Better Buy 5850/4850X2

[sheldonj]

i am debating between two cards

Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video ... - Retail $229

VisionTek 900297 Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video ... - Retail $289

which card would be the better buy 4850 X2 has 625mhz core clock is that going to make a difference

[sheldonj]

my motherboard in crossfire mode runs at x8/x8

[Rattle]

the 4850 is old tech, its basically 4850 CF 2 cards 1 pcb.

the 5850 is new tech, dx11, gddr5

shop around you should be able to find a 5850 cheaper.

I have had CF on 4850's, cf on 4870 512 and 4890 1gb and single 5870's and 5850's.

I would go with a single 5850 over a 4850x2.

[hitek420]

5850.

[Techjesse]

How well does one 5850 stack up to 4850's in crossfire?

[NOVAA]

Best case scenario the 4850x2 performs about equal to the 5850. But not all games are optimized as well for dual gpu's, so where the 5850's performance should be pretty straight across the board, 4850x2 might be great in some games, and not so good in others. 5850 is also DX11, runs cooler, and draws MUCH less power. I would go with the 5850 even if you do pay a bit more for it, but if your like me, and not willing to pay a premium for expensive dx11 cards until dx11 games have actually flooded the market, 4850x2 is a cheap, decent holdover for a year or so.

[NOVAA]

Case in point, check out these two sections of the review of the 5850 benchmarking Crysis Warhead and Far Cry 2.

Mind you I'm paying attention to the 5870 vs. 4870x2, because it should be roughly comperable to the 5850 vs. 4850x2.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3650&p=4

In Crysis even the 5850 hands the 4870x2 its ass

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3650&p=5

But in Far Cry 2 the single card crossfire solutions consistently dominate even the newer gen cards.

If your ok with that game to game performance variation, the 4850x2 is great bang for your buck.

[GotNoRice]

Case in point, check out these two sections of the review of the 5850 benchmarking Crysis Warhead and Far Cry 2.

Mind you I'm paying attention to the 5870 vs. 4870x2, because it should be roughly comperable to the 5850 vs. 4850x2.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3650&p=4

In Crysis even the 5850 hands the 4870x2 its ass

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3650&p=5

But in Far Cry 2 the single card crossfire solutions consistently dominate even the newer gen cards.

If your ok with that game to game performance variation, the 4850x2 is great bang for your buck.

Crysis is a POS TWIMTBP game that has never worked well with crossfire, it's an anomaly and little more.

All things being equal if you have the choice between the 5850 and 4850x2, go with the 5850. The 4850x2 would be a good buy if you are able to get it at a good discount. For example, I was about to go for a 5870 but ended up getting both of my 4870x2 cards used for about the price of a single 5870.

[4GHZ_or_bust]

Personally I'd go with single card, less power requirement. 5850 would need less power to run than any 4xxx in CF.

Plus by getting 5850/5870 now you have a room for future CF with second 5850/5870. If you bought 2x 4xxx for CF, it's pretty much dead ended as far as upgrading for extra GPU power.

[Techjesse]

OK Guys, you sold me! I'm ordering a 5850 to replace my 4850's in Crossfire. My AMD rig is a PII 940 with a Gigabyte mobo GA-MA790FX-UD5P full 32 lanes in PCI E 2.0 then next week I'll order another 5850 to fill them up! Gaming will be second to none! LOL

[Egrimm]

5850, very happy with mine and as people said you'd get the same performance but at less power and with DX11

[Rinne]

Good choice, the 4850 is also known to be VERY buggy.

[bda1967]

5850 is the wise choice. ;)

[killem2]

single 5850 then when you have the money to XFIRE another 5850 it should be rock hard stable and be compatible with anything you need to play by that time.