does this make sense??

[rflction]

4870 CF = $600
Mobo w/2 PCIe 2.0 x16 = $250
TOTAL: $850


vs,

4850x2 = $550
Mobo w/just 1 PCIe 2.0 x16 (GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $136 - $20 MIR = $116
)=$116
TOTAL: $666



$184 difference.

 

[rflction]

or am i totally insane/missing something?

 

[br3nd064]

Do you mean a 4870x2 for the second one? The 4870 is only $245 on newegg and you can get a motherboard w/ 2 pci-e 2.0 x16 slots for <$200. This lowers the difference to only $24.

 

[johnyeah]

It really depends on what resolution you're trying to play your games at.

If it's not anything above 1680*1050, you're just burning cash for no reason.

Also ^+1, the prices you've listed is a bit high for the same parts I've checked on Newegg.

 

[rflction]

then what MB would you suggest for q9550 & 4870 (w/possible CF) on a 19in?

 

[johnyeah]

Is your 19" monitor 1280*1024 res? Or is it a CRT or is it one of those rare ones with 1680*1050.

At 1280*1024, one 4850 is already enough. If you want the same performance at 1680*1050, then I'd shoot for a 4870.

The EP45 or the P5Q is more worth it than say a X48, unless you need every single frame possible. Performance difference does not justify the cost difference in my opinion. There's benchmarks you can check, I read on other sites not so long ago (anandtech, guru3d, etc).

 

[rflction]

yeh i'm considering getting a 24in so i thought i'd leave room for myself to get another 4870 in the future. also, with a higher quality x48 MB like the asus rampage would i be able to OC better?

 

[kamkal]

get the 4870x2, its xfire on one card

i have an Asus P5K-W with a "lowly" P35 and it can OC my e8400 to 3.8ghz easily

i would go with something like a P5Q with 2 x16 slots
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299
it uses a P45 chipset which is a soup up of the P35
$139.99 - $20 MIR

the slots run at x8 only when used together but since this is PCIE 2.0, it's like having two x16 slots since the BW is doubled per lane in PCIE 2.0

 

[Shadow703793]

^Quick correction: When doing CrossFire on ANY P45 board the link will run at 8x not full 16x. You will need X38/X48 for full x16.