2x HD3870 vs. what?

Valenciente · Sep 5, 2009, 11:28 AM

Hiya folks.

As I moved to an apartment with my girlfriend, I had to ditch the idea of a full-scale system replacement, so I'm gonna be taking it step by step instead.

I've just bought myself a Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and some fans for my case, hoping to get those degrees down.

Next, I think I'll be looking at some new graphics, however, it won't happen before next month or so.

So, what I have now are 2x512mb Sapphire Radeon HD3870 in Crossfire, and what I would like to know is what would be a decent upgrade for me?

I've been looking at both these cards:
1GB XFX Radeon HD4890 XXX at 260.96$
1GB XFX Radeon HD4870 at 202.91$

I'm not quite sure what that XXX means, however, it's the cheapest card I can get while still being a brand I recognise, at my usual "dealer". It's probably just some factory OC that is not worth any extra cash, but it's actually cheaper than the stock Sapphire version.

The question to you folks is then, would any of these give me a noticeable performance gain (duh) and is the HD4890 worth the 58$ more than the HD4870?

Also, would an nVidia card be..dare I say it.. a better option? (Yes, I'm an ATi fanboy). If so, which one, and why? (Have to be a big why, as I do like ATi cards).

Thanks in advance,
-Valen

MoonPig · Sep 5, 2009, 11:30 AM

People will spam this thread with "Wait till the 5 series and get those", i, on the otherhand, will say wait, then get a 4 series.

The 3870 is still a really good card, and two of them just makes things better. If i was you, i'd wait and get one 4870 or one 4890.

ObSo-1337 · Sep 5, 2009, 11:37 AM

I agree with moonpig. Wait until 5000 series cards come out and then 4000 series prices should fall quite considerably, so you could pick up a 4890 or whatever for a bit less

Valenciente · Sep 5, 2009, 11:37 AM

Is there an estimated release date on the 5000 series?

Zubasa · Sep 5, 2009, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valenciente

Is there an estimated release date on the 5000 series?

Around October is a good guess, since windows 7 is releasing around that time.

Valenciente · Sep 5, 2009, 11:45 AM

Seems like a good date for me, as I weren't going to buy a new card before October or possibly even November.

Sep 5, 2009, 11:28 AM	#1
Valenciente Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Norway, Europe Posts: 236 (0.13/day) Thanks: 90 Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts System Specs	2x HD3870 vs. what? Hiya folks. As I moved to an apartment with my girlfriend, I had to ditch the idea of a full-scale system replacement, so I'm gonna be taking it step by step instead. I've just bought myself a Xigmatek HDT-S1283 and some fans for my case, hoping to get those degrees down. Next, I think I'll be looking at some new graphics, however, it won't happen before next month or so. So, what I have now are 2x512mb Sapphire Radeon HD3870 in Crossfire, and what I would like to know is what would be a decent upgrade for me? I've been looking at both these cards: 1GB XFX Radeon HD4890 XXX at 260.96$ 1GB XFX Radeon HD4870 at 202.91$ I'm not quite sure what that XXX means, however, it's the cheapest card I can get while still being a brand I recognise, at my usual "dealer". It's probably just some factory OC that is not worth any extra cash, but it's actually cheaper than the stock Sapphire version. The question to you folks is then, would any of these give me a noticeable performance gain (duh) and is the HD4890 worth the 58$ more than the HD4870? Also, would an nVidia card be..dare I say it.. a better option? (Yes, I'm an ATi fanboy). If so, which one, and why? (Have to be a big why, as I do like ATi cards). Thanks in advance, -Valen __________________ Last edited by Valenciente; Sep 5, 2009 at 11:46 AM.

System Name:	Emberstorm
Processor:	Intel Core i5 2500k
Motherboard:	Gigabyte GA-P67A-D3-B3 (Rev. 2.0)
Cooling:	Stock fans :(
Memory:	2x4GB Kingston HyperX PC3-12800 1600MHz CL9-9-9-27
Video Card:	Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 1GB
Hard Disk:	1x1TB WD Caviar Green; 2x500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11; 1x2TB WD Elements
Optical Drive:	None. It's the digital age for me it seems.
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung S24B300 + HP w2207h
Case:	Cooler Master "Old and plain" (Moved to a different country, couldn't fit my HAF 932 sad)
Sound Card:	7.1 CH HD Audio (Onboard)
PSU:	OCZ StealthXStream 800W
Software:	Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 64bit

Sep 5, 2009, 11:30 AM	#2
MoonPig Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wakefield, UK Posts: 4,085 (2.33/day) Thanks: 715 Thanked 903 Times in 621 Posts System Specs	People will spam this thread with "Wait till the 5 series and get those", i, on the otherhand, will say wait, then get a 4 series. The 3870 is still a really good card, and two of them just makes things better. If i was you, i'd wait and get one 4870 or one 4890. __________________ My DeskMod Log \| My Heatware \| My SteamID \| My For Sale \| My Want to Buy

System Name:	[Insert Witty Name Here]
Processor:	Intel Core i7 3930K
Motherboard:	Asus P9X79 Pro
Cooling:	Noctua NH-D14
Memory:	Corsair XMS3 4x4GB @ 1600MHz
Video Card:	MSI GTX560Ti Twin Frozr II
Hard Disk:	OCZ Agility 3 60GB + WD20EARS 2TB
CRT/LCD Model:	Iiyama ProLite X2775HDS-1
Case:	Silverstone FT02
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System Name:	ObSo1337
Processor:	AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.44 Ghz
Memory:	Cosair 4 GIG 820 Mhz 4-4-4-12 kinda stable ;D
Video Card:	XFX HD 4890 XT 920/1100
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PSU:	750w
Software:	Windows 7 64 Ultimate

Sep 5, 2009, 11:37 AM	#3
ObSo-1337 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Scotland Posts: 233 (0.15/day) Thanks: 61 Thanked 34 Times in 20 Posts System Specs	I agree with moonpig. Wait until 5000 series cards come out and then 4000 series prices should fall quite considerably, so you could pick up a 4890 or whatever for a bit less

Processor:	AMD FX-8150
Motherboard:	MSI 990FXA-GD80
Cooling:	Noctua NH-D14
Memory:	Team Xtreeem Dark 1600 @1866 4GBx2
Video Card:	PowerColor HD7970 3GB V3
Hard Disk:	OCZ Vertex 3 120G + Max IOPS 120G + Seagate 7200.12 250GB 2 Raid 0 + Samsung HD103UJ 1TB 2 RAID 0
Optical Drive:	HP 1260i 24x Multi-Drive
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung SyncMaster S24B370
Case:	SilverStone Raven RV01
PSU:	Corsair TX850W
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

Sep 5, 2009, 11:45 AM	#6
Valenciente Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Norway, Europe Posts: 236 (0.13/day) Thanks: 90 Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts System Specs	Seems like a good date for me, as I weren't going to buy a new card before October or possibly even November. __________________

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