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.