2600xt - Crossfire - Is it worth the effort?

[suraswami]

I just finished a new build with a gigabyte 790gx board which has CF support. Thought of carrying over my 2600xt to this machine. If I add another 2600xt for CF, is it going to be good for say some older games and may be some COD4?

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=107786

 

[[Ion]]

It wouldn't be worth it, you would be far better off going for a single, more powerful card such as the HD4770, HD48x0, or HD57x0. Even the HD4670 would be a better option IMO

 

[JrRacinFan]

Depends on how much your spending for the second card. ALTHO I would opt for an HD3870 or an 8800GT over that setup.

 

[InTeL-iNsIdE]

older games and cod 4, it would be ok, if its free then what the heck

 

[suraswami]

It wouldn't be worth it, you would be far better off going for a single, more powerful card such as the HD4770, HD48x0, or HD57x0. Even the HD4670 would be a better option IMO

I was thinking of buying 2 x 4670 but that will become expensive.

Depends on how much your spending for the second card.

around may be $20 to $25? Also need a single slot cooler one for the second one, so I don't loose the valuable PCI slots.

 

[JrRacinFan]

around may be $20 to $25? Also need a single slot cooler one for the second one, so I don't loose the valuable PCI slots.

Most 2600XT DDR3 cards are single slot so that shouldn't be an issue. For $20 that would be a good option. You should clear between 9k-11k in 3dm06 which competes with HD3870/98-8800GT.

 

[LittleLizard]

as jr said, if its 20, then yes. it would be more than enough for oldies

 

[suraswami]

Most 2600XT DDR3 cards are single slot so that shouldn't be an issue. For $20 that would be a good option. You should clear between 9k-11k in 3dm06 which competes with HD3870/98-8800GT.

This is what I currently have which is unfortunately dual-slot

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131066

So need something matching for this with CF support.

 

[[Ion]]

around may be $20 to $25? Also need a single slot cooler one for the second one, so I don't loose the valuable PCI slots.

For $20-25, that would be a good option. 2600 cards aren't very powerful, but at the price a cheap CFX setup would make sense. I wouldn't buy one if I didn't already have another and a crossfire board, but in your situation it's a good upgrade for the price

 

[LittleLizard]

i just noticed that yours one has 512mb of memory while most 2600xt only have 256mb. you can crossfire but the 512mb one will use half its memory. Also IT HAS TO BE DDR3 the new 2600xt, otherwise it wont work

 

[suraswami]

Also may be my wife can join for Friday night online COD4 (if nothing else to do )

 

[suraswami]

i just noticed that yours one has 512mb of memory while most 2600xt only have 256mb. you can crossfire but the 512mb one will use half its memory. Also IT HAS TO BE DDR3 the new 2600xt, otherwise it wont work

so the speed of core doesn't matter right? only the mem specs should match?

 

[JrRacinFan]

Mem clocks need not match just needs to be ddr3. Is selling your current 2600XT an option you considered?

 

[suraswami]

Mem clocks need not match just needs to be ddr3. Is selling your current 2600XT an option you considered?

I thought about it, but once again I will hardly gain $20 (giving most of it to USPS).

I can't CF the 2600xt with onboard can I?

 

[Zubasa]

I thought about it, but once again I will hardly gain $20 (giving most of it to USPS).

I can't CF the 2600xt with onboard can I?

No.
On the other hand a 2600XT CF is still kinda weak source you know...
I will try and get a 4670 / 4850 for cheap.

 

[suraswami]

No.
On the other hand a 2600XT CF is still kinda weak source you know...
I will try and get a 4670 / 4850 for cheap.

So you mean to say a single 4670 will kick 2600XT in CF?

 

[[Ion]]

So you mean to say a single 4670 will kick 2600XT in CF?

Maybe, but it if not it will be close. It will have the advantage of lower heat output and power consumption. If you could find a used HD 4830 / 4850 (as little as $70), it would absolutely stomp all over the pair of 2600XT cards

 

[suraswami]

Maybe, but it if not it will be close. It will have the advantage of lower heat output and power consumption. If you could find a used HD 4830 / 4850 (as little as $70), it would absolutely stomp all over the pair of 2600XT cards

This is only going to be part time, my main game machine has the 4850 and I absolutely love it. I thought if I get something for cheap may be why not.

I saw a Asus 4670 on sale on egg, may be I should grab that and sell the 2600xt.

 

[LittleLizard]

This is only going to be part time, my main game machine has the 4850 and I absolutely love it. I thought if I get something for cheap may be why not.

I saw a Asus 4670 on sale on egg, may be I should grab that and sell the 2600xt.

that would be good. try to look if the asus 4670 has the possibility to use asus own software to overclock the thing. if u can, its going to be a pretty nice thing

EDIT: get this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125244&cm_re=4670-_-14-125-244-_-Product. its single slot and should oc well.

 

[Flyordie]

For $20-25, that would be a good option. 2600 cards aren't very powerful, but at the price a cheap CFX setup would make sense. I wouldn't buy one if I didn't already have another and a crossfire board, but in your situation it's a good upgrade for the price

HD2600XT Crossfire is in the same realm as the 8800GTS....

 

[suraswami]

HD2600XT Crossfire is in the same realm as the 8800GTS....

I don't think so, can you post some benchmarks please.

I was reading W1z's 2600xt and 4670 reviews especially with old games like Far Cry and Quake the 4670 is like 3 times powerful in single card config, even if I add a 2600xt its not going to touch it.

I am also going to dig more CF reviews.

May be post a direct question to W1z on this.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

2600xts arent really worth it they barely compete with a 7800gtx in most games :shadedshu which is pitiful in terms of performance standpoint lol you would actually get better game performance in dx 9 games from 2 old school 7800 or 7900 series cards then you would 2 2600xts better off getting a 4830 for cheap or 4770 and oc the bejeebus out of it

 

[suraswami]

what is the difference in DDR3 and GDDR3 in the Ram specs of these 2 cards

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...mpareItemList=N82E16814121329,N82E16814125244

 

[ToTTenTranz]

what is the difference in DDR3 and GDDR3 in the Ram specs of these 2 cards

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...mpareItemList=N82E16814121329,N82E16814125244

The GDDR3 is faster, as you can see by looking at the clocks.

However, DDR3 should have lower latencies, so the performance should be about equal between those two.


GDDR stands for "Graphics DDR". It means it was designed to operate with graphics cards, so the speeds are usually higher at the cost of higher latency. Also, No-G DDR must abide to a number of general specs for usage in generic motherboards -> thanks to this, we get to see the GDDRx in the market some years before the DDRx.







The HD2600XT are dirt cheap nowadays, cheaper than most low-ends like the 9400GT or the 4350, but are a lot faster.

If you already have one, Crossfiring a second HD2600XT should give you the performance around a HD4650 (faster than the DDR2 version for sure), which allows you to play any game, old or new. You should be able to max out COD4 for a modest resolution (around 1280*1024 or so), without filters.
Just make sure you get a 512MB card with DDR3 or GDDR3. Don't get a DDR2 version!

2600xts arent really worth it they barely compete with a 7800gtx in most games :shadedshu which is pitiful in terms of performance standpoint lol you would actually get better game performance in dx 9 games from 2 old school 7800 or 7900 series cards then you would 2 2600xts better off getting a 4830 for cheap or 4770 and oc the bejeebus out of it

Try playing COD4 or a newer, shader-intensive game with a Geforce 7000 series and you'll know how painfull it is right now to play with nVidia's pre-DX10 cards..
That statement is absolutely not true for recent games. I know, I have a Quadro FX2500M in my old laptop (equivalent to the Geforce 7900GTX Go).

 

[[Ion]]

what is the difference in DDR3 and GDDR3 in the Ram specs of these 2 cards

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...mpareItemList=N82E16814121329,N82E16814125244

GDDR3 is faster (but I can't give you exact #s on how much)