7950 vs. 2 4870 1 gig in CF...opinions

[Elvis2]

Other than DX10 and Dx11 comparisons. I mean really, is there that much of a difference?

btw, other system stats:
E8500 @ 4.3
UP45-UD3p
4 gig GSkill 1066

 

[toyota]

um a 7950 is way faster than 4870 crossfire. with current drivers even a stock 7950 would be about 50% faster. plus the 7950 will have more vram and can oc much better and no crossfire issues so real world average would be even higher.

a core 2 duo and 4gb of system ram is not the kind of pc I would put a high end gaming gpu in though.

 

[Sleepingforest]

The single card will take up less space, use less power, and make less noise, as well has having more memory which makes it a better proposition in the near future. Go with the 7950, especially if the cost is equal.

 

[Stuka87]

Unless you are going to upgrade the CPU and system RAM, I would go with a 7850. Most games that need a 7950 are also going to need a quad core CPU.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Single card without doubt. SLi/CF is just crap, irregular performance across games and problems

 

[toyota]

yeah even a stock 7850 will beat 4870 crossfire and as already mentioned is a much better match your system. just dont expect to get the numbers you see in benchmarks because even a 7850 will be held back with your system.

 

[Termie]

Other than DX10 and Dx11 comparisons. I mean really, is there that much of a difference?

btw, other system stats:
E8500 @ 4.3
UP45-UD3p
4 gig GSkill 1066

I hate to say this, but if you currently have 4870CF, you are already completely CPU-bottlenecked, and you may be RAM bottlenecked as well.

There's absolutely no reason to upgrade to a 7950 until you get a new CPU.

Need proof: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-wolfdale-yorkfield-comparison,3487-10.html

That's an HD7970 in the test, BTW.

 

[Elvis2]

Thanks for the feedback. I knew the CPU would be the bottleneck. I'm milkin' this 775 system for all it's worth ( not much these days). I have a QX9770 on the way.

 

[Termie]

Thanks for the feedback. I knew the CPU would be the bottleneck. I'm milkin' this 775 system for all it's worth ( not much these days). I have a QX9770 on the way.

That will be only slightly better. It will still barely equal a $120 i3-3220.

 

[Elvis2]

That will be only slightly better. It will still barely equal a $120 i3-3220.

Agreed. But then again we're talking a whole platform change. Back in the day, I always had to have the very newest stuff. Upgrading every six months. There was a very narrow window when you could sell your "old" stuff to pay for your new rig but I just got tired of being a "beta tester" for companies that were releasing MB's with immature bios'es and such. F that.

 

[toyota]

That will be only slightly better. It will still barely equal a $120 i3-3220.

yeah that will be no better than what he has for those games that just need 2 really fast cores. in fact he may not can oc the QX9770 to same level.

and it seems like it would be better to dump that platform then buy a cpu like that now because a QX9770 probably aint cheap.

 

[Elvis2]

yeah that will be no better than what he has for those games that just need 2 really fast cores. in fact he may not can oc the QX9770 to same level.

and it seems like it would be better to dump that platform then buy a cpu like that now because a QX9770 probably aint cheap.

It did come cheap. $140.00 US

 

[toyota]

It did come cheap. $140.00 US

sorry that is not cheap at all imo. that is 140 bucks that could have been put towards an efficient modern cpu.

 

[AtenRa]

The QX9770 at 3.6 or 4GHz will be a very nice upgrade depending on the price he will acquire the CPU. If it is more than $150 then it’s better to get a Core i3 or even better an FX6300.

Edit: Hmm at $140 you could get that Core i3 3220 or the FX6300

 

[toyota]

The QX9770 at 3.6 or 4GHz will be a very nice upgrade depending on the price he will acquire the CPU. If it is more than $150 then it’s better to get a Core i3 or even better an FX6300.

Edit: Hmm at $140 you could get that Core i3 3220 or the FX6300

that will actually be a downgrade in the still many games that like 2 really fast cores.

 

[Elvis2]

The situation was this. I was building an i7 rig for this guy. We settled on the price and half way thru the build he wanted to go SLI and double the ram. No big deal. I get 50% $ up front, balance on completion. When it came crunch time, he didn't have all the $. We settled it with his "old" QX9770. + $140.00 on my part.

 

[futurefields]

that will actually be a downgrade in the still many games that like 2 really fast cores.

His core 2 duo is over 4ghz, that should be fine for most 2-thread games shouldn't it?

If he can get the new quad core up to 4ghz it should also be fine for most 4-thread games, shouldn't it?

 

[toyota]

His core 2 duo is over 4ghz, that should be fine for most 2-thread games shouldn't it?

If he can get the new quad core up to 4ghz it should also be fine for most 4-thread games, shouldn't it?

most yes. I was just saying that in games that need a lot of IPC and only 2 cores that the QX9770 will not be an upgrade. of course I would rather have the QX9770 but it seems silly in 2013 to buy a cpu like that and have to oc it to very power hungry levels just to get the performance of an i3.

 

[futurefields]

true but it sounds like the OP doesn't want to buy a new motherboard and rebuild the whole PC, in which case the 9770 is probably his best option at improving performance.

and I think the 7950 will not be held back too much by it either... only certain games like Battlefield 3 multiplayer would be CPU bottlenecked.

 

[Elvis2]

true but it sounds like the OP doesn't want to buy a new motherboard and rebuild the whole PC, in which case the 9770 is probably his best option at improving performance.

and I think the 7950 will not be held back too much by it either... only certain games like Battlefield 3 multiplayer would be CPU bottlenecked.

You nailed it.
I've decided to max out this 775 rig. It'll get me thru another year.
Thanks for the input.
This forum, as always, Rocks. 🙂