4870x2 2GB various questions

[Pyroblaze]

A wee while back i was going for a 24" monitor and had planned to use my 4850 512mb on it, that had to be put on hold for a while due to money. Now that plan is back in action, but with a couple of other upgrades in mind due to the 4850 performing well but not as well as i'd hoped even at 1600x1200, so i have a couple of questions.

First off, is the 4870x2 2GB actually 2 cards in one or a single card with dual gpus? The reason for this question is i'd like good performance across the board but am hesitant in case games only fully utilize the card if they can already utilize crossfire.

Secondly, power supply. Currently i use a Corsair 520W PSU. I understand this won't be meaty enough for the card i have in mind so need some suggestions as to how much more power i would need. I had in mind changing to the 620W Corsair to cover the extra requirements from the upgrade, will this be sufficient?

And lastly, i'm still on a Gigabyte DS3 motherboard with an E6850 CPU overclocked. Will this combo hamper the 4870 at all or is it worth upgrading to a newer motherboard or even a newer motherboard+CPU? If so then how much of a difference would it actually make, i'd rather save that part of the upgrade until a couple of months down the line so i don't have to be careful about what i'm spending on the GPU, PSU and monitor, but can add them into this upgrade if the difference would be noticeable.

The reason for considering the 4870x2 over the gtx 295 is price, i can find it significantly cheaper than the nvidia card elsewhere other than OCUK.

 

[explicit4u]

yes that new corsair PSU should be enough to manage the card.

The 4870x2 is a single card with dual GPU's unlike the 295, it uses internal crossfire which provides better scaling then external crossfire.

Your CPU might bottleneck the card but im not 100% sure so don't take my word for it.

 

[Sipha]

What make is your PSU ?

Edit sorry I just re-read its a Corsair HX, that will be fine for 1 4870x2 bud yes.

 

[reflux]

1) One card with two GPUs, unlike the GTX295, which is composed of two PCBs. However, the problems with dual GPU cards - imperfect driver support - still remain regardless. That said, I've owned a 4870X2 since September, and it has been an excellent performer and rock solid stable in all the games I've thrown at it.

2) A Corsair 620w will be enough for several years to come, as long as it has a 6-pin PCI-E and an 8-pin PCI-E (I'm not sure if it does?).

3) EDIT: Ta for the heads-up explicit4u, you want to be running 3.5ghz+ to make the most out of the X2, so you should be set

 

[explicit4u]

^^In his sig he said its at 3.6Ghz so it should be fine.

 

[Pyroblaze]

Ah thanks, i just always remembered people stating that Sli was a waste of time unless at high res because most games don't support sli and will use only one card blah blah blah. If performance isnt hampered per game with the 4970x2 then that part of my mind is put to rest.

As far as i can tell, that PSU is 8 pin and 6 pin compatable, havent seen a definitive answer via google yet as to which connectors it comes with.

CPU is at 3.51 just now but easily does 3.7, toned down a little with the heating on all the time in the house.

 

[explicit4u]

^^You can always get adapters for the PSU so you don't really have to worry.

 

[Pyroblaze]

I was just about to order when i spotted a BFG 295 on the net for £390 and am considering that instead now, would the PSU requirements still be the same?

Bi-tech has it marked as only using 459W on an i7 setup at peak usage on Crysis dx10 1920x1200, seems awfully low to me especially when compared to the same setup with a 4870x2 peaking at over 700W. Source : http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/01/08/nvidia-geforce-gtx-295-quad-sli-review/16

 

[mmj_uk]

First off, is the 4870x2 2GB actually 2 cards in one or a single card with dual gpus? The reason for this question is i'd like good performance across the board but am hesitant in case games only fully utilize the card if they can already utilize crossfire.

Physically it's a single card, technologically it is two separate cards and is still limited by Crossfire support.

With regards to your PSU worries if your current one has all the right connectors it's a case of try it and see, since you don't have a quad CPU it might cope fine.

 

[Final8y]

Physically it's a single card, technologically it is two separate cards and is still limited by Crossfire support.

With regards to your PSU worries if your current one has all the right connectors it's a case of try it and see, since you don't have a quad CPU it might cope fine.

Technologically its 2 separate GPUs on 1 card limited by Crossfire support.
A GPU is chip not a card.
And is no different from a Dual or Quad socket motherboard in that regard, you would not call it 2 or 4 motherboards technologically.

 

[reflux]

I was just about to order when i spotted a BFG 295 on the net for £390 and am considering that instead now, would the PSU requirements still be the same?

Bi-tech has it marked as only using 459W on an i7 setup at peak usage on Crysis dx10 1920x1200, seems awfully low to me especially when compared to the same setup with a 4870x2 peaking at over 700W. Source : http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2009/01/08/nvidia-geforce-gtx-295-quad-sli-review/16

Ahhhh, no, you're looking at the 4870X2 CrossFireX2 results (ie two X2s). One X2 pulls around 470w, with the GTX295 being slightly more efficient at 433w.

 

[mmj_uk]

Technologically its 2 separate GPUs on 1 card limited by Crossfire support.
A GPU is chip not a card.
And is no different from a Dual or Quad socket motherboard in that regard, you would not call it 2 or 4 motherboards technologically.

Technologically I would define "card" as the entire graphics subsystem and "technologically" 4870x2 is identical to two separate 4870's aside from its obvious "physical" attributes.

Motherboards are entirely different in that multiple socket motherboards are not just two or more separate products merged together into bigger single products.

 

[Final8y]

Technologically I would define "card" as the entire graphics subsystem and "technologically" 4870x2 is identical to two separate 4870's aside from its obvious "physical" attributes.

Motherboards are entirely different in that multiple socket motherboards are not just two or more separate products merged together into bigger single products.

Sorry but i disagree as there is only one PCB that the card as the GPUs are chips on the card subsystem just like the CPU is a chip on a motherboard subsystem.
The CPU also needs an entire subsystem which is the motherboard & can have 2 or more products merged together into a single product as a 4 socket motherboard is doing the work of 4 single socket motherboards.
Its exactly the same except one has a much smaller motherboard which is called a card.
Its seems you like to make up your own definitions even when one is already defined. A Card/Motherboard is defined by its single physical attributes which the main components reside on regardless of duplication of components on the Card/Motherboard.

Your description is more like what the NV295 is with its main components duplicated on 2 separate PCB/Cards which together are called a gfx card for ease of words.