CrossFire Scaling Results: Clear Sky And World In Conflict
So far we’ve seen that adding a third graphics card to the P55’s slower x4 slot can either help or hurt overall performance, depending on how much bandwidth a particular game needs. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. usually favors more GPU power, placing the P55 triple-GPU solution exactly between the two dual-GPU configurations and the X58 triple-GPU array.
Only at our highest test setting does the P55’s poor-performing third slot become a serious hindrance to graphics performance, with the triple-GPU P55 platform dropping behind the dual-GPU X58 only at this setting. Three cards on the X58 remain superior.
World in Conflict shows similar performance between dual-GPU X58 and triple-GPU P55 configurations at our basic settings, but when adding higher details, AA and anisotropic filtering (AF) shift the performance curve to favor more GPUs. Higher bandwidth keeps the X58 in the lead.
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Interesting, and it matches the results found elsewhere on the subject.
With the i5 seeming to be a popular mid-upper bracket choice, why not pair it off with similar placed cards like the HD5770/HD5850?
I would be very interested to see how these less potent cards perform with the popular x16/x4 or x8/x8 'boards out there rather than see a HD5970 crippled by an x8 'board-a configuration that seems pointless in the extreme.
So if there is not much difference between x16 and x8,it doesn't really matter if a P55 system does't support 16x/16x eg.only performs 16x/8x-8x/8x or whatever?
i found a similar report here http://www.hardware-revolution.com [...] e-problem/
But why bother about x16/x8 there are true high-end chipsets from AMD with full CF at lower price?
In a previous look at PCIe 2.0, Toms Hardware found variation in the impact of bandwidth reduction according to the application running. See this http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 915-9.html
A particularly difficult program was Microsoft's FSX flight simulator (scroll down on the linked page). Well you might say, FSX doesn't benefit from SLI or Crossfire, you'll be using a single graphics card, so why are you bothered?
Well unfortunately a lot of people might be doing things like adding a USB 3.0 adapter card soon. That only requires PCIe 2.0 X1, BUT if you stick it in the other PCIe 16x slot it'll cut the graphics card down to PCIe 8x with P55.
Or you could put the high bandwidth adapter in a PCIe x4 slot. However, in Intel's wisdom they created the P55 chipset with 2.5 GT/s PCIe generation 1.1. Even if you were happy with that (it'll limit a USB 3.0 adapter) I'm still stuck because I want a Micro ATX build. All Micro ATX P55 motherboards have the PCIe x16 slot positioned so that a dual slot graphics cooler will obstruct the PCIe x4 slot. Great.
A useless comparison since the whole point of getting an X58 board over P55 is that it can do 16x/16x whilst a P55 can only ever get as good as 16x/8x so a real test of Crossfire performance would have been a better X58 board that is up to the Intel spec rather than one hobbled to a P55 spec. You might as well be testing two P55 boards.
What a pointless article.
Just when I thought it was safe to come back here... the smacktardian smell of payola wafts through the door as Intel and nVidia give Toms little brown envelopes for stating the blindingly obvious. Yet. AGAIN.
So, from this test we draw the conclusion that P55 is EVIL and ATI are EVILLER!!! No, Toms, we're not as jack-**** retarded as Intel thinks we are, and will not rush out to buy X58-based systems and GTX295s to put on them just to avoid the EVIL of bandwidth bottlenecking. Your test is risible; who in HELL has the money to use three €400 graphics cards in CF these days?! I'll tell you who: someone who wouldn't buy a P55 system even if Hell froze over just for their pleasure. Where the hell are the HD5750/5770/5850 2-card comparisons?! The above article is just utterly pointless - of course three cards that could eat a HD4870X2 or GTX295 are going to overwhelm a P55 if you jam them all on together! That's just common sense!