Upgrade for Radeon HD 4870 1GB

[zamolxis]

I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card. It has served me well and it still works great, but I'm a sucker for pretty graphics, so I want to be able to play the new games on as close to max graphics as possible. I'm thinking about the upcoming games like Rift, Tera and some other mmos.

I got a motherboard that supports crossfire/SLI: ASRock X58 Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157163

I have about a 850W power supply so that should not be a problem.

So I am looking for advice on how to get the best bang for the buck for getting more video performance. I'm looking to spend up to $300 (it can be flexible for great deals). So my question would be:
- could I buy an HD 4870x2 and crossfire it with the HD 4870 that I have; that would seem a good deal if possible and worth it
- should I just go buy a new more expensive video card? I like both Nvidia/ATI

Thank you in advance.

 

[Dougx1317]

For the best value and great performance, you could grab a second 4870 for less than $100 used. This would create a lot of heat and use a lot of electricity. Your best bet for a single card would be a GTX560 for $250 or 6950 for a little under $300. These would be more efficient options. I had a 4890 and just upgraded to a 6970 for about $350.

What resolution do you play at? What games do you play?

 

[zamolxis]

I usually like to play windowed and at around 1680x1050 or 1900x1080 (or around that). The most recent game I tried and that I am thinking of playing is Rift. It's a new mmorpg that's gonna be released in a month or so. In that game I get around 20ish fps at max settings, which is dissapointing.

Some other games I play are Two Worlds II, Dragon Age, Star Craft II, Bad Company 2

 

[Dougx1317]

You can check benchmarks for specific games if you want. Here is a comprehensive list of the graphic card hierarchy. As you can see, the 4870X2 has high performance. But it is a powerhog, it runs hot, and it lacks features like DirectX 11. It really depends on where your priorities are. I chose the new technology with the HD6xxx series.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-radeon-hd-6870-geforce-gtx-570,2834-7.html

 

[wh3resmycar]

wait for the 6950 1gb variation. it will probably be priced around $250-260.

 

[Dougx1317]

The 6950 1GB is out already. It's been out for about a week. Here it is for $260 on Newegg. It is a good option. 1GB is more than fine for your stated resolutions.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102921

 

[wh3resmycar]

^ i didn't it was out already. anyway its performance is identical to the 2gb variation up to 1920x1200. it's a winner i suppose.