Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > Just bought 2 sapphires 4870s dont know if i shoulda waited for 4870x2

Just bought 2 sapphires 4870s dont know if i shoulda waited for 4870x2

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Just bought 2 sapphires 4870s dont know if i shoulda waited for 4870x2

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georgep001   08-14-2008 at 08:50:08 PM

Well my question is i just bought 2 sapphires 4870s too crossfire them i also upgraded my computer to a asus Maximus Formula 2 gigs of ram and a dual core 2.4 processor wich is overclocked too 3.2ghz now the question is i just found out the 4870x2 is coming soon should i have waited or will my 2 sapphire 4870s crossfired be enough to play my games with a good performance.

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georgy   08-14-2008 at 09:07:37 PM
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Btw 4870x2 is on sale. I didn't see any review comparing 4870x2 against 2 4870 in crossfire. For sure 4870x2 has 1gb (yeye 2gb but 1gb for each gpu) while 2 4870 has 512 mb (yeye 1gb total but 512 each gpu). You will have your answer in 1 week maybe ;)

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aevm   08-14-2008 at 09:08:50 PM
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LOL, two HD 4870 in Crossfire are enormous GPU power. No worries, you'll get good performance.

Add more RAM, that's probably the weakest point in your setup. The GPUs are just fine.

Is it a maximus formula x38, or a maximus II formula P45? If it's the P45, then sell it and get a P5E Deluxe X48, or sell the HD 4870 cards and get an HD 4870X2. You will get a bottleneck with P45 and two HD 4870 cards.

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georgep001   08-14-2008 at 09:38:13 PM
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its the maximus formula i believe my computer guy said hes sold alot of them with 2 4870 crossfired with no problems so i took his word for it i dont know my computer was always built for video editing i just recently got out of that and started to upgrade my computer for some serious gaming.

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hurbt   08-14-2008 at 09:38:47 PM
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yeah... ebay those suckers and get the 4870x2 if you dn't have an x48 Mobo.

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georgep001   08-14-2008 at 09:42:32 PM
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well i havent recieved my motherboard yet i can always change my order whats the difference in the x38 chipset and the x48

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aevm   08-14-2008 at 10:00:07 PM
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If it's the X38, it's fine, it will run both cards at x16+x16, i.e. full speed.

If it's the P45, it will drop to x8+x8. That will reduce performance by more or less depending on game and resolution. (It hurts more at higher resolutions, in general.)

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georgep001   08-14-2008 at 10:02:44 PM
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ok i just checked my receipt it says asus P5E i got is that ok?

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aevm   08-14-2008 at 10:09:58 PM
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That's an X38. You'll be just fine :)


What kind of power supply do you have?

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georgep001   08-14-2008 at 10:14:31 PM
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i just bought a coolermaster power duo 650w he said it should be more then enough to run 2 4870s on crossfire since they dont require as much amps or something like that he said it should be fine.


Message edited by georgep001 on 08-14-2008 at 10:16:00 PM
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aevm   08-14-2008 at 10:21:12 PM
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OK, it should do. Not my favorite brand, and not much room for disks and sound cards and tuners etc etc, but it's OK.

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georgep001   08-14-2008 at 10:27:06 PM
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so i shouldnt worry about my board it will run my crossfire fine? thats what im really worried about now.

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bydesign   08-14-2008 at 10:43:43 PM
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X38 is fine but the ATI tech I spoke with today said there is a known problem with them with crossfire. I don't have one so we didn't go into details. Most likely correctable with chipset drivers or bios update.

A P35 or P45 would take a 10-20% in crossfire.

If you do go for one never buy a OEM ATI card the warranty is crap.

Reply to bydesign
georgep001   08-14-2008 at 10:53:53 PM
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ok ill stick with the x38 chipset then seeing its like 100 dollars cheaper too so thx for the feedback guys.

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blackwidow_rsa   08-14-2008 at 11:06:14 PM
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P45 has pcie gen2, 8x is the same as pcie gen1 16x.

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georgep001   08-14-2008 at 11:11:07 PM
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would there be a tremendous loss from keeping my 2 4870s crossfired instead of buying a 4870x2

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stevozilik   08-14-2008 at 11:19:56 PM
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no, not at all. What is the max resolution you're playing? The 4870x2 vs 4870 cf wont make any noticable difference unless you're playing on 2500x1600 maxed out...


Message edited by stevozilik on 08-14-2008 at 11:20:19 PM
Reply to stevozilik
georgep001   08-14-2008 at 11:25:43 PM
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ok sweet i only play at 1680x1050 so i just bought the second 4870 today and i dont want to find out i dished 600 dollars for something that isnt gonna last atleast the year and i bought 2 of them for better performance but as long as its not a big noticable difference ill stick with my brand new sapphire 4870s

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stevozilik   08-14-2008 at 11:36:53 PM
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I have a GA-X48-DS4 with one HD4870 so far... I'm planing on getting another one in maybe a year, I guess that will be the time when I could see any real difference when playing 1680x1050 with two 4870 instead of one. Let us know if you see any difference in FPS in games (I suppose 3D Mark score will improve, but that is not really saying anyhting...)

Reply to stevozilik
georgep001   08-14-2008 at 11:41:01 PM
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will do thx ill stick with my 4870s for awhile i think 2 of those are more then capable of running future games for awhile i believe plus i cant really return them now so gotta be happy with what i got thx for the feedback guys im gonna benchmark the 2 4870s tommorow.

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