NEED HELP CHOOSING 4870x2 or 4870

veryverylucky · Sep 11, 2008

Need advice

I want to build a new computer with a 1700 $ budget. I can’t go any higher coz I don’t earn that much money. Here’s what I came up:
Processor: INTEL Core 2 Quad Q9550
CPU Cooler: THERMALRIGHT Ultima-90
Mobo: ASUS P5Q Pro
VGA: Gigabyte HD4870 X2
Hard Drive: WESTERN DIGITAL WD5000AAKS (500gb)
Casing: COOLER MASTER CM Stacker 831 Silver
PSU: THERMALTAKE W0116 ToughPower 750 W
RAM: TEAM TXDD4096M1066HC5DC-D (4 gb DDR2 1066 PC2-8500)
OS: Vista 32 bit (or XP)

I intend to overclock the cpu. I need help with the VGA. Right now I’m using 32 inch Samsung TV as my computer display (not bad at all actually). As I read on many review, 4870x2 true power is in 2560x1600 res. I want to be able to keep this computer (and VGA) as long as I can. Is this overkill? Should I simply buy 4870 512mb? And how long do you guys keep a VGA?

Thanks for your help.

don'tknow · Sep 11, 2008

get the x2 if you're going to be playing at 2560x1600. Assuming this is a gaming PC, I'd also recommend to get an e8400/8500/8600 instead, as it can generally OC higher, giving better results in almost every game. Anything above a dual core isn't utilized well in games, and at that point clock speed is more important than # of cores.

veryverylucky · Sep 11, 2008

don'tknow said:
get the x2 if you're going to be playing at 2560x1600. Assuming this is a gaming PC, I'd also recommend to get an e8400/8500/8600 instead, as it can generally OC higher, giving better results in almost every game. Anything above a dual core isn't utilized well in games, and at that point clock speed is more important than # of cores.

Yes. Although I inted this to be gaming PC, I'll be using it for multitasking. But thanks for the CPU advise. I'll consider it. I'm still researching about the CPU and Gigabyte 4870x2. From what I read, Visiontekx2 and Diamondx2 have some issues.

xtkxhom3r · Sep 11, 2008

just keep that quad you should be able to take it to 4.0 and yea most games will be faster with a dual compared to a quad but later on software is gonna catch up and quads are going to be better in games just look at supreme commander i got a huge boost going from a [email protected] to a [email protected] thats 1ghz slower but wow the improvement was awesome and im sure future games will start to support more cores its just a matter of time

buy for the future not for the now.....

veryverylucky · Sep 11, 2008

xtkxhom3r said:
just keep that quad you should be able to take it to 4.0 and yea most games will be faster with a dual compared to a quad but later on software is gonna catch up and quads are going to be better in games just look at supreme commander i got a huge boost going from a [email protected] to a [email protected] thats 1ghz slower but wow the improvement was awesome and im sure future games will start to support more cores its just a matter of time

buy for the future not for the now.....

i see that u'r using 40" sony tv, right? With your card, what is the highest resolution u can get? I never had any high-end vga before so i'm a newbie.
I'm using old vga (nvidia 7200) and the highest res is 1366x768.

Also how long does it take before you buy a new vga?

xtkxhom3r · Sep 11, 2008

well im sure the card can support higher resolutions but i think my tv can only support 1920x1080

and i think thats because im connecting to the tv via hdmi not the vga adapter or maybe because its a 1080p tv not a computer monitor...

im not really sure but it doesnt bother me since when im in windows i have to use a resolution of 1024x768 if i use anything bigger the letters will get to small and i wont be able to see them from where i like to sit lol....

and i dont really buy the newest card out there i buy when ever i see a good deal like the card i had before this was a 3870x2 i got it for 150bucks with a waterblock and i put it up for sale soon after and i sold it to a newbe for 250 and got my self a 4870

....

veryverylucky · Sep 12, 2008

big thanks

xtkxhom3r said:
well im sure the card can support higher resolutions but i think my tv can only support 1920x1080

and i think thats because im connecting to the tv via hdmi not the vga adapter or maybe because its a 1080p tv not a computer monitor...

im not really sure but it doesnt bother me since when im in windows i have to use a resolution of 1024x768 if i use anything bigger the letters will get to small and i wont be able to see them from where i like to sit lol....

and i dont really buy the newest card out there i buy when ever i see a good deal like the card i had before this was a 3870x2 i got it for 150bucks with a waterblock and i put it up for sale soon after and i sold it to a newbe for 250 and got my self a 4870 ....

Big thanks for the info. I posted the same question on other forums. Their conclusion is: just get the 4870 512mb. 4870x2 would be an overkill since the TV may not support anything higher than 1080. From many review, there isn't a big difference between 4870 and X2 in resolution under 1050 (1080).

Considering that, i think i changed my mind. I think i'm gonna go for the 4870 512mb. I can save 250 bucks!!! Not bad. :santa:

xtkxhom3r · Sep 12, 2008

or you can get a x2 and later down the road when new ones are about to come out you get rid of the x2 and upgrade to the next thing for a minimal price but if your on a budget get the 4870 and upgrade to another one later like me lol

veryverylucky · Sep 12, 2008

xtkxhom3r said:
or you can get a x2 and later down the road when new ones are about to come out you get rid of the x2 and upgrade to the next thing for a minimal price but if your on a budget get the 4870 and upgrade to another one later like me lol

LOL. Brilliant idea. But it's gonna be hard selling x2 here. Maybe next year I can sell it to you than buy the newest super card on the market? LOL. :santa:

xtkxhom3r · Sep 12, 2008

hahaha it aint that hard selling dude all you have to do is post a thread thats all they will come you could even put it in your sig just put 4870x2 for sale it will sell lol if you have the cash i would get the x2 if you dont then just get the 4870

deathman20 · Sep 12, 2008

For such a low res the 4870 should treat you very nicely. Or even a 4850 might treat you nicely if you'd like to mod it and increase its speed as well for a little fun.

If you get a bigger TV/Monitor in the future, yes a 4870X2 will treat you better.

deathman20 · Sep 12, 2008

xtkxhom3r said:
hahaha it aint that hard selling dude all you have to do is post a thread thats all they will come you could even put it in your sig just put 4870x2 for sale it will sell lol if you have the cash i would get the x2 if you dont then just get the 4870

Well can't do that. First you have to have 100+ Posts, are abidding to the forum rules for the classifieds section then you can post it in the classifieds. And as well you can't post anything for sale outside the classifieds, thats including in your sig.

Reason for this is to protect the buyer and seller from scammers that lerk around.

xtkxhom3r · Sep 12, 2008

deathman20 said:
Well can't do that. First you have to have 100+ Posts, are abidding to the forum rules for the classifieds section then you can post it in the classifieds. And as well you can't post anything for sale outside the classifieds, thats including in your sig.

Reason for this is to protect the buyer and seller from scammers that lerk around.

hah thats true i forgot you cant post outside of the classifieds so that includes your sig but im sure u will have 100posts by the time you will want to sell the x2

btw when i said post a thread i didnt mean out side f the classifieds

veryverylucky · Sep 12, 2008

an answer from a nice lady...

xtkxhom3r said:
hah thats true i forgot you cant post outside of the classifieds so that includes your sig but im sure u will have 100posts by the time you will want to sell the x2

btw when i said post a thread i didnt mean out side f the classifieds

LOL. Trust me, the cost sending the card to your place can choke you. That thing is big and heavy!

Anyway, i found my answer. I called Samsung Service and asked if I can play at 2650x1600. The lady gave me the answer (might wanna call her again. what a lovely voice :santa:

LOL). For those of you who uses LCD TV as your gaming monitor, you cannot play at higher resolution than it's supported resolution. Meaning, i can only play at 1360x768.

Until I get a computer LCD that can play 1900x1200, there is no point buying 4870x2.

Got me thinking though... Is there a difference when you play Crysis at 2560x1600 on 22" LCD compared in playing at 1680x1050 on the same 22" LCD? There shouldn't be any difference, right?

I guess 32" TV at 1360x768 still provides excellent gaming experience, right?

prime81 · Sep 12, 2008

While I would agree the 4870x2 is overkill for that resolution, I still think it's a heck of a card for the money. One thing you may consider is buying a single 4870 for now and then once you do upgrade to a bigger monitor you could either sell or keep the 4870 and Crossfire it with a 4870x2 or if you feel so inclined you may opt for 2 single 4870s CF'd.

Stick with the quad, clock speeds dont necessarily mean better gaming as I've had both and I have to say the quad is hands down more solid all around. The Q9550 should be able to handle 3.6ghz with ease and if ya get a good chip possibly 4ghz for 24/7.

veryverylucky · Sep 12, 2008

prime81 said:
While I would agree the 4870x2 is overkill for that resolution, I still think it's a heck of a card for the money. One thing you may consider is buying a single 4870 for now and then once you do upgrade to a bigger monitor you could either sell or keep the 4870 and Crossfire it with a 4870x2 or if you feel so inclined you may opt for 2 single 4870s CF'd.

Stick with the quad, clock speeds dont necessarily mean better gaming as I've had both and I have to say the quad is hands down more solid all around. The Q9550 should be able to handle 3.6ghz with ease and if ya get a good chip possibly 4ghz for 24/7.

Thanks for the advise. At the moment, I intend on keeping the 32" monitor for 10-15 years LOL. I'm going to get a Digital Aliance 4870 (memory clock speed 3.6 ghz?) . But Sapphire (memory clock speed 3.0 ghz?) has more goodies. Is there any performance difference between the two? Which has less problem? I don't live in US so I don't get to choose other brands. And 4870 is haaaaaard to find here.

deathman20 · Sep 12, 2008

If getting a 4870, you'll want the GPU at 750 and the memory at 3.6Ghz or 900Mhz what ever is advertised. So you'll probably want to go with the DA 4870, or make sure thats not some typo with the Sapphire since well I've never seen a 4870 advertised at below stock clocks.

veryverylucky · Sep 12, 2008

deathman20 said:
If getting a 4870, you'll want the GPU at 750 and the memory at 3.6Ghz or 900Mhz what ever is advertised. So you'll probably want to go with the DA 4870, or make sure thats not some typo with the Sapphire since well I've never seen a 4870 advertised at below stock clocks.

750W? Isn't that waaaay to high? On some review, they say it's between 550-650W. 650W is safe for 4870. Unless you plan to upgrade/crossfire somewhere in the future. I think the future cards will also be power friendly.

deathman20 · Sep 12, 2008

veryverylucky said:
750W? Isn't that waaaay to high? On some review, they say it's between 550-650W. 650W is safe for 4870. Unless you plan to upgrade/crossfire somewhere in the future. I think the future cards will also be power friendly.

No 750Mhz, as in the GPU clock speed thats what I ment.

750W yeah that will be needed for CF thats for sure ~580-620W PSU for it otherwise especially if you want to clock everything nicely.

veryverylucky · Sep 12, 2008

deathman20 said:
No 750Mhz, as in the GPU clock speed thats what I ment.

750W yeah that will be needed for CF thats for sure ~580-620W PSU for it otherwise especially if you want to clock everything nicely.

LOL sorry. my bad. didn't carefully read your post.

NEED HELP CHOOSING 4870x2 or 4870

Registered

Member

Registered

Member

Registered

Member

Registered

Member

Registered

Member

High Speed Premium Senior

High Speed Premium Senior

Member

Registered

Member

Registered

High Speed Premium Senior

Registered

High Speed Premium Senior

Registered

Similar threads