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Old Mar 27, 2009, 08:21 PM   #1
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Should I trade my 9800GX2 for 3 4850s?

I have the chance to trade myself some old HW and get 3 4850s, do you guys think it would be worth it performance wise to make this trade?
And yes, I know I would have to get a new mobo to run this configuration.
Thanks in advance for the advice.
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Old Mar 27, 2009, 08:23 PM   #2
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Crossfire isnt that great,if your folding i would stick with the nvidia for sure,also crossfire can be a pain to setup ...i think would stick with one card over anything
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Old Mar 27, 2009, 08:23 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by OzzmanFloyd120 View Post
I have the chance to trade myself some old HW and get 3 4850s, do you guys think it would be worth it performance wise to make this trade?
And yes, I know I would have to get a new mobo to run this configuration.
Thanks in advance for the advice.
From a price standpoint it's a good deal for you. TriFire in a Dragon platform is pretty sexy.
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Old Mar 27, 2009, 08:27 PM   #4
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Do it then sell one of the 4850s
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Old Mar 27, 2009, 08:29 PM   #5
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or sell all and get a better card
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Old Mar 27, 2009, 08:30 PM   #6
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get the deal, sell one and ur current mobo and buy a crossfire ocer capable mobo (gigabyte 790x ud4)
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Old Mar 27, 2009, 08:31 PM   #7
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From a price standpoint it's a good deal for you. TriFire in a Dragon platform is pretty sexy.
I hope that TRI-fire isnt for the SLI board he has
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Old Mar 27, 2009, 08:32 PM   #8
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And yes, I know I would have to get a new mobo to run this configuration.
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I hope that TRI-fire isnt for the SLI board he has
I'm not a big fan of his motherboard anyways.
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Old Mar 27, 2009, 08:36 PM   #9
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I'm not a big fan of his motherboard anyways.
ahh I guess it does help to read the fine print.
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 12:32 AM   #10
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Well, I'm not folding, but what I am looking at is pure performance in gaming.
Overall which would get me better FPS?
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 12:35 AM   #11
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Well. 9800GX2 is two 8800GTS G92, which are a little worse than a HD 4850. So three 4850's would be a lot better in most apps
Crossfire isn't that hard to setup. Just put one card in, install the drivers, put another in, install drivers for it, and do the same for the 3rd. I've setup a quad HD 3870 system before and it didn't take that long to get working!
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 12:35 AM   #12
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I would assume 3 cards is better than 2, as the 4830 and 9800 are about equal? I'd say trade. And if you want, sell them and invest in a good graphics card like a 4870X2.
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 01:38 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by ShadowFold View Post
Well. 9800GX2 is two 8800GTS G92, which are a little worse than a HD 4850. So three 4850's would be a lot better in most apps
Crossfire isn't that hard to setup. Just put one card in, install the drivers, put another in, install drivers for it, and do the same for the 3rd. I've setup a quad HD 3870 system before and it didn't take that long to get working!
So I can't just install the drivers and it will automatically recognize the array like forceware does?
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 01:39 AM   #14
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So I can't just install the drivers and it will automatically recognize the array like forceware does?
Yes but I've never done it that way. It's best to install each card separately.
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 01:43 AM   #15
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Yes but I've never done it that way. It's best to install each card separately.
Every review of the 4850X2 1GB vs GX2 1GB shows the GX2 getting 10-15 fps more than the X2, would the third GPU help scaling at all or is it just going to sit around and thumb it's asshole like on NV setups?
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 01:45 AM   #16
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Bah I can't find it, but Anandadna tech or w/e their called had a review showing crossfire scaling. I know 2 and 3 card setups dominated but the 4th card did literally nothing. So Crossfire scales well up to 3, then from there it really doesn't matter.
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 01:47 AM   #17
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So in short you think it would be worth the trade of a GX2 and a 9850BE to get three HD4850 cards?
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 01:48 AM   #18
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No not really. I'm guessing you'd see a boost but it really wouldn't be worth it. Something like a 4870X2 or GTX 295 would be a good upgrade tho.
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 01:50 AM   #19
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do it!! it's a good deal..
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 01:50 AM   #20
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Yep definitely, 3 4850's can reach 18k-21k in vantage same perf as gtx295.
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 01:51 AM   #21
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Yep definitely, 3 4850's can reach 18k-21k in vantage same perf as gtx295.
I'm not worried about 3dmark though, I'm a gamer... not a bencher. I appreciate the input though.
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 02:05 AM   #22
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I'm not worried about 3dmark though, I'm a gamer... not a bencher. I appreciate the input though.
Sorry what i meant is it should be as fast as the gtx 295 in some cases during real world gaming.
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 12:24 PM   #23
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Yep definitely, 3 4850's can reach 18k-21k in vantage same perf as gtx295.
So can a single GX2(check the link in my system specs).
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 12:31 PM   #24
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The GX2 I had was a great performing card. If I had a GX2 now, the lowest ATI card I would trade it for if I was planning on using the card I got would a a 4870 1 gig.

Now if your planning on getting the 4850 and selling them, you can probably get the same amount of money for just selling the GX2 and 9850BE, if not more.
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Old Mar 28, 2009, 12:35 PM   #25
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Quote:
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Well. 9800GX2 is two 8800GTS G92, which are a little worse than a HD 4850. So three 4850's would be a lot better in most apps
I thought basically the samething when I traded my GX2 for a pair a 9800gtx OC cards. I figured the 9800's would give me alittle better performance than the GX2 did(the GX2 is 8800 gts and the 9800gtx is a updated 8800GTS). I was wrong. The GX2 was smoother, had a higher min FPS, and was less trouble to run than the GTX's were.
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