• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

New graphics card or crossfire 4890?

rob77

rob77

rob77

Associate
Joined
3 Mar 2009
Posts
412
Hi

I've got the bug at the moment and in the process of upgrading my computer. I've bought the cpu an i5 2500k and a new motherboard and memory and now I'm debating on either a new graphics card or to add another one in. Currently I have a 4890 and wondered what kind of performace increase I could expect from adding another 4890 in? I've seen them go for as little as £50 so wouldn't break the bank. I'm guessing to buy a new card and sell my 4890 I'd be looking at in the region of £200+.

So would it be worth it guys to crossfire? I've never had a crossfire setup before so don't really know what to expect. Do all games get a boost or some more than others? Do I need to have crossfire profiles etc in catalyst control centre?

Cheers :)
 
If you have the money I'd go for one of the new-gen cards. Not only will they outperform a CF4890, but it will be cooler and quieter too.
I'd only go the CF route on that card if I was seriously broke.
 
Cheers phage

So I wouldn't see much of a performace increase then? What cards would you recommend to look at? Sorry I've been out of it for a little while so not up on the latest cards

Cheers
 
Oh you'd see an increase by doubling your GPU, but you'd see a lot more by going to a newer card, and there'd be a lot less heat and noise. Your current card is so old it's fallen off the bottom of the GPU charts.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/372

The question is what's your budget ? Can you afford to wait a few weeks to see what NV are releasing ?
 
I'm not in no desperate rush really just wanted to look in to the options as I have upgraded the PC and now the graphics are letting it down. I'm not a hardcore gamer or anything and don't play FPS, it's mainly racing games and sports ones. So I wouldn't need a really top end card just something that's a worth while upgrade.
 
Defintely wait for the new range from NV, and the rest of the AMD stuff to be released, with a view to buying around May would be my best guess.

In fact that's pretty much what I'll be doing as well.
 
Thanks guys

I'll wait and see what is around the corner but really I don't want to be spending too much just to play trackmania 2 and some other titles
 
Of course. But both NV and AMD are in the process of releasing whole new ranges. If you're wanting a card that uses DX11, wait a few weeks for the mid-range to appear after the hullabaloo of the flagships has passed. Something like a 7850 or 660 would probably where I'd be looking.
 
Phage said:
Oh you'd see an increase by doubling your GPU, but you'd see a lot more by going to a newer card, and there'd be a lot less heat and noise. Your current card is so old it's fallen off the bottom of the GPU charts.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/372
Click to expand...

Confused by this...the 4890 just isn't listed, it was faster than a 4870 which is listed and was more powerful than the 5770

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/chart...=on&prod[4507]=on&prod[4594]=on&prod[4598]=on

4890CF still packs a punch imo and considering you can get one for around £50, I'd maybe get another just for a stop-gap until something like the 7870/7850 drop in price or seeing what Nvidia have to offer.
 
Thanks WU TANG

I think I will do that as a stop gap like you say. For £50 I can't really go wrong and I can always sell them both and put towards a better card in a few months :)

Problem is how much heat is it going to generate with 2 x 4890's in there? My cooling at the moment is pretty dire so that's one thing I need to look at. At the moment I only have 2 noctua 120mm case fans (one at front pulling in air and one rear extracting). They only spin at around 500rpm as they are meant for quiet operation. Could I get any fans that spin a little faster for better airflow but are still quiet?

Sorry for all the questions lol

Thanks again

Edit: That links awesome, shows I can get near 5970 performance from my card. ok maybe it won't be as good but its seems close :)
 
Last edited:
I agree with GZA. If the cards to be released are months away, then if you can pickup another 4890 for less than 50 sheets it will buy you time till the prices settle.
 
rob77 said:
Problem is how much heat is it going to generate with 2 x 4890's in there?
Click to expand...

Well I've got 2 x 4890 in Xfire and when I first put them in (about 3 years ago I think) the stock coolers were not up to the task. They ran really hot and would regularly shut down my PC. Overclocking was simply a no no.
I had to put in watercooling which sorted it right out.

They can run Skyrim ok-ish, MW3 no problem on quite high settings but BF3 really struggles on the bigger maps.

I'm on the upgrade path too but it seems it is a waiting game at the moment.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom