Originally posted by: dguy6789
Originally posted by: Henrah
I've been wondering why Sapphire was and is still the only manufacturer of 4850x2's. The only reason I can find is that it seems pointless when you can make a 4870x2. I guess other manufacturers see the 4850 as a lesser 4870, so why double it up? For the same reasoning, why double up a GTX275?
This is why.
Look at the how the prices compare.
Link
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Now look at how the performance of the two compares.
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4850X2 allows you to get a very fast video card for a very low price. Sounds like a good reason to me for it existing.
Wow. 4850x2 really shows up expensive single-gpu cards. However, that is near 100% scaling, which isn't the case in every game. I'm sure it's still faster in many games - just not by that degree. Still, a definite reason for the 4850x2's existence.
Price-wise, you're very fortunate over in America. That sale has made the 4850x2 2gb $14 cheaper than crossfiring the cheapest 4850 1gb:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814161275
Fantastic deal! Over the pond, not so great.
Here is our cheapest (afaik) 4850 1gb:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/...01&catid=56&subcat=938 (this is £5 more than the cheapest 512mb)
And here is our cheapest 4850x2 2gb:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152204
And for kicks, our cheapest 1gb:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products...00-Cores-4x-DVI-I-HDTV
That's £76 for a 4850 1gb and £205 for a 4850x2 2gb. £53 more for a single-slot and other advantages. The 4850x2 1gb is ~£150, which is on target.
Our cheapest 4890 is £136:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/...1&catid=56&subcat=1403
Our cheapest 275 is £150:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/...1&catid=56&subcat=1410
Cheapest 285 is £224:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/...1&catid=56&subcat=1341
4850x2 2gb is great for quad-monitor support, or dual 30" monitors. (They use dual-dvi right?)
If I were to upgrade now, I'd choose the 4890. Maybe 275 because I've never been nVidia, and the prospect of buying a cheap 9600 to run PhysX sounds fun.
Lots of info there, sorry ^_^