken.

Mr Dog... what do you think about adjusting the PCE-E frequency in the bios? I am locked in at 100 as that is the rule of thumb. I have heard mixed things about adjusting this.

Xtreme Barton · 12-28-09, 03:05 PM

i agree that two different brand cards shouldn't be the issue i was just curious to see i could find a match for a new flash ..

another curiosity is what are you temps at under load ? no stutters ?

EarthDog · 12-28-09, 03:05 PM

It does take the lower clock...

You can try raisining it. 105-110 that may help a bit. But I dont believe this is the issue either as I dont believe they raised their PCIe frequency in the benches you listed.

WEre you running the same drivers as the bench?
Have you tried different drivers?

Lavacon · 12-28-09, 03:10 PM

I ran the same drivers as the benches and even ran a newer version to see if it made a difference. Clean install and uninstalls of said drivers.

I keep my fans running at 50% while gaming @ stock, 70% when OC'd I like my temps under 60 degrees. The 4870 runs HOT. if I leave it up to ATI to control the fans, the cards idle around 67 degrees.

Xtreme Barton · 12-28-09, 03:12 PM

there is one up for i think it said august of 2009 for the saphire which can be used on you diamond as well .. what version do you have on the two ??

Lavacon · 12-28-09, 03:17 PM

I can check sku's when I get away from the office :-)

12-28-09, 01:40 PM	Thread Starter #1
Lavacon Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lost in NH	Poor 4870 Cross Fire Performance I know this is a beaten topic, but, I figured it doesn't hurt to ask for some opinions :-) The system I am running is in my Sig. I am comparing my results to the $700 pc shown recently on THG http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...PC,2509-9.html Using the same benchmark settings on Far Cry 2 for Instance, I am hitting 42fps avg with my cards OC'd to 800/1100. Single Card performance is around 36 FPS on the same benchmark.(Ultra High Quality, 4x AA 16801050) This puts me 9fps under the lesser system used in their guide. Really? A gain of 6 fps using 2 cards? All drivers are up to date and installed clean. PCI-E is locked at 100 in bios. My overclock is solid and my components are for the most part better. What gives????? PS: Running W7 Ultimate __________________ Heat* Mobo: MSI P55-GD65 CPU: Intel i5 750 @ 4.1ghz GPU: Ati 6950.5 2 GB Mem: 4X 2 GB G.Skills Ripjaws DDR3 1600 SSD: OCZ Agility 60 GB HD: 2x WD Black 500gb ea Raid 0 PSU: Dark Power Pro 10 \| 850 Case: HAF 932 Cooling: Greenish water Sound: Sb X-fi X-gamer
	QUOTE Thanks

12-28-09, 01:48 PM	#2
EarthDog Senior PITA Member Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stuck in Maryland...	Welcome to the wonderful world of SLI/Crossfire... 1 great GPU over 2 lesser GPUs anyday. On a more serious note. Im not sure why you would be seeing those results. I figured it would scale better than that... __________________ C2D/C2Q Overclocking Guide / i3/i5/i7 (s1366/1156) Overclocking Guide/Info / SandyBridge/ Ivybridge Overclocking Guide / AMD Overclocking Guide / Power Supply Guide SSD Reliability/Write Endurance / JOIN THE BENCHING TEAM! / Bulldozer Overclocking Guide / Forum Etiquette Want to see your writing featured on the overclockers.com Front Page? PM me, I can help! "We have more information and more ways of accessing it than ever, yet seem increasingly less inclined to do so."- Michael Wilbon
	QUOTE Thanks

12-28-09, 01:53 PM	#3
Xtreme Barton Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Omaha,NE	have you tried swapping cards and benching them both as singles ?
	QUOTE Thanks

12-28-09, 02:07 PM	Thread Starter #4
Lavacon Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lost in NH	Yup, 36fps single card vs 41-42 Xfire. I would have bought a 5XXX series had I not already had a 4870. It made more sense at the time to pick up another 4870 for $125 and go for Xfire until Ati & Nvidia goto war in the spring. __________________ Heat Mobo: MSI P55-GD65 CPU: Intel i5 750 @ 4.1ghz GPU: Ati 6950.5 2 GB Mem: 4X 2 GB G.Skills Ripjaws DDR3 1600 SSD: OCZ Agility 60 GB HD: 2x WD Black 500gb ea Raid 0 PSU: Dark Power Pro 10 \| 850 Case: HAF 932 Cooling: Greenish water Sound: Sb X-fi X-gamer
	QUOTE Thanks

12-28-09, 02:12 PM	Thread Starter #5
Lavacon Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lost in NH	PS: Earthdog.... I want your case....Now LOL __________________ Heat Mobo: MSI P55-GD65 CPU: Intel i5 750 @ 4.1ghz GPU: Ati 6950.5 2 GB Mem: 4X 2 GB G.Skills Ripjaws DDR3 1600 SSD: OCZ Agility 60 GB HD: 2x WD Black 500gb ea Raid 0 PSU: Dark Power Pro 10 \| 850 Case: HAF 932 Cooling: Greenish water Sound: Sb X-fi X-gamer
	QUOTE Thanks

Poor 4870 Cross Fire Performance

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12-28-09, 02:50 PM	#6
Xtreme Barton Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Omaha,NE	what brand are your ati's ?? the specs ..memory size, etc.. maybe a new flash is available
	QUOTE Thanks

12-28-09, 02:58 PM	Thread Starter #7
Lavacon Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lost in NH	1 is a Sapphire 512 and the other is a Diamond 512. All bios listed on techpowerup are from 2008. I suppose having 2 different cards could be a problem, but, being reference models, I don't see where the problem could be. Both are 750/900 @ stock __________________ Heat Mobo: MSI P55-GD65 CPU: Intel i5 750 @ 4.1ghz GPU: Ati 6950.5 2 GB Mem: 4X 2 GB G.Skills Ripjaws DDR3 1600 SSD: OCZ Agility 60 GB HD: 2x WD Black 500gb ea Raid 0 PSU: Dark Power Pro 10 \| 850 Case: HAF 932 Cooling: Greenish water Sound: Sb X-fi X-gamer
	QUOTE Thanks

12-28-09, 02:59 PM	#8
EarthDog Senior PITA Member Overclockers.com Editor Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Stuck in Maryland...	2 models should NOT be the cause of this issue. Even if they were clocked differently, I believe in Crossfire it just takes the lower cards' clocks for both. __________________ C2D/C2Q Overclocking Guide / i3/i5/i7 (s1366/1156) Overclocking Guide/Info / SandyBridge/ Ivybridge Overclocking Guide / AMD Overclocking Guide / Power Supply Guide SSD Reliability/Write Endurance / JOIN THE BENCHING TEAM! / Bulldozer Overclocking Guide / Forum Etiquette Want to see your writing featured on the overclockers.com Front Page? PM me, I can help! "We have more information and more ways of accessing it than ever, yet seem increasingly less inclined to do so."- Michael Wilbon
	QUOTE Thanks

12-28-09, 03:03 PM	Thread Starter #9
Lavacon Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lost in NH	From what I understand, the lower clock is taken. Mr Dog... what do you think about adjusting the PCE-E frequency in the bios? I am locked in at 100 as that is the rule of thumb. I have heard mixed things about adjusting this. __________________ Heat Mobo: MSI P55-GD65 CPU: Intel i5 750 @ 4.1ghz GPU: Ati 6950.5 2 GB Mem: 4X 2 GB G.Skills Ripjaws DDR3 1600 SSD: OCZ Agility 60 GB HD: 2x WD Black 500gb ea Raid 0 PSU: Dark Power Pro 10 \| 850 Case: HAF 932 Cooling: Greenish water Sound: Sb X-fi X-gamer
	QUOTE Thanks

12-28-09, 03:05 PM	#10
Xtreme Barton Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Omaha,NE	i agree that two different brand cards shouldn't be the issue i was just curious to see i could find a match for a new flash .. another curiosity is what are you temps at under load ? no stutters ?
	QUOTE Thanks

12-28-09, 03:10 PM	Thread Starter #12
Lavacon Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lost in NH	I ran the same drivers as the benches and even ran a newer version to see if it made a difference. Clean install and uninstalls of said drivers. I keep my fans running at 50% while gaming @ stock, 70% when OC'd I like my temps under 60 degrees. The 4870 runs HOT. if I leave it up to ATI to control the fans, the cards idle around 67 degrees. __________________ Heat Mobo: MSI P55-GD65 CPU: Intel i5 750 @ 4.1ghz GPU: Ati 6950.5 2 GB Mem: 4X 2 GB G.Skills Ripjaws DDR3 1600 SSD: OCZ Agility 60 GB HD: 2x WD Black 500gb ea Raid 0 PSU: Dark Power Pro 10 \| 850 Case: HAF 932 Cooling: Greenish water Sound: Sb X-fi X-gamer
	QUOTE Thanks

12-28-09, 03:12 PM	#13
Xtreme Barton Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Omaha,NE	there is one up for i think it said august of 2009 for the saphire which can be used on you diamond as well .. what version do you have on the two ??
	QUOTE Thanks

12-28-09, 03:17 PM	Thread Starter #14
Lavacon Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lost in NH	I can check sku's when I get away from the office :-) __________________ Heat Mobo: MSI P55-GD65 CPU: Intel i5 750 @ 4.1ghz GPU: Ati 6950.5 2 GB Mem: 4X 2 GB G.Skills Ripjaws DDR3 1600 SSD: OCZ Agility 60 GB HD: 2x WD Black 500gb ea Raid 0 PSU: Dark Power Pro 10 \| 850 Case: HAF 932 Cooling: Greenish water Sound: Sb X-fi X-gamer
	QUOTE Thanks

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