4870 + 4870x2 or 4890?

Phædrus2401 · 05-28-2009, 12:51 PM

I'm thinking of upgrading my graphics card in a couple of months, and at the moment I have a Sapphire Radeon HD4870 1GB and it runs pretty well, but it isn't always smooth at the resolution and detail I want. I was wondering what would result in the best performance:
1.) HD4870 + HD4870x2
2.) HD4870 + HD4890
3.) HD4870 + HD4870
4.) HD4870x2
5.) HD4890
6.) Nvidia GTX 285
7.) Nvidia 9800GT dual SLI

I'm looking for the best performance/price ratio. Since I already have the 4870 (which I got before the 4770 came out and the GTX260 dropped in price) it would be best if I could CrossFire that with another ATI card, but if I'd get better results from just a brand new card (without CrossFire), I might choose that.

I'm going to be getting an 800-900 watt power supply from Antec/Corsair/PC Power&Cooling and a Q6600 at the same time, and the budget for the graphics card is $150 - $350.

**emosun** · 05-28-2009, 01:51 PM

Provided you DO get a proper powersupply for these cards , a dual gpu card would be fastest , like a 4870 x2 or a gtx 295.

But there is no GOOD price to performance ratio with high end cards. Once you start going even higher the cards become more expensive asnd less powerful. Crossfire and sli provide the least ammount of bang for your buck , in the sense the cards cost twice as much and give a 30 to 40% increase in speed rather the assumed 100%.

That being said for the best bang for your buck you can sell the 4870 to get a bit of money back and go for a single card with dual gpu's , somthing like a 4870 x2 or gtx 295.

**wrench97** · 05-28-2009, 04:13 PM

And to add the P5Q Pro is a Xfire board and will not support SLI.

05-28-2009, 12:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
Phædrus2401 Hardware Tech Team Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,915 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 + Ubuntu 9.04 My System	4870 + 4870x2 or 4890? I'm thinking of upgrading my graphics card in a couple of months, and at the moment I have a Sapphire Radeon HD4870 1GB and it runs pretty well, but it isn't always smooth at the resolution and detail I want. I was wondering what would result in the best performance: 1.) HD4870 + HD4870x2 2.) HD4870 + HD4890 3.) HD4870 + HD4870 4.) HD4870x2 5.) HD4890 6.) Nvidia GTX 285 7.) Nvidia 9800GT dual SLI I'm looking for the best performance/price ratio. Since I already have the 4870 (which I got before the 4770 came out and the GTX260 dropped in price) it would be best if I could CrossFire that with another ATI card, but if I'd get better results from just a brand new card (without CrossFire), I might choose that. I'm going to be getting an 800-900 watt power supply from Antec/Corsair/PC Power&Cooling and a Q6600 at the same time, and the budget for the graphics card is $150 - $350.

05-28-2009, 01:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 7,109 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: 4870 + 4870x2 or 4890? Provided you DO get a proper powersupply for these cards , a dual gpu card would be fastest , like a 4870 x2 or a gtx 295. But there is no GOOD price to performance ratio with high end cards. Once you start going even higher the cards become more expensive asnd less powerful. Crossfire and sli provide the least ammount of bang for your buck , in the sense the cards cost twice as much and give a 30 to 40% increase in speed rather the assumed 100%. That being said for the best bang for your buck you can sell the 4870 to get a bit of money back and go for a single card with dual gpu's , somthing like a 4870 x2 or gtx 295. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

05-28-2009, 04:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,883 OS: Win7	Re: 4870 + 4870x2 or 4890? And to add the P5Q Pro is a Xfire board and will not support SLI. __________________ Power Supply and Selection