a quick question about crossfire x

[Hawky89]

I currently have a single 4850 installed and im looking at getting another card to crossfire with it. Looking at the combination chart on the amd site im sort of confused as to whether for example a 4870 can be cross fired with a 4850 as it is not "recommended" but does it still work or are my choices limited to another 4850 or x2?

Thanks for the help

 

[Sasahara]

If you considering a 4870 or 4850 X2 you should think about ditching your 4850 and getting a 5850 which should at least match a 4850 X2.

If your 4850 only has 512Mb, the 1gb 5850 would make even more sence as 2 4850 (512Mb) in CF can still only use 512Mb.

 

[Hawky89]

the 4870 and 4850 was just and example to ask if they would indeed work together or not. as for getting a 5850 im not sure whether i can stretch to £200, as another 4850 is only 80. I dont suppose a 4850 will go for much seconds hand? But yeah the 5850 does look pretty tasty.

And yes my 4850 is 512mb, this one http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-117-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=938

 

[Sasahara]

If your on a tight budget the 4850 CF is certainly the best option in the short term. Going for and mismatched CF would be a waste, they will work, but they are not recommended for good reason, you certainly wouldn't get value for money.

You'd probably get £50-£60 for your 4850 unless you get lucky.

If you got £60 for it and the 5850 costs you £200, you'd be looking at a £60 budget increase + having to stump up the full £200 before selling the old card.

If you pay for your electric you'd probably save £60 in the medium to long term.

 

[Hawky89]

Thanks for the advice, im definately considering the 5850 now
But the money conscious side of me will probably get another 4850

One more question i have is how the the graphics memory adds up, as you said above 2 512mb 4850s wold only use 512mb is that because of CF that only one cards memory can be used? in that case would it be better to get a 1gb 4850 to use as the main card and have my 512 as the slave?

 

[Dreadhead]

Crossfire will only be as good as the weakest component. Using a card with 512mb of ram will limit it on a card with more. This is unavoidable as for both cards to operate in tandem they need the same information in their memory.

If you are playing at less than 1900x1200 then I would recommend getting a 4850 512mb 2nd hand for £50 or so and putting it in crossfire. This configuration should do you fine for a while yet.

If playing with 1920x1200 or higher, then look to upgrade your existing card to one with 1gb of ram. The 5850s should be out soon and should be a nice buy with regards to price and performance.

 

[Hawky89]

im currently running on a 1680 x 1050 monitor so i guess another 512 4850 is the way to go, thanks for clearing all that up for me guys, youve been a great help