Going triFire

[ibitato]

Ok, I have made my mind.
I am going tri-fire on my rig.
I have decided to waste my money, to have frames per second I will not even see :)

Well, I am checking in www.alternate.net (www.alternate.es), and based (mostly) on price, I am trying to decide.

Primary options:
PowerColor HD4870 PCS 1 GB - 179 euros
Sapphire HD4870 - 189 euros

Both have only 1 fan.

Sec options
Palit HD4870 Sonic Dual Edition 1GB - 199 euros
Gainward HD4870 "Golden Sample" 1GB - 199 euros

Both have 2 fan.

Shipping and etc are 20 euros.

So, being more or less the same cards (some come OCed), what would be better option and why?. 20 euros makes a diff in cooling??

I really want to keep the price low.

None of them come with CorssfireX bridge, but I have the one from my X2 card.

Opinions are highly appreciated :)

[BG-0]

Okay. Coolers:
Sapphire: Reference cooler. Does its job, but it's quite loud sometimes.
Powercolor: Good cooler, no rear exhaust is a con though.
Gainward: Pretty much the same as the above, a bit worse, it seems.
Palit: not a bad one either.. Dual bios is a nice gimmick, and a bit more than that, but not worth the extra price IMO.

Get either of your primary choices. I really can't find that PCS(not +) from PowerColor site, so Im not 100% sure if you're looking at what I am. Thinking a bit further, you could maybe want the preference cooled 4870 for trifire, as there's barely any breathing room between the cards, and the rear-exhaust dual-slot cooler could be a nice thing to have.

If you want to keep the price low, don't do this. You may hurt your FPS in many games, 80% won't see any improvements, and get 15% more in a few select games.

[ibitato]

Okay. Coolers:
Sapphire: Reference cooler. Does its job, but it's quite loud sometimes.
Powercolor: Good cooler, no rear exhaust is a con though.
Gainward: Pretty much the same as the above, a bit worse, it seems.
Palit: not a bad one either.. Dual bios is a nice gimmick, and a bit more than that, but not worth the extra price IMO.

Get either of your primary choices. I really can't find that PCS(not +) from PowerColor site, so Im not 100% sure if you're looking at what I am. Thinking a bit further, you could maybe want the preference cooled 4870 for trifire, as there's barely any breathing room between the cards, and the rear-exhaust dual-slot cooler could be a nice thing to have.

If you want to keep the price low, don't do this. You may hurt your FPS in many games, 80% won't see any improvements, and get 15% more in a few select games.

thanks, the PCS+ is basically the PCS , with 1GB
I agree........... rear-exhaust is going to work better.....

You are the 2d person that brings this to me....
If you want to keep the price low, don't do this. You may hurt your FPS in many games, 80% won't see any improvements, and get 15% more in a few select games

Is this just bc the cossfireX profiles or there is something else I need to know ???

TX
:)

[jdf_warrior]

Ok, I have made my mind.
I am going tri-fire on my rig.
I have decided to waste my money, to have frames per second I will not even see :)


Well at least you know and admit it. Some people will try to justify everything, even to the point that you think they are more of a ****** than you originally did. They usually tend to be more proud of themselves afterward, because they think you actually believed the BS they were pushing, which in turn, makes them look like more of a tard. So, props to you sir for not falling into that category.

[Badbonji]

Everone "wastes" money on something, depending on interests. IMO there is nothing wrong with it, and it is nice to get top end hardware, even if it is overkill for most applications :P
Shame you don't upgrade to core i7, they seem to handle mutli card setups a bit better, and the D0 is looking very nice atm.

[BG-0]

thanks, the PCS+ is basically the PCS , with 1GB
I agree........... rear-exhaust is going to work better.....

You are the 2d person that brings this to me....
If you want to keep the price low, don't do this. You may hurt your FPS in many games, 80% won't see any improvements, and get 15% more in a few select games

Is this just bc the cossfireX profiles or there is something else I need to know ???

TX
:)

Just crossfireX's nature. (the games' actually, but whatever). Games that don't support Crossfire properly/at all are not going to see any benefit from a third 4870. Your 4870X2 will do better in those.

BTW, why not add another 4870X2 (http://www.alternate.es/html/product/details.html?artno=JDXVU3&showTechData=true)? Less of a hassle, I'd assume. Or does your motherboard not support "quad-fire" with 2 x2 cards?

[ibitato]

Well at least you know and admit it. Some people will try to justify everything, even to the point that you think they are more of a ****** than you originally did. They usually tend to be more proud of themselves afterward, because they think you actually believed the BS they were pushing, which in turn, makes them look like more of a tard. So, props to you sir for not falling into that category.

Well..... I try to keep my feet on the ground......
I've been around in this world, for a while now, and I think I've learned few things :)

However, its fun to have fun, so there is no need to justify nothing :beer:

I find hardware and computers amusing, so to speak.

[ibitato]

Just crossfireX's nature. (the games' actually, but whatever). Games that don't support Crossfire properly/at all are not going to see any benefit from a third 4870. Your 4870X2 will do better in those.

BTW, why not add another 4870X2 (http://www.alternate.es/html/product/details.html?artno=JDXVU3&showTechData=true)? Less of a hassle, I'd assume. Or does your motherboard not support "quad-fire" with 2 x2 cards?

Men, another 350 euros ?????
hard to find a cover for that kind of money, at home.
:)

[ibitato]

Everone "wastes" money on something, depending on interests. IMO there is nothing wrong with it, and it is nice to get top end hardware, even if it is overkill for most applications :P
Shame you don't upgrade to core i7, they seem to handle mutli card setups a bit better, and the D0 is looking very nice atm.

Well, the rig is only few months old and I need to be careful at home :-/

i7 is my next step, but not for at least 1 or 2 years or divorce, wahtever comes first.

[jdf_warrior]

Well..... I try to keep my feet on the ground......
I've been around in this world, for a while now, and I think I've learned few things :)

However, its fun to have fun, so there is no need to justify nothing :beer:

I find hardware and computers amusing, so to speak.

I agree. That's my point though. If you want it, just to want it, just because you can, or for bragging rights, whatever, fine. Just hate it when people come up with blatant BS in attempt to justify something. I'm a dork and I like playing with my toys. :) That's the only justification I need. I'm not going to come up with some stupid excuse for WHY I need a 5th computer, because I don't "need" it. I want it. Period.

[ibitato]

hey ppl ,
at what res do you play??
I have a samsung T200 (really good screen to play), 2 ms 20.000:1 1680x1050.
Next step is 1920x1080, all the way to 23/24 inch
I know the benefit of trifire will be at high res, even with my X2 is.
Is it really worth it to go 1920x1080 ?? in a 22' ???
I am taling about to-so-expensive stuff........
Its not like I am going for it, but I want to know if the jump is a must-do, so to speak

[BG-0]

Nothing is a must-do beginning from using that kind of a monitor. You're talking about 500-600 $ (same in euros, propably) if you want a monitor that's worth getting over your current one.

[ibitato]

Nothing is a must-do beginning from using that kind of a monitor. You're talking about 500-600 $ (same in euros, propably) if you want a monitor that's worth getting over your current one.

ufffffff ...........
500 USD -> 375 euros.
No way.
:bang head

[TTP]

Ok, I have made my mind.
I am going tri-fire on my rig.
I have decided to waste my money, to have frames per second I will not even see :)

Opinions are highly appreciated :)

Might want to consider the newer 4890's since they draw less power and run a bit cooler.

[OnDborder]

Ok, I have made my mind.
I am going tri-fire on my rig.
I have decided to waste my money, to have frames per second I will not even see :)

:)

Imo, it's just not framerates.
I just finished Doom3 for about the 6th time, it's one of favorites, since I went to trifireX with my 4870's. The game looked fantastic. Don't know if it was the trifire or the 9.4's or both. Better than I ever seen it. The details and colors were vibrant. Gonna run through ROE then some CODmodern Warfare next.
I think you'll be very happy with the trifireX.

[BG-0]

ufffffff ...........
500 USD -> 375 euros.
No way.
:bang head

Why not? I know the conversion rate, but at least here things cost more in euros that they cost in US, in USD. Sure, if you have someone bringing the goods over from US then it's ~375 €, but otherwise... Don't know about the prices over there tho. At least the Alternate prices on the Fin site were even higher than local webstores.

[xtkxhom3r]

mmm tri fire its to bad 3 cards dont fit in my case lol

[satansangel114]

I say go for it:D

Id love to go trifire but cant afford an x2 at this point, and then I would have an extra 4850 with no home:(

[ibitato]

Imo, it's just not framerates.
I just finished Doom3 for about the 6th time, it's one of favorites, since I went to trifireX with my 4870's. The game looked fantastic. Don't know if it was the trifire or the 9.4's or both. Better than I ever seen it. The details and colors were vibrant. Gonna run through ROE then some CODmodern Warfare next.
I think you'll be very happy with the trifireX.

what 4870 cards you have???????

what screen??????????

[ibitato]

I am going for the Saphire
rear exhaust I think is going to help my low temps as they are.

:)

I will order today :)

Redarding bigger screen , next thing to do .)

/edit
I got it wrong the first time, I thouhgt the palit was the one with rear exaust , but ts saphire

[OnDborder]

what 4870 cards you have???????

what screen??????????

HIS 4870x2
Sapphire 4870 1 gig

[OnDborder]

1600x1200

[ibitato]

1600x1200

Do you play all games on vsync??
If not, do you get much probs??

[OnDborder]

Mostly. I don't like the "tearing" on my lcd monitor. Can't tell the difference anyway.

[ibitato]

yep, the thing is about tearing and vsync, wich I found causes frame drops on some games

[MonkeyMhz]

Enjoy, tri-fire.

1 For Physics,
1 For Graphics,
1 For Monkey, No. Awww...