1 4850 X2 or 2 4850's

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

So okay, I am pulling to plug on ordering my parts for my gaming PC, which the topic can be found here...

And I have to admit, I am really hesitant to do Crossfire as I am now reading a lot of posts and threads not only here, but on other sites, where people have some major issues with Crossfire, and also it seems a lot of people even question if running two cards even offers that much of a difference overall.

So do I get 2 regular 4850's and set them up in Crossfire, or do I spend that money and get 1 4850 X2, and maybe down the road when they become cheaper get another for Crossfire eventually.

I just want the best performance. I do not need to have two cards just to say I have two cards. I would much rather say I have better frames per second.

So please advise all, I am a bit confused as to what to do. I will be ordering in about 24 hours.

[obiwong]

single card solution is always better

frees up PCI slots and, less headaches if things go wrong and more options to upgrade in the future

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Oh, and I also probably might go with a 4870 X2, messed up a bit on that part, but am considering the 4850 X2 as well as they definitely are a bit cheaper.

Strike that, 4870 X2's are to expensive. Poll is correct

[Thirtythree]

Single card solution is better.

[PricklyPoo]

Ya I think the single card setup is a little faster too.

[ceminess]

I agree here single card is better. Plus like you said you can always upgrade to a x2 crossfire config in the future.

Here is a review of the major graphics cards arranged in price and how they compare to other cards in there price range. If you are interested.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon...phics,2086.html

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

I agree here single card is better. Plus like you said you can always upgrade to a x2 crossfire config in the future.

Here is a review of the major graphics cards arranged in price and how they compare to other cards in there price range. If you are interested.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon...phics,2086.html

LOL Thanks. Reason I put LOL is I was just checking that out and then you posted it. (Y)

Definitely a super helpful link.

So I was considering possibly one regular 4870, but according to Tom's one 4850 X2 is better, so I will be going with one of them it looks like. :yes:

[someone_162]

Correct me if i'm wrong but I thought that the X2 variant of the card essentially meant there were 2 GPUs in crossfire, just mounted on the one board. This would mean that all the problems regarding crossfire you've read about would apply to both options. Performance should also be similar between the two choices. If the two single cards are cheaper and you have a motherboard with multiple pci-e slots and you're not likely to want to have quad gpus then maybe the 2 single cards would give you more bang-for-your-buck... Though the single card solution is definitely neater...

As for the benefits of mult-gpu itself I cant give any first hand comments (i have a single 8800gts) but I believe it is very dependent on which games you wish to play. If the game has been optimised in the drivers you are using then you can get close to 2x the performance from dual cards, if not the second card will have little impact at all...

Hope this helps

Seb

[Argote]

Wait, so the single card solution has 1 GB for both GPUs and the separate cards have 1GB for each GPU?

[Thirtythree]

Correct me if i'm wrong but I thought that the X2 variant of the card essentially meant there were 2 GPUs in crossfire, just mounted on the one board. This would mean that all the problems regarding crossfire you've read about would apply to both options. Performance should also be similar between the two choices. If the two single cards are cheaper and you have a motherboard with multiple pci-e slots and you're not likely to want to have quad gpus then maybe the 2 single cards would give you more bang-for-your-buck... Though the single card solution is definitely neater...

As for the benefits of mult-gpu itself I cant give any first hand comments (i have a single 8800gts) but I believe it is very dependent on which games you wish to play. If the game has been optimised in the drivers you are using then you can get close to 2x the performance from dual cards, if not the second card will have little impact at all...

Hope this helps

Seb

It's somewhat different. The X2 series is all on a single PCB. They are not limited by having to work through a chipset on the motherboard like Crossfire and SLI is.

I also do not believe that the performance is limited to driver support for a game. Of course nVIDIA always does better than ATi with OpenGL but that's a difference between companies.

[Argote]

Correct me if i'm wrong but I thought that the X2 variant of the card essentially meant there were 2 GPUs in crossfire, just mounted on the one board. This would mean that all the problems regarding crossfire you've read about would apply to both options. Performance should also be similar between the two choices. If the two single cards are cheaper and you have a motherboard with multiple pci-e slots and you're not likely to want to have quad gpus then maybe the 2 single cards would give you more bang-for-your-buck... Though the single card solution is definitely neater...

As for the benefits of mult-gpu itself I cant give any first hand comments (i have a single 8800gts) but I believe it is very dependent on which games you wish to play. If the game has been optimised in the drivers you are using then you can get close to 2x the performance from dual cards, if not the second card will have little impact at all...

Hope this helps

Seb

Yes, AFAIK the X2 cards also use CrossfireX so any "problems" associated with that are also present (ie. some games do not support the acceleration).

[DukeChutney]

One 4850.

I did tons of research, and decided it was in no way worth the extra money to go with a 4870 over a 4850

My build can play every FPS game out there, and all the NFS games at highest resolution with no lag whatsoever.

Current Specs

Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 [2.66]

ASUS P5Q LGA 775 P45

Radeon HD 4850 512MB

4GB Kingston DDR 266 [PC 2100]

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

Correct me if i'm wrong but I thought that the X2 variant of the card essentially meant there were 2 GPUs in crossfire, just mounted on the one board. This would mean that all the problems regarding crossfire you've read about would apply to both options. Performance should also be similar between the two choices. If the two single cards are cheaper and you have a motherboard with multiple pci-e slots and you're not likely to want to have quad gpus then maybe the 2 single cards would give you more bang-for-your-buck... Though the single card solution is definitely neater...

As for the benefits of mult-gpu itself I cant give any first hand comments (i have a single 8800gts) but I believe it is very dependent on which games you wish to play. If the game has been optimised in the drivers you are using then you can get close to 2x the performance from dual cards, if not the second card will have little impact at all...

Hope this helps

Seb

Hmmm, did not know that at all. Interesting. Not really all that excited about hearing the X2 uses Crossfire even for one card.

And believe it or not, the two single 4850's are actually cheaper than the one X2. Now I am really confused.

Wait, so the single card solution has 1 GB for both GPUs and the separate cards have 1GB for each GPU?

Looks like 1GB for each GPU

I am thinking of getting this card...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102809

Yes, AFAIK the X2 cards also use CrossfireX so any "problems" associated with that are also present (ie. some games do not support the acceleration).

Again, not super psyched to hear this. Hmmmm

One 4850.

I did tons of research, and decided it was in no way worth the extra money to go with a 4870 over a 4850

My build can play every FPS game out there, and all the NFS games at highest resolution with no lag whatsoever.

Current Specs

Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 [2.66]

ASUS P5Q LGA 775 P45

Radeon HD 4850 512MB

4GB Kingston DDR 266 [PC 2100]

So you say not even an X2???? As that would save me a whole lot of money for sure...

[Digitalx]

X2 will have on par performance but potentially lower power consumption. As for optimization, hardly any games have actual optimization for SLi or CrossfireX so it's not something to bother worrying about.

2 4850 cards will be exactly the same but draw more power so economically thinking the X2 is more ideal but yeah.

Only con of X2 i can think of is size probably so just watch the case you buy cause you'll need a good amount of room

1 1GB 4870 would probably be sufficient enough possibly i think as duke said as long as you don't plan on gaming at 1920x1200 maxed out or anything too over the top in that region.

edit: wow wtf XFX 4870 lmao but looks good and is 20 cheaper then that X2 you linked to http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150339

others:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814161265

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814131120

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102801

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814161247

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814127397

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814127400

Edited February 3, 2009 by Digix

[someone_162]

@thirtythree, thanks for clarifying. Have read more about nvidia than ati but thought to see big benifits from sli a specific 'profile' had to be created for each individual game by nvidia? Figured there would be a similar situation for crossfire... Am I completely wrong here?

[Beastage]

I vote for 1 4870 with 1GB of memory

[Argote]

I vote for 1 4870 with 1GB of memory

I'd say no, It would be better to have 2x4850

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

So now I am possibly thinking of getting just one 4870 non X2, just a regular 4870.... LOL sorry to further confuse things...

As far as room I have a nice Thermaltake Speedo Advanced case, so should be plenty of room.

and as far as PSU I also have a nice Thermaltake 1200 Watt PSU.

I will actually be reviewing both of the above when I put the PC together...

I'd say no, It would be better to have 2x4850

Or I can go with this, which was my original plan, and still the cheapest out of all of the plans.

Was originally going to go with two of these...

[Digitalx]

1200w psu is a bit over the top specially with onl a 4870 that amount of power you could run 2 4870X2 and a 4850 all in crossfirex.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

1200w psu is a bit over the top specially with onl a 4870 that amount of power you could run 2 4870X2 and a 4850 all in crossfirex.

It was supplied to me for a review, so although I realize it is way more than I need, I will be using it.

So now the question is, 1 4870, or 1 4850 X2?, or the original plan of 2 4850's?

[Argote]

Or I can go with this, which was my original plan, and still the cheapest out of all of the plans.

Was originally going to go with two of these...

Yes, that's what I said, 2 x 4850's not 1 x 4850X2.

[Digitalx]

It was supplied to me for a review, so although I realize it is way more than I need, I will be using it.

ah ok then thats alright lol was more price conscious about it but i guess will path a way for future upgrades if they need more juice :)

maybe these will help

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-48...x-performance/1

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardw...nce-review.html

Remember with crossfirex you can say couple 4870 and 4850 in crossfirex alright.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

ah ok then thats alright lol was more price conscious about it but i guess will path a way for future upgrades if they need more juice :)

I can power a small nation with it!! LOL

[Argote]

If you want to stick to a single card a GeForce GTX 285 would be best.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150334

Don't know if it's faster than 2x4850's though...

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

If you want to stick to a single card a GeForce GTX 285 would be best.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150334

Don't know if it's faster than 2x4850's though...

LOL Now I am really confused...

Two things with this... Price is higher than i wanted... However 2nd thing is I have always used Nvidia and prefer their drivers... So...