anyone with x850 xt crossfire experience?

[killxswitch]

I recently picked up an x850 xt for dirt cheap, and i'm wondering if it would be worth it to trade my DFI mobo for a crossfire board, pick up an x850 xt crossfire master card, and run with it.

Is the performance worth the price and effort?

[Evil_Spork]

is sli worth the price and effort?

answer that and you have your answer. a mobo swap isnt a big deal considering how much vid cards cost these days :p
besides a mobo swap will be fun. you get to learn a new mobo. and knowlage is power.

[killxswitch]

That's what I was thinking. I've never had an Asus board before, it might be fun

However, I've had mixed feelings on SLI since its inception. This would be my first foray into dual-card land. And, seeing as how the master card would be another $250 or so, I just wonder if it'd be worth the effort.

Read "worth the effort" as "worth trying to convince my wife that I need another video card" :

This new card is a small upgrade from my x800 xl, but I would think two x850xts in crossfire would be a good enough upgrade to tide me over until AM2.

I thought I had my specs in my sig, woops...

* DFI NF4 Ultra-D Bios 510-2
* Athlon 64 3200+ Venice @ 250 x 10, LBBLE 0516EPGW
* 2x512 OCZ Gold Edition DDR 464, 2,3,3,8 in Yellow slots, 1t, 9:10
* Ati Radeon x800 xl 256mb video
* WD 250gb SATA II HDD
* Samsung 940b 19" 8ms LCD
* Onboard sound (for now)
* OCZ Powerstream 600
* DTek White Water block
* Aquaxtreme 50z 12v pump
* '86 Chevette Heatercore
* 1/2" ID tubing

[s7e9h3n]

That's what I was thinking. I've never had an Asus board before, it might be fun

However, I've had mixed feelings on SLI since its inception. This would be my first foray into dual-card land. And, seeing as how the master card would be another $250 or so, I just wonder if it'd be worth the effort.

Read "worth the effort" as "worth trying to convince my wife that I need another video card" :

This new card is a small upgrade from my x800 xl, but I would think two x850xts in crossfire would be a good enough upgrade to tide me over until AM2.

I thought I had my specs in my sig, woops...

* DFI NF4 Ultra-D Bios 510-2
* Athlon 64 3200+ Venice @ 250 x 10, LBBLE 0516EPGW
* 2x512 OCZ Gold Edition DDR 464, 2,3,3,8 in Yellow slots, 1t, 9:10
* Ati Radeon x800 xl 256mb video
* WD 250gb SATA II HDD
* Samsung 940b 19" 8ms LCD
* Onboard sound (for now)
* OCZ Powerstream 600
* DTek White Water block
* Aquaxtreme 50z 12v pump
* '86 Chevette Heatercore
* 1/2" ID tubing

Just pull the card out of the wife's rig and tell her it's broken. Buy the xfire for her computer and then throw it into yours when you want to bench

[killxswitch]

My wife's rig is still nforce 2, so it's not pci-express.

...

But really, she doesn't know the difference... hmm. You might be on to something here.

[brandinb]

hmmm honestly i say sellthe x850 and with that money and the money you were gonna spend on the x850 master card then buy a x1800xl or 7800gt.
i can tell you right now it will kick the crap out of the x850 crossfire and much more futureproof and you will only need one card and it will be way cheaper

sell your card for like 150 bux plus the price of a master card you woulda spent 250 so thats 400 dollars

id recomend these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150124
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814142053

or pony up and get this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131006
lol whatever you do i hope it works out well

[killxswitch]

One 7800gt beats two x850 xt's? I have a hard time believing that.

And the thing is, once I receive the x850xt and sell off my x800xl, I'll really have only spent about $20 all told. So I don't want to turn around and sell the x850 for less than I payed for it, then spend another $300.

I'm trying to semi-futureproof my rig so I can wait a long time to switch to AM2, or even wait until the next socket comes out after that. Maybe a 7800gt now and another later would be worth it, I dunno. But if the crossfire solution would be almost as worth it for less scratch, I'd like to go that direction.

I told my wife to just go shopping for clothes today and enjoy, "don't worry about the money". Perfect setup...

[Gnome]

One 7800gt beats two x850 xt's? I have a hard time believing that.

And the thing is, once I receive the x850xt and sell off my x800xl, I'll really have only spent about $20 all told. So I don't want to turn around and sell the x850 for less than I payed for it, then spend another $300.

I'm trying to semi-futureproof my rig so I can wait a long time to switch to AM2, or even wait until the next socket comes out after that. Maybe a 7800gt now and another later would be worth it, I dunno. But if the crossfire solution would be almost as worth it for less scratch, I'd like to go that direction.

I told my wife to just go shopping for clothes today and enjoy, "don't worry about the money". Perfect setup...

OK let me tell you this right now :
2 7800gt in sli IS NOT WORTH IT. I can tell you, that's what i have !!!

get an x1800xl, it will top that any time, or if you can find a cheap x1800xt ...

[s7e9h3n]

Oh, btw, this is my x850xtpe on a DFI Ultra-D :

Baker phase change coming for the gpu this weekend

[killxswitch]

Thanks for the numbers, stephen. I won't be getting quite that high since I don't have access to an FX57, but it's a good reference.

I asked my wife about it yesterday, and she said "sure, that's fine". Ha! No trickery or anything!

[jrw]

Thanks for the numbers, stephen. I won't be getting quite that high since I don't have access to an FX57, but it's a good reference.

I asked my wife about it yesterday, and she said "sure, that's fine". Ha! No trickery or anything!

Your wife sounds like a keeper

[killxswitch]

I think so

I also just lucked into a new Opty for cheap, so I should have a crack at 9k in 3dmark05.

[einCe]

numbers in my sig, ram was at 193@2-2-2-5 lol.
this board is a little tricky at first. ever have a nintendo nes that only you could start up because you knew exactly where to jiggle the cartridge? kinda like that

[killxswitch]

Hooray, XS forums are back. I've been having lots of fun with my new Opty. Calculating 4M in spi at 300x9. I have 295x9 prime stable for 7.5 hours.

The plan on the crossfire has actually changed quite a bit and I will probably end up selling the parts I bought for (hopefully) close to the amount I paid for them. I'm going to stick with my DFI and either go SLI or pick up a single x1900xt. So I'll also be selling my Asus board.

This is financially one of the dumbest things I've ever done. I think I was in shock from my wife saying it was ok to upgrade hardware THREE TIMES IN A ROW.

[killxswitch]

I can send the crossfire card back for a 20% restocking fee. I paid 247, i'd get 194 back. Worth it? Or should I sell?

[einCe]

I can send the crossfire card back for a 20% restocking fee. I paid 247, i'd get 194 back. Worth it? Or should I sell?

get up to 100 posts and sell it in the for sale forum

[brandinb]

well killswitch im glad you decided to sell the crossfire and go for a powerfull single card i really belive its the way to go.

and crossfire might be able to beat a 7800gt but its not by much and you have some big resolution and refresh limitations that really suck that arent in new crossfire stuff

x1900xt for 480 bux is a good deal you can find and it is kickass and futureproof

[killxswitch]

get up to 100 posts and sell it in the for sale forum

I'm trying, man. I guess I need some more staunch opinions on things.