2 x 4830 or 1 4870

I

ixbiosxi

n00b
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
26
Thoughts? Comments? Its about the same price for either, wondering benefits or draw backs?
 
Opteron 170 @ 2.8ghz, 4GBs of ram. Asus a8r-mvp mobo nothing spectacular.
I am looking to upgrade soon when prices drop a little more on that phenom 2 x3 720 be.

Resolution wise nothing too high 1280 - 1400 max, my monitor wont support higher old school Sony Trin-i-TON.
 
Although 2 4830s can beat a single 4870 in some cases, I'd recommend the single 4870 simply due to the fact that you don't have to worry about complications with Crossfire. Some games don't play well with Crossfire if I recall correctly, and some games will only use 1 graphics card regardless of the presence of two cards. I could be wrong on this, so if I am mistaken, I ask that someone kindly correct my statements.

Really, it also depends on the games you play and what settings you desire to play at. There is no need to purchase a 4870 or 2 4830s unless you want really high settings at the resolution you are talking of; even then, it would probably be massive overkill. The only other reason to go with the 4870 would be if you were trying to "future-proof," which does not usually work.
 
Id rather have a single card myself. Get the 4870. Hell, at your res you would probably do fine with a 4850.
 
Not quite future proof, but I am upgrading all my hardware soon. That includes monitor.... So I was debating my options being the fact that I have a cf board and will be getting another board that does cf.

Snobok said:
The only other reason to go with the 4870 would be if you were trying to "future-proof," which does not usually work.
Click to expand...
 
Since you plan on upgrading your rig then, go ahead an go with the single 4870.
 
Snobok said:
Although 2 4830s can beat a single 4870 in some cases, I'd recommend the single 4870 simply due to the fact that you don't have to worry about complications with Crossfire. Some games don't play well with Crossfire if I recall correctly, and some games will only use 1 graphics card regardless of the presence of two cards. I could be wrong on this, so if I am mistaken, I ask that someone kindly correct my statements.
Click to expand...

your statement is correct ++

i'd go with 1 fast card rather than 2 not-quite-as-fast cards
 
single 4870... hands down. two 4830 will not make a difference. go with two eat up your electricty. save! lol
 
It depends..do your upgrade plans include atleast a 22" monitor? If so, single 4870...if not, a single 4830 would murder games at your lower resolution.
 
I was actually debating a 22" monitor so that makes it alot easier, plus everyone saying 4870.
 
Single 4870 OR wait for 4890. With a single gpu solution you can avoid all mltigpu issues like microstuttering.
 
If you go dual 4830 your upgrade path means getting rid of two cards to upgrade. If you go 4870 you can always add another 4870 in the future if needed. By that time they will most likely be even cheaper. My feeling is never do a dual card solution for a build if there is anyway around it, but consider a dual card solution as an upgrade possiblility.
 
4890 is due out in april. My assumption and those of others say that before the 4890 hits the shelves they will make a huge price drop on the 4870's (since they've broke even on their investment it's profit for them) to sell off the rest of their stock so they dont self compete. So if you want to wait till April you'll have a cheap 4870 or 4890 which is supposed to be 20% faster then a 4870.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top