Basically this is my current rig which I've upgraded over time: M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 Ati 5870 8GB Mushkin Phenom II 965be 850W PSU Now I have a sound card etc. but now the thing is, my PC is having huge bsod problems, and the main suspect is the MOBO (SSD/HDDs and RAM have been replaced already, no luck). With this mobo, and it most likely being faulty, there's no point in staying with this socket (the cheapest mobos I found are still way too expensive in my opinion, for that CPU anyway). The thing is, I'm getting a second 5870 for free and my intention was to buy a new 1150 mobo for 80-100€ or so (should be able to find a xfire mobo with that budget) and a i5-4690 (or maybe go for the unlocked one, but I doubt that mobo will do any overclocking). That way my rig would be have the i5 4690 and 2x5870 for only around 300€, how do those two match up? Is crossfire a huge hassle, and how do they work in newer games? I feel like my GPU is still pretty good, even in modern games and mostly it's the CPU that's bottle necking (e.g. PS2 or GW2). Any comments?
Yeah that's nice and all but I don't want to spend that much at least at the moment. Will the haswell prices drop once broadwell comes out?
Dual 5870 is still pretty decent. That's somewhere around a 760/670 in performance when it works correctly. I say go for it. You'll see amazing gains upgrading that old CPU and platform. I know I did when I did it over a year ago.
Nothing wrong with that, new CPU and board with a free 5870 for CFX. I'd say go for it. Then you'll have a system worth upgrading the graphics card when you're ready.
Aye, go ahead, seems like a good way to save some bucks and push a full upgrade a bit further. As for CFX, it shouldn't be more of a hassle than SLI, but scaling and stability seem to depend largely on driver version / game used. Still, as you have to pay nothing for the second graphics card, it really is a no-risk investment in my book. BTW my mobo cost around 130 € when I got it and it can do overclocking (all Z87 chipset mobos can). You may find a Z87 mobo for that price. Going for the Z97 would be better at this point, but if you're on a budget, don't worry. Haswell refresh CPUs (should) work with Z87 too. Plus chances are Broadwell will as well.