Is Crossfire a worthwhile upgrade?

[mattprice82]

I'm looking to upgrade my 2 year old 8800GTS (640MB) graphic card. I'm currently unsure of which of the following set ups would be best. I use my PC for mostly games / video viewing.

Option 1: HD 4770 x 2 (Crossfire)
Option 2: HD 4870 (1gb) x 1

With a budget of around $200 and a monitor with a max resolution of 1680 x 1050, I'm not sure if the dual HD 4770 will give me an advantage over the the single card. Although I would like to upgrade my monitor to one with a higher resolution, I don't think that will be an option for a while. I defer my decision to the broader community.

Here are my system specs
Monitor: Samsung 226BW (Max resolution = 1680 x 1050)
MoBo: Gigabyte - EP45-DS3R
Proc: Intel Q9550
Mem: 8GB - Corsair
HDD: WD Caviar (750GB) x2
Sound: SB X-FI Xtreme
Case: Antec 900
Video: 8800 GTS

 

[coaxui]

Go with option 2. I have a 4870 1gb version and love it. For the price it is an amazing card. I play all games at 1920x1200 with everything maxed out and they all run as smooth as butter. Even crysis (with AA set to 2x)!

Keep in mind, one card will always be faster at resolutions you are looking to play at. You will only benefit from two cards if you plan to play at resolutions GREATER than 1920x1200.

 

[jennyh]

That's not how it works. Two 4770's will be a good bit faster than a 4870 in any game that is properly coded, at any resolution.

Both are decent options, the 4870 is a bit cheaper and it's a good card at 1680x1050. I'd buy a single 4770 first then decide on whether or not another would make a difference in what I played.