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4890 vs. 4870x2

C

compwizpro

n00b
Joined
Apr 26, 2008
Messages
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Im looking for a new video card I am debating betweena 4870x2 or 4890. I am only getting one card now but want to do crossfire in the future.

I have been reading mixed reviews about the 4890 out performing the 4870x2 but the 4870x2 is a dual-gpu and is more expensive.

Let me know what you think
 
The 4870x2 is faster by quite a bit, but that will of course be dependent on crossfire support in whatever game you are playing.

Two of those in crossfire might be another story as Quad Crossfire scales poorly.
 
4870x2 will outperform the 4890. Of course it's a dual GPU card and it's considerably more expensive; the 4890 is more comparable in price and performance to the 4850x2.
 
Only in games that work right using quadfire which aren't too many... That being said just go with 2x 4890s.
 
compwizpro said:
will 2 4870x2s be better than 2 4890s?
Click to expand...

See this article:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/02/17/nvidia_geforce_gtx_295_quad_sli/

Scaling with more than two GPUs sucks for both nVidia and ATi, so the best approach is for your first two GPUs to be as fast as possible.

Two 4870 1GB cards in Crossfire are faster than one 4870X2 2GB, probably because they are using two slots instead of doing it all through one, so two 4890 cards will definitely be much better than a single 4870X2. Also, see in the linked article how often the second 4870X2 is useless or even disabled entirely.

Currently on newegg, two XFX 4890 cards cost $400 total, while one XFX 4870X2 costs $360. That $40 is very, very worth it.

Edit: I was wrong about two 4870 1GB in Crossfire being better than a 4870X2, but I stand by the rest of this post.
 
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I didn't know the 4890 beat the X2 in anything other than non-crossfire supported games.

and evilsofa, I think you're wrong on the 2x4870 over the 4870x2, I thought the PLX chip did a better job than the crossfire bridge linking the two GPU's. I could be wrong though.
 
where the hell did you read that a single 4890 outperforms an 4870x2. For future reference, never believe anything that source has to say ever again, they are on acid or somethin :D
 
4890 will beat a 4870x2... in games that DONT properly implement/support crossfire.
A 4890 is a badass card though and it overclocks better than 4870s.
So if you're looking to crossfire down the road, get the 4890 now, and plug in another when the new graphics cards come out and push 4890s down by about 50 bucks. It'll be sweet.
Check the Arma 2 review to see situations where a single 4890 is better than a 4870x2.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/08/10/arma_ii_gameplay_performance_image_quality
 
And now that Catalyst 9.8 is out, there is now support for crossfirex.
 
RADEoN said:
And now that Catalyst 9.8 is out, there is now support for crossfirex.
Click to expand...

I just checked ATI's site; is crossfirex the same or different than crossfire?

I already have a 4870 1GB, and I plan on getting a second to run in crossfire. I figure that will give me better performance than replacing it with a 4890 and waiting to get a second one.
 
To my understanding crossfirex has replaced crossfire as the standard name although I believe it was originally for when you had different cards in crossfire or more than 2 cards in crossfire but I could be wrong.
 
the Radeon HD5k chip, the RV870 is taped out and in production, I'm expecting a november launch. Its estimated to have 1600SPs, so you might want to wait for that.
 
MrWizard6600 said:
the Radeon HD5k chip, the RV870 is taped out and in production, I'm expecting a november launch. Its estimated to have 1600SPs, so you might want to wait for that.
Click to expand...
that thing looks to be released on September 10.

http://techpulse360.com/2009/08/12/...en-graphics-chips-you-wont-believe-your-eyes/

The word is finally out. AMD will launch it’s much anticipated next generation graphics processors code name “Evergreen” on September 10th; ahead of Windows 7’s launch in late October.
 
cannondale06 said:
that thing looks to be released on September 10.

http://techpulse360.com/2009/08/12/...en-graphics-chips-you-wont-believe-your-eyes/

The word is finally out. AMD will launch it’s much anticipated next generation graphics processors code name “Evergreen” on September 10th; ahead of Windows 7’s launch in late October.
Click to expand...

wow thats substantially sooner than I expected. Sounds like AMD might finally have some half decent yields at 40nm.

I'm assuming you'll see the GT300 in the same time frame, certainly in plenty of time for x-mas.
 
MrWizard6600 said:
wow thats substantially sooner than I expected. Sounds like AMD might finally have some half decent yields at 40nm.

I'm assuming you'll see the GT300 in the same time frame, certainly in plenty of time for x-mas.
Click to expand...
surprised me too and I saw that literally minutes before I saw your post. they seem to have done a good job on keeping this one a mystery as for as specs go. everything from 1200-2000SP and even possibly 384bit has been mentioned so who knows.
 
MrWizard6600 said:
wow thats substantially sooner than I expected. Sounds like AMD might finally have some half decent yields at 40nm.

I'm assuming you'll see the GT300 in the same time frame, certainly in plenty of time for x-mas.
Click to expand...

I think I read Q1 2010.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
Any news on the rumour of a paper launch this year to dampen ATi's lead then volume in march for nvidia's products?
 
necrophile said:
Any news on the rumour of a paper launch this year to dampen ATi's lead then volume in march for nvidia's products?
Click to expand...

I would be stunned and amazed and will be selling my non-existant NV stock if they dont have the GT300 in time for x-mas.

But anyways we're really off topic. Crossfire has some general ickey draw backs associated with it. IMHO, your always better off with the single GPU solution, if its possible. And considering the MSRP's ($259/$399?) I'd go with the HD4890.
 
Either way black friday sales or the weekend following will be probably the best time to pick out pc hardware of course.
 
i have a feeling i'm going to burn so much $ on pc stuff during q4 of this year.
 
MrWizard6600 said:
wow thats substantially sooner than I expected. Sounds like AMD might finally have some half decent yields at 40nm.

I'm assuming you'll see the GT300 in the same time frame, certainly in plenty of time for x-mas.
Click to expand...

maybe, but if the die size rumors are true then availability for the GTX300 is likely to suck for a while (I expect them to at least do a paper launch though). I am curious about the red team too, haven't seen a flood of 4770 hitting the market yet though there sue seems to be a demand. if TSMC has solved its 40nm issues then I would expect to see some of these showing up
 
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