Quad fire 295x2 question

[trandana]

Hey guys
So with the price drop of the 295x2 I am considering buying two of them
for my system along with evga's 1600 watt titanium psu.
Right now I'm running an Asus Maximus Hero VII motherboard and want to know if this setup is possible. I know that running more than two cards in crossfire is impossible on these motherboards, but since it has two x16 pci-e slots, dual 295x2's should be possible right?

Thanks in advance!

 

[EliteRetard]

I think a single 295x2 is a pretty good deal under $500...but I don't know if 2 of them for quad fire is the best plan. You get lower scaling for additional cards past 2 and there is a newer generation of cards coming soon (like in a month or less). Lets say the new gen is about 40% faster, and around the same $500 price point.

Example:

290x = 1
295x2 = 1.7 (2nd card at 70% due to scaling)
2x 295x2 = 2.8 (3rd card at .6 and fourth at .5)

390x = 1.4
2x 390x = 2.4 (again, 70% scaling on second)

Then think about the games that don't utilize crossfire (there are many), you'll be stuck with a single card performance, which would be faster on the new gen card.

Obviously I'm making some assumptions/generalizations here, but the idea is sound. A single 295x2 is likely to beat the next gen in maximum performance, and likely for the same or less money. But due to inefficiencies in scaling, it's likely quad fire wont hold up well against a newer crossfire setup.

So my vote, buy a single 295x2 and wait...or don't buy any card and wait.

 

[trandana]

"So my vote, buy a single 295x2 and wait...or don't buy any card and wait."

But a 295x2 is not a single gpu, so i would be stuck with 290x performance for games without crossfire capability.

I currently have two 290's in crossfire, and I have never run into a game that didn't use crossfire except when initially released (ex: Far Cry 4) Usually with a bit of tweaking I can get them both running properly. I usually just play AAA games anyway.

on this benchmark the avg FPS almost doubled from using one 295x2 to using 2 of them
http://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/z...vesuvius-r9-295x2-quadxfire-system-review/18/

A single 295x2 is still better than a 390x, the benchmarks show that, because a 390x is only a single gpu card. http://www.tweaktown.com/news/45347...d-radeon-r9-390x-see-beating-titan/index.html

Now on the otherhand, im sure they will make a dual gpu 3xx series card, like 395x2
which sounds extremely sexy, but will likely cost huge $$$ that I don't really feel like spending

So 2 295x2s seem like the best option for all out performance right now especially if the 390x and 295x2's prices are going to be the same, but the question is if my mobo can handle it

 

[boozzer]

can't you wait? 390x is literally around the corner. you might be able to get 295x2 performance from just 1 single 390x.

 

[monstercameron]

note that scaling mostly refers to gaming and not compute.

 

[_UP_]

I think you should wait, and see what happens. If you still think the 295x2 is the better option, well, it'll be cheaper.
Another option, which you may have not considered, and will be cheaper and not too far behind in performance, is going trifire with a 295x2 and a 290x (obviously go for a good one like the lightning). I'm debating going that route when the 390x will come out if I don't feel like getting one of those.

 

[3DVagabond]

I think a single 295x2 is a pretty good deal under $500...but I don't know if 2 of them for quad fire is the best plan. You get lower scaling for additional cards past 2 and there is a newer generation of cards coming soon (like in a month or less). Lets say the new gen is about 40% faster, and around the same $500 price point.

Example:

290x = 1
295x2 = 1.7 (2nd card at 70% due to scaling)
2x 295x2 = 2.8 (3rd card at .6 and fourth at .5)

390x = 1.4
2x 390x = 2.4 (again, 70% scaling on second)

Then think about the games that don't utilize crossfire (there are many), you'll be stuck with a single card performance, which would be faster on the new gen card.

Obviously I'm making some assumptions/generalizations here, but the idea is sound. A single 295x2 is likely to beat the next gen in maximum performance, and likely for the same or less money. But due to inefficiencies in scaling, it's likely quad fire wont hold up well against a newer crossfire setup.

So my vote, buy a single 295x2 and wait...or don't buy any card and wait.

$500 isn't likely.

 

[jackstar7]

From what I've read of people who actually had two 295x2's, they found that tri-fire was the optimal solution with 1 295x2 and 1 290x.

Entirely anecdotal, but something to consider.

 

[RussianSensation]

Hey guys
So with the price drop of the 295x2 I am considering buying two of them
for my system along with evga's 1600 watt titanium psu.
Right now I'm running an Asus Maximus Hero VII motherboard and want to know if this setup is possible. I know that running more than two cards in crossfire is impossible on these motherboards, but since it has two x16 pci-e slots, dual 295x2's should be possible right?

Thanks in advance!

Wait for 980Ti and Fiji PRO/XT to drop. It might even drive the prices of R9 295X2 even lower. In either case, an overclocked Titan X ~ R9 295X2. That means it's better to buy dual 980Ti's / Fiji XT than 2x R9 295X2s. Scaling with 4 GPUs tends to be pretty bad to be honest outside of synthetic benchmarks.

Don't forget, if scaling doesn't work, you end up with performance of a single R9 290X but you will have spent almost $1100.

So 2 295x2s seem like the best option for all out performance right now especially if the 390x and 295x2's prices are going to be the same, but the question is if my mobo can handle it

Your mobo will work fine. Are you gaming at 4K though?

 

[trandana]

"might be able to get 295x2 performance from just 1 single 390x"

check the link i posted. 390x benchmarks have been leaked and its slower than a 295x2

"Wait for 980Ti and Fiji PRO/XT to drop. It might even drive the prices of R9 295X2 even lower. In either case, an overclocked Titan X ~ R9 295X2. That means it's better to buy dual 980Ti's / Fiji XT than 2x R9 295X2s. Scaling with 4 GPUs tends to be pretty bad to be honest outside of synthetic benchmarks.

Don't forget, if scaling doesn't work, you end up with performance of a single R9 290X but you will have spent almost $1100.

Yeah you are right the prices are likely to drop lower. I would definitely not go with Nvidia for 4k gaming, they only have 384 bit gpu's right now. 295x2 is definitely better at 4k than titan x, not so much at 1080p. Plus I don't need to spend extra for the workstation capabilities of a Titan. If scaling doesn't work a single 390x wont hold up at 4k anyway so I might as well be dropping my resolution down to 1080p on a single card, 290x or 390x will both handle 1080p no problem.
I understand that the scaling isn't that great past 2 gpus, but its not all that bad either:
http://www.kitguru.net/desktop-pc/z...-vesuvius-r9-295x2-quadxfire-system-review/6/
2 295x2's will still be a lot faster than 2 390x's in crossfire. So It may be kind of a waste in the sense that I'm not getting the most performance out of them, but price wise paying $1100 for 2 295x2's vs paying $1200 for 2 390x's definitely seems to weigh on the 295x2 side. If I had more than 2 pci e slots I would definitely wait and buy 3 or 4 390x's but gotta do with what I got for now. Kinda wish I had bought a lga 2011 setup so I could just plug in 1 or 2 more 290s right now but oh well.


"

Your mobo will work fine. Are you gaming at 4K though?

Cool thanks for answering my question, and yes of definitly 4k. It would be a huge waste of money to game on anything less

 

[RussianSensation]

So It may be kind of a waste in the sense that I'm not getting the most performance out of them, but price wise paying $1100 for 2 295x2's vs paying $1200 for 2 390x's definitely seems to weigh on the 295x2 side. If I had more than 2 pci e slots I would definitely wait and buy 3 or 4 390x's but gotta do with what I got for now. Kinda wish I had bought a lga 2011 setup so I could just plug in 1 or 2 more 290s right now but oh well.

I honestly think what some other posters recommended is also a good option: sell one of your 290Xs and get a 295X2. That way you have 295X2+290X. However, just wait 1 more month to see what happens with 980Ti/Fiji series. If you look at the performance of 295X2 CF, the minimum frame rates do not go up that much compared to a single 295X2. For that reason, it's possible dual Fiji XTs or 980Tis could provide a smoother gaming experience at 4K, even if their average and maximum frame rates are lower.

 

[alcoholbob]

A single 295x2 is still better than a 390x, the benchmarks show that, because a 390x is only a single gpu card. http://www.tweaktown.com/news/45347...d-radeon-r9-390x-see-beating-titan/index.html

Those are pretty made up benchmarks from September of 2014.

I'd be surprised if the 390X was only slightly faster than the Titan X at 4K. A 4096 core Tonga with unlimited memory bandwidth in theory should be at 20% faster or more than a Titan X at 4K. The only possible issue is if it has a fixed TDP at say 300W, it could limit performance.

 

[Jacky60]

As a quadfire owner I can assure you that it's way better than tri-fire. I had trifire before upgrading and while trifire was good, quadfire rules. I'm getting a consistent 60fps in GTA5 at 4k and they sit at around 58-65c when gaming. That said I'd be inclined to wait and see what 390x brings but historically the x2 cards have remained competitive for a lot longer than expected. If 390x has some way of making 4gb HBM (if it is 4gb) future proof (I know there is really no such thing but mean relatively) then it may be a better option.

 

[ChuckFx]

No point at all in changing for a card this moment, sell your 290s while they keep a value and standby for the new 390X, much better move than go older GPU X-Fire 100% of the time.

This is pure speculation but if there is anything to understand from the last few days is that you should favor the newest GPU on market if you want to get good driver optimization... Nvidia made a major misstep and it may not be the last time we see stumbles in that regard, from both Green and Red.

 

[tential]

I see the OP's point. At $500, the 295x2 isn't going to get much lower probably. It could go out of stock all together waiting for the 390x for all we know. The 390x may be on par to the 295x2 probably at $850. it's going to be far more than the 295x2 for similar performance if we're lucky.

Now if you're the OP, I can see what he means. He most likely just doesn't play titles that don't support Crossfire (or lives with the lack of performance when he does). Eventually the majority of big releases get Crossfire support it seems as well. Even Unity seems to have it working now.

IMO OP, I'd get the R9 295x2. I think 1 is a GREAT pickup at the $500 price. If you have a 4K setup and you only plan on playing Crossfire capable games and understand that you'll be game limited then I'd say GO FOR IT.

The way I game currently, I think this would be a perfect solution for me if I had my projector setup or had a 4K TV. Since I don't, I'm not tempted enough but this seems quite tempting now haha.

 

[trandana]

I honestly think what some other posters recommended is also a good option: sell one of your 290Xs and get a 295X2. That way you have 295X2+290X. However, just wait 1 more month to see what happens with 980Ti/Fiji series. If you look at the performance of 295X2 CF, the minimum frame rates do not go up that much compared to a single 295X2. For that reason, it's possible dual Fiji XTs or 980Tis could provide a smoother gaming experience at 4K, even if their average and maximum frame rates are lower.

I don't have a 290x, I have two 290s. Otherwise you bet I would do that

But yeah that makes sense. I guess I'll wait and see! And am really curious what kind of 2 GPU monster AMD or Nvidia comes up with next. The prices are likely to drop further with the 3xx series, but it would suck if the 295x2 went out of stock.
I would definitely sell my 290's (and 1000w psu) making the cost of the 295x2's plus 1600w psu not so bad.

All great responses thanks guys!

 

[EliteRetard]

I'm pretty sure a 290 will still crossfire with a 295x2...
Since they have the same RAM you wont be limited there, and because the cards wont all be hitting 100% use I don't think the slower 290 will be holding back the 295x2.

I'm still thinking a single 295x2 is a better choice than getting 2 of them right now. Wondering also if 1kw is enough for tri-fire, it just might be.