4870 X2 / GTX 280

[nitromullet]

Some FRAPS runs I ran over the weekend on my GTX 280 and 4870 X2 I thought you guys might be interested in.

http://steelforest.net/video/4870X2-GTX280.htm

 

[libertarian420]

thanks=]

 

[Wreckage]

Looks like microstutter was evident in Crysis on the 4870X2

 

[sourthings]

I have an X2 myself and run at the same resolution as you, I knew NV did better in Crysis, their hardware always has. Buying the X2 has made me want to buy a 30" monitor, just trying to sneak it past the girlfriend somehow. If I end up getting it will do some benches on it. 4870x2 is really suited to a 2560x1600 gamer, as that is where it starts to take off from the 280.

 

[tboo]

I just upgraded from a GTX 280 to a 4870x2. I have a 30 inch monitor & run at 2560x1600 & I do notice a difference. My main gripe on this new card is its LOUD as hell & puts out way more heat the the GTX 280. I do have everything crammed in an Antec 900 gaming case. Maybe I need to upgrade to a bigger full size case?

 

[n7]

Reminds me of my 3870X2 vs. 8800 GTX situation.

So i imagine you're not keeping the 4870X2?

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: sourthings
I have an X2 myself and run at the same resolution as you, I knew NV did better in Crysis, their hardware always has. Buying the X2 has made me want to buy a 30" monitor, just trying to sneak it past the girlfriend somehow. If I end up getting it will do some benches on it. 4870x2 is really suited to a 2560x1600 gamer, as that is where it starts to take off from the 280.

Wait, your girlfriend decides what you can and cannot buy? Where is the 'whipped' emoticon?

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: n7
Reminds me of my 3870X2 vs. 8800 GTX situation.

So i imagine you're not keeping the 4870X2?

You are very perceptive. IMO, this is exactly like the 3870X2 vs. 8800 GTX situation.

Originally posted by: Wreckage
Looks like microstutter was evident in Crysis on the 4870X2

Tough to say actually. Remember that micro stutter doesn't show up on benchmarks becauce the average frame rate doesn't reflect it. In the levels where the X2 was noticably worse than the GTX 280, the fps were so low that micro stutter wasn't even relevant. Granted, in the majority of levels where I tried the X2 in Crysis it played the game well, but when it tanked it tanked badly.

 

[darXoul]

Any chance you could run some LotRO benchmarks?

I'm upgrading soon, and I really have a dilemma what to choose - 280 GTX, 4870X2 or... an upcoming possible 55nm 280 GTX+ (?) with higher clocks and maybe even GDDR5.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: darXoul
Any chance you could run some LotRO benchmarks?

I'm upgrading soon, and I really have a dilemma what to choose - 280 GTX, 4870X2 or... an upcoming possible 55nm 280 GTX+ (?) with higher clocks and maybe even GDDR5.

I appreciate the interest in my graphs, but I'm probably not going to be doing any more benching.

 

[chewietobbacca]

i feel like i need some 2560 x 1600 benches to decide, since the card seems to make the big difference at that res above all others

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: chewietobbacca
i feel like i need some 2560 x 1600 benches to decide, since the card seems to make the big difference at that res above all others

Buy me a 30" LCD, and I'll bench any game I own on it. I might even buy a game or two just for you...

 

[error8]

The link doesn't work for me.

EDIT: It works and a very nice review. Hope to see more of these from you.

 

[MarcVenice]

I find the similaritities between the ice walk thru and the outland flyer graphs odd. Did you speculate as to why they could be so similar?

 

[sgrinavi]

Nice job,thanks

 

[Qbah]

Excellent read! However, I thought it was well established that Crysis scales very bad with Crossfire and WoW doesn't scale at all Which means it's basically a HD4870 vs GTX280 there (where the nV part is a clear winner, no contest). Which you just proved :thumbsup: for your effort though.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
I find the similaritities between the ice walk thru and the outland flyer graphs odd. Did you speculate as to why they could be so similar?

I'm not sure I see what you mean...

Originally posted by: Qbah
Excellent read! However, I thought it was well established that Crysis scales very bad with Crossfire and WoW doesn't scale at all Which means it's basically a HD4870 vs GTX280 there (where the nV part is a clear winner, no contest). Which you just proved :thumbsup: for your effort though.

I knew that Crysis probably didn't scale so well, but most of the reviews I've seen still show the 4870 X2 as faster then the GTX 280.

As far as WoW goes, IMO even a single 4870 with only 512 MB of RAM should let you run the game maxed with 8xAA w/ Adaptive AA. I mean, we're talking about frames in the teens! You can run HL2:EP2 with 8xAAA, but not WoW!?! I was actually hoping that I could use the edge detect mode, but it doesn't appear that its possible to select what type of AA to use in this game or it doesn't make a difference. Granted, 8xSStrAA is hard on the GTX 280 as well, but still playable.

Honestly, I'm not totally convinced that both gpus are even running in WoW. The X2 feels a lot like a singe 4870 to me. The 4870 X2 is in my rig as a type this, so I might have to investigate this a bit later on today.

 

[JPB]

Wait, your girlfriend decides what you can and cannot buy? Where is the 'whipped' emoticon?

This :laugh:

 

[JPB]

I have considered the 4870X2 myself since I am on a 40" screen. But my maximum resolution is 1920x1080 and will not go any higher. So I don't think I need that much horsepower.

Now if I was running 2500 resolution or higher, it would be a must.

 

[Hauk]

Nice job Nitro! Near website worthy..

 

[sourthings]

Originally posted by: JPB

Wait, your girlfriend decides what you can and cannot buy? Where is the 'whipped' emoticon?

This :laugh:

I am constantly blowing cash on pc stuff, about $500 a week. Yes, it's true, I'd have to sneak a $2000 monitor past her

On this topic again, I think how you said in some games 'there is no noticeable difference, so I'm not posting results', is pretty much indicative that you're running at a resolution too low to show the 4870x2 outperforming the GTX280.

I appreciate all the effort, but in pretty much every single review available the 4870x2 is labeled as faster than the GTX 280 and most of the time, faster than 280SLI. My buddy who has a 280 has played around on my X2 rig and says it's overall a smoother experience. Again I only use 1920x1200 as well though.

If I can dodge the whip, I'll have a 30" soon

 

[MarcVenice]

Nitromullet, the similarities are, obviously, that the fps go down and up at the exact same time, by exactly the same amount. In the ice walk thru, both videocards perform EXACTLY the same. Could it be a cpu bottlebeck, because it's weird for them to be so close to each other.

Btw, the terrokar forrest implies that the GTX280 is twice as fast as a HD4870X2. It could be that only 1 gpu is working, and it could in fact be that the performance is actually beneath that of a single HD4870.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: sourthings

I am constantly blowing cash on pc stuff, about $500 a week. Yes, it's true, I'd have to sneak a $2000 monitor past her

Wow that's $26,000 on computer hardware annually. You must have a Gallardo as your winter beater

 

[ShadowOfMyself]

Gonna get flamed but that looks very Nvidia skewed to me, specially the choice of games... Its like you specifically picked games that dont scale or are nvidia favorites (like crysis)
If you had tested Call of duty 4, Race grid, etc youd see the difference

But it comes down to - if you wanna play THOSE games, sure buy an nvidia card, if you wanna play the rest, buy the X2

 

[Elfear]

Thanks for posting up your results Nitromullet. Looks like the dual chip cards still need a little work with synchronization.

If you get the time, could you test the two cards out in Crysis at Very High settings? The review here showed the 4870x2 scaling very well under Vista compared to the GTX and I'd be curious if you see similar results.