Crossfiring new and old toxic 5850s

[dieinafire]

i own a 1GB sapphire toxic 5850. i would like to purchase a new 2GB toxic 5850, but i do not know if they will crossfire properly. are they compatable?

 

[jonnyboyC]

yes they will crossfire, but your new card will only be able to utlize 1gb of it's memory. When you crossfire or Sli, the memory is identical on both cards, so if one can only use 1GB then that the most the other can use. You will definilty still see a huge upgrade in performance

 

[dieinafire]

thanks jon. i guess if i xfire i'll just buy another 1 GB model.

one more addition - would it be better to just upgrade to the 2 GB model, or xfire 2 1 GB 5850s? i've heard 1 card > 2 cards xfire.

 

[shadow187]

2x 1GB HD5850s will be fine. They won't max EVERYTHING at 2560x1600 due to memory constraints, but you'll generally be fine.

 

[wolfram23]

Hey if you're worried about the improvement of getting a second 5850 check out this thread
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/289809-33-single-5850-furmark-crysis-stalker-dirt-results

 

[jonnyboyC]

thanks jon. i guess if i xfire i'll just buy another 1 GB model.

one more addition - would it be better to just upgrade to the 2 GB model, or xfire 2 1 GB 5850s? i've heard 1 card > 2 cards xfire.

definitely to 2 1gb over one 2gb model, the only time would be at 2560 1600, and the few games that aren't supported by cf