GTX 280 SLi vs 4890 Xfire

Which one of these would you chose?

  • GTX 280 SLi

    Votes: 40 44.4%

  • 4890 Crossfire

    Votes: 50 55.6%
  • Total voters
    90
U

Uberbob102000

2[H]4U
Joined
Apr 29, 2006
Messages
2,243
I have the option to choose either setup when I put my rig back together (Mobo died :( ) since the other goes into my friends computer. Looking at benchmarks they look to be similar in performance, any recommendations, thoughts, etc?

Thank you in advance for the help.
 
Nvidia.

More vendors that offer lifetime warranties...BFG/EVGA have particularly high standing among the [H].
 
Go with xfx or visiontek 4890's as they both have lifetime warranties. The 4890's will scale better than the 280's, but it don't think it would really matter for the fact both play about the same. If you have never went with Ati, I would say give them a shot. Just a warning, do not buy any ati cards if you are a complete dumbass as you will (cause) have problems with the drivers. Most Ati users know that ati drivers are mostly ruined by the user.
 
I've had 2x GTX 280 SLI, 2x 4870 512 Crossfire, and finally 2x 4870 X2 CrossfireX. In my experience, SLI scales much more consistantly and is prone to less issues when running multi-GPUs. Yes, when Crossfire scales well, it tends to scale a bit better than SLI -- but this is only the case on 2-3 games. Much more often, you're just trying to get Crossfire to work. For example, I'm dealing with a DotNet 3.5 issue where sometimes Crossfire chooses to work, sometimes it doesn't... I won't enumerate them here, but I've been dealing with shit-frustrating issues with Crossfire ever since I switched.

Not a day goes by where I don't wish I could switch back to GTX 280s -- I just haven't had time to resell the 4870 X2s :(
 
I say GTX 280 SLI, and I'm a hardcore ATI fan.

I haven't had any issues with either Xfire or SLI, but the fact that nVidia allows users the built-in ability to edit SLI settings per application/game makes it more flexible.

Also, while a single 4890 is relatively quiet in a decently cooled case, two make a huge racket, and the top card's fan will spool up a lot more due to hot air rising into the PCB from the bottom card.

On the other hand, what is great with 48xx series is that you can crossfire a 4890 with a 4850 1GB so when you are not using Xfire, you have a fast single card to play with, but when you are you will still get performance of 4850x2. You can't do this with nVidia.

The reason I like this is because 2x4890 or 2xgtx 280 make a crapload of heat.

Confused yet? Me too :)
 
I have had both ATi and Nvidia stuff, so I can work their drivers, the 4890s I have are XFX and if I don't use them my sis will so any advice you give me can't hurt because I'll be building her rig too.

So they don't have a per app thing going yet on the ATi side? Damn I actually use that.
 
I voted SLI 280s. I F@H also and Nvidia still does a fine job crunching work units. ;)
 
I just went from 285's in SLI to 4890's in CF can't beat the price/performance ratio of the 4890's and they scale extremely well in CF at higher resolutions 1920x1200 and above. They actually give the 285's a run for the money. In a few different reviews I've read the 4890's in CF meet and beat a 285 SLI rig. Although I like nvidia drivers better and the 285's I owned ran cooler and quieter.
 
4890's in Crossfire has the best price/performance.
With such high end cards, there's no need for the extra premium for the 280.

*edit*

I change my mind =P
The 280's are pretty damn cheap now.. I didn't realize they dropped to the $250 price point. That nearly matches the 4890's price wise.
I'd probably go with the 280's in that case.
 
Kowan said:
Then get those great scaling CF cards working in the Distributed Computing section of the forums!
We are in the middle of the "Chimp Challenge 2009 and if you consider yourself part of the [H]orde, we could sure use the help right now. :)
Click to expand...

Ok, GTX 275 to be used for [H]ardape :) OC'd to 750 mhz it's pulling in over 8000 PPD on almost every work unit. Even those 511 point WUs are hitting close to 7300.

<Back on topic>

I think the other (than folding and profile) advantage the GTX 280 has is silence. CF 4890s can get pretty loud at full load, especially the top card. The updated cooler does a better job at keeping them cooler and quieter than the 4870s, but ATI has a bit of work to do on this IMHO.
 
10e said:
Ok, GTX 275 to be used for [H]ardape :) OC'd to 750 mhz it's pulling in over 8000 PPD on almost every work unit. Even those 511 point WUs are hitting close to 7300.

<Back on topic>

I think the other (than folding and profile) advantage the GTX 280 has is silence. CF 4890s can get pretty loud at full load, especially the top card. The updated cooler does a better job at keeping them cooler and quieter than the 4870s, but ATI has a bit of work to do on this IMHO.
Click to expand...

actually, 4890 cooler on load mostly stays around at 30-35%, and it doesnt have any noise at all that is noticeable until around 40% which it still not quite noticeable...

around 50%+ that is something...
 
Kowan said:
I voted SLI 280s. I F@H also and Nvidia still does a fine job crunching work units. ;)
Click to expand...

ATI is good for this too. I liked folding with my old HD4850 much more than with my 9600GT, seemed to have less issues. But that's just my opinion for folding.

OP, make sure you have a good CPU to back the GPUs!
 
Think he has a i7, per sig, so CPU is not a limiting factor.

I would go with the gtx 280, simply beacuse they are slightly faster then the 4890 at stock speeds, not sure how much OC headroom the gtx280 generally has however...
 
id say 4890, overclock them to 950/1100 each (shouldnt be a problem) and u hve a screaming CF rig

GTX280's consume great amounts of power, and are too hot even though they perform a bit faster than a stock 4890.
 
So it's looking like the repliers like the GTX 280 while the poll favors the 4890.
Hmm.. I still have a couple of hours before the UPS guy shows up.
 
That's a little bit of a different animal though, those were lower class cards.
I ended up going with the GTX 280s. Thank you for the input on both sides.
 
Uberbob102000 said:
That's a little bit of a different animal though, those were lower class cards.
I ended up going with the GTX 280s. Thank you for the input on both sides.
Click to expand...

I would have pick 4890 since it outperform GTX 280 quite easy and a lot more cheaper...

but since you already have decide, I guess just go for it then ;)
 
Well they look be be pretty much even, flip flopping on most benchmarks and I've already got the 280s and the 4890s and they both cost exactly the same at the moment (249.99, I'm getting lifetime warranty with both). Plus I KNOW my GTX 280s OC to 662MHz.

The other reason I chose NV was because of per app settings, I use them quite often.
I can always switch later, my sister lives about 10 minutes away from me. :D
 
Uberbob102000 said:
Well they look be be pretty much even, flip flopping on most benchmarks and I've already got the 280s and the 4890s and they both cost exactly the same at the moment (249.99, I'm getting lifetime warranty with both). Plus I KNOW my GTX 280s OC to 662MHz.

The other reason I chose NV was because of per app settings, I use them quite often.
I can always switch later, my sister lives about 10 minutes away from me. :D
Click to expand...

uh.... 4890 cost about 180, how you get it for 250 lol?
 
I have no idea where your getting that number from, the cheapest one on newegg.com is 219.99 after MIR (234.99 Before).
 
ati is the better value right now IMO

I am curious to know what kind of resolution you guys are playing at where a single 4890 is inadequate? I mean, my overclocked 4830 eats everything I throw at it with no problems, I am just limited on how much AA I can use on the newest games!
 
the 4890 Xfire would be better for the price as the 280 is still pretty expensive. The cards are on par. If you say 280 SLI i'd say 275 SLI which from the charts i've seen does BETTER than the 280 and is better on power.

I'm an ATI fan however just b/c their prices are cheaper and the performance differences depends on whos bribing the best in the gaming industry.

And right now the Phsyx in NVIDIA cards is not really worth it...
 
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