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camcafe
08-09-09, 02:19 AM
Hello,

I current have ati 4850 card on my Gigabyte GA-EP45T-DS3R Motherboard which is capable of crossfiring. I am currently looking at upgrading the card and need sugguestion on these two options:

1) Buy another 4850 card to cross-fire @ around $100.

2) Sell my old 4850 and chip in a little more than $100 to buy a new 4870 or 4890 card.

Thanks
Marluce
08-09-09, 02:28 AM
The board doesn't look like It'd be a good Cross-fire..-er? When you have two 4850's stuck in there its only running at x8 for each. (I'm not on the top of my game with dealing with Cross-fire, so this is just a guess :)) So, depending on what resolution you game with, a 4870 1GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394) would be good for something in the 1280x1024 range.

If you're using a higher resolution, id say hit a 4890.
(Took a look at the MB compatible CPU list off newegg, just guessing you have a dual core or better)
netmask
08-09-09, 04:16 AM
What resolutions are you using? And what's your PSU wattage?
Rich'[ard]
08-10-09, 12:49 AM
do P45 boards have full speed Crossfire?
or is that just p35 boards.

a 4850 isn't really that old. i still got friends rockin' on an nVidia 7300GS :p..and he calls that gaming.

ey Marluce, if it's x8 each lane, there shoudnl't be a problem. there was a test done by Brollocks here and there's very little differnece between 2 lanes at x8 and 2 lanes at x16.
but if it's x16 and x4...you've got a problem there.
jobrien2001
08-10-09, 01:05 AM
Why dont you wait for the next series of cards? The 4850 is pretty decent if you can manage to hold till october.
Rich'[ard]
08-10-09, 05:40 AM
Why dont you wait for the next series of cards? The 4850 is pretty decent if you can manage to hold till october.
i've still got mine :)
don't plan to upgrade till end of high school...i might add a TR HR03 or osmething though...get's a bit toasty.

great performance nonetheless.
newn
08-10-09, 07:04 AM
About next generation cards. When they will be released? No one knows. And about this card i'd say sell and buy new one. Or yes, wait until next cards. Because 2x cards not working with most of the games.
netmask
08-10-09, 09:37 AM
The 5xxx generation will appear in more than 2 months I suppose.
sHape oF gReY
08-10-09, 10:05 AM
Rumor is 2-3 months until 5XXX series is out in the wild.
ratbuddy
08-10-09, 10:22 AM
The board doesn't look like It'd be a good Cross-fire..-er? When you have two 4850's stuck in there its only running at x8 for each. (I'm not on the top of my game with dealing with Cross-fire, so this is just a guess :)) So, depending on what resolution you game with, a 4870 1GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394) would be good for something in the 1280x1024 range.

If you're using a higher resolution, id say hit a 4890.
(Took a look at the MB compatible CPU list off newegg, just guessing you have a dual core or better)

For low resolutions like 1280x1024, a 4870 1GB is overkill even.
netmask
08-10-09, 12:35 PM
For low resolutions like 1280x1024, a 4870 1GB is overkill even.

Yes that's right. I've been using a 4870 512mb and it was fairly enough. When I switched to a 4890 a saw a real difference beyond 1440x900 and I currently use 1680x1050.
Bobnova
08-10-09, 02:00 PM
Two 4850s should be just fine at 8x PCIe 2.0 each.

Personally, i would wait till the 5xxx's come out and then buy a 4890.
pinkles
08-11-09, 02:11 PM
Id get a 4890, just make sure it works before you throw away the stock heatsink!
Marluce
08-11-09, 03:13 PM
;6190785"]
ey Marluce, if it's x8 each lane, there shoudnl't be a problem. there was a test done by Brollocks here and there's very little differnece between 2 lanes at x8 and 2 lanes at x16.
but if it's x16 and x4...you've got a problem there.

I see, thanks, now i know :p
Dragonprince
08-11-09, 05:05 PM
Because 2x cards not working with most of the games.

Which games would those be ? I'm running 4850's and have zero issues with every game I've tried. Fallout 3, CoD4, CoD WaW, L4D and more all throwing out serious frame rate increases running Crossfire over a single card. Im basically tied with a buddy who's running a single 285GTX on an i7 920 rig on the above games...

As far as the original posters question...4850's in Crossfire will be much faster than any single 4870. They will also be faster than the 4890 in the majority of games. Your best bet is to do some Googling for reviews and see for yourself...
Rich'[ard]
08-13-09, 10:40 PM
Which games would those be ? I'm running 4850's and have zero issues with every game I've tried. Fallout 3, CoD4, CoD WaW, L4D and more all throwing out serious frame rate increases running Crossfire over a single card. Im basically tied with a buddy who's running a single 285GTX on an i7 920 rig on the above games...

As far as the original posters question...4850's in Crossfire will be much faster than any single 4870. They will also be faster than the 4890 in the majority of games. Your best bet is to do some Googling for reviews and see for yourself...
maybe he's saying that based on earlier drivers when games were just released.
Crossfire didn't work well on some games until new drivers were released.
but who cares, Crossfire is da bomb now.
i've seen some performance tests reaching 190% of the performance over single card.