Hi. I am planning on purchasing a new computer very soon, and have some questions which i would love answers too.
a) I am using a 22" widescreen monitor at 1680x1050. And noticed that all this new talk about the 4850 and 4870 refer to higher res game play. Since i am limited to that resolution and am not planning on upgrading my monitor for some time. Is a CF set up of either card a worth while investment?
b)Would a Q6600 processor bottleneck these cards, either individually or in CF, if it was not overclocked?
c) Considering the 4870 x2 release in the near future, though i am in NEED of a new card until then, am i better off getting a single or combo of either the 4850s/4870s now.
d) Relating to the last question. If i purchase a single 4870, would i be able to CF it with a 4870 x2 in the future to great affect?
This question is kinda hard to answer until better drivers come out. I have a 22 inch screen with the same resolution as you, some games have had great performance, other games even running 2 4850's with crossfire enabled I've had poor performance.
Get one 4870... by the time you need more power or you invest in a new monitor, a new card will be out that will be faster than the 4870x2.
+1
A single 4870 should be plenty of horsepower for that resolution for some time to come. By the time you need more, there will be more powerful solutions available.
If you have a crossfire motherboard, get a single card now and a second card later as they drop in price.
If you don't have a CF motherboard, wait for the 4870x2
Stalker: Clear Sky, Far Cry 2, and more high end games are coming this fall - so i'd say a higher end gpu is a solid investment even on a 22" display as you will be able to really take advantage of high detail anti-aliasing on a 22"
As far as CPU limitations, if you pump the hell out of your AA settings and quality settings in your drivers it will make the GPU more of a deciding factor. Its only at lower level details that the CPU tends to hold things back quite a bit. I'd suggest overclocking the processor if you are willing to, however the 4870x2 and the 4870 both have been shown to perform decently on more mid-end cpus.
Message edited by ovaltineplease on 07-17-2008 at 05:08:17 PM
A single 4870 would work fine for you imo. Later down the road if you need the extra horsepower then adding a 2nd would not be a waste of money if you evaluate the market at that current time and the performance increase and price are justified.
The Q6600 is a great proc and even at stock speeds will be fine. If you plan to OC then it is even better.
Unfortunately no you will not be able to crossfire the 4870x2 with a single 4870.
Best,
3Ball
Message edited by 3Ball on 07-17-2008 at 05:07:36 PM
