Overkill. But if the Drivers Work ...

wwswimming

Banned
Jan 21, 2006
3,702
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Guru3D has a good review of this monster card

http://www.guru3d.com/article/...deluxe-4870-x2-review/

"The X2 cards that have been released will be available in many configurations. Board-partners are free in their choices. It surely does take them a while but you'll see X2 based cards with 4850 specific GDDR3 memory configurations and 4870 cards with a number of GDDR5 memory configurations. Example: you will see cards with 1GB, 2GB maybe even 4GB memory. You also need to be aware of that when purchasing the product that the memory will be cloned. If you purchase a 1 GB card, each GPU will get 512MB memory to work in. So in essence you have 512MB framebuffer with a 1 GB product. Very important."

So, each GPU gets 1 GB. That ... should be enough ?

It's practically a supercomputer that fits in a PCI-Express slot.
 

Leyawiin

Diamond Member
Nov 11, 2008
3,204
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This caveat will always be too big for me to ignore:


"When the two GPUs work, they push performance to a new level. However, and I state this often though, I do stand by my original opinion though that it is inevitable you will run into some troubles with an X2.

A problem right now is that ATI uses game profiles in their drivers to enable and apply optimal settings for multi-GPU configurations, this also means that the driver needs to activate the second GPU for CrossfireX mode. That's all perfectly fine and normal but the downside is simple, if your driver does not have the new game profile, there will only be one GPU rendering your game. ATI will always be one step behind and they do not allow users to create their own profiles. So with new games that are not yet profiled in the driver, you'll miss out on half the performance and that sucks, until the new driver is released that is.

A good example of a game with issues is Far cry 2 with weird stutters, and Brother in Arms Hells highway where only one GPU kicks in. ATI needs to address this issue by implementing user-based profiles. E.g. if a game is not yet supported, you at the very least can make your own profile."

 

Sentry2

Senior member
Mar 21, 2005
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I am currently working on selling my X2.

All X2's have 2GB(1GB per gpu) and yes it seems to be enough. I've had quite a few bugs with this X2. It's a good card but it's time for me to go back to eVGA. :beer:

Oh man, I said I was gonna sit this one out but...X58 here I come.

...and who wants a tri-slot air cooler...water all the way!
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
10,460
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Originally posted by: Sentry2
I am currently working on selling my X2.

All X2's have 2GB(1GB per gpu) and yes it seems to be enough. I've had quite a few bugs with this X2. It's a good card but it's time for me to go back to eVGA. :beer:

Oh man, I said I was gonna sit this one out but...X58 here I come.

...and who wants a tri-slot air cooler...water all the way!

I like this card, but my views are probably not the norm.

I'd trade a PCI slot for not having to buy water blocks, and drain my cooling system.

I understand there are tradeoffs with multiGPU, and more with CF.

If I were going to buy an ATi card, this would be the one.
 

error8

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2007
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Originally posted by: nRollo

If I were going to buy an ATi card, this would be the one.

So what's keeping you from not buying it? Nvidia? ;)
 

badnewcastle

Golden Member
Jun 30, 2004
1,016
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Damn! That thing looks like a beast but it makes the GTX 280 look better and better. I don't probably because the games I care about had close enough fps'...
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
10,460
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Originally posted by: error8
Originally posted by: nRollo

If I were going to buy an ATi card, this would be the one.

So what's keeping you from not buying it? Nvidia? ;)

No one can keep me from buying it, but when you have GTX280 SLi already, there's not much point to this.

So I guess in a way you're right, them giving me the GTX280 SLi kept me from buying this.
 

taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
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heatpipe = a phase change cooling system. which is even more effective then water :). Most things don't have enough heat pipes though, the big advantage of water is silence, but it is expensive, it is a pain, it is dangerous (spills), and requires annoying maintenance.