4870x2???

[foxxy]

As a new member to the forums i have a simple question. I have a EVGA 750ftw Mobo, but im thinking of dumping my 2 8800gt's for a 4870x2. as i have a SLI board, can i use that card since its Xfire? or should i just get a GTX280?

 

[invisik]

well u can use one 4870x2 card perfectly but if u want to put another u r unable because of crossfire. So any single card is fine but for cf only ati cards work. In my opinion get 2 gtx 260 i picked 2 of them up for 489$ after 20MR and the cards max mostly any games except the one game called crysis lol.
Both cards r good so u cant lose.
GOOD LUCK =]

 

[santistausa]

Hey bud, the 4870 x2 uses crossfire system, but without having to have a crossfire mobo! so u good to go buddy!

You will only need a crossfire mobo if you want to use 2 4870 x2!!

Hope I could help! have a good one!

And welcome to the forum!

 

[aevm]

You can use a single 4870x2 in the eVGA 750 MB. All you need is one PCI-E 2.0 slot. Leave the other slot empty, of course.

Two GTX 260 cards would also be a good option. Look at some benchmarks comparing HD 4870 Crossfire with GTX 260 SLI to decide which is better in your favorite games at your favorite resolution. Whatever you find about HD 4870 Crossfire will apply to the HD 4870X2 too, except that the HD 4870X2 will do better at high resolutions because it has more RAM.

Read this:
http://hothardware.com/Articles/ATI-Radeon-HD-4870-X2--AMD-Back-On-Top/?page=12

Quote:

Generally speaking, the 4870 X2 was on-par with or marginally faster than a Radeon HD 4870 CrossFire setup and somewhat faster than a GeForce GTX 260 SLI configuration in most benchmarks, although the GTX 260 SLI rig did catch up with it a couple of times.

 

[nottheking]

Personally, I'd favor the 4870X2 over the GTX 260 SLi. Remember that one set of benchmarks don't tell the whole story; while the HHW Crysis benchmark showed the GTX 260 SLi setup in the lead, I'd point out that they ran that without image quality enhancements. When it comes to AA and AF, the 4870X2 has been noted to, even with Crysis, suffer a minimal performance penalty compared to all other cards, allowing it to chew up and spit out virtually every other possible graphics setup there is, as seen here.

 

[invisik]

Personally, I'd favor the 4870X2 over the GTX 260 SLi. Remember that one set of benchmarks don't tell the whole story; while the HHW Crysis benchmark showed the GTX 260 SLi setup in the lead, I'd point out that they ran that without image quality enhancements. When it comes to AA and AF, the 4870X2 has been noted to, even with Crysis, suffer a minimal performance penalty compared to all other cards, allowing it to chew up and spit out virtually every other possible graphics setup there is, as seen here.

Thats true but the gtx 260 seems to oc much better. If overclocked correctly wouldnt it take the lead? Both the 4870x2 and gtx 260 in sli dont seem far off.

 

[kitsilencer]

Don't forget DX10.1 support. When developers start making more games that take advantage of DX10.1, the 4870x2 is futureproof. Not so the GTX260.

 

[nottheking]

Thats true but the gtx 260 seems to oc much better. If overclocked correctly wouldnt it take the lead? Both the 4870x2 and gtx 260 in sli dont seem far off.

I dunno... The lead the Radeon HD 4000 series takes when AA is enabled seems to be rather strong. I have my doubts that you'd be able to surpass it with any amount of overclocking one could reasonably expect on a GTX 260.

 

[invisik]

well i guess performance wise the 4870x2 would have a slight edge. i picked up the 2 gtx 260 for pretty cheap price of 489$ so it seems like a good deal.
=]

 

[foxxy]

WOW
Thanks for all the great advice, i wanted you folks to know that i run a 22" monitor, so im not sure how will that affect your advice. the dilemma seems either to go with 2x gtx260 or the 4870x2 atm. thanks again.

 

[dagger]

It's probably best to keep the dual 8800gt. The 4870x2 performs average 35% better across different games and resolutions, which is significant, but is it really worth a $550 upgrade?

At $250 each, gtx260 sli is $50 cheaper than a single 4870x2, but it has less memory (896mb, compared to x2's 2gb, 1gb per core). Plus it performs very slightly lower compared to 4870 one on one.
http://en.expreview.com/2008/06/24/first-review-hd-4870-and-hd-4850/19/
The 1.56% difference is not significant, but still technically a difference. The x2 with more vram should increase the lead somewhat. There is no real advantage in going for 260gtx sli.

Consider this: an aging g92 8800gts cost $150 on newegg. At stock, it perform (on average, across multiple games and resolutions) 15% better than 8800gt, 20% below 4870. It reliably overclock at least 15%, sometimes more, up to 8800ultra level and approaching 4870. The 4870 itself can oc, but only up to 7%. Due to heat problems, it probably won't do any more even with new bios and drivers. Not saying this is the way to go, rather that it's an example of either 4870x2 or 260gtx sli being bad value at this point in time, considering the merely 35% performance increase over your existing hardware. Keep the 8800gt sli until either prices drop or the next batch of hardware comes out. It's better to upgrade every other generation instead of every generation. The performance increase isn't enough to justify it.

 

[JerryC]

Actually, replacing the stock cooler on the 4870 solves the heat issue and allows you to push it about 15%

It's probably best to keep the dual 8800gt. The 4870x2 performs average 35% better across different games and resolutions, which is significant, but is it really worth a $550 upgrade?

At $250 each, gtx260 sli is $50 cheaper than a single 4870x2, but it has less memory (896mb, compared to x2's 2gb, 1gb per core). Plus it performs very slightly lower compared to 4870 one on one.
http://en.expreview.com/2008/06/24/first-review-hd-4870-and-hd-4850/19/
The 1.56% difference is not significant, but still technically a difference. The x2 with more vram should increase the lead somewhat. There is no real advantage in going for 260gtx sli.

Consider this: an aging g92 8800gts cost $150 on newegg. At stock, it perform (on average, across multiple games and resolutions) 15% better than 8800gt, 20% below 4870. It reliably overclock at least 15%, sometimes more, up to 8800ultra level and approaching 4870. The 4870 itself can oc, but only up to 7%. Due to heat problems, it probably won't do any more even with new bios and drivers. Not saying this is the way to go, rather that it's an example of either 4870x2 or 260gtx sli being bad value at this point in time, considering the merely 35% performance increase over your existing hardware. Keep the 8800gt sli until either prices drop or the next batch of hardware comes out. It's better to upgrade every other generation instead of every generation. The performance increase isn't enough to justify it.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

It depends on the OP. If they want the best, then X2 is the way to go. And the heat issues arent heat issues, Ive seen several reviews that show good temps under load. Also, currently theres 4870s out thatre factory oceed more than the 7%. Ive seen threads where some 4870s were oceed to almost 900 on the core.

 

[dagger]

The x2 outperforms a G280 by 25% accross the board. Not sure where the GT fits in, but that sounds low, only 35% better? Seems the GT would be within 10% of the G280 then, right?

That's cute.

It's pretty easy to figure out that everyone is talking about eith x2 or sli, since he has an sli motherboard. It's one on one gpu comparasion.

As for 4870 overclocking, can you provide a link on that 15%? All the benchmarkers are saying it's either hardware or oc software limited, and not heat limited yet, despite the high temperatures. In any case, I'd like to know the full potiential of 4870.

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

OOOPS, I deleted it. Need more coffee. Heres a few links to debunk the "it wont go over 800" http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198367 http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198131 http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=195981

 

[invisik]

Simply put both r good cards 4870x2 is better then that of the 2 gtx260 but when oc there pretty close in terms of performance. i rather get the gtx 260 u save ur self 50-65$. Since ur gaming at 22in monitor 1680x1050 u cant go wrong pick either one up.

 

[dagger]

OOOPS, I deleted it. Need more coffee. Heres a few links to debunk the "it wont go over 800" http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198367 http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198131 http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=195981

Looks interesting. But I was hoping for official reviews rather than individual forum posts. And proven to be stable not by benchmark demos but a real stress test like Furmark.
http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

 

[JAYDEEJOHN]

Look into those links, Im thinking 1 or 2 used furmark. Ive seen em for sure, just dont remember where. Also, some of those "private" reviews are done by the reviewers of different sites.