How to best upgrade?

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phialexa

n00b
Joined
Feb 28, 2008
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Hello:

I am currently running the following system:

MOBO- Gigabyte EP45-DS3R
RAM- 4 Gigs OCZ (2x2gigs)
GPU- Visiontek HD4870 512DDR3
CPU- Q9450
MONITORS- 50" HP Plasma and 24" Samsung Syncmaster



For the last several months I have been gaming on a 24" monitor at 1620x1030 and everything has worked great. I have recently purchased a 50" plasma, however, and am having trouble pushing my games at the 1920x1080 resolution. If I add another 4870 and run them in crossfire, will I be able to push the games on the 50" at 1920x1080? Are there any other upgrades that I should do?

In addition, I am also experiencing what I think is microstuttering when I watch H.264s on the 50". Is this due to the 4870 being insufficient, or is it a result of my using inadequate decoding software (GOM player and Community Codec Pack)? I should also note that I am using 32bit XP.

Thanks.
 
Crossfire is the way to go with a another 4870 costing as little $130 on newegg.com
 
But will it solve the problems I am experiencing? In addition, does it matter if I purchase the exact same 4870 that I purchased before? Also, is a Corsair TX700 power supply sufficient to power two 4870's?
 
Last edited:
yes both of those will be compatable (as has already been answered, and as AMD's website explains quite clearly)

why spend the extra dosh just to say you shopped newegg when microcenter is looking some $25 cheaper?
 
Microcenter is sold out in my area. Perhaps I will see if they can order it for me. In addition, does anyone know if there are problems with crossfire on 4870 and dual monitors (in extended mode in CCC)?
 
Depending on what you're playing and if it's memory intensive, the extra 512mb usually translates to better eye candy. But if you're crossfiring, I don't think you can Xfire a 1GB with a 512mb... Either that or the 1GB 4870 will just become a 512mb 4870 with a higher price tag.

Dunno why anyone would use anything other than MPC-HC.
 
I went to microcenter today to talk with one of the hardware guys and was informed that crossfire will NOT help with video encoding (running h.264 on a 50inch plasma). Is this true, or is he simply talking out of his ass?
 
He is right... in terms of the playback issue but for the 1080p gaming, second card is your best upgrade option

What hard drive are you using and have you tried a frest install of os?.
 
I have a Western Digital 3.5" SATA Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 32 MB Cache 1 Terrabyte. I have not tried a fresh install of the OS. Is my best bet for enhanced playback a higher quality single unit graphics card?
 
phialexa said:
In addition, I am also experiencing what I think is microstuttering when I watch H.264s on the 50". Is this due to the 4870 being insufficient, or is it a result of my using inadequate decoding software (GOM player and Community Codec Pack)? ...
Click to expand...

h.264 playback is not a problem for any single card with UVD. Your existing HD4870 will playback h.264 just fine. The microstuttering is being caused by something else, perhaps a backround task or your HDDs being too slow, or maybe your codec/player.
 
enginurd said:
h.264 playback is not a problem for any single card with UVD. Your existing HD4870 will playback h.264 just fine. The microstuttering is being caused by something else, perhaps a backround task or your HDDs being too slow, or maybe your codec/player.
Click to expand...

This. I recommend hitting up this guide for proper playback of h.264 content with MPC-HC:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1276654
 
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