should i get a 4890, or crossfire 2 4870 512's??

I already have a 4870 512, but i'm using a 24" moniter(1900x1200), so I need a little more juice. I can save $50 bucks by getting another 4870 512 instead of the 4890. Also if I did crossfire, would my e8500 be a bottleneck? Side note....... I have a 750watt pc power & cooling psu, and a Gigabyte GA-X48-DS4 motherboard.

Your E8500 wont bottleneck. you have enough power crossfire that bad boy.04dcarraher

2 HD4870s > 1hd4890

really just save the money and wait a few weeks prices will drop and the 5800 series will be released

i would wait and save honestly so far the 5870 looks to be very powerful card

Ya, I'm kinda on a budget right now. I agree the 5870 is gonna be sweet, but I put myself on a strict budget for the next year, so I'm looking for a cheap alternitive for now. Would a 4870 512 crossfire give me a boost, or would the 512 still hamper me at 1900x1200 even in crossfire?

Ya, I'm kinda on a budget right now. I agree the 5870 is gonna be sweet, but I put myself on a strict budget for the next year, so I'm looking for a cheap alternitive for now. Would a 4870 512 crossfire give me a boost, or would the 512 still hamper me at 1900x1200 even in crossfire?

Genetic1

alright didnt know that lol. otherwise yes go for crossfire that baby you will get a good performance boost

i think you should get the new versions coming out. and get a better processor.

Ok, just found this..................http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-4870-x2-review-crossfire/11

According to this the 4870 512 crossfire kills a single 4870 512. On Mass Effect it equals a 4870x2 at 1900x1200. How could this be? It is encouraging, but is this for real?

Ok, just found this..................http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-4870-x2-review-crossfire/11

According to this the 4870 512 crossfire kills a single 4870 512. On Mass Effect it equals a 4870x2 at 1900x1200. How could this be? It is encouraging, but is this for real?

Genetic1

with the 9.8 catalyst crossfire saw some great gains, so i say go for another 4870 to crossfire your rig. the 4890 is a great card but 4870 crossfire will get you better frames. but get a decent 4870, XFX, SAPPHIRE, MSI as long as its muchcheaper than the 4890 say at least $50.

So you are saying that 2 4870 512mb in crossfire will actually realistically compete with a 4870x2 at 1920x1200 resolution. Seriously two 512mb cards will gain me comparable performance to a 4870x2? Pardon my ignorance, but am I right in saying that I will still only have 512mb even in crossfire, and if this is right, then how can the fps increase be so dramatic when compared with a single 4870 512 in those benchmarks?

So you are saying that 2 4870 512mb in crossfire will actually realistically compete with a 4870x2 at 1920x1200 resolution. Seriously two 512mb cards will gain me comparable performance to a 4870x2? Pardon my ignorance, but am I right in saying that I will still only have 512mb even in crossfire, and if this is right, then how can the fps increase be so dramatic when compared with a single 4870 512 in those benchmarks?

Genetic1

yes the crossfire 4870 will compete with a 4870x2. in most cases 4870 crossfire1 mb beats 4870x2. the 512 mb is not far behind. the 4870x2 may get the better of the 512mb when AA is added though, but not much. crossfire works really well when compared to the x2 cards. crossfire works really good with 9.8 catalyst.

Thank-you everyone for your help. I appreciate it.

2 HD 4870 512MBs should be neck and neck with an HD 4870x2 1GB (512MB per GPU).
The HD 4870X2 2GB should outperform 2HD 4870 512MBs in memory intensive games
I have 2 HD 4870 512MBs in CrossfireX, it's awesome.

That is great news for me!!! The issue that I keep running into is that alot of people are saying that even though it's a crossfire I still only am utilizing 512mb, not 1024mb(1GB). So because of that crossfiring two 512mb cards using a 1920x 1200 display is a wate of time, but the benchmarks seem to dispute that theory completley. The benchmarks seem to indicate a huge leap in fps at 1920x1200 crossfiring 4870 512mb cards.I posted a link to one set of benchmarks, and I just found another......http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3517&p=7 This shows a 92% increase crossfiring two 4870 512mb as opposed to using just one, and this is at 1920x1200(where crossfiring 512mb cards are not supposed to make a difference), but it dramatically does. It's weird, but freaking awesome!!!

That is great news for me!!! The issue that I keep running into is that alot of people are saying that even though it's a crossfire I still only am utilizing 512mb, not 1024mb(1GB). So because of that crossfiring two 512mb cards using a 1920x 1200 display is a wate of time, but the benchmarks seem to dispute that theory completley. The benchmarks seem to indicate a huge leap in fps at 1920x1200 crossfiring 4870 512mb cards.I posted a link to one set of benchmarks, and I just found another......http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3517&p=7 This shows a 92% increase crossfiring two 4870 512mb as opposed to using just one, and this is at 1920x1200(where crossfiring 512mb cards are not supposed to make a difference), but it dramatically does. It's weird, but freaking awesome!!!

Genetic1

Thanks dude, I'm picking it up tommorow morning. Can't wait.

My gains from CrossFiring two 512 mb 4870's, (as compared to a single). At stock CPU speed, (3.0) - 3DMard06 - 15,700 to 18,100, 3DMark Vantage – 9,577 to 13,745. Overclocked CPU to 4.0, - 18,900 to 23,100, 3DMark Vantage – 10,700 to 16,800. BIG difference in gameplay for $150.

My gains from CrossFiring two 512 mb 4870's, (as compared to a single). At stock CPU speed, (3.0) - 3DMard06 - 15,700 to 18,100, 3DMark Vantage – 9,577 to 13,745. Overclocked CPU to 4.0, - 18,900 to 23,100, 3DMark Vantage – 10,700 to 16,800. BIG difference in gameplay for $150.

jevery57

My gains from CrossFiring two 512 mb 4870's, (as compared to a single). At stock CPU speed, (3.0) - 3DMard06 - 15,700 to 18,100, 3DMark Vantage – 9,577 to 13,745. Overclocked CPU to 4.0, - 18,900 to 23,100, 3DMark Vantage – 10,700 to 16,800. BIG difference in gameplay for $150.

jevery57

Played far-cry 2 today, a switched from dx10 to dx9, and couldn't tell the difference. Dx11 can wait, I'm in no hurry. I bought a second 4870 512mb today, but havn't crossfired yet. It will do me just fine. I don't care if I get 100fps, or even 70fps, all I wan't is 60fps, and that will do fine. I never use AA, so that will help too.

I had a HD4870 card and last month I bought a GTX285. If you plan on buying ATI I wouldn't buy a card now and i'd only upgrade to a HD5870 either when it is released in October or wait until the holiday season.

I won't be getting into the 58xx series until well into next year. I chose to crossfire until then. I know it's only 512mb, and I know your not doubling your vram, but the benchmarks I read were very promising. I know alot of new games are gonna be sucking memory, but that's ok. If vram was the only important thing, and you don't "double" it by crossfire, then why crossfire? Obviously there are other very tangible benifits from doing it.Genetic1

From my understanding crossfire doesn't double your VRAM. As a matter of fact for example if you were using xfire with a 512 and 1gb hd4870, the 1gb will only use 512. You might as well at least wait for the new cards that way ATi's DX10 cards will drop in price

with the 9.8 catalyst crossfire saw some great gains, so i say go for another 4870 to crossfire your rig. the 4890 is a great card but 4870 crossfire will get you better frames. but get a decent 4870, XFX, SAPPHIRE, MSI as long as its muchcheaper than the 4890 say at least $50.

chris24l

Yeah, but there are issues in some games like BioShock and Anno1404 with black textures.

From my understanding crossfire doesn't double your VRAM. As a matter of fact for example if you were using xfire with a 512 and 1gb hd4870, the 1gb will only use 512. You might as well at least wait for the new cards that way ATi's DX10 cards will drop in price

eikast

[QUOTE="chris24l"]

with the 9.8 catalyst crossfire saw some great gains, so i say go for another 4870 to crossfire your rig. the 4890 is a great card but 4870 crossfire will get you better frames. but get a decent 4870, XFX, SAPPHIRE, MSI as long as its muchcheaper than the 4890 say at least $50.

Slig0

Yeah, but there are issues in some games like BioShock and Anno1404 with black textures.

[QUOTE="eikast"] What part of his statement disagreed with yours? He just said the performance is there regardless of the fact memory doesn't double with CrossfireX. [QUOTE="Slig0"]

[QUOTE="chris24l"]

with the 9.8 catalyst crossfire saw some great gains, so i say go for another 4870 to crossfire your rig. the 4890 is a great card but 4870 crossfire will get you better frames. but get a decent 4870, XFX, SAPPHIRE, MSI as long as its muchcheaper than the 4890 say at least $50.

Marfoo

Yeah, but there are issues in some games like BioShock and Anno1404 with black textures.

No, with a single card. Have you tried Anno1404?