Tom's Hardware > Forum > Graphic & Displays > Graphics Cards > HD 3870 crossfire or a HD 4850?
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macbeth34   03-25-2009 at 09:27:14 PM

What is the better option, running 2 HD 3870's in crossfire at x8 or a single HD 4850 at x16? Which will give me the best performance overall?

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zipzoomflyhigh   03-25-2009 at 09:54:24 PM
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Have you checked the vga charts??

------------------------------ P965/Q6700@3.2 8MB HD4850 OC Edition
4GB Corsair XMS 800
Vista64/Win7
Fatality 550w/Antec 300
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macbeth34   03-25-2009 at 10:11:27 PM
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I have checked the charts and it would seem that the HD 4850 has a slight advantage over the HD 3870 CF overall. However, each set-ups appear to have their pros and cons. What I haven't been able to find out though is whether running the HD3870 CF x8 makes a big difference over the HD 4850 at x16. Everything I have found so far assumes a CF running at x16+x16.

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BlueScreenDeath   03-25-2009 at 10:45:11 PM
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4850 is going to be slightly cheaper than 2x3870 and give you less trouble since it's a single card. Whereas 3870 will give you an edge in performance.

So it all depends on if you're going to upgrade in the future. If so, get a 4850 and another in the future (depending on your PSU).

If you don't plan to upgrade, get 2x3870s

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Techno-boy   03-26-2009 at 05:53:36 AM
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If you already have 1 Radeon HD 3870 then buying another Radeon HD 3870 and Crossfire them which would save you money and it will be cheaper but if you still don't have 1 Radeon HD 3870 then it would be better to buy Radeon HD 4850/4870.


Message edited by Techno-boy on 03-26-2009 at 05:54:38 AM
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Dekasav   03-26-2009 at 09:12:34 PM
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HD 4850 is a much better way to go than CF 3870's. Performance is very close, but the HD 4850 doesn't have to deal with crossfire issues, poor AA, and higher power consumption (I'm pretty sure two 3870's take more juice than 1 HD 4850).

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