Crossfire Questions

[CJS]

Hello and thank in advance.

I've currently have a ASUS EAH4850 512MB card. I'm looking to add an additional card but I haven't been happy with the ASUS card. I'm planning on purchasing the ASRock P45XE as my mainboard but must I purchase the exact same card if I want to use Crossfire or will any 4850 work?

 

[CJS]

Sorry.. Didnt see the Crossfire sticky. So now that I know I don't need to use the same ASUS card, do any of you have a suggestion which card to use?

 

[jonpaul37]

Sapphire, i had one and it is a great card, it's currently in my GF's Pink computer and she loves it...

 

[coozie7]

As with any dual card setup, check the clearence between each card and any surrounding components. It can be a real annoyance to go SLI/CF only to find you can`t use your sound card!
Also check the cooling, the 4850/4870 series can run hot and both can produce quite a bit of heat when loaded.
I`m paranoid on cooling so always get cards that exhaust their heat out of the case, even if it costs a little more.
As for reccomendations; BFG, XFX and EVGA have long warranties and generally good customer support. Just remember, those long warranties may need you to register, so make sure you do.

 

[CJS]

Thanks you both for the replies!! I only use the onboard audio (since I have small kids, I can't really turn up the volume).

 

[CJS]

One last question. I've noticed that there are some 2x 4850's advertised. I'm assuming that they are just both cards in SLI form. Are there any advantages or disadvantages with this configuration?

 

[jennyh]

X2's are one card with two chips on them and crossfired internally. This has a few advantages like power draw and normally better performance, only needs 1 pci-e slot etc.