2nd hd 4850 or hd 5800?

[eklipz330]

I already have a gigabyte hd 4850 with 512mb ddr3... shud i purchase a second and crossfire ORRR should i wait it out and buy a hd 5850 or hd 5870 when they hit ~$250?

I can have a hd 4850 for about $100 brand new right now, and i doubt it'll be getting any lesser then this considering a new series is out... how is the performance difference between hd 4850 cf'd and the hd 5800 series? if the performance is fairly similar, i might as well settle for the cheaper alternative, i don't really care for dx11 atm... no games that i want to play that are true dx11, and probably not for the foreseeable future... hell native dx10 games are FINALLY starting to come out [shattered horizon, metro 2033]

i wouldn't be surprised if the hd 5870 hit $300 by the summer... nvidia is coming out with new cards, MIGHT cause some series price drops

thanks for any tips =]

*edit*

big oops, i play at 1680x1050... although i wud like to save money, i really wanna be able to game over 60fps in most newer games maxed out... but if i can't do that with a second hd 4850, i don't think it'll be worth it

 

[paperfox]

I would expect two 4850s to max out any game at 1680x1050 but only one would most likely get most games with med/high settings with that resolution, if not you are already maxing them out, I'm guessing.

Performance wise the 5800s are just under their perspective 4800s crossfire, or pretty much the same.

Your question is like the age old tale of "which came first the chicken or the egg"
Another 4850 for $100 is the best bang for the buck compared to getting a 5800 card. But the 5800s have DX11 and other new features which will make them last longer (futureproof) than the 4850s. It is impossible to predict when a good DX11 game will come out and impossible to tell when the prices of cards will fall and to how much. You can realistically go either way in my opinion.

 

[eklipz330]

well, if im maxing a game out, its usually without AA or AF... and its usually a valve game

i think most of my games drop frames due to my e8400... its at 3.6, but i think a quad wud def remedy this situation... ima try and get my paws on a six core

well ill def try and pick up a second hd 4850 is i see it drop to $90.. it happens every so often.. if it doesn't ill just save my money for a 5800 series, and get a new comp altogether

 

[mephiston1]

i think this should be the most cost effective solution! if you can find a willing buyer for your current 4850 then buy the 5850, if not then just buy another 4850. From the charts on this site, the 4850 CF is similar in performance to the 5850. So the question now is more about price and power consumption vs performance I feel. The 1GB of graphics RAM on the 5850 may have more longevity though.

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-cards-charts-2009-high-quality-update-3/Sum-of-FPS-Benchmarks-1680x1050,1699.html

 

[eklipz330]

Best answer selected by eklipz330.

 

[eklipz330]

im gonna go with mephiston on this one... but ima wait until the hd 5850 goes back to the original msrp, put up my 4850 on amazon for $80ish, and use the money to pick up the hd 5850... shud cost me around the same ^_^