Which upgrade path?

Nick1881 · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:26

My current spec is in my sig gaming at 1920x1200

Option 1

4870X2 next week and hope my psu copes

Or option 2

Second hand Asus Rampage Forumla X48
and a 4870 512

Then I can upgrade my psu in the future and go CF with another 4870 or even an X2 when I need it.

Apart from PCIe 2.0 and 2 x 16x slots will the X48 have any other gains over my P35? Would it likely clock my cpu more?

Option 1 is my fave so far as it means having the current best single gfx option, obviously my P35 will limit it though.

Firegod · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:30

Tough one that. Option 2 means any future upgrades should be easier because of the newer mobo. However, Option 1 gives you the better card for gaming at 1920x1200 and would fit nicely into an already decent rig.

What PSU do you have? I'd be tempted to stick with Option 1.

Nick1881 · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:31

Corsair 520w

In the preview the X2 used 420w so the corsair should cope

Maybe I should just splash out and get the X48 and the X2 lol I almost did it yesterday

Firegod · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:33

mr_x_plosion said:
Corsair 520w

In the preview the X2 used 420w so the corsair should cope

Maybe I should just splash out and get the X48 and the X2 lol I almost did it yesterday

Haha you could do that like. Best of both worlds. New mobo and top-end GPU. :cool:

ORRRR, why not get the X48 / 4870 512Mb like Option 2 and a ~700 - 1kW PSU?

Secret Option 3?

MikeHiow · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:34

Is the P35 really useless for Crossfire then?

Nick1881 · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:37

Option 3 sounds too expensive lol

P35 mobo doesnt allow both slots to run at 16x in cf

Firegod · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:39

MikeHiow said:
Is the P35 really useless for Crossfire then?

Yeah as stated mate, you can have either:-

x16
x4
<N/A>

or

x16
x1
x1

So CF is pretty much limited. In the Graphics forum there was a post which linked to a review of the various mobo chipsets with multi-gpu cards. Was quite interesting as it showed how various games scaled.

Firegod · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:40

mr_x_plosion said:
Option 3 sounds too expensive lol

lol.

MikeHiow · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:41

Hoping not hijack the thread too much, but even on the 16x/4x combination, can a decent performance gain still be had?

I'll go hunt for the thread you mention.

Nick1881 · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:44

I cant decide still

I could get the X2 and get a P45 in a few weeks just to gain 5% increase from PCIe 2.0

Firegod · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:45

MikeHiow said:
Hoping not hijack the thread too much, but even on the 16x/4x combination, can a decent performance gain still be had?

I'll go hunt for the thread you mention.

I can't seem to find it but this may help:-

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/10/12/crossfire_comparison_intel_x38_versus_p35/1

Firegod · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:46

mr_x_plosion said:
I cant decide still

I could get the X2 and get a P45 in a few weeks just to gain 5% increase from PCIe 2.0

I'd just get the X2.

Nick1881 · 10 Aug 2008 at 17:48

Yea, I think it carries the most epeen.

The 1st thing that put me off the X48 was I'm so lazy and the thought of mobo out and all that again makes me cry, plus a vista re-install to finish it off to gain probably very little over my P35.