Cross Fire Help

[Harper]

With my parents going to the US for the next 3 months, I am thinking about taking advantage of this and getting them to pick up a CPU and 2x Video Cards.

Currently i am looking at purchacing the following :-
AMD PHENOM X4 9600 (possibly higher)
2x ATi HD4870 512M GDDR5 Video Cards

A few questions as this is the first time I have ever done Crossfire.

1. Apart from having two PCI-E x16 slots, is there any other requirments that i need from the motherboard?

2. I am currently running a Cooler Master Real Power 550 Watt Power Supply. It is SLi Ready at it have 2x 6-pin power connectors. Will 500 Watt be enough, or should I be looking at some thing bigger. I will be upgrading Weapon Of Mass-Distraction (see sig)
So the rest of the system will be
3x SATA Hard Drive (Upgrading to 400Gb + 1Tb 1Tb with Tax Return)
Adaptec Raid Card for 1Tb hard drives running Raid 1 (Upgrading with Tax return)
1x SATA DVD Burner
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy ZS (debatable if I keep this)
4x Cold Cathlode Lights.

 

[veg1992]

So are you set on AMD or can you use Intel?

Because you can't upgrade to Phenom on that board..

You need a socket AM2+ board to run a Phenom (which will also require DDR2 memory)

You'll probably need a new PSU, watts are not a good way to determine if a PSU is/isn't ready for HD 4870's, a Corsair 750tx is more than enough for the HD 4870's (consider that)

Also the Phenom 9600 is the B2 one with the Erratum bug on it, if you're dead set on a Phenom from AMD, then get the ones with the -50 suffix at the end, also Intels are better just so you know

 

[Prototype]

maybe a new rig but u can still use some of ur current hardware cz if ur going to upgrade u will need to change most of the hardwrae u currently have

If your going for AMD, look at the Black Edition if not look at any intel since they are good and cheaper also like the E2180, E7200, Q6600, etc...

 

[Apokalipse]

AMD PHENOM X4 9600 (possibly higher)

I'd advise you to get a B3 stepping CPU (9x50 series), or perhaps wait for the Deneb (45nm) chips to come out - Deneb will be made for socket AM3 (which adds DDR3 support), but will actually work in socket AM2+ aswell (it includes a memory controller compatible with DDR2 aswell)
The B2 stepping chips aren't particularly good overclockers, and suffer from the TLB bug. TLB errors are very rare though, and basically only occur with Virtualisation, and with Cool'n'Quiet enabled, and with all 4 cores running at 100% load.

Also, so far Phenom CPU's tend to overclock a lot better with multiplier increases. So if you plan on overclocking, you'll want a Black Edition chip (which has an unlocked multiplier).

2x ATi HD4870 512M GDDR5 Video Cards

the RV770 cards run a bit hot, but are designed to handle a higher amount of heat than previous GPU's. But there is a fan speed hack you can use to make the cards run cooler though, which can help overclocking.
But you might need to use a third party overclocking tool. CCC has an artificial overclocking limit of 790MHZ...

A few questions as this is the first time I have ever done Crossfire.

Crossfire is actually very easy to get running. You just need to make sure you attatch both bridges, have CCC installed and drivers for both cards; then, you literally just need to check one box in CCC.

1. Apart from having two PCI-E x16 slots, is there any other requirments that i need from the motherboard?

It needs to be crossfire compatible (boards with Nvidia chipsets are not)
Basically, for a Phenom system, it means a board with an ATI 770 or 790 series chipset

boards with the SB750 southbridge should appear any time now, and allow the Phenom's to overclock better than boards with the SB600 southbridge.
The SB750 also supports more features, including 12 USB ports, 6 SATA ports, RAID 5 support,

2. I am currently running a Cooler Master Real Power 550 Watt Power Supply. It is SLi Ready at it have 2x 6-pin power connectors. Will 500 Watt be enough, or should I be looking at some thing bigger. I will be upgrading Weapon Of Mass-Distraction (see sig)

With everything under maximum load, it would be approaching the limit of the PSU, but it will work fine (it actually has a peak load of 650W, and can supply plenty of power on +12V).

You need a socket AM2+ board to run a Phenom (which will also require DDR2 memory)

DDR2 is so cheap, I doubt that'd be an issue.

also Intels are better just so you know

Not by much really.

 

[maroon1]

I advise you to get Core 2 Quad Q6600 as it is better and consume less power. Also, it one of the best overclocking chip

 

[Drizzt]

Not by much really.

I advise you to get Core 2 Quad Q6600 as it is better and consume less power. Also, it one of the best overclocking chip

And so it begins.....

 

[Apokalipse]

I advise you to get Core 2 Quad Q6600 as it is better

That's debatable now.

Also, it one of the best overclocking chip

65nm Phenom's (BE chips) are overclocking past 3GHZ now. the 9950 can get to 3.5GHZ on stock cooling...
If the Q6600's are faster (and it's debatable especially in gaming, compared to >3GHZ Phenom's), it's not by much.

Besides, the Phenom's are not made by Intel.

 

[Drizzt]

if your parents are going to be in the US for 3 months, harper, then why don't you get a 4870x2 when they come out No crossfire too worry about and it's more powerful then 4870 crossfire.

As for the processor, I don't think it really matters unless you care about superpi . A 45nm phenom would be nice, they look like they r gunna be pretty sweet, although they are late in coming. It would also make you diffrent from all the q6600 losers.

*Coughcough*sig*coughcough*

 

[Apokalipse]

if your parents are going to be in the US for 3 months, harper, then why don't you get a 4870x2 when they come out No crossfire too worry about and it's more powerful then 4870 crossfire.

the 4870 X2 is a nice card. Whether it performs better than 2 x 4870's in crossfire needs to be confirmed though.....

The advantage is it only needs one PCI-E slot. But, it runs hotter. And you're options are limited for aftermarket cooling.
I'm not sure how well the X2's will overclock comparatively though, but I'd imagine single GPU cards would overclock better.
Though maybe the 4870 X2 will end up cheaper than 2 x 4870's

I will probably end up getting two 4870's myself. I already have two 3870's with aftermarket cooling, which use the same mounting holes...
and crossfire has never really been a hassle for me.

As for the processor, I don't think it really matters unless you care about superpi .

I agree with you there.
I think the irony is, that a Phenom 9750/9850 at stock would suit maroon1's needs perfectly. He doesn't overclock his Q6600.

A 45nm phenom would be nice, they look like they r gunna be pretty sweet

That they will be. I'll be getting one in my system for certain.

 

[Drizzt]

He doesn't OC his q6600??? SIN! maroon... OC now!

I thought there were like 2 benchmarks link down at the 4870x2 review thread that showed the 4870x2 being 20% better then crossfired 4870's?
Perhaps I am wrong.
The 4870's work with an accelero s1 rev 2?