Should I upgrade 4890CF?

[krypto1300]

Currently running 2 x 4890 in crossfire on a 22" 1680x1050 LCD and am pretty happy with the frame rates. My only problem is the heat generated during a gaming session. If I upgraded, what single card would offer comparable or better performance in Crysis, Crysis Warhead, SupCom Forged Alliance, WIC? Thinking about Crysis 2 also. Oh, and I also like to use 4xAA, 16xAF.

Thanks in advance

 

[FalseChristian]

I'd go with a 6950 which is a better performer than a 4890x2. At your resolution which is the same as mine a 6970 or a 6990 would be overkill. Let us know what you get.

 

[killster1]

your crossfire for small lcd with bad res isnt needed imo.. sell the both cards buy one that is is cheaper and better electricity usage.. i still use 4890cf tho hehe but im lazy and run 24" lcd with 1900x1200 res.. (i should prob do same as you tho)

 

[toyota]

I'd go with a 6950 which is a better performer than a 4890x2. At your resolution which is the same as mine a 6970 or a 6990 would be overkill. Let us know what you get.

how would a 6950 be faster than 4890 crossfire? a 6950 is about like a 5870 which 4890 crossfire should easily beat although not by too much. of course I would still choose a 6950 since it would perform much more consistently and have no crossfire issues to worry about.

 

[Powermoloch]

sell your 4890s and grab 6950/6970 :thumbsup:

Pros:
- Less power consumption
- Less Heat
- updated technology and drivers
- Single GPU

Cons:
- not CF

 

[toyota]

sell your 4890s and grab 6950/6970 :thumbsup:

Pros:
- Less power consumption
- Less Heat
- updated technology and drivers
- Single GPU

Cons:
- not CF

how is "not CF" a con? the only con would be slightly less performance in games where the 4890 CF scaled great. other than that its pretty much all pros.

 

[nanaki333]

how is "not CF" a con? the only con would be slightly less performance in games where the 4890 CF scaled great. other than that its pretty much all pros.

because it's cool to say you have 2 video cards in CF than to say you have.... 1 video card...

 

[Powermoloch]

^ this, but it's really depends on the end-user's interpretation.

 

[Lepton87]

The only single card single GPU solution that soundly beats 2x4890CF in terms of raw performance is GF GTX580 but 6970 or 570 should come close.

 

[Vdubchaos]

because it's cool to say you have 2 video cards in CF than to say you have.... 1 video card...

Cool to who? you?

What's cool is irrelevant, and if you ask me...no it's not cool to have 2. Quite the opposite actually.

Things get hot

Sketchy performance/scaling

Draws more power

IMO OP set up is comparable to 6950 (probably little better). Stay with it, why spend 300 dollars for no or VERY little IF any increase?

Not justified if you ask me, but if money is no object...go nuts

 

[happy medium]

Unless the heat really bothers you, I say keep the 4890's.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

C'mon now, I can certainly see his point. Hell, I debated about getting a cheap 4890 and doubling up a couple of months ago for this reason (and to try it out).

Decided to wait and got a 6950 @ 6970 earlier this year instead.

 

[notty22]

At 1680x1050 scaling is probably 65% vs 80% (I'm guesstimating) for 1920x1080, thats one reason why a 6950 would probably give him similar performance.

 

[RussianSensation]

You are running a 22 inch monitor 1680x1050 with 2x 4890s and a 920 @ 4.0ghz? i say you get a 28-30 inch monitor first before you start thinking about a videocard upgrade. A single 4890 is good enough to max out most games at your resolution.

 

[Jacky60]

I'd hold on to the two 4890's for now. I loved mine and they'll give any single card a run for its money, wait until a single card can give you a big performance increase so next generation unless you want to get a 590/6990 or 580 none of which are cheap and only one of which is relatively cool.

 

[insurgent]

I'd sell the 4890s just because of the heat then get a single card if money isn't tight. You also lessen your power draw at idle, by a LOT. Then you buy another card later on for Xfire/SLI

 

[nanaki333]

Cool to who? you?

What's cool is irrelevant, and if you ask me...no it's not cool to have 2. Quite the opposite actually.

Things get hot

Sketchy performance/scaling

Draws more power

IMO OP set up is comparable to 6950 (probably little better). Stay with it, why spend 300 dollars for no or VERY little IF any increase?

Not justified if you ask me, but if money is no object...go nuts

obviously you missed the, what i thought was obvious, sarcasm.

 

[krypto1300]

Thanks for all the GREAT! feedback.

After reading all the replies, I'm thinking of upgrading the monitor instead. Since I'm not planning on any DX11 games in the near future & haven't had any issues with CF at all.

The heat is bothersome after a couple of hours gaming, but I guess I can just crank up the AC.