14 DAY TRIAL // The newest driver from AMD not only brought major support for Windows 10 and DirectX 12 for its newest graphics cards, like the Radeon R9 series, but it also allows users to enable Crossfire between two generations of graphics cards.
The guys at Videocardz tested the two graphic cards in Crossfire and managed not only to have them both recognized but they also got impressive results while testing them together in FireStrike Ultra 4K benchmark, which, as we mentioned in our R9 Fury review, is one of the most - if not the most - demanding tests for the latest graphic cards on the market.
We covered the launch of the new Catalyst 15.7 driver from AMD, and we found welcoming the addition of VSR (Virtual Super Resolution), the FRTC (Frame Rate Target Control), a very useful tool for lower-performing graphics cards that have frequent framerate spikes that can cause frustrating experiences, especially in multiplayer games. Together with VSR and FRTC, AMD has also added the much-needed FreeSync feature that eliminates tearing without any lag or latency, which works with Crossfire as well. All you need for that is a FreeSync-capable monitor and graphics card.
AMD helps users keep their old cards with the new
However, nowhere in the driver highlights was this interesting detail present - that is, the fact that old R9 290X users could enhance their graphics by crossfiring it with a much more powerful R9 390X. Nevertheless, this doesn't come as an extreme surprise since both cards feature pretty much the same GPU. While the R9 290X comes with the "Hawaii-XT" GPU, the Radeon R9 comes with the "Granada XT," which is basically the same "Hawaii" but much larger and significantly improved.
Even if it may be technically possible to Crossfire the two GPUs, it's great news for owners of old 290X cards, who don't have to throw or sell them away but could actually use them together and achieve better performance compared to using just one R9 390X. From a consumer standpoint, this feature is great news.
Videocardz managed to push the two Crossfired cards up to 5K points on FireStrike Ultra benchmarking, which is a great score for non high-end graphic cards, especially for a Crossfire between an old-gen and new-gen.
