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View Full Version : 4890 crossfire vs 5870

jarlmaster47
03-21-10, 09:19 PM
Hey guys. Should I buy another 4890 and run a CF rig or sell my current 4890 and get a 5870. This would all be well after Fermi comes out when the prices drop crazy low :cool: What do you guys think?
mxthunder
03-21-10, 09:23 PM
Honestly, I would go for the 5870. I had some crossfire 4980's and they were much slower compared to my 5870, not to mention I can now do dx11, and there is no microstutter, less heat, less noise, etc.
freakdiablo
03-21-10, 09:50 PM
Honestly, I would go for the 5870. I had some crossfire 4980's and they were much slower compared to my 5870, not to mention I can now do dx11, and there is no microstutter, less heat, less noise, etc.

Plus there's also the option to xfire the 5870s down the road.
JonSimonzi
03-21-10, 10:00 PM
The age old dilemma when a new series of cards comes out. Add a second one from the previous generation since prices drop so much, or just get one of the new ones. I'd have to agree with what was already said. A single powerful GPU is much easier to deal with than a dual GPU setup.
GotNoRice
03-21-10, 10:03 PM
Hey guys. Should I buy another 4890 and run a CF rig or sell my current 4890 and get a 5870. This would all be well after Fermi comes out when the prices drop crazy low :cool: What do you guys think?

Well the pros/cons should be fairly obvious. You will get more performance out of the 4890's but you will have more heat and power consumption. 5870 will get you eyefinity and DirectX11. It's worth noting however that the way DirectX11 works, it will run directly on DirectX 10 and 10.1 hardware. Compatibility is built in and it's not like it was previously where the game had to have separate support for lower DirectX levels. So when it comes to future games it won't be a matter of not being able to play them you will just miss out on the relatively small subset of features that are in DX11 but not 10.1. TBH most can't even tell the two apart aside from benchmarks specifically meant to showcase DX11 features (such as the unigine benchmark).

The main reason you would want to go with 4890's is the price, however they are fairly scarce cards so getting a great deal might not be so easy.
Brolloks
03-21-10, 10:45 PM
Although I have a 5870 I cannot get myself to sell my 4890 CF setup which does outperform the 5870 in all benchies....however, the 5870 runs much cooler, is DirectX 11 and draws much less power, so it is my card of choice for gaming. Once the GTX480/470 comes out the 5870 should come down in price to draw the crowd, so wait if few weeks or you can get a 5850 which is a great 2nd choice.
jarlmaster47
03-22-10, 08:46 AM
yeah thats what I was thinking. Single gpu setups are a LOT easier to deal with. Well now that Vista has received the dx11 update, I am able to play games in dx11 with my 4890. But I think I will get a new monitor first and play in 1920 x 1080 res, which my 4890 should handle no problem. I will probably end up waiting till the northern islands refresh before I get a 5870.
EarthDog
03-22-10, 09:10 AM
Well now that Vista has received the dx11 update, I am able to play games in dx11 with my 4890.5870.The card is DX10.1 not DX11. Is that even possible considering the hardware limitations? :chair:
117425
03-22-10, 09:21 AM
5870...all the way...the 4000 series is great but not as future proof...because of many of the reasons mentioned above including directx
jarlmaster47
03-22-10, 09:58 AM
I know the 4890 is directx 10.1 but it now has dx11 support.
EarthDog
03-22-10, 10:03 AM
I dont believe that to be true. VISTA can do DX11 now with a DX11 card. If I am mistaking, please post some links so I can learn! I dont understand how a card that doesnt have DX11 is going to produce DX11.
117425
03-22-10, 10:07 AM
agreed...
sandyduff
03-22-10, 10:35 AM
I know the 4890 is directx 10.1 but it now has dx11 support.

Yeh that isn't true... otherwise all the 4 series card will have DX11 support which they don't...
mxthunder
03-22-10, 10:51 AM
yeah, the features are enabled on the hardware, not the software
GotNoRice
03-22-10, 11:01 AM
I dont believe that to be true. VISTA can do DX11 now with a DX11 card. If I am mistaking, please post some links so I can learn! I dont understand how a card that doesnt have DX11 is going to produce DX11.
Yeh that isn't true... otherwise all the 4 series card will have DX11 support which they don't...

DirectX11 has built-in compatibility for older hardware via downlevel paths. A user with 10.1 hardware will be able to select "DirectX11" in a game and it will work. It's only using the 10.1 hardware features of course, but the point being that compatibility is built in. The perk of having a DX11 card isn't that you can run games others can't, but simply that you will have access to the small subset of features that is in DX11 but not DX10.1. It's not that big of a difference IMO.
EarthDog
03-22-10, 11:11 AM
Correct. Key being that its only using DX10.1 features and not DX11.
117425
03-22-10, 11:20 AM
once again agreed, its not realy running dx11 its more of a compatibility feature is it not
GotNoRice
03-22-10, 11:28 AM
once again agreed, its not realy running dx11 its more of a compatibility feature is it not

Well you're talking about semantics at that point. DX10 and 11 are more similar than they are different. Large portions are basically the same. So running DX11 you will still be using the hardware capabilities of the card, but specifically, you will be missing out on features such as Shader Model 5.0 and Tessellation. There is no downside to running DX11 on downlevel hardware aside from the specific subset of features that will not be available.
tomic888
03-22-10, 11:31 AM
I would get the 5870, 4890 crossfire are very good but they dont support dx11 and after a year or two they will get old, get the 5870 and after some time get one more.
EarthDog
03-22-10, 11:49 AM
Well you're talking about semantics at that point. DX10 and 11 are more similar than they are different. Large portions are basically the same. So running DX11 you will still be using the hardware capabilities of the card, but specifically, you will be missing out on features such as Shader Model 5.0 and Tessellation. There is no downside to running DX11 on downlevel hardware aside from the specific subset of features that will not be available.It is semantics I suppose. Yes he can select DX11 and run it, but he is not using the features that make DX11.....DX11. So is he really running DX11??? :santa:
GotNoRice
03-22-10, 12:03 PM
It is semantics I suppose. Yes he can select DX11 and run it, but he is not using the features that make DX11.....DX11. So is he really running DX11??? :santa:

Here is an example of what a user would be missing out on with 10.1 hardware instead of 11.

10.1
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/3950/metro2033minmax04.png

11
http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/1839/metro2033minmax03.png

Its simply that the ability to run the game anyway, combined with the fact that most wouldn't even be able to tell the difference, paints a picture that is not nearly as bleak as many are implying.
EarthDog
03-22-10, 12:07 PM
I cant see pictures at the office (blocked on my end)... we know the differences are not much, now. But its still not DX11 as what makes DX11 what it is, isnt being used, even if the differences are only minimal. :)
jarlmaster47
03-22-10, 03:05 PM
well all I know is that I can run all my games with a dx11 setting. and I do see tesselation which is only supposed to be in dx11 so...
EarthDog
03-22-10, 03:06 PM
I thought tesselation was on the hardware side of the card? Heck tesselation was on HD3xxx series wasnt it? Point is, if the card has it, it will do it. If the card does not have the hardware to do it, it wont. Am I wrong here? It may be using it, but now what about SM5?

I guess my question now is what ISNT it doing in DX11 vs say 10/10.1?? SM5? Or why buy a DX11 card if a DX10/10.1 card can do everything it can? That makes no sense to me at all.
Younglin
03-22-10, 03:28 PM
I think directx 11 is a big deal. the lighting looks so much better. And we have to take into account that dx11 hasn't been out all that long. I'm sure games will take better advantage of its benefits down the road.
baris_
03-22-10, 03:41 PM
I think directx 11 is a big deal. the lighting looks so much better. And we have to take into account that dx11 hasn't been out all that long. I'm sure games will take better advantage of its benefits down the road.

Exactly lads. I think it really shows itself in Dirt 2. It's just amazing. Imagine in a year or so.
Younglin
03-22-10, 03:48 PM
Exactly lads. I think it really shows itself in Dirt 2. It's just amazing. Imagine in a year or so.

yeah that's what I'm thinking. Look at stalker call of pripyat, (or however its spelled) the lighting and textures are exceptional.
brown_dog
03-22-10, 03:58 PM
youd really save a lot with a crossfired 4890 that is if you're just adding another card not getting both at the same time.
just wait and see if 5870 prices would drop after the gtx480 gets out.
Younglin
03-22-10, 04:06 PM
youd really save a lot with a crossfired 4890 that is if you're just adding another card not getting both at the same time.
just wait and see if 5870 prices would drop after the gtx480 gets out.

Well if he sold his 4890 and bought a 5870 he wouldn't spend all that much.
jarlmaster47
03-22-10, 04:48 PM
I will sell my 4890 then get a 5870 but not for like a few months after fermi
GotNoRice
03-22-10, 04:50 PM
well all I know is that I can run all my games with a dx11 setting. and I do see tesselation which is only supposed to be in dx11 so...

No.. not sure what you are seeing but it's not tessellation. Run the Unigine Haven benchmark in DirectX11. It will run but all of the tiles will be flat.

It's true that ATI cards have had the ability to do hardware tessellation for quite some time but I don't believe their previous implementations are compatible with the tessellation in DX11. Though, I don't think tessellation is really a big deal.