Thanks to HIS, we take a look at the Crossfire Performance on a pair of Radeon RX 480 (8 GDDR5) graphics cards. Here are some of the questions many of you are asking …
- Is it really worth it?
- What will I gain from a multi-GPU setup?
- Can it beat a GeForce GTX 1070 or GTX 1080
In this article, we hope to answer those questions and more. Before we look at the benchmarks, take a quick look at our video …
Is multi-GPU setups really worth it?
Now, this is probably one of the most asked question by the majority of users out there. Well, to be honest, it all depends on how you look at it.
If you’re on a tight budget and want to increase your graphics performance, then buying a second graphics card for a multi-GPU setup isn’t your best option. I recommend just getting one single powerful graphics card. Most games do not make use of multi-GPUs, and most game developers shy away due to the complexity of coding for multi-GPUs.
However, you might see large improvements in benchmarking software or applications that utilizes multi-GPUs.
NOTE: The GeForce GTX 1060 does not support SLI multi-GPU configurations – Only the higher models such as the GeForce GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 are capable of SLI configurations.
What will I gain from a multi-GPU setup?
Now, if you’re professional user who’s in to video editing, 3D animation, rendering and CAD… then a multi-GPU system could help you tremendously. During some of our previously tests which we conducted recently, we’ve seen significant gains in both rendering speeds and higher frame rates.
Can it beat a GeForce GTX 1070 or GTX 1080?
It all depends. If the software you’re using supports multi-GPUs, then you might see a significant improvement over both the GeForce GTX 1070 and GTX 1080. Things like I mentioned above … video editing, 3D animation, rendering and CAD. However for real-life gaming, don’t expect any performance boost … unless the games are specifically written to take advantage of multi-GPUs, which are far and few between.
Ok, now let’s get down to the nitty gritty and see how our Crossfire setup with two Radeon RX 480’s will compare against the GeForce GTX 1060, GTX 1070 and the GTX 1080. Check out the latest prices on the Radeon RX 480 for around USD $249 at Amazon.
Related articles:
- HIS Radeon RX 480 IceQ X² Roaring Turbo 8GB GDDR5 Review
- Gigabyte Radeon RX470 G1 Gaming 4GB Video Card Review
- EK Thermosphere GPU Waterblock Review (For Radeon RX480)
6 comments
Pc perspective found Crossfire was a stuttering mess due to frame time variations. Fps does not tell the whole story.
I wonder what games they were testing ?I have tested over 20 CF supporting games in the past couple months and havent found any of them to be a stuttering mess (including some of the latest tittles like Deus Ex ,black ops 3 ,shadow warrior 2 ) ,infact they ran nothing short of an excellent .Of course CF/mGPU will not work on all the games but AMD is working its backside off to make sure as many titles as possible do .
The testing was kind of wrong. First of all, why stock cpu? A powerful gpu setup, especially AMD, need more power from the cpu. Then, CF worth much more within a higher resolution (1440p scales ok, 2160p scales best), not 1080p. And “Monster Hunter Online, NVIDIA and Crytek have joined hands and accomplished this stunning benchmark program.”… no wonder is not scaling well on AMD since are NVIDIA’s hands in it…
I agree… we need more support for AMD!
Re: conclusion of author. The other thing to consider is that you buy one card now and down the line you buy a second (and then cheaper) card as a solution that likely meets nicely your performance needs. Also consider that at higher resolutions, CF can make it playable.
Re: “Stuttering”. This is a bit a red herring. They use apps to measure micro stuttering that you the user don’t notice. It’s irrelevant. Gameplay experience is what matters.
Re: CF support. Here’s the Achilles heel of the solution. Your drivers have to have a CF profile for a game and be supported properly for you to see any benefit.
Crossfire rocks!