Old Xfx 4870 1gb??

[thesupermedium]

I've been thinking about doing a crossfire setup with two 4870s... and I just realized Newegg doesn't carry the old one by Xfx, which is what I have. I don't want the one with the heat pipes and open fan because that thing runs at near 62c, which is way too hot for my liking. Should I just try to get it off ebay, or what?? And alas, I'll also need to upgrade the power supply, because I bought what was cheap at the time, which was a Cooler Master 600w. Suggestions? Should I suck it up and get matching aftermarket coolers? This is disappointing. :[

 

[jay2tall]

You can use any 4870 1GB card.... you can actually CF with a 512MB card, but your 1GB card will only use 512MB.

What are your PSU specs? To be honest it may be to your advantage to sell your 4870 on eBay, make $100 from that and get a 5870. They are $280 but - $100 you'd make from your 4870 - what it would cost you to upgrade your PSU for a 2nd card. It makes a little sense to just get the new single card. I'm in the same pickle as I DO have a PSU that can handle a second card, but I dunno if I'd do better to sell my current card and get the 5870 or spend $100 for a second card off eBay. I may just wait it out and see how long it takes the 5870 to come down a few dollars.

BTW, it's not dissapointing. Look at all the gamers our there that would kill for a 4870. I know guys trying to get by with a single 8800gt. You're not in bad shape my friend. You can still play alot with a 4870. I OCed mine to 820/1050 and it runs pretty well. Crysis kills it, but I can play with AA x2 and Very High detail in DX10 only if i turn Blur off. That's at 1680x 1050.

 

[coozie7]

I am one of those with the 8800GT...It ain't so bad

@ Thesupermedium: You're right about that XFX cooler, had one, sent it back the next day-92C at 100 LOUD percent was just not good enough, then picked up this 8800 for peanuts
I'd keep with the 4870 for a while longer and start saving for a HD5850/5870, that way you will not need to get another PSU, while prices and availability should have improved.

 

[thesupermedium]

First of all, sorry for the late reply, I've been busy like you can't believe!

But my real question was, did XFX just get rid of the encased 4870 and go with the open heat pipe solution? I really like mine because it just blows air out of the back rather than into my case. The new ones apparently run slightly cooler, but they blow hot air into the case, which is bad for the motherboard. If I can't get my hands on an extra 4870 that's like mine, I'll probably get a 5870 or 5850.

 

[JofaMang]

Hot air exiting into the case isn't an issue with good airflow.

 

[thesupermedium]

Well, the air flow is decent, but I just prefer it go out the back. This may sound shallow, but I also prefer matching cards as far as appearance goes. Just an OCD thing.

 

[JofaMang]

One of the trade-offs of rear heat exit, is higher temps on the card. Forcing the air in a single path and direction, allows more ambient heat to be taken back into the card on its way out. Cards that have open cooling options push air in multiple directions, allowing less contact (and transfer) with the heated air.

I agree on matching cards, it does look better that way, and less Frankensteiny. OCD i understand, understand, understand.

 

[jay2tall]

^ a agree on matching cards to. Especially since I lower the fan temp at idle and totally redo the fan profiles through ATI tray tools. 2 different cards would run totally different at 35% fan duty on idle. I actually just bought an identical card on eBay today for $125. I plan to crossfire. I could see selling my card only to pay another $160 for a 5850 that doesn't perform as well as if I got a 2nd card. Only to save power and have DX11. I don't pay electric and I don't see any DX11 games out yet. Heck Call of Duty isn't even DX10!

 

[pauldh]

^ Yeah, Still so many new games using a DX9 engine. ArmaII, Prototype, Risen, NFS Shift, etc.