Upgrading time for the 4870x2?

G

geok1ng

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 28, 2007
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I wonder if the time has finally come to upgrade my 4870x2:confused:

Money is no object, heat and idle power are.

My 48070x2 games ONLY at 2560x1600, and:

It is unstable playing The Witcher at max settings ( not to mention kind of slow)

Can NOT run smooth LOTRO max quality.

Generally it will run any Dx9 game at 2560x1600@low settings, but really pretty games at max quality like The Witcher are missing.

What are your thoughts? What will i gain with the geforce 580 or the 6970 ( 6950 CF:D). Should i expect 2 dual link DVIs on the 6990?

What games are so amazingly awesome at Dx11 that i simply must play them at once?


Right now i am considering selling the 4870x2, grab a 6950 and add another if the need arises ( as in, running another 30 inches monitor:cool: without losing my TV setup)
 
That's exactly what I'm doing, having bought the 6970. As far as games at the resolution I'm playing, terre are going to be several next year. Also curious to see what msaa can do for some classics. Portal 2 should be fun. I wonder if Valve still has the close relationship with ATI/AMD?
 
i would believe so since they recently implented ati driver installation option on steam
I
 
There is really nothing wrong with the 4870x2 and it continues to perform as good or better than cards such as the 5870 in most situations, whereas cards such as the 6950 and 6970 have not really delivered performance that blew previous generations away.

At your resolution you very likely are hitting the limit of 1gb VRam on the cards though, so for that reason you would probably see some benefit from a card with more ram.
 
Same boat 2560x1600 gaming, and I'm tired of uneven scaling and other miscellaneous issues from my 4870x2 and just want to replace it with something powerful & quiet

It's pretty much between a 570, 580, and 6970 but none of them are that exciting since the performance increase in all cases isn't huge (in games where the 4870x2 scales properly)

I'm thinking I might grab a (cheaper than the other options) 6970 as a stopgap then upgrade again at the end of next year if the cards are more interesting then
 
im running 2 of those cards in CFX and have to say i get amazing performance out of it. i picked my 2nd card up for 200 bucks used. i mainly play BC2, full details and 4xAA and need to enable vsync or i get horrible tearing from running 80-120+ fps. this is at 2560x1440 aswell. from all the reviews/benchmarks ive seen so far, not many cards are doing that.

the only jump to make out of the 4870x2 is something in the 6900 series. the 2gb vram will help with the super high res textures and so on. 6950's in CFX should drive any game at that res and provide 70+fps. i seen benchmarks that show the 6950 getting about 40fps on average, and the card scales 100% so ud double your frame rates. you will need 2 6950s imo to run your 30" smooth

edit: also you could consider CFX 6870's. they scale just as good and provide great frames at the massive res. the 6870s are cheap too, so 2 of em wouldnt hurt (about 450 bucks for 2)
 
i just bought a 6970 to upgrade from my 4870. i would suggest going from the 4870x2 to 6970 and add another if need be.
 
I'm at the same point - the 4870x2 has served well these years but the need of having more power is rising quickly.

I'm considering either a 6970 (to start with maybe 2?) or a pair of 6850s/6870 CF'ed. I wonder if we can state conclusively that Antilles/6990 is unlikely to be as powerful as 2 6970s, given the data so far. If this is the case, I can rule it out.

The other major thing holding me back is the question of "Fancy version" 6900 series. Remember the 5870 standard, 2gb eyefinity 6, and 2gb OC'ed versions leading to enhanced cards like the 5870 Asus RoG Matrix Platinum? I really hope they don't pull the "Oh, we have double RAM versions coming out just after the first of the year" card on us.
 
Wow there's a lot of people here that have the 4870x2 looking to upgrade, myself included. I bought the 6970 last night from Newegg. I can't wait to see how it performs.
 
My X2's are out as well.

I'll be grabbing a 6970 with the idea that I can Crossfire it at a later time.

I've been saving my $400 in gift cards for just this purchase :D
 
The 4870x2 was the single best video card purchasing decision I have ever made. Lasted way longer than any other card I have owned, but I am finally moving on. I want DX11 and to run virtually every game at 8xAA and still get 40+fps in action sequences at 1920x1200. So I ordered a 6970 today.

The 4870x2 will move to my secondary PC (which is actually exactly as powerful as my primary other than the GTS 250 videocard), and the 6970 will be the videocard in my primary PC.

However, I have to say that strictly speaking I still didn't need to update. The 4870x2 easily has enough legs to last one more entire refresh cycle if gaming at 1920x1200 or lower. It was just time for me, but I can see many people with one waiting out even as much as two more generations (for the 8000 series).
 
arentol said:
However, I have to say that strictly speaking I still didn't need to update. The 4870x2 easily has enough legs to last one more entire refresh cycle if gaming at 1920x1200 or lower. It was just time for me, but I can see many people with one waiting out even as much as two more generations (for the 8000 series).
Click to expand...

Could not agree more. This card lasted so long and reminded me of my 9700Pro for it's longevity. [H]ardness? maybe not. But what i've learned so well from these forums is how to spend effectively--how to get the most bang for the buck. I expect the 6970 to last a good long time.
 
Doing the same, swapping a 4870x2 for a 6970. The x2 is definitely a great card, but it's the software support that really bugs me. I've had a lot of bad times with Crossfire lately. Dead Rising 2 still doesn't work for me in CF without using RadeonPro and even that doesn't work 100%. I was tempted to buy a 580, but the price of the 6970 was just right for me.
 
my 4870x2 shit the bed about 2 weeks ago, served me well for 2 years. Unfortunately i was waiting for these new 6 series to drop before i upgraded, and it died before they came out :-( Using two 5770's xfired at the moment, serving me well, about the same performance as my 4870x2, but with the new dx features. Ill probably stick with these cards for awhile.
 
I'd like to give mine up but the 6970 doesn't do it for me for a single card and I'm all funned out of dual GPU. Think I am going to switch sides again for a little while and get a GTX 580.
 
I have a 4870 x 1 for the last two years and it really has been excellent in every way, one of my best hardware purchases. I wanted a GTX 570 but since I was so satisfied with that AMD card I have a 6950 coming today.
 
I have been using two 4870's in crossfirex, they keep performing great and I would love to get an affordable single card to replace them, but I dont think that card is out yet :(
 
I have been using a modded 4870 X2 for about 2 years. I just recently bought a HD 6970, and it will be arriving today. :) The only thing that I dont like is that I will be rolling back to the 10.10 drivers. They said they would support 6000 series cards in the 10.12's but its still not here yet.

Hopefully this card will be nice. My 4870 X2 was a good card, but it had so many issues. PLus the micro-stutter drove me nuts. It says 60fps, but doesnt feel like 60fps if u know what i mean.
 
Crippy144 said:
I have been using a modded 4870 X2 for about 2 years. I just recently bought a HD 6970, and it will be arriving today. :) The only thing that I dont like is that I will be rolling back to the 10.10 drivers. They said they would support 6000 series cards in the 10.12's but its still not here yet.

Hopefully this card will be nice. My 4870 X2 was a good card, but it had so many issues. PLus the micro-stutter drove me nuts. It says 60fps, but doesnt feel like 60fps if u know what i mean.
Click to expand...

Id be very interested in hearing how it stacks up!
 
I'm using the 4870X2 for about 2.5 years, served me well. I building a new PC very soon, but keeping this VC in the one I have now. I was going to go 6970, but I think I'm going with GTX 580 in my new rig.
 
Unigine Heaven


Render:
direct3d11
Mode:
1920x1200 8xAA fullscreen
Shaders:
high
Textures:
high
Filter:
trilinear
Anisotropy:
16x
Occlusion:
enabled
Refraction:
enabled
Volumetric:
enabled
Replication: disabled
Tessellation: disabled



4870 X2
FPS:
43.8
Scores:
1102
Min FPS:
19.5
Max FPS:
74.3

6970
FPS:
56.9
Scores:
1434
Min FPS:
27.8
Max FPS:
105.3

The drivers are 10.11 from the cd. The latest drivers I downloaded from amd doesn't work. I don't have the new AA options yet on the drivers.
 
Funny, same boat as everyone here... these babies have lasted a long time
 
Overall my games run much better. The stuffer is gone. In WoW better game play with ultra and adaptive on Quality. The gaming experience is much better then the 4870x2 by far. It feels fluid now when u move the mouse.
 
Man guess my 4870x2 is feeling it's age too at 2560x1600. Might consider the 6970's but will wait until I get a game that my rig just can't handle since I run WC, need to wait for appropriate blocks and such since I'm a lazy ass and i don't want to re-do/re-cut tubing :p
 
I got one for sale btw with a Artic Cooling system on it. Just replied thermal paste on both gpu's
 
I bought my 4870x2 when it first came out a little over 2 years ago for about 400.00.
Thus far, it has been the best video card I have ever owned. Performance, when CF is working, is excellent.
That's the only real bad thing I could say about it, is that the CF system didn't work as consistently as I'd like.

Also looking to upgrade. Either to 6970 CF or 580 SLI. The value of the 6970 is persuading me to get it instead of the 580.

Would love to see some benchmarks comparing 4870x2 to 6970CF.
 
I will post more shortly. All I can say is that I just play COD Black Ops, 8x edge detect , 16x AF "Adaptive on Quality" 1920x1200 and the game runs perfect. I played single player for about an hour and not one skip or slow down. I was in some intense action scenes and perfect. My 4870x2 didnt perform like this card does. Dont get me wrong. The 4870x2 was amazing other then the driver problems it went threw. Though yet again AA isnt working correctly in World of Warcraft. I have the Dx11 option on or off AA wont work correctly. It looks as if no AA is set when 8x app or driver set doesnt work. The only way it looks as if AA was enabled is if I turn on Adpative. Im not sure if this is a driver related issue or the game. I believe it is the drivers because AA worked perfectly on my 4870 X2. AA in left for dead, COD Black Ops, Half life, Portals works perfect.
 
Gabriel5 said:
I bought my 4870x2 when it first came out a little over 2 years ago for about 400.00.
Thus far, it has been the best video card I have ever owned. Performance, when CF is working, is excellent.
That's the only real bad thing I could say about it, is that the CF system didn't work as consistently as I'd like.

Also looking to upgrade. Either to 6970 CF or 580 SLI. The value of the 6970 is persuading me to get it instead of the 580.

Would love to see some benchmarks comparing 4870x2 to 6970CF.
Click to expand...

Man you got a deal if you got it over 2 years ago.

I bought mine late august/early sept I think (whenever the card came out) which was 2 years ... 3ish months ago, and that was at well over $600, think it was like $660 after shipping.
 
I ty all for the comments and numbers.

Looks like everyone thinks the same: the 4870x2 is an epic card, and ruled for 2 years.

But it has "only" 1gb of effective memory for each GPU, consumes a ton of power on idle and delivers "only" 5870-like performance.

I look with desire to the 6950 because it offers better performance for power consumption, better thermals and acustic with better pricexperformance than the 6970.

As in i would pay more, use more power and generate more heat for just a little bit of performance at 25x16 by going the 6970 way.

The perfect solution would be a massive price drop on the 580.
 
My 6970 arrived on the 24th. Hands down sweet card. I'm happy to replace my dual 4870x2's. Better game play experience, smoother motion, sharper image, and seriously less heat and noise.
 
I too wish someone who benched the new 6950 & 6970 cards would have included the venerable 4870x2 in their results. As far as i know it still holds its weight in some scenarios.

I've been holding out on upgrading but have finally cracked and purchased an xfx 6950 with intentions of unlocking it to 6970 performance.

My 4870x2 has been a mixed blessing for me. It's held up quite well for a long time but it has had its share of issues... some that have never gone away. I'll also vouch for purchasing a single gpu card over a double for compatibility reasons.

The heat, noise and air circulation of the 4870 x2 was ridiculous which is why i stayed away from getting a Fermi. Also as another poster mentioned the cross-firing was hit and miss. At least the 6950 looks like it will crossfire very nicely. I also have a 30" monitor at 2560x1600 and will most likely get another if all goes as expected.

I'll try to respond back with my results.
 
geok1ng said:
I wonder if the time has finally come to upgrade my 4870x2:confused:

Money is no object, heat and idle power are.

My 48070x2 games ONLY at 2560x1600, and:

It is unstable playing The Witcher at max settings ( not to mention kind of slow)

Can NOT run smooth LOTRO max quality.

Generally it will run any Dx9 game at 2560x1600@low settings, but really pretty games at max quality like The Witcher are missing.

What are your thoughts? What will i gain with the geforce 580 or the 6970 ( 6950 CF:D). Should i expect 2 dual link DVIs on the 6990?

What games are so amazingly awesome at Dx11 that i simply must play them at once?


Right now i am considering selling the 4870x2, grab a 6950 and add another if the need arises ( as in, running another 30 inches monitor:cool: without losing my TV setup)
Click to expand...

I think The Witcher does not take advantage of crossfire. It never dips below 60 on my 6970. On the 5970 I had previously it would dip into the 50s at times. Clearly, crossfire isn't working in this game or just not scaling. Also running @ 2560x1600 here.
 
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