Spending around $200-$230 on videocard...

[sanders4617]

Ok. I have kind of narrowed it down between 2 choices.

Either 2 Radeon 4770s in Crossfire..

or..

1 Radeon 4890.


Right now I am running at 1280x1024... so its a non issue.. but once I get a new LCD monitor.. running at higher resolutions.. then this will come into play.

I noticed here: http://www.tomshardware.com/re...70-crossfire,2288.html

That the benchmarks for 2 4770s were better than 1 4890... but when you upped the resolution... the 4770s started to fall below because of the 512mb compared to 1gb.

If you had to choose between 2 4770s and 1 4890.. What would you choose?

The 2 4770 solution is actually about $20-$40 cheaper.

 

[lasoski311]

id go with the (1) 4890 because you can always buy another one later down the road

 

[AstroManLuca]

Originally posted by: lasoski311
id go with the (1) 4890 because you can always buy another one later down the road

Seconded, adding that if you get a 1920x monitor, you're going to want 1 GB of VRAM. A single card is more of a known quantity - it scales better (some games scale poorly with multiple GPUs), draws less power, and doesn't suffer from any issues like microstuttering. The setup is simpler too.

 

[nyker96]

2 xfire Radeon 4770s in Crossfire is the current champ on 200-250 level spending.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Stick with a single HD4890, unless you really need to save that extra money.

If you look at those benchmarks, in situations where the HD4770s win the HD4890 is already giving you really good framerates. But when things get hairy (I'm looking at the Crysis w/4xAA chart), the HD4890 gives you a better playable experience while the HD4770s struggle below/around that 30 fps mark.

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: lasoski311
id go with the (1) 4890 because you can always buy another one later down the road

Winner.

 

[Tempered81]

Originally posted by: lasoski311
id go with the (1) 4890 because you can always buy another one later down the road

+1, and you can get a 4890 for $178 A/R right now.

 

[sanders4617]

That is very true. Thanks guys. I probably won't buy it for another month or so, so prices might be even farther down.

 

[cbn]

Originally posted by: cusideabelincoln
Stick with a single HD4890, unless you really need to save that extra money.

If you look at those benchmarks, in situations where the HD4770s win the HD4890 is already giving you really good framerates. But when things get hairy (I'm looking at the Crysis w/4xAA chart), the HD4890 gives you a better playable experience while the HD4770s struggle below/around that 30 fps mark.

I wish these reviews would show minimum frame rates better because that is what most of us notice the most.

 

[cbn]

Right now I am running at 1280x1024... so its a non issue.. but once I get a new LCD monitor.. running at higher resolutions.. then this will come into play.

At the moment it appears 1920x1080 is the sweet spot (usually $175 for one of these).

That is about 60% more resolution than your current monitor.