A 2nd 5850

[Attila the Bun]

I'm seriously considering getting another 5850 today as it's on SCAN at £141.59 to run in Xfire.

But I was wondering if I can mix GPUs made by different companies ie. a Sapphire 5850 with an ASUS 5850 without issues.

Or mix, say, an XFX5850 4000mhz with an XFX5850 Black 4500mhz card without issues?


Also how much cheaper does anyone think this card will go before it bottoms out

[Domestic_Ginger]

They've stopped making them so I think they'll stay at the same price.

Are you tempted by 6850 xf? It may be a faff though.

I think they should xfire okay but you will have to run at the speed of the slowest one afaik. Just OC the one you have now to the speeds of the OC'd one you buy.

[BeeP]

I thought 6850 was slower than 5850?

As far as I remember make does not matter & you will run at the slowest cards speed.

[Hawker1986]

They should work together fine.

Hawker

[dfour]

What resolution do you game at?? What games are making your single card struggle??

[Attila the Bun]

What resolution do you game at?? What games are making your single card struggle??

eerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....none really *looks sheepish*...to be really, really honest about this I don't need crossfire...but I like the idea of trying crossfire just to see what happens. Just like I like the idea of eyefinity...I don't need it...but want to see what happens.

Thing is...it isn't an epeen thing...but me strapping two 5850s together would be like welding a couple of Porche 911s together and asking Michael Gambon to drive it very fast.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The motherboard the OP has runs the second PCI-E slot at PCI-E 2.0 4X meaning that it cannot do symmetrical Crossfire.

[jonathan_phang]

But I was wondering if I can mix GPUs made by different companies...

Yep, you can, I have a powercolour and a sapphire on running together as of Tuesday.

The motherboard the OP has runs the second PCI-E slot at PCI-E 2.0 4X meaning that it cannot do symmetrical Crossfire.

And this point alone means you should not do it. The second card would be crippled at 4x speed, and make it pointless really. Unfortunately, you would be better off with a mobo that does PCIe 2.0 x16 in both slots, or at least 8x in both. Mine is the latter and runs ok-ish I believe. I think that 5850 cf is a good idea, just not it your current setup.

JP

[jim]

Or flog the 5850 and buy a 5970.

[Attila the Bun]

Yep, you can, I have a powercolour and a sapphire on running together as of Tuesday.

All stable?

The motherboard the OP has runs the second PCI-E slot at PCI-E 2.0 4X meaning that it cannot do symmetrical Crossfire.

And this point alone means you should not do it. The second card would be crippled at 4x speed, and make it pointless really. Unfortunately, you would be better off with a mobo that does PCIe 2.0 x16 in both slots, or at least 8x in both. Mine is the latter and runs ok-ish I believe. I think that 5850 cf is a good idea, just not it your current setup.

Yes, I am now aware of my mobo's limitations. What I thought I might do is purchase the 5850 now whilst it's available and cheap, then wait and see how low the 890 chipset boards go in price when bulldozer comes out. Or, if the current trend of releasing equivilent spec stuff at cheaper prices continues, I get a bulldozer board that can handle Xfire properly.

Or flog the 5850 and buy a 5970.

I could go that option, but that would be £450 for the 5970 minus about £100 for the 5850 vs £145 for a 5850 now plus around £100 max for a Xfire mobo once bulldozer is out.
And...the Top Gear principle is in effect with Xfire : )

[Attila the Bun]

Yep, you can, I have a powercolour and a sapphire on running together as of Tuesday.

All stable?

The motherboard the OP has runs the second PCI-E slot at PCI-E 2.0 4X meaning that it cannot do symmetrical Crossfire.

And this point alone means you should not do it. The second card would be crippled at 4x speed, and make it pointless really. Unfortunately, you would be better off with a mobo that does PCIe 2.0 x16 in both slots, or at least 8x in both. Mine is the latter and runs ok-ish I believe. I think that 5850 cf is a good idea, just not it your current setup.

Yes, I am now aware of my mobo's limitations. What I thought I might do is purchase the 5850 now whilst it's available and cheap, then wait and see how low the 890 chipset boards go in price when bulldozer comes out. Or, if the current trend of releasing equivilent spec stuff at cheaper prices continues, I get a bulldozer board that can handle Xfire properly.

Or flog the 5850 and buy a 5970.

I could go that option, but that would be £450 for the 5970 minus about £100 for the 5850 vs £145 for a 5850 now plus around £100 max for a Xfire mobo once bulldozer is out.
And...the Top Gear principle is in effect with Xfire : )

[jonathan_phang]

All stable?

Yes, as far as my testing has gone. They are both reference so I it shouldnt be an issue. They are essentially exactly the same. Been gaming with Crysis, Dead Space 2, Dirt 2, Gears of War and whatever I can install to test he crossfire scaling, and havent had any issues at stock frequencies.

If you dont need it now, then they will probably only get cheaper to be honest, or if you are really contemplating a mobo change then might be worth thinking SLI or whatever the best dual card solution is. I hear the GTX 460s are fantastic together, but of course it depends on if you want to upgrade other bits in your system