4890 & 4850 in Crossfire

[spudbynight]

I have an 4850 at the moment and I am getting a 4890. According to AMD you can run them in crossfire. Am I likely to see any benefit in doing this?

 

[Spyke_UK]

Whats the memory on your 4850?

 

[steve258]

It would be pointless because the 4890 will downclock to 4850 speed anyway and have half the memory disabled (assuming your 4850 is a 512mb version) in order for crossfire to work, so you're much better off just getting another 4850 for half the price.

 

[reflux]

^What he said.

 

[spudbynight]

Whats the memory on your 4850?

512MB - I guess I will just flog it.

 

[Rroff]

Performance will most likely be compromised maybe to the point that you might even see less than if you just ran a single 4890.

Which is why I don't get the people who claim cf to be superior to SLI coz it can run mis-matched cards - its not an advantage.

 

[spudbynight]

4890 on it's own is the way forward then

 

[gareth170]

It would be pointless because the 4890 will downclock to 4850 speed anyway and have half the memory disabled (assuming your 4850 is a 512mb version) in order for crossfire to work, so you're much better off just getting another 4850 for half the price.

the 4890 won't downclock to 4850. both cards will run at they own clock speeds.

i agree that if the 4850 is 512MB and the 4890 is 1GB they will run with only 512MB.

the 4890 would need to be in the main pci-e slot and the 4850 in the second pci-e slot.

 

[MrMoses]

Yes 4890 will not down clock to 4850.

For example the faster Card will render 2 frames and slower Card 1 frame.

Tbh Crossfire is a Gimmick flog the Card

 

[freddie64]

You could also just upgrade to the 4890 and keep the 4850 as a spare, that way if you need to RMA the 4890 you still have a good card to keep you going.

 

[JonJ678]

keep the 4850 as a spare

^This. My only graphics card is water cooled and that's currently making diagnostics a nightmare.

If you use multiple monitors I'd keep it in the computer, otherwise box it up and keep it somewhere dry.

 

[ArcAneTSGK]

Keep it as a spare, as it is a capable card.

 

[MrMoses]

Also look into Getting an Aftermarket GPU Cooler.

those thing work wonders with Temps

 

[Overslop]

Sell the 4850, no point keeping it in a drawer doing nothing.

 

[Ease]

What about just chucking them in the same machine, but not bothering with CF? Use the 4890 for games and what not, and keep the 4850 for extra (3rd and 4th?) monitors? Not sure if this is good advice; just an idea I'm currently playing with.