HD4870x2 Quadfire..

[mos187]

ok, first off i want to ask if any one here has an HD4870x2 quadfire setup, actually i wanted to get a second HD4870x2 and run them in CF (found a pretty nice offer), but i dont know if it's worth it or not, i thought about selling my current card and getting a 5870 but i think the HD4870x2 still got it and dont wanna replace for now, gonna wait a littile bit more till i fully upgrade my rig (core i7/HD5890) but for now here's what i thought of getting:

- Additional HD4870x2 (run QF)
- WD VelociRaptor 150GB (replace my 320GB 7200 SataII for OS)
- Corsair TX950 (required for the qf setup/hdd)

so what do you think and how's the performance gain of dual HD4870x2 in quad fire over one HD4870x2....

appreciate the help guyz.....

 

[CDdude55]

One 4870 X2 should be more then enough on your monitor, theres really no reason for an upgrade. Going with 2x 4870 X2's can also come with some problems, like microstuttering in games and more heat. Also keep in mind that one 5870 comes close to a GTX 295 and 4870 X2 in performance, so you really wont be losing much going that route. Also depends how good that offer is you are talking about.

Your rig is still really good, so you could always wait for future parts like as you mentioned, the new 58**/59** series cards or going i7.

 

[p_o_s_pc]

the gain over 2 GPUs get smaller each time the gain on the 4ht GPU will be around 5% if what i have heard is true you will gain about 25% from the other card.IMHO its not worth it. Sell it now while it has value and buy a 5xxx

 

[Binge]

I found 2x4870x2 to give me an advantage in Vantage, but in games I did not see much, if any, improvement.

 

[mos187]

Thanx guyz for clearing things up, but i guess the WD VelociRaptor is a must, my current sataII HDD wont hold for long, one other thing guyz if i add and addtional 1.5tb hdd will my corsair HX620 hold up....

 

[3volvedcombat]

You were going to power a q9650 rig and 2 HD 4870x2's with a 620watt corsiar. At least get a TX 750watt.

 

[DRDNA]

I personally wouldn't go back to one..I had one of mine out for a few days giving it a cleaning and re-seating of the heatsyncs ....and yes true one performs so well its not so noticeable with out the other but in my placebo orientated mind I didn't like going back to one at all! I cant wait to be able to run more than 4 GPU's...maybe hydra? Well see.

 

[p_o_s_pc]

Thanx guyz for clearing things up, but i guess the WD VelociRaptor is a must, my current sataII HDD wont hold for long, one other thing guyz if i add and addtional 1.5tb hdd will my corsair HX620 hold up....

yes it will hold up.Its only another 20w

 

[MK4512]

Don't quadfire, even now the advantages of Crossfiring 2 cards are 25-40% increase...

Quadfire will bring even lower results. Get a 5890 if you feel like overkill

 

[francis511]

950 w is a gr8 psu , but what do you do with all the cables ? It`s like a giant octopus in the corner of my case !

 

[imperialreign]

My thoughts, from a quadfire user here . . .


First up - the majority of users who've posted claiming there's no performance boost/increase with a second 4870x2 . . . shame. Looking at the monitors y'all have listed in your specs - you wouldn't see any benefit at those resolutions. Actually, most of y'all are correct that there's a performance drop - but only at those lower resoultions. 1680x1050 is marginal, a single 4870x2 can handle that res without breaking a sweat for 75% of games out there - with full in-game IQ . . . everything below that res is child's play for one of these cards. 1920x1200 is where they start showing their beef. They can easily handle that res, but the performance hit from in-game IQ varies greatly from one title to the next. Some they can handle maxed out, others . . . not so much. Resolutions over 1920x1200, though, is where they can start to show their weaknesses. Although they can handle some insane screen resolutions, you'll have a hard time with in-game IQ for most titles . . . and this is *generally* where a second card really helps out.

Now, one can't fall into the thinking, though, that there's a 100% increase in performance for each GPU added to a system. The performance increase of a second GPU is roughly 50% of one card's performance. More than that is roughly 25%-40% overall, depending on the title. Sure, it's marginal increase in performance, compared to how much you're spending out . . . but, at the same time, it also boils down to user preference. Me, I'm one that prefers to be able to max out the eye-candy, but I can't stand frame rates dropping too low . . . I want my games to run smooth as butter constantly. For that alone, I was willing to pay the extra amount.

I can partly agree with binge's statement - the benefit really depends on the game. Some titles, I've seen no performance increase . . . while some other titles I've seen a night/day increase. If a game doesn't support more than 2 GPUs (which most games don't), there's really not much point. As well, some games do support more than 2, but they're not entirelly optimized for it - all the other card really ends up doing is helping out when the eye-candy is turned on.

Benching is the same way - Vantage will make use of the extra processing power . . . 3m06, won't (actually, I've seen performance drops with this bench).

Vista is a requirement - more than 2 GPUs isn't supported on XP.

Anyhow, just some thoughts from a quadfire user - keep in mind I'm slightly biased, though, as I've been a supporter/user of Crossfire over 5 different card series now (X1650s via SYS BUS, X1950 PROs via bridge, HD3870s via bridge, HD4870s via bridge, HD4870x2s via bridge).

 

[phobias23]

advise???

i wonder if it is better to do a quadcrossfire with a hd 4870x2 or just to buy a new brand hd5970???

 

[Zubasa]

i wonder if it is better to do a quadcrossfire with a hd 4870x2 or just to buy a new brand hd5970???

By all means the HD5970, if you are buying new there is no reason that you want to go Quad-Fire.
You end up blocking your upgrade path and Quad-Fire doesn't scale as well as Dual-fire.
The HD5970 alos runs cooler and OCs alot better than the HD4870X2.

 

[imperialreign]

i wonder if it is better to do a quadcrossfire with a hd 4870x2 or just to buy a new brand hd5970???

Agreed on the above post . . . if you're purchasing new, it'd be better to pick up a 5970 first, and see if you need a second card from there. One 5970 outpaces one 4870x2 by a good margin, plus the DX11 support . . .

Asides, unless you're running at least 1920x1200 resolution, there's very little purpose for 4 GPUs.

Me, I've never listened much to a lot of the "scaling" arguements that float around - as I had mentioned before, it really depends on the game title, not so much the hardware. Some titles don't support more than 2 or 3 GPUs, others do. As well, the more GPUs you're running, the worse their performance is at lower screen resolutions. Hell, the performance benefit of a 4870x2 to a 4870 gets smaller and smaller the lower and lower you go with the screen res.

IMHO, that means that scaling is quite dependant on your hardware setup, the title you're trying to run, and what resolution you're running at. Crysis Warhead, for example, two GPUs will outperform 4 at 1440x900 and lower, and will run fairly on par with each other around 1680x1050 . . . once you kick it up to 1920x1200 and higher, the 4 GPUs will show their advantages. So, do these types of results really demonstrate that quadfire scales worse than crossfire? No, I can't say that it does, when one keeps in mind that multi-GPU setups have always been targeted at those running higher screen resolutions . . . why force 4 GPUs to render resolutions that they're not "comfortable" handling?

 

[zithe]

I think you'd be better off selling that video card now while you'll still get a decent amount for it. Don't want it to end up like the 8800GTX.

Still an amazing card, but no one wants to buy it from you.

 

[mos187]

I think you'd be better off selling that video card now while you'll still get a decent amount for it. Don't want it to end up like the 8800GTX.

Still an amazing card, but no one wants to buy it from you.

Actually i sold it yesterday, i have my old HD2600 Pro hooked up for now, waiting on my dual HD5850's for some CF action, read alot of reviews and got alot of comments and suggestions on many forums on this upgrade but i made up my mind and went with the CF config, i know i coulda got a HD5870 (maybe 2) or a 5970, but i just went with the HD5850's, i have a good feeling about that card (specifically), so lets c what will i end up with...............

 

[zithe]

Well one 5850 is amazing. I think you'll love them in crossfire.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

hell yea i have 2 5850s and im loving them and once more mature drivers are out ill fall in love with my hardware all over again