4870x2 in quadfire vs a 295 or the new 5800

[Guest]

hi,

just wondering if anyone has seen a comparison in benchmark between the 4870x2 in quadfire config vs the 295 vs the new 5800?

 

[brockh]

Generally speaking, a single 4870X2 keeps up with a GTX 295 in most cases, and usually beats a single HD 5870. From that we can conclude two 4870X2 will beat both of them. However, it's hard to find one and they use a lot of power. CrossFire 5870 will probably beat QuadFire 4870X2 however because of scaling issues; not sure about QuadSLi GTX 295. I wouldn't do two of either of the dual GPU cards because of the power and heat, personally. :/

 

[hunter315]

Well consider that 4 card setups dont scale very well, and a 5870 is approximately a 4870x2 and also approximately a GTX295, its slightly worse than both but close enough. Based on the toms review, the 5870 seems to have a 70-90% scaling factor when in crossfire, most quad chip setups are no where near that so the 5870's would pull ahead, while generating significantly less heat. As you can see from this chart, 2 5870s draw 70 watts more than a single 4870x2 and 80 more than a GTX295, thats a huge difference in heat output.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5870,2422-20.html

 

[Guest]

so despite being over a year old, the 4870x2, a single card can still hold its own and adding a second in there is an overkill for anything today, i guess?
just wondering because I got this system in in july as a gift and my dad had it configurd with two 4870x2 and a core i7950..

 

[brockh]

so despite being over a year old, the 4870x2, a single card can still hold its own and adding a second in there is an overkill for anything today, i guess?
just wondering because I got this system in in july as a gift and my dad had it configurd with two 4870x2 and a core i7950..

If you're saying you already have two HD 4870X2 there's no forseeable need to upgrade in the remote future. If you're asking if the Quadfire HD 4870X2 is a good choice to buy right now I'd probably say no. Get two HD 5870 over it (or wait for the HD 5970/5870X2), skip the GTX 295.

 

[Guest]

What im saying is I have 2 4870x2 in quadfire setup. I read a review a while back that stated that this config I have bested a single 295

 

[belial2k]

I think the notion that 4 card setups don't scale well is more theory than actual a proven fact. In fact if you look back to the last system builder marathon, it seems to disprove this idea.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-phenom-radeon,2427-2.html

notice that even though the system with 4 cards is somewhat handicapped by a slower processor, it does a good job keeping up with the system 3 much more powerful video cards. The video subsystem with 4 4850s played everything at the highest resolutions and with all the eye candy turned on for only $500, while the $600 subsystem in the much more expensive build performed about the same, once you take into account the difference in processor speed. I think though, all of this really only matters if you plan on using extreme high resolutions. At the typical 19x12, a single 4870x2, 5870, or gtx 295 is really all you need to get to the 60fps limit our eyes can see.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

What im saying is I have 2 4870x2 in quadfire setup. I read a review a while back that stated that this config I have bested a single 295

That's probably the case, but it is a waste of money due to the poor return of the third and fourth GPU scaling.

If there were more HD5870s available, I would say sell the HD4870X2 and buy two HD5870 [which you would likely have gotten at even money if the HD5Ks were more plentiful] and they would likely outperform that quadfire setup a vast majority of the time (likely something like 9 times out of 10).

 

[belial2k]

and yes, 4870x4 is WAY more powerful than a single gtx295, since a single 4870x2 can almost keep up with it by itself, and actually beats it in some games. There is about a 10% advantage for the gtx295 across a huge sampling of games, with a lot of that advantage happening above 60fps, which are wasted frames.

 

[Guest]

heres another question for you belial2k, my dad also got me a 22inch monitor...i was told it isnt big enough to show the true horesepower in these games..

 

[brockh]

heres another question for you belial2k, my dad also got me a 22inch monitor...i was told it isnt big enough to show the true horesepower in these games..

Monitors are less about display size and more about resolution. Based on the size it's either 1920x1080 or 1680x1050 (if its lower-end). At 1920x1080 it'll put a decent amount of stress on it. 1680x1050 still isn't doing bad but with that graphics hardware it definitely won't be pushing any limits.

 

[Guest]

yep its 1680....does it pay to get a new monitor or will I not notice a bit of difference?

 

[brockh]

yep its 1680....does it pay to get a new monitor or will I not notice a bit of difference?

At 1680x1050 I really wouldn't recommend over a single HD 5870. :/ There's a bit of a difference between 1680x1050 and 1920x1080 but I'm not sure if it's completely noticable. To be honest, I might recommend getting single/dual HD 5870s and buying a second 1680x1050 monitor with Eyefinity.

 

[belial2k]

^that would be great, if he didn't already have 2 4870x2s. It would be silly to spend $800+ for a slight downgrade in performance (in anything but a DX11 optimized game). To answer your question, you are way overbalanced on your graphics. Your 16x10 monitor does not fully use the potential of even one of your cards. You could be running 25x16 resolution with that setup. So the biggest upgrade you could make to your system right now is getting a new monitor. I suggest going BIG. 28" or better.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254026
or if you already have a big screen LCD HDTV you could use that as your monitor, and/or set it up for dual monitors and use both.

 

[crosko42]

Yeah go with a 28+ inch monitor thats running 25x16.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Don't really understand the comparison. If you are comparing the three cards, they finish like this:

GTX 295
4870x2
5870

You want to look at them this way, they finish the same way:

Twin GTX 295
Twin 4870x2
Twin 5870

For example in Crysis Warhead @ 1920 x 1200 (Peak /Average / Min) - results from driverheaven.net

GTX 295 Quad (62/46/26)
4870 x2 Quad (43/24/23)

CoD

GTX 295 Quad (240/115/72)
4870 x2 Quad (223/123/65)

Left 4 Dead

GTX 295 Quad (294/170/99)
4870 x2 Quad (293/153/101)

Lost Planet

GTX 295 Quad (168/119/57)
4870 x2 Quad (106/73/45)

Tomb Raider

GTX 295 Quad (303/178/110)
4870 x2 Quad (119/63/35)

World in Conflict

GTX 295 Quad (209/150/115)
4870 x2 Quad (186/148/86)

To my mind, if you are thinking of tossing that expensive quad stuff, now is not the time to do it. The 295 will lose it's crown when the 5870x2 hits the streets though that's gonna cost you a cool $1,200. What you have is plenty to play anything and unless it's benchmarks driving your decision, I'd wait till the 5870x 2 and Fermi are not only out but reached maturity.

 

[brockh]

Don't really understand the comparison. If you are comparing the three cards, they finish like this:

GTX 295
4870x2
5870

You want to look at them this way, they finish the same way:

Twin GTX 295
Twin 4870x2
Twin 5870

[snip]

To my mind, if you are thinking of tossing that expensive quad stuff, now is not the time to do it. The 295 will lose it's crown when the 5870x2 hits the streets though that's gonna cost you a cool $1,200. What you have is plenty to play anything and unless it's benchmarks driving your decision, I'd wait till the 5870x 2 and Fermi are not only out but reached maturity.

Regardless of whatever else you said (especially thinking the 5870X2 is gonna cost $1,200 ) it's silly to assume each card scales exactly the same.

 

[belial2k]

and all of that does not answer the question he posed, which was "does 4870x2 in quad crossfire beat a single gtx295"....we all agree the answer is yes. And it is also insane to recommend anyone with that powerful of a graphics setup "upgrade" to anything. It will be a very long time before ANY game game catches up to his setup, which is already more powerful than 2x5870s. It is stupid to buy something new just because it is new, especially when it would cost you $800 and be a downgrade in performance.

 

[obsidian86]

http://www.ripping.org/benchmarks.php?act=graphicscores&graphic=3DMark06

best of the best

 

[jennyh]

Crossfire 5870's will beat quad-sli 295's and quadfire 4870's, but no it's not worth upgrading to it if you have either of the others.

 

[microterf]

If I remember right, Scaling problems actually made the Quadfire peform slower than Trifire, that's why i got a 4870 instead of a 4870x2 for my 2nd gpu, although drivers updates might have fixed that by now, plus you have a faster proc than I do though, so might not be the case for you. So I question whoever built this computers judgement to begin with based on that alone.

2nd, at 1920*1200 you are barely going to be stressing it at all. It looks like your dad spent a nice chunk of change on this PC for you. Tell him that in order to use it to it's full potential you need a 30" monitor capable of 2560*1600 resolution.

As far as performance, yes, you have more power than a single 295, less than SLId 295s, about equal to Crossfired 5870s.

Just worry about ugrading your monitor and have fun!

 

[brockh]

http://www.ripping.org/benchmarks.php?act=graphicscores&graphic=3DMark06

best of the best

So the lesson is... just buy four HD 4890s.

 

[cjl]

Don't really understand the comparison. If you are comparing the three cards, they finish like this:

GTX 295
4870x2
5870

You want to look at them this way, they finish the same way:

Twin GTX 295
Twin 4870x2
Twin 5870

Due to scaling issues, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the 5870 CF beat both the 295 quad and the 4870x2 quad.

 

[obsidian86]

So the lesson is... just buy four HD 4890s.

not totally but as you can see 8th and 9th place is ocupieid by tri fire and quadfire 5870's respectively but the lack of an i9 is holding them back

 

[cheesesubs]

If you're saying you already have two HD 4870X2 there's no forseeable need to upgrade in the remote future. If you're asking if the Quadfire HD 4870X2 is a good choice to buy right now I'd probably say no. Get two HD 5870 over it (or wait for the HD 5970/5870X2), skip the GTX 295.

cypress is in shortage which means u cant buy it anywhere

gtx295 sli ftw