I need help deciding

[4lc4pon3]

before i decided to build i bought a HIS 4850 Turbo 650/2ghz found here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161244

I did not pay 130 for it. it was on sale for 89.99 with free game and free shipping. Now here is where im stumped. should i buckle down and get a 4890 1gb for 194.99 and dump my 4850 or should i grab another 4850 and crossfire.


Monitor: Acer H233H 23inch 1920x1080 Native. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009162&Tpk=acer%20h233h

 

[4lc4pon3]

Games played: all i can say i own a ton of games and i have every latest game.

I can play crysis warhead on mainstream very smooth, cant play GTA IV (CPU is trash) and i cant play ghostbusters on High

everything else i can max out except for maybe stalker and cryostasis

 

[meatwad53186]

Are you asking for advice on a full build or just for the graphics card?

 

[4lc4pon3]

sorry i edited. im just askign about video cards. wich is better x2 4850 or x1 4890

 

[ahslan]

well, if your game is optimized for crossfire, then the 4850s will crush the 4890...but if the games you play arent optimized for crossfire, then the 4890 will clearly outperform them...

 

[4lc4pon3]

well what games are crossfire ready? is there a list?

 

[ahslan]

Copied this from another website:

Games that work
Call of Duty 4: Works really well, good fps gains.
UT3: This works, decent performance gains with CF enabled.
Bioshock: Works Amazing
Medal of Honor Airborne: Minimum 60 fps, one card drops to 35.
Half life 2: All the half life 2 engined games seem to work.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Gives an additional 100 fps at all times, sweet.
Gears of War: It works one cards drops to 50 fps in tested area in CF doesnt.
Hellgate London:Cant run DX10 fails with single card and CF. In DX9 mode 70 fps with single card, CF gets 100-120 same area.
Call of Juarez. Only have the DX9 version 60 fps single, 90 fps CF in tested area.
Gothic 3: Works really good.
Oblivion: Seems to work you might need to patch the game.
World of Warcraft: Crazy fps in this game.
Crysis

and that list hasnt been updated in a while...since like 2007 or something like that

 

[4lc4pon3]

ok here is a ? is goin SLI a better option then crossfire or is basicly all games about the same

 

[ahslan]

well if you are satisfied with the performance the single 4850 gives you, then i say keep it, so that whenever you do see a performance drop, you'll be able to crossfire another card with it...but if you are using a high resolution monitor right now, you're probably going to want the 4890....

 

[4lc4pon3]

i think i answered my own ? i looked at the SLI list of games on http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone2_game.html and they basicly have every single game in there

 

[ahslan]

well there ya go...thats a pretty damn long list...lol

 

[4lc4pon3]

yeah its changed my mind from an amd crossfire system to a 920 sli

 

[carickw]

does your MoBo support SLI and Crossfire? I don't know when you bought it, but I think a majority only support one or the other. I know the x58 chipset supports both, but that is the only one i know does that. Just make sure before you go buying 2 cards that may not work as you planned.

 

[4lc4pon3]

well currently im building a new rig this week one either a i7 or a 955 the 955 am3 i know only supports crossfire and the i7 build supports anything but the way its looking im going to get stuck building the crossfire system. to a point is almost doesnt seem worth it going crossfire.

 

[carickw]

Personally, if your computer is only going to support crossfire, then I would go with a 4890. Later, you will be able to upgrade for less by just buying another 4890. I hear currently the 4890 in crossfire is one of the best 2 gpu setups you can have (better than a 295). However, if you are transferring your current video card over, i would get another 4850 as it will be cheaper and probably last a couple of years. Over time games are going to want more cores to run on, which will make the multi-core 4850 x2 better than a single 4890.

 

[4lc4pon3]

right but not all games are supported. i was kind of looking for a better list. crossfire for prototype, bionic commando, cod world at war and i didnt see those games listed so i wasnt sure if crossfire was a good idea with them games.

also im just wondering isnt x2 4890s over kill for 1920x1080res?

 

[carickw]

cod world at war uses the same game engine as cod modern warfare (and modernwarfare2 - can't wait) so I think it would benefit substantially. Can't help with the other ones, but check ati.amd.com and the websites for the games. I would think AMD would advertise the games it helps with, but I do not know for sure.

Edit: 4890x2 for 1920x1080. That is probably _not_ overkill. The higher the res, the higher the benefit and 1920x1080 is one of the highest common resolutions.

 

[OvrClkr]

Just get another 4850 and xfire......you will be fine....

 

[4lc4pon3]

yeah i added another his 4850 turbo 650/2ghz in my build. u said 2 of them beat 1 single 4890 so im happy with that.

 

[belial2k]

You did the right thing, 4850s scale really well and two will outperform a gtx285 or 4890....also you don't need to worry to much about modern games supporting it. Almost everything does support crossfire now, if not out of the box there should be a patch to download.

 

[OvrClkr]

4850's Xfire are simply amazing for the price......Make sure you up the fan speed while in-game, things are gonna get hot pretty fast if your case does not have adequate airflow...

 

[ahslan]

damn I wish my mobo supported crossfire...i would buy another 4850 in a heartbeat