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Worth getting another 4870 for Crossfire?

obiwanquinobi`

obiwanquinobi`

obiwanquinobi`

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Guys,

I already have a single 4870 1GB and have a Q9550/P5Q Deluxe. I know this board supports Crossfire so is it worth the extra £110 put another one in there? Or should I sell on the single 4870 and get an 4870 X2 (Smaller footprint, less power etc) What would I expect to get for a second hand 4870 1GB?

I do have ample power supply(s) so thats not an issue ;)
 
Hmm. Well, If you do buy a 4870x2, Am I correct in thinking you can crossfire that with another 4870x2? If so, that means you get that option in the future too.
 
EdAllonby said:
Hmm. Well, If you do buy a 4870x2, Am I correct in thinking you can crossfire that with another 4870x2? If so, that means you get that option in the future too.
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I think you can do that yes. For a single 4870 x2; how much performance gain over a single 4870 1gb?

Imagine the power 2 X2s would draw? :eek:
 
obiwanquinobi` said:
How much better is the 4890 over the 4870? Surely can't be a great deal, non?
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Just checked and no not that much increase, about 20% speed-wise ..... sorry I remembered the figures wrong :(

But it might be worth crossfiring 4890s which will last you most till near end of next year.
 
Weazle said:
Just checked and no not that much increase, about 20% speed-wise ..... sorry I remembered the figures wrong :(

But it might be worth crossfiring 4890s which will last you most till near end of next year.
Click to expand...

Hmm...May just wait until the next gen cards come out to be honest. 20% isnt that much of an increase and I'm not sure that Crossfire will give me much more.

I wonder if anyone out there has gone from a single 4870 to Crossfire. Would be good to get some idea of the performance gains?

Cheers for the replies so far. :)
 
Tbh 2 x 4870's will last you for a long time to come yet , there is nothing i cant max out and play smooth enough with mine tbh.
Imo not worth selling just to get 2 x 4890's or a 4870x2 cose performance is'nt that much better and which ever of these cards you get they will all drop price wise when the new cards come out anyway so just go for another 4870 for now and enjoy
 
Would be tempted to get the 4870x2 2048 if cheap enough and sell your 4870 for a good price since you will have 8x 8x pci-e slots with p45 based board. (Perhaps not that big a deal since its pci-e 2 though!).
 
Scougar said:
Would be tempted to get the 4870x2 2048 if cheap enough and sell your 4870 for a good price since you will have 8x 8x pci-e slots with p45 based board. (Perhaps not that big a deal since its pci-e 2 though!).
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What would a second hand 4870 1GB sell for. It's a Powercolor card? Would the 8x PCI-E lanes be a bottleneck when using dual cards?
 
"Or, you could buy a 4890 and crossfire it with your 4870."

Wouldn't this result in the 4890 being downclocked to the 4870 speed?

Another 4870 would be my option if I was in the position, they're cheap these days.
The 4870x2 is nice but you may lose out selling your 4870 if you get less than desired for it. Also the aftermarket cooler choice for 4870x2 is virtually non existant, if you ever want to get some quieter cooling then theres less choice there.
Anyway, just my 2 cents :)
 
obiwanquinobi`, I was in the same boat as you a few weeks ago. I am currently running a single HD4870. I lent my friends HD4870 for 3 weeks and went crossfire with it so I could make my mind up.
Games such as Cod4/WaW, Street Fighter 4, Dawn of War 2 and Left 4 Dead. I didnt see a difference in game play but Crysis, Lost Planet and Scared 2 I did with AA switched on. Shame I didnt have it long enough to try out the Res 5 benchmark.
So when I see a HD4870 going for cheap Im going to grab it ASAP.
 
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Another angle is: If the card already does everything you need it to, save you money for when the new lines of cards come out (ATI 5xxx series).
 
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