Can't decide between 4870x2 or two 4850's

[pooh_god]

I'm looking at the SAPPHIRE 100270SR Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 for $369 or two 4850's for around $300. Do you think I would see similar performance from the 4850's? Just looking to get similar performance on the cheap after all i'm water cooling this setup and looking to save some money where I can.

Thanks

 

[roadrunner197069]

I get the x2 just for e-peen.

 

[cjl]

There should be roughly identical performance from each, though the 4850x2 has the advantage of only using one PCIE slot.

Oh, and this is assuming that your post is right, and you really are considering between a 4850x2 and a pair of 4850s. If the title is right, and you're considering a 4870x2, then it is the definite choice.

 

[Winly]

i would def go for the 4870x2

 

[kyeana]

if you can afford it, 4870x2 would be better then the 4850x2 or 4850's in xfire.

 

[afrobacon]

performance wise: 4870x2 > 4850x2 > 2x 4850's

The difference between the 4850x2 and two 4850's is almost nonexistent, but the pros including slightly less generated heat, half the room needed, and of coarse only needing 1 PCI express slot. So the price increase will be more for luxury than anything else; oh and it gives you the possibility to upgrade to 2x 4850X2's in the future.

Otherwise, if the choice is between the 4870X2 and 2x 4850's the 4870X2 is easily the better choice.

 

[pooh_god]

Yeah, that's what I thought most of you guys would say. I don't know, i'm not up to total specs on a single 4870X2 vs. two 4850's in crossfire. Well the only thing that sucks is that I'll bust my budget with the 4870x2 so water cooling is out for now and back to air cooling but I'll get it sometime. Besides it's out of stock on newegg anyways. Thanks for the input.

 

[3lvis]

The title of your post says your considering the 4870x2, but then you go on to say that your considering a 4850x2 and don't mention the 4870x2's price. Are you considering the 4870x2 or is that a typo?

No one has yet to ask the most important question when considering which GPU to buy.......What size monitor are you going to use this on?

If you looking to save money .....I would go with the biggest card's I could fit in my budget and lose the water cooling (buy lots of fans instead).

 

[3lvis]

The title of your post says your considering the 4870x2, but then you go on to say that your considering a 4850x2 and don't mention the 4870x2's price. Are you considering the 4870x2 or is that a typo?

No one has yet to ask the most important question when considering which GPU to buy.......What size monitor are you going to use this on?

If you looking to save money .....I would go with the biggest card's I could fit in my budget and lose the water cooling (buy lots of fans instead).

 

[V3NOM]

me r confusy.

 

[vochtige]

i don't know what's wrong with your glasses, but his tread title is VERY clear!!

he can't decide between 1 4870x2 OR 2 4850's in xfire!

oke poster, you need to think: am i planning to change the gpu after a year?
if the answer is is YES => go for the 4850 xfire. i don't think your system would be low-end in one year two 4850's are damn good.

on the other hand, if you get that 4870x2 for 60 bucks more?, you can xfire it later one with a new 58XX x2 so your performance go way up (if you keep the same mobo)

have a nice day in looking around

 

[invisik]

4870x2 way to go.

 

[malveaux]

Heya,

$119 for an HD4850 at NewEgg.
$500 for an HD4870x2 (don't know where that $379 number above came from for the HD4870x2, it's $500).

Even Crossfired, the HD4850's are about half the cost of an HD4870x2. Performance wise, both these setups will be absolute overkill for most games you play. Very few games will actually be able to even remotely tax these two setups, other than the latest crunchers (like Crysis) though that's not due to them being too graphically complex, but actually do to really piss poor coding (eg, Crysis).

For the money, I'd go with the HD4850 in crossfire. Or a single HD4870. The HD4870x2 is the fastest 'single' card on the markget, but it's also the most expensive. Is the overkill worth the $500? I don't think so.

Cheers,

 

[pooh_god]

Well it's $369 because it is the 2 gig version w/GDDR3 4870x2 not GDDR5 and yes I am talking about a single 4870x2 vs. two 4850's in xfire. It is going into a antec 900 case and was going to water cool but if I get this card it's out of my budget. Looks like the 4850's in xfire should do it but getting the 4870x2 and xfire that later on sounds like a plan that can't be beat. Thanks for everyone's input and sorry for the confusion!

 

[x_2fast4u_x]

The 4870x2 will win hands down.

When you have to cards in X-fire or SLI they do not scale 100% so there is a loss in performance also you can only use the on board memory of one of them. Add to that the fact that the 2x4850's are a step lower in the scale the 4870x2 wins by a mile.

 

[V3NOM]

Heya,

$119 for an HD4850 at NewEgg.
$500 for an HD4870x2 (don't know where that $379 number above came from for the HD4870x2, it's $500).

Even Crossfired, the HD4850's are about half the cost of an HD4870x2. Performance wise, both these setups will be absolute overkill for most games you play. Very few games will actually be able to even remotely tax these two setups, other than the latest crunchers (like Crysis) though that's not due to them being too graphically complex, but actually do to really piss poor coding (eg, Crysis).

For the money, I'd go with the HD4850 in crossfire. Or a single HD4870. The HD4870x2 is the fastest 'single' card on the markget, but it's also the most expensive. Is the overkill worth the $500? I don't think so.

Cheers,

what the shell? crysis wasn't poorly coded, it was very well coded, and optimized for nVidia architecture hence the "nvidia the way its meant to be played".