Crossfire Memory

[alikum]

Hello guys, I have a question about crossfire gpu memory.

Here's the computer's specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 2.8GHz @ 3.5GHz
Kingston Hyper-X DDR2-800 @ 4-4-4-12
Corsair TX-650
Gigabyte Radeon HD4850 512MB
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R

Resolution: 1920x1080

Now the question is, since the motherboard allows crossfire, would it be good to crossfire and play at that resolution? I bought the HD4850 512MB version before the 1GB version came out. As far as I understand, getting a 1GB version to crossfire with the existing one would be wasted. So, is getting another 512MB version worth it? Will the memory from both cards be shared to form 1GB?

 

[efeat]

No, the memory will not be shared, as both cards will need the same data in their memory. If a game you're playing is using 400 MB of VRAM, both cards are going to need that 400 MB of data to operate, so you're still capped at 512 MB.

As far as adding another card for performance, as long as you aren't running out of VRAM (which is dependent on the game title, graphic settings, and AA/AF settings) you would see an increase. How much of an increase, though, I cannot say. If you told us what games you like to play and what graphic settings you use, I'm sure somebody can give some more insight and determine if it would be worth adding another card.

 

[alikum]

Well, I guess I'd be much better off upgrade it when 5800 series comes out and make sure I nab the 1GB version. Thanks