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  1. #1

    Crossfire issues in MoP HD7970+7950

    Hey all,

    Recently I got my hands on a HD7950 card which I decided to crossfire with my existing 7970.

    I have some major issues with Crossfire enabled, where the game chops down to unplayable stutter when I run the game with crossfire enabled. If I turn crossfire off, it works perfectly and the stutter is gone. I tested this by standing in orgrimmar where I had ~50fps and smooth play on a single card, and enabling crossfire wrecks the performance to an unplayable stutter at ~10-15fps. The problem appears to be limited to WoW, as I've tested Crysis, Crysis 2 and BF3 where in all 3 I get great crossfire scaling.

    What I'm running:
    -Fresh install of Windows 8 & the latest AMD Beta driver 12.11
    -The game in full screen, tested both 32 & 64 bit clients
    -Core i7 2600K @ 4ghz
    -16gb RAM
    -Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3
    -850W Corsair PSU
    -Both cards at stock clocks
    -The cards: Powercolor HD7970 reference design + XFX HD7950 Double dissipation

    Some things I have tested to no avail:
    -Swapping the crossfire bridge
    -Fiddling with crossfire profiles (AFR Friendly, changing to another game's profile, etc...)
    -Tested both cards standalone and had no problems with either one

    I'm starting to run out of options here. I'm guessing it could be:
    -Win8 compatibility issues
    -12.11 beta driver has a problem with crossfire (I will try going back to 12.10 WHQL today after work)
    -Would be strange though, because other games run and scale fine
    -There is some unforeseen compatibility issue
    -The unusual 7970+7950 crossfire setup is the problem, again strange because other games run fine

    Anyway - if you guys got any ideas I'll gladly listen and take any suggestions. Obviously there's not a whole lot of need to run WoW with a crossfire setup, but it would have been nice to get it working since I do have both of the cards :-)

  2. #2
    Wow isnt exactly optimized for crossfire/sli. While you can use it, its not fully supported. Also 12.11 has a ton of bugs so downgrade to 10 or 8 if you can.
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  3. #3
    It's very well known fact that WoW does not work properly with Crossfire and can often lose framerate when people try to use it. SLI is slightly less problematic but still the gains are slim to none.

    Also sitting in Orgrimmar is CPU capped and you can not gain anything over vsync if you're running it on single Radeon 7970 already.
    Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
    Trolling should be.

  4. #4
    WoW's game engine is really old, they'd have to redo it entirely to get SLI/Xfire to work properly, just use the 7970 for WoW(I assume you can change that in AMD Catalyst Center like you can with Nvidia CP?) and you really don't gain any FPS for having SLI anyway, the game is not limited by your GPU, it's limited by your CPU.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by vesseblah View Post
    It's very well known fact that WoW does not work properly with Crossfire and can often lose framerate when people try to use it. SLI is slightly less problematic but still the gains are slim to none.

    Also sitting in Orgrimmar is CPU capped and you can not gain anything over vsync if you're running it on single Radeon 7970 already.
    All be it correct your CPU capped, this would be your minimum Frame not your Maximum and a single 7970 in a mid-high not high or full server can net 100+ FPS at any given time. Sitting in org is not capping anything unless its full, this is MoP and org is dead empty.

    ---------- Post added 2012-11-05 at 01:50 PM ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by Tehterokkar View Post
    WoW's game engine is really old, they'd have to redo it entirely to get SLI/Xfire to work properly, just use the 7970 for WoW(I assume you can change that in AMD Catalyst Center like you can with Nvidia CP?) and you really don't gain any FPS for having SLI anyway, the game is not limited by your GPU, it's limited by your CPU.
    Holy crap misinformation its not limited by your CPU, like seriously if you do not actually know dont respond. The cpu handles the lowest frame unfortunately wow is a game where you could sit @ your lowest possible frame for more than a quick moment. Again this is a software cap if anything not a CPU cap, your cpu is not locking your frames and depending on everything else could go higher or lower than what you see.

    @op WoW has zero reasoning behind CFX, turn it off and use a single card for WoW. Its like using a sli/cfx setup on Team Fortress really does nothing for ya.
    More over if a single 6950 can max BF3 above 40-50 fps nearly always few occasional explosions aside its really just a money sink to benchmark than reality.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Milkshake86 View Post
    All be it correct your CPU capped, this would be your minimum Frame not your Maximum and a single 7970 in a mid-high not high or full server can net 100+ FPS at any given time. Sitting in org is not capping anything unless its full, this is MoP and org is dead empty.

    ---------- Post added 2012-11-05 at 01:50 PM ----------



    Holy crap misinformation its not limited by your CPU, like seriously if you do not actually know dont respond. The cpu handles the lowest frame unfortunately wow is a game where you could sit @ your lowest possible frame for more than a quick moment. Again this is a software cap if anything not a CPU cap, your cpu is not locking your frames and depending on everything else could go higher or lower than what you see.

    @op WoW has zero reasoning behind CFX, turn it off and use a single card for WoW. Its like using a sli/cfx setup on Team Fortress really does nothing for ya.
    More over if a single 6950 can max BF3 above 40-50 fps nearly always few occasional explosions aside its really just a money sink to benchmark than reality.
    It is limited by your CPU, changing from a 560 TI to 680 will not increase your FPS(at least not a lot), whereas OCing your CPU from 4.0 GHz to 5.0 GHz will make a drastic difference as WoW only utilizes 2 cores. It's the same with all MMOs, your CPU is stressed a lot since there is a lot more to process(players mostly) and adding the factor that most MMOs lack multi core support making them only utilize a chunk of the full power.

  7. #7
    Deleted
    ehm isn't CF/SLI with two non identical cards causing them both to run similar to the worst card of the two?

  8. #8
    I hate misinformation in threads like this.

    Both statements below are true.

    WoW is bottlenecked by your CPU when calculations are predominantly taking place - ie a raid or battleground.

    WoW is bottlenecked by your GPU when you ramp up the graphical options in complex areas, including spell effects.


    The notion that you only have one upgrade path for WoW is misinformed advice.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Rodpad View Post
    I hate misinformation in threads like this.

    Both statements below are true.

    WoW is bottlenecked by your CPU when calculations are predominantly taking place - ie a raid or battleground.

    WoW is bottlenecked by your GPU when you ramp up the graphical options in complex areas, including spell effects.


    The notion that you only have one upgrade path for WoW is misinformed advice.
    If you have any(Gaming-intended) 6xx/7xxx series GPU from Nvidia/AMD, then the only way to gain more FPS would be to get better CPU or OC your current one more. WoW doesn't require that much GPU power in the end.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Rodpad View Post
    I hate misinformation in threads like this.

    Both statements below are true.

    WoW is bottlenecked by your CPU when calculations are predominantly taking place - ie a raid or battleground.

    WoW is bottlenecked by your GPU when you ramp up the graphical options in complex areas, including spell effects.


    The notion that you only have one upgrade path for WoW is misinformed advice.
    Holy crap my friend I dont feel alone anymore here. Except the word bottleneck wont apply here, as it assumes your trying to force more data through than will go, in actuallity your not doing that in wow but rather the tangled web of code is just clogging its own arteries and @ 50% cpu load or 2 cores @ 100% is not bottlenecking anything its just not being used optimally. If you were to factor in full optimal usage of your cpu, and the ability to use hyperthreads WoW would not run like it does, now this would cost blizzard money the 1 thing they horde and do not like giving up. Blizzard is not the friendly mod community of Crytek or Epic they are a just a business they do not care about the community until money starts dwindling. Activision is just an evil company that shouldnt exist.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by shroudster View Post
    ehm isn't CF/SLI with two non identical cards causing them both to run similar to the worst card of the two?
    Nah, at least Crossfire can mix two cards of the same "line" (79xx) and both run on their respective clocks & core/memory count. The above was true earlier, but nowadays you can mix two and both work at their own specs.

    And as I posted in my first post I very well realize you don't get a whole lot for crossfiring in WoW, but I was just looking for advice if other people had happened to get it working
    By the replies I would guess its a wasted effort, so probably I wont sacrifice a lot of effort to try to get it to function. I was merely curious if there's some trick or tweak to get it working since I had the chance to try crossfire

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Milkshake86 View Post
    single 7970 in a mid-high not high or full server can net 100+ FPS at any given time
    Why bother going up from 200fps to 300fps when you hit vsync cap even with 120Hz monitor on a single 7970? Unless you want to slam AA/AF to 32x for shits and giggles (over 4x is useless at FullHD or higher resolution anyway, it wont improve visual quality one bit).


    Quote Originally Posted by Rodpad View Post
    I hate misinformation in threads like this.

    WoW is bottlenecked by your GPU when you ramp up the graphical options in complex areas, including spell effects.

    The notion that you only have one upgrade path for WoW is misinformed advice.
    Speaking of misinformation, you can max out all WoW's graphics options including spell effects with Radeon 7850 class card with the exception of ridiculously high AA/AF you won't see on a high res monitor anyway.
    Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
    Trolling should be.

  13. #13
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Nightgloom View Post
    Nah, at least Crossfire can mix two cards of the same "line" (79xx) and both run on their respective clocks & core/memory count. The above was true earlier, but nowadays you can mix two and both work at their own specs.

    And as I posted in my first post I very well realize you don't get a whole lot for crossfiring in WoW, but I was just looking for advice if other people had happened to get it working
    By the replies I would guess its a wasted effort, so probably I wont sacrifice a lot of effort to try to get it to function. I was merely curious if there's some trick or tweak to get it working since I had the chance to try crossfire
    alright new thing learned since i actually tried that in the 5xxx series :P

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by vesseblah View Post
    Why bother going up from 200fps to 300fps when you hit vsync cap even with 120Hz monitor on a single 7970? Unless you want to slam AA/AF to 32x for shits and giggles (over 4x is useless at FullHD or higher resolution anyway, it wont improve visual quality one bit).




    Speaking of misinformation, you can max out all WoW's graphics options including spell effects with Radeon 7850 class card with the exception of ridiculously high AA/AF you won't see on a high res monitor anyway.
    Agreed Vesse, however what if your running on 240Hz or Plasma? I mean I'd definitely want to max out a 240Hz or higher just for the sheer enjoyment of I DID IT! Still tho Im sure something like BF3 or Metro 2033 would be amazing @ 240Hz its like damn near true motion.

  15. #15
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    Yeah, at low settings. Good luck trying to get past 240 FPS on Metro at maxed out settings.
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  16. #16
    Deleted
    indeed quad sli of top cards won't even get close for that.
    speaking of metro the new one will likely eat all current high end gpu cards for breakfast with maxed out settings
    Last edited by mmoce1d4ab16bc; 2012-11-05 at 02:51 PM.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by shroudster View Post
    indeed quad sli of top cards won't even get close for that.
    speaking of metro the new one will likely eat all current high end gpu cards for breakfast with maxed out settings
    2 680's 200~ Max FPS, so thats a bit of an off and incorrect statement, Im sure it wont hold 200+ all the time but even so it will look 100x better than 60Hz in action. Showing 113 average FPS when factoring in bottoms of 9 FPS id assume loading screens etc but 216 max FPS likely going to be in the 160~ area on qual sli.
    Last edited by Milkshake86; 2012-11-05 at 03:56 PM.

  18. #18
    WoW coding is outside of the user's control so that point is moot. As for bottleneck it is a fairly simple concept of one component of a system limiting the potential of the overall system despite headroom in other components. So if a CPU upgrade nets him FPS while a GPU upgrade doesn't then the CPU is the bottleneck and vice versa. It is the definition of the word "bottleneck"...

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Jinto View Post
    WoW coding is outside of the user's control so that point is moot. As for bottleneck it is a fairly simple concept of one component of a system limiting the potential of the overall system despite headroom in other components. So if a CPU upgrade nets him FPS while a GPU upgrade doesn't then the CPU is the bottleneck and vice versa. It is the definition of the word "bottleneck"...
    Again misuse words all you want it does NOT make them true. Again in order to be a "BOTTLENECK" it would have to be trying to force more through a thin pipeline, where as that is not even close to whats happening. It is not the definition at all, lets say you have a 900 Horsepower dodge charger everything ready to race but you have square tires you going to call that a bottleneck? cuz it isnt. Once again if anything is a bottleneck it is the software NOT the cpu, if your walking down a wide hallway singlefile hugging the left most wall thats your fault not the hallways.

    1.
    a narrow entrance or passageway.
    2.
    a place or stage in a process at which progress is impeded. even if u take this worded as technology its pointing to software
    3.
    Also called slide guitar. a method of guitar playing that produces a gliding sound by pressing a metal bar or glass tube against the strings.

    It is not the cpu causing this issue, it is the software therefor your bottleneck is the software, similar to a speed limit on a highway just cuz you can do 150mph doesnt mean you are allowed too.
    Last edited by Milkshake86; 2012-11-05 at 04:38 PM.

  20. #20
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Milkshake86 View Post
    2 680's 200~ Max FPS, so thats a bit of an off and incorrect statement, Im sure it wont hold 200+ all the time but even so it will look 100x better than 60Hz in action. Showing 113 average FPS when factoring in bottoms of 9 FPS id assume loading screens etc but 216 max FPS likely going to be in the 160~ area on qual sli.
    doubt it will reach 200 fps with maxed out settings and also was referring to the new one coming in Q1 2013 with the breakfast joke. (metro last light)

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