4870x2 to GTX480? or wait

N

Nirad9er

2[H]4U
Joined
Feb 18, 2004
Messages
2,956
I'm pretty happy with the 4870x2 so far, but would it be worth it to go to a GTX480 for the added performance with the few hundred dollar upgrade plus dx11? I think the 4870x2 is on par or even beats the 5870 in some games. I'm guessing the GTX480 is only 10-15% faster. What do you think? Should I just wait for the GTX485 or HD6000 series?

I play at 1920x1200 and try to max the settings. I play a lot of Bad Company 2 and its runs great for that in DX10 mode obviously. Metro 2033 is not playable on that res with the settings I usually play on but I haven't put much time into that game. Are there any games coming out where I'm gonna want the upgraded video card and DX11?

Thanks
 
Well, there are some new games coming down the pipes, there always are some.

The question is how happy are you now? You sound somewhat satisfied, but honestly, I think the 5870 and the 480 would handle the 4870x2 in terms of performance.

The key is knowing when the new cards are going to hit and then determining if you can wait that long.

If you spend a lot of time with BC2 and you're happy with it, then wait. If a new game comes out that you love but can't play at the settings you want, then bite on a 5870 or a 480.

Sorry I couldn't be more assistance. It's just hard to give adcvice when we don't know the dates when the new cards will drop.

Damn this Wendy's hamburger is good....
 
I would wait until the 4th quarter when more of the big name DX11 games come out (new Crysis, Deus Ex 3, etc.) By that time a refreshed GPU for both AMD and Nvidia should be out allowing you to make a more informed decision for the latest games.
 
Upgrading to a 5870 would be a side-grade at best in terms of performance. In more cases than not the 4870x2 actually takes the lead against the 5870. There are plenty of situations where the 4870x2 is competitive with the GTX480 as well.

http://www.techspot.com/review/263-nvidia-geforce-gtx-480/page7.html

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2977/...tx-470-6-months-late-was-it-worth-the-wait-/9

Regarding DirectX11, keep in mind that compatibility with DirectX10 and 10.1 hardware is built-in directly. You should never find yourself in a situation where you can't play a DirectX11 game because you "only" have 10.1 hardware. You will of course miss out on tessellation and you will be running Shader Model 4.1 instead of 5.0 but you'll still be able to play the game, and likely with plenty of graphics power to spare.

Personally, I think tessellation is a bit overrated. I know that there are plenty who feel otherwise but I for one am looking forward to what will essentially be a free performance boost in DX11 games by having tessellation disabled automatically.

Only reason to go with a GTX480 would be Cuda IMO, it's a damn cool tech even if it is proprietary.
 
i did the side-grade from a 4870x2 to a 5870 and life has been much btter. no more microstutters and overall the system has been running much cooler. Also pairing with msi afterburner the overclocks are much higher than i ever got with the 4870.

Although my biggest reason was switching brands. XFX has lifetime whereas the diamond doesn't.
 
if your happy why bother? I would not upgrade a 4870X2 right now. (for myslef)
 
i find that if someone is asking, they aren't totally satisfied with their current setup :p

i found the GTX 480 to be noticeably faster and an actual upgrade over my HD 4870-X2 from 1680x1050 to 2560x1600 resolutions, nevermind that the older card cannot run DX11

http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=16475

With the very latest GeForce Drivers, the performance gap widens a bit further

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7-winvista-64bit-257.21-whql-driver.html

There is nothing wrong with HD 4870-X2 performance but there are times when CrossFire doesn't work and you are stuck gaming at HD 4870 speeds
- Also, the noise and heat levels of the two cards are pretty identical; so you won't complain about noise, heat or power usage
. . . i sold my HD 4870-X2 while it still commands a premium ($200-$250)
:cool:
 
Last edited:
apoppin said:
i find that if someone is asking, they aren't totally satisfied with their current setup :p

i found the GTX 480 to be noticeably faster and an actual upgrade over my HD 4870-X2 from 1680x1050 to 2560x1600 resolutions, nevermind that the older card cannot run DX11

http://alienbabeltech.com/main/?p=16475

With the very latest GeForce Drivers, the performance gap widens a bit further

http://www.nvidia.com/object/win7-winvista-64bit-257.21-whql-driver.html

There is nothing wrong with HD 4870-X2 performance but there are times when CrossFire doesn't work and you are stuck gaming at HD 4870 speeds
- Also, the noise and heat levels of the two cards are pretty identical; so you won't complain about noise, heat or power usage
. . . i sold my HD 4870-X2 while it still commands a premium ($200-$250)
:cool:
Click to expand...

I am sure it is faster and that the OP would like a little better, the question is whether its worth 500 bucks? that is damn near a pair of 5850 that would smoke it except in Metro (and you loose some Nvidia only features.). if he had a 4mp screen I could see it but a 4870X2 is still quite viable for current games at 2.3mp. But I guess that is pretty subjective as well. I would just suggest he lower a few settings in metro and wait. Unless you just have to have the single fastest GPU I don't think its the best buy right now. esp not when the OP is mostly happy with his current card.
 
Not worth it yet IMO, hence why I still have my 4870 X2. A 5870 is a sidestep, some benefit, but overall pretty minimal and definitely not worth the money. GTX480 is a performance jump, but again I still don't see it being worth the money yet.

I'm waiting for the next refresh.
 
Nirad9er said:
I play at 1920x1200 and try to max the settings. I play a lot of Bad Company 2 and its runs great for that in DX10 mode obviously. Metro 2033 is not playable on that res with the settings I usually play on but I haven't put much time into that game. Are there any games coming out where I'm gonna want the upgraded video card and DX11?
Thanks
Click to expand...

If you play as much Bad Company2 as I do. Then go for it :) I play Bad Compay 2 in DXVersion=11, very smooth and overall an amazing experience. You won't be disappointed.
 
Valset said:
I am sure it is faster and that the OP would like a little better, the question is whether its worth 500 bucks? that is damn near a pair of 5850 that would smoke it except in Metro (and you loose some Nvidia only features.). if he had a 4mp screen I could see it but a 4870X2 is still quite viable for current games at 2.3mp. But I guess that is pretty subjective as well. I would just suggest he lower a few settings in metro and wait. Unless you just have to have the single fastest GPU I don't think its the best buy right now. esp not when the OP is mostly happy with his current card.
Click to expand...

Look at it this way; costs to the OP are realistically, $500-$250 = $250 by selling his HD 4870-X2 .. and he basically has CrossFire in a single card with its disadvantages.

Yes. It IS worth it imo to go to a single faster card with DX11. However, if the OP is really going to spend around $500 and he likes the CrossFire experience, then go for a HD 5970 for a real upgrade.

Right now, i am playing with HD 5870 CrossFire (875/1275) and it is absolutely positively worth it *performance-wise* to upgrade from HD 4870-X2 except it is $800-$250 = $550. HD 5970 for about the same performance would be $650-$250 = $400 and would be in the "really worth it to upgrade" category
:cool:
 
Last edited:
I was happy too with my 4870X2 until I got my GTX 480 (1st card) and was floored by how much smoother games played. I am playing at 2560X1600 so games such as borderlands struggled with everything up.
 
I have an x2, won't be upgrading till next generation.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
I've been looking for an excuse to upgrade my 4870 X2 for a while.

First the ATI 5870 came out. But it seemed it really didn't outperform the 4870 X2. I toyed around with the idea of upgrading anyway to rid myself of the dual GPU issues and conserve some power. But decided lets just wait and see what Nvidia has.

So waited on the GTX 480. The reviews left me disappointed. And now that we are this far into 2010, I figure I might as well keep waiting and see what ATI's Southern Islands card looks like.

I want a good single GPU card, with a noticeable performance advantage over my X2 and that isn't a glutenous fire belching inferno from hell. And I feel my 4870 X2 is still good enough that I can be picky and keep waiting if I need to. Just gotta try to ignore that upgrade itch that makes me do stupid things I don't need to do. :)
 
apoppin said:
Look at it this way; costs to the OP are realistically, $500-$250 = $250 by selling his HD 4870-X2 .. and he basically has CrossFire in a single card with its disadvantages.

Yes. It IS worth it imo to go to a single faster card with DX11. However, if the OP is really going to spend around $500 and he likes the CrossFire experience, then go for a HD 5970 for a real upgrade.

Right now, i am playing with HD 5870 CrossFire (875/1275) and it is absolutely positively worth it *performance-wise* to upgrade from HD 4870-X2 except it is $800-$250 = $550. HD 5970 for about the same performance would be $650-$250 = $400 and would be in the "really worth it to upgrade" category
:cool:
Click to expand...

at 2.3mp I just can't see it. unless that game is worth it to him. that GTX480 is only going to give a better experience in a handful of games.
 
Ravynmagi said:
I've been looking for an excuse to upgrade my 4870 X2 for a while.

First the ATI 5870 came out. But it seemed it really didn't outperform the 4870 X2. I toyed around with the idea of upgrading anyway to rid myself of the dual GPU issues and conserve some power. But decided lets just wait and see what Nvidia has.

So waited on the GTX 480. The reviews left me disappointed. And now that we are this far into 2010, I figure I might as well keep waiting and see what ATI's Southern Islands card looks like.

I want a good single GPU card, with a noticeable performance advantage over my X2 and that isn't a glutenous fire belching inferno from hell. And I feel my 4870 X2 is still good enough that I can be picky and keep waiting if I need to. Just gotta try to ignore that upgrade itch that makes me do stupid things I don't need to do. :)
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I think.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
Ravynmagi said:
I've been looking for an excuse to upgrade my 4870 X2 for a while.

First the ATI 5870 came out. But it seemed it really didn't outperform the 4870 X2. I toyed around with the idea of upgrading anyway to rid myself of the dual GPU issues and conserve some power. But decided lets just wait and see what Nvidia has.

So waited on the GTX 480. The reviews left me disappointed. And now that we are this far into 2010, I figure I might as well keep waiting and see what ATI's Southern Islands card looks like.

I want a good single GPU card, with a noticeable performance advantage over my X2 and that isn't a glutenous fire belching inferno from hell. And I feel my 4870 X2 is still good enough that I can be picky and keep waiting if I need to. Just gotta try to ignore that upgrade itch that makes me do stupid things I don't need to do. :)
Click to expand...

You *already* have a glutenous fire belching inferno from hell
:D

i loved my HD 4870-X2 but i sold it and got a pair of HD 5870s before its value dropped to zero... You could do as well performance-wise as 5870 CF with a *single* HD 5970. If you want a single card that is clearly faster than HD 4870-X2, then your choice is GTX 480 - or wait.
 
Either get a 5970 or just wait for the GPU refresh. I have a 4870X2 and constantly think about upgrading. It is the 5970 or just never mind atm. Maybe with the refresh the costs will be more palatable. ATM, the price/performance ratio just doesn't work for me. I got my 4870X2 for $210. I think maybe I could get $120 for it now that I took the stock cooler off and ghetto modded my own cooler for it. Works great but looks lol.

So anyway, wait for the refresh.
 
I'd say, hold tight if you are relatively satisfied with current performance. The 5870 is sidestep and the 480 would give you a bump in performance. However, I'd hold on to the cash and give yourself a large bump when the performance difference becomes much more noticable. Unless you have crap loads of money, and don't mind spending it.
 
The 5870 is about equal to the 4870x2 and GTX 295 in performance. The major plus is that it runs cooler than either of those dual-GPU cards. Unless you have some heat related issues with your PC, I'd wait 'til 2011 before making any changes.
 
Not to derail but probably good enough for this thread:
I currently have a 4870x2 and an i7 @3.8GHz and is it worth getting a used 4870x2 for quad crossfire?
 
Killdozer said:
Not to derail but probably good enough for this thread:
I currently have a 4870x2 and an i7 @3.8GHz and is it worth getting a used 4870x2 for quad crossfire?
Click to expand...

Absolutely Not!

Quadfire scales very poorly over TriFire :p

That said, get yourself a HD 4870-1GB. They are pretty cheap now and HD 4870-X3 TriFire is a nice little performance bump over 4870-X2.

i tested mine with my i7 at 3.80 GHz (Turbo on) also.
Core i7 vs. Penryn vs. Phenom II with HD 4870-X2 & TriFire
 
Killdozer said:
Not to derail but probably good enough for this thread:
I currently have a 4870x2 and an i7 @3.8GHz and is it worth getting a used 4870x2 for quad crossfire?
Click to expand...

no. quad gpu anything is usually not all that great. If you can get one cheap then sure.
 
Nirad9er said:
I'm pretty happy with the 4870x2 so far, but would it be worth it to go to a GTX480 for the added performance with the few hundred dollar upgrade plus dx11? I think the 4870x2 is on par or even beats the 5870 in some games. I'm guessing the GTX480 is only 10-15% faster. What do you think? Should I just wait for the GTX485 or HD6000 series?

I play at 1920x1200 and try to max the settings. I play a lot of Bad Company 2 and its runs great for that in DX10 mode obviously. Metro 2033 is not playable on that res with the settings I usually play on but I haven't put much time into that game. Are there any games coming out where I'm gonna want the upgraded video card and DX11?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'd say wait. Your current cards are going to give you very good performance, and it seems to boil down to whether you really want some of this new DX11 stuff or not. It sounds like you are not disappointed with your performance with your current setup, and you may regret going with a new setup now only to see that Southern Islands is due from ATI in a few months. You have good muscle with those two 4870's.

Of course if you are one of the folks who just has to upgrade just to have the latest thing, then you will be penalizing your happiness by waiting for the next round of GPU's to come out.
 
Killdozer said:
Not to derail but probably good enough for this thread:
I currently have a 4870x2 and an i7 @3.8GHz and is it worth getting a used 4870x2 for quad crossfire?
Click to expand...

I went that route and I've been very happy with the performance. Scaling, more often than not, is actually quite fantastic. Any game that either came out within the last few years or is/was popular is very likely to have excellent quad crossfire support. The ones more likely to have scaling issues are the old and/or niche games.

Bad Company 2 is an excellent example of a modern game with absolutely fantastic quad crossfire support. With dual 4870x2's in BC2 you are looking at 5970 level performance if not better. The scaling really is that good. Counter-Strike: Source and World of Warcraft are examples of old yet still popular games that also have fantastic quad crossfire support.

Your power supply will be a consideration as you'll probably want a 1000w or an 850 at the very minimum. I've measured my rig as pulling nearly 1200w from the wall at one point.

Heat output is pretty intense as well. It's like having a space heater running in your room the whole time you are in a game. On some exceptionally hot days I just game on my server instead, and in fact, one of the main reasons I setup the server in the first place was so that I could shift all my 24/7 needs over to it (seeding torrents, etc) so I could start shutting my main rig down when I wasn't using it...
 
Wait. Your card pwns my card and my card does everything I want @ 1920x1200. Sure, it can't max out Crysis or Just Cause 2, but things still look mighty pretty.
 
Valset said:
let us know what you decide.
Click to expand...
Since I'm still into WoW and BC2 I figured if the price is low enough on the used 4870x2 I'll go for it.
The system is ready to go (1kW power supply) and I'm accustomed with the noise (custom fan profiles) and heat from the 4870x2. However, after this experience, my next system build will be near silent. Videocards these days are absolutely ridiculously obnoxious and I hope the next generation has some innovative solutions to the noise problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top