4870x2 with a 22'' Monitor

[Nexus21]

I want to use an ATi Radeon 4870x2 in my new computer, but I'd also like to use a 22" monitor as well. Assuming I used this monitor for a long time, would it be better to just buy a regular 4870 1GB or would it be a better future investment to go ahead and get the 4870x2 even if it might be overkill now or a little more expensive? I plan on using it with 4GB of RAM and an Intel Core 2 Quad (Q6600) CPU. No crossfire right now, but most likely I will in the future after a couple years.

 

[Multiplicity]

If you have the budget to, then go for the 4870x2. IMO, even if it is considered to be "overkill", then you won't have to upgrade for a good while.

 

[jay2tall]

Depends on what you are using it for. If you are not running Vista and DX10, the x2 card will be overkill.

 

[Scotteq]

What does Vista and DX10 have to do with it when the Alternatives are all DX10 too??



OP - If it were my choice and I wasn't planning on going Crossfire for a couple years, then I'd Crossfire entirely and simply buy the best single card that fits my needs. More Horsepower is always better, and I've learned from past experience that when I cheap out on myself and buy a lesser thing rather than what I wanted in the first place, then it festers in the back of my head. Then I invariably end up buying what I wanted later on and spending even *more* money. But if you're not like that, and if you won't end up using it then you really are just overspending. I can't answer that part of the question for you.

Also - ATI's drivers have been dodgy as of late and this has been a source of annoyance with my own 4870X2. Hoping that the new set are better, but I'm not one to suffer too long...

 

[jay2tall]

What does Vista and DX10 have to do with it when the Alternatives are all DX10 too??

I am just stating if you do not have Vista, obviously you are running DX9 and even with a 4870 you will max out or nearly max out most games. With DX10 you have a whole new ball game to play with.

Personally I would take (2) 4870's in CF over an x2 card.

 

[Nexus21]

This was my original plan when I picked out that video card:

I figured that by buying the 4870x2 I wouldn't have to update model-wise for a long time, and that when the first 4870x2 started to run slow with newer software, I could simply buy another one (by this time they would be cheaper) and Crossfire it with the older card. This way seemed cheaper to me than buying a 1GB card, Crossfiring it later, and then having them become outdated faster than the 4870x2 in which case I'd have to ditch the two cards and buy a whole new card.

It just seemed to me that in the long run the 4870x2's would last longer and be a cheaper investment overall than buying a 4870 1GB because they the cheapest immediate buy.

Remember that eventually I'm going to crossfire no matter which card I buy, but for the time being I'm only going to buy one card. So the choice is either one 4870x2 or one 4870. I'm not deciding between one 4870x2 and two 4870's.

 

[mactronix]

Personally i would go with a single 4870, by the time your hardware starts showing its age newer better cards will be out and i would say that IMOA buying a single 4870 now and upgrading in the future to a newer better card will end up costing a very similar amount to buying a X2 now.
Remember when the X2 starts showing its age and slowing down just slapping another in may well just not cut it. There may be technical limitations that make the cards obsolete.
Its going to take a pretty awesome game to make a X2 cry, but what ever becomes the new Crysis isn't guaranteed to run any different on a X2 than it will on a single card, Crysis didn't support dual cards on release and if that happened again you would effectively have a single 4870 in your case anyway.

Mactronix

 

[rangers]

vista will always be remembered as the broken OS

 

[rangers]

a thousand years from now our descendants will look back and think, VISTA my god what where they thinking

 

[jay2tall]

What's wrong with Vista? How is it Broken? If I remember correctly people didn't like Xp until SP1 came out. Everyone hated XP until software started supporting it properly. That was back in 2003, I know some people can't remember that far back

The problem with Vista is they have a Basic, Premium, Business and Ultimate. People would upgrade to Premium and not have the system to support it and it would run like crap. Or you get Vista Premium on a machine with 1GB of RAM and onboard video.

I know SEVERAL people who run vista and they all love it. Granted I don't know many businesses that have gone vista yet. We are still running mostly 2000 and all new machines are XP. The business sector usually lacks behind several years and doesn't upgrade often because their is no need.

Vista has now been out 2 years and software is now starting to be optimized and programed well for it. JUST like XP 6 years ago.

The biggest FLOP ever was Windows Millennium.

 

[Nexus21]

Right, Vista... So, about that video card...