HD4870 512 or 1GB...

[OmegaStalker]

HD4870 512 or 1GB on a 1680x1050... and what would happen if i added another 512 or 1gb into the setup later what kind of gains am i looking at?

 

[jay2tall]

The 1GB has a slight advantage over the 512MB. You will get a few FPS out of it.

In Crossfire these cards are monsters. I don't know how much benefit you will see at 1680x1050 unless you are running DX10.

 

[johnyeah]

At 1680*1050, the 512mb is more than good enough. In fact, I use it at 1920*1200, and I have yet to compromise on any games I'm playing, other than Crysis.

 

[jay2tall]

I opted for the 1GB, but you can save yourself $50 by going with the 512MB version. I believe the difference is very small until you get to higher resolutions.

 

[OmegaStalker]

hmmmmmm well looks like i may go for the PALIT HD4870 1GB sonic only because the 512 version is only 30GBP cheaper... what would two 1GB in crossfire be like on my res?

 

[jay2tall]

what would two 1GB in crossfire be like on my res?

They would look at you and laugh. haha. You will not have much problem running anything. Make sure you are running Vista in DX10 before you even think of 2 cards. Otherwise it is a waste.

 

[OmegaStalker]

lol il be running on a new i7 overclocked to around 3.8Ghz and vista ultimate 64-bit...

 

[jay2tall]

You will need a bigger monitor then. Hahaha

 

[OmegaStalker]

lol... Which HD4870 1GB though? i was thinking the PALIT Sonic?

 

[OmegaStalker]

Whats the best HD4870 1GB out there? what about the asus dark knight!

 

[jay2tall]

I have the Asus Dark night 1GB card. It is a nice card. I have it modestly oced to 825/1050. My ambient room temps aren't all that low and my case airflow is moderate so it idles between 48-51C. However this is with a fan profile set in Riva tuner to 35%. The stock profile sits it at 50% which is sorta loud for me. It will sit at 46-48C at 50%. Not that it is LOUD, but I have CoolerMaster silent fans in my case and a Sythe silent fan on my CPU. So when the card fan spins up you can tell. However my buddies computer has ALOT of airflow and you can not hear it over that loudness.

I like the HIS cooler as it blows the hot air out the back, and i've always liked their ICE-Q coolers. It's $25 extra but worth it. It was $40 move when i bought my card otherwise I would have sprung for it.