ATI Radeon 4870 Crossfire

[joejccva]

Is it true that if my monitor doesn't support resolutions above 1680x1050 then there is little point in getting a Crossfire setup? Someone told me that in certain reviews that I would be better off just getting 1 4870 X2 card instead.

Your thoughts?

 

[apoppin]

what is the rest of your system like?

4870x2 is pretty close performance wise to 2 x 4870 CF

differences might lie in which MB you have; the older specs limit CF performance .. also there is some difference between 4870-512MB CF and the 1GB version - but not much at 16x10 except for rarely in certain games

 

[Pelu]

4870x2 is a bit faster than 2 4870 in CF.... aparently by 3 or 5%

 

[Pelu]

by the way u still get the same micro stuttering as CF lol

 

[dguy6789]

For today, a single 4870 is fine for 1680x1050. At 1680x1050, you will be more cpu limited than gpu limited with a single 4870. Using two wouldn't provide a benefit. In the future as the graphical load of games increases, a 4870x2 would play games at 1680x1050 faster than a single 4870 would.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
For today, a single 4870 is fine for 1680x1050. At 1680x1050, you will be more cpu limited than gpu limited with a single 4870. Using two wouldn't provide a benefit. In the future as the graphical load of games increases, a 4870x2 would play games at 1680x1050 faster than a single 4870 would.

that is a really blanket statement that is simply not true

using two 4870s in most systems DOES provide a noticeable increase in FPS over using just one
.. my 4870-X2 is way faster than my 4870 at 16x10 or 19x12

 

[SSChevy2001]

Originally posted by: Pelu
4870x2 is a bit faster than 2 4870 in CF.... aparently by 3 or 5%

You might want to check out this review, because it clearly shows different.
http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/16229/7

 

[dguy6789]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: dguy6789
For today, a single 4870 is fine for 1680x1050. At 1680x1050, you will be more cpu limited than gpu limited with a single 4870. Using two wouldn't provide a benefit. In the future as the graphical load of games increases, a 4870x2 would play games at 1680x1050 faster than a single 4870 would.

that is a really blanket statement that is simply not true

using two 4870s in most systems DOES provide a noticeable increase in FPS over using just one
.. my 4870-X2 is way faster than my 4870 at 16x10 or 19x12

Perhaps if you play the two or three games that don't run perfectly fine on a 4870 at 1680x1050 currently or run with superfluous amounts of AA then there would be a difference, but for the overwhelming majority of games out today, a 4870 alone can play every game at 1680x1050 with some aa/af and still be cpu limited. The games and situations that do not run fine are the exception, not the norm for today.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: dguy6789

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: dguy6789
For today, a single 4870 is fine for 1680x1050. At 1680x1050, you will be more cpu limited than gpu limited with a single 4870. Using two wouldn't provide a benefit. In the future as the graphical load of games increases, a 4870x2 would play games at 1680x1050 faster than a single 4870 would.

that is a really blanket statement that is simply not true

using two 4870s in most systems DOES provide a noticeable increase in FPS over using just one
.. my 4870-X2 is way faster than my 4870 at 16x10 or 19x12

Perhaps if you play the two or three games that don't run perfectly fine on a 4870 at 1680x1050 currently or run with superfluous amounts of AA then there would be a difference, but for the overwhelming majority of games out today, a 4870 alone can play every game at 1680x1050 with some aa/af and still be cpu limited. The games and situations that do not run fine are the exception, not the norm for today.

that is not what you said

At 1680x1050, you will be more cpu limited than gpu limited with a single 4870. Using two wouldn't provide a benefit.

and that statement is utter nonsense; a 4870-X2 or 4870 CrossFire is noticeably faster in games than a single 4870
:roll:

 

[dguy6789]

I am certainly not the only person on this forum who thinks that for 1680x1050, Crossfire doesn't provide a benefit.