• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

4870 instead of 4850

S

sleek

n00b
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
63
I just got a great deal on a 4870 but it's only a 512MB. Is it worth getting another and using a crossfire config on them?

I'm on a 30" so I'd love to play native resolution 2560x1600!
 
that card is going to be memory limited at that resolution, another will make the memory limitation even more apparent since both cards will only be able to access 512 MB of memory even though combined there is a gig of memory. I don't know how crossfire handles if you got a 1 GB 4870 and used that 512MB card as the secondary card.

This all depends on the games you play, obviously. If you play CSS, you will be set.
 
Ok great. Just getting back into having a desktop pc. Been using a lenovo t61p. Should I then wait until I can find a 1gb card?
 
might have to research and see what happens with the memory when using a 512 and a 1 gig 4870 together in crossfire.
 
JacobC1983 said:
might have to research and see what happens with the memory when using a 512 and a 1 gig 4870 together in crossfire.
Click to expand...

The core and memory clockspeeds will be limited to the slowest card, and the amount of memory available will be limited to 512MB. So it will perform the same as two 512MB cards in Crossfire.
 
sleek said:
Well isn't 512mb in crossfire 1gb?
Click to expand...

Nope, each card has to load the data so you can only address 512mb. If you have a 1gb card and a 512mb card in crossfire you will only be able to address 512mb of memory because you will be limited by the 512mb card.
 
erikaxe said:
The core and memory clockspeeds will be limited to the slowest card, and the amount of memory available will be limited to 512MB. So it will perform the same as two 512MB cards in Crossfire.
Click to expand...

thanks, that's what I thought but wasn't sure about crossfire. Either way, that card won't cut it at that resolution with modern games. Especially if you wanna turn up AA. If I was OP, I would sell both and grab a 4890 or a 5850, or on the other team, a gtx 275. I can use one of my GTX 285s at this resolution and do most whatever I want, but my second one comes in handy with harder to run games.
 
Get at least a 1GB memory video card. A 30" display would justify a more powerful video card than even the 4870 if you can afford it. Then again a pair of 4870s crossfired right now is a pretty cheap but powerful solution.
 
Pardon me for asking, but where does the 4850 come into this?

30" lcd display, that would justify Crossifre or SLI.
Click to expand...
Not if the cards are 512MB. Especially with more demanding games Crossfire won't increase performance because bandwidth and buffer size will be bottlenecking the card.

I thought the 2x 512mb would do the trick.
Click to expand...
It won't. Because it's 512MB per card. Which means that each card will have to have its own set of textures, data, etc fit onto its own 512MB. Having the 1GB total pooled between both cards would be better.

I would turn down the 512MB card and spend the extra money and time finding a good, cheap 1GB 4870. Assuming your first card is a 1GB 4870 as well, that would be much better for gaming than a set of 512MB cards, which would show little, if any, increase in Crossfire from 1 to 2 cards, and be a waste of money.
 
Ok, I have the 4870 and a 4850 (got it cheaply). I'll keep the 4870 in the machine and wait for a good deal on a 4890 and then get rid of the 4870. Or should I go straight up to 5xxx?

I'll also keep a lookout for a GTX card.
 
lowest I would go for this monitor is a 4890 or gtx 275. Better use of money would be a HD 5850 or GTX 280/285 - If I was you, I would go for the 5850 if you can find one in stock. You need some power to run all those pixels, I can't believe you were using a 4850 on it.
 
Gaming isn't my main priority and I'm just getting the monitor today. I haven't added the 2nd half of the RAM yet either.

I couldn't find any 4890s.

How are the 280s?

I can get a 280 GTX for $180.
 
Dude, don't; DO NOT just switch your 512mb 4870 for a 1gb version if you're gaming on 30"

2560x1600 is a far higher res than a 4870 can put out, with or without that extra 512 megs. Either get another to crossfire or just get a 5850 or something.
 
sleek said:
Gaming isn't my main priority and I'm just getting the monitor today. I haven't added the 2nd half of the RAM yet either.

I couldn't find any 4890s.

How are the 280s?

I can get a 280 GTX for $180.
Click to expand...

that's not bad for the GTX280 but you can also as a temp solution crossfire the 4850 and the 4870 (they will work, just at 4850 speeds) and that will work fine for 4mp if you can live without your AA. I would site on these for a few and wait for TSMC to pull their head out. that should bring all the prices down. (hopefully)

if you do decide to part with the 4850 (I would keep it if I were you) shoot me a price
 
Last edited:
What are you trying to achieve with these itsy bitsy incremental upgrades? Doing this one step at a time will just cost money and take longer to get to where you want to end up.

I can get a 280 GTX for $180.
Click to expand...
Not worth it. You could get a 4890 new for round about that price, which would be it's rough equal. Look for a second-hand 275 for around $150. That would be a much better deal.
 
Great. Thanks for the help.

I got the 4870 because I found a deal I couldn't pass up. I'm going to keep the 4870 and try to get rid of the 4850.

I'll do this for now and try to get something more decent when prices start coming down.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top