Party was canceled on the 4th, so I was bored and went to Fry's. Picked up two 4850's to attempt a crossfire setup in my Shuttle SFF system.
I'm sure it will be surprising to some who haven't worked with the nice 450W Shuttle power supply, but it worked. While excited that everything worked, I wasn't blown away by the performance. It's probably due to the fact that I was already quite happy with my existing BFG OC'd 8800GTS (G92).
Game's I've been playing (@1920x1200):
- WOW (Using two instances and monitors at a time.)
- Call of Duty 4
- Team Fortress 2
- Supreme Commander
They were very playable before @ 1920x1200 and it doesn't feel incredibly smoother on the crossfire setup. It is measurably smoother (CoD 4 average frame rate was 35 now it's nearly 50). I wonder if I'm CPU/RAM Speed bound.
The added heat and noise was something I was expecting, but it's more annoying then I had hoped. It causes all the system fans to increase in speed. I've grown to used to quiet well ventilated builds.
Bottom line is, the extra video power is nice but I don't necessarily need it. I'll likely be swapping the 4850s out for a solution that fits the thermals of my SFF a touch better. Haven't seen pics of the 4870X2 but hoping vents out the rear instead of recycling case air.
If i have some time, I'll update with some detailed benchmark compares later.
I'm sure it will be surprising to some who haven't worked with the nice 450W Shuttle power supply, but it worked. While excited that everything worked, I wasn't blown away by the performance. It's probably due to the fact that I was already quite happy with my existing BFG OC'd 8800GTS (G92).
Game's I've been playing (@1920x1200):
- WOW (Using two instances and monitors at a time.)
- Call of Duty 4
- Team Fortress 2
- Supreme Commander
They were very playable before @ 1920x1200 and it doesn't feel incredibly smoother on the crossfire setup. It is measurably smoother (CoD 4 average frame rate was 35 now it's nearly 50). I wonder if I'm CPU/RAM Speed bound.
The added heat and noise was something I was expecting, but it's more annoying then I had hoped. It causes all the system fans to increase in speed. I've grown to used to quiet well ventilated builds.
Bottom line is, the extra video power is nice but I don't necessarily need it. I'll likely be swapping the 4850s out for a solution that fits the thermals of my SFF a touch better. Haven't seen pics of the 4870X2 but hoping vents out the rear instead of recycling case air.
If i have some time, I'll update with some detailed benchmark compares later.
!!
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