Tri HD4850 vs single 4870X2?

[solofly]

What do yo guys think would be faster over all, tri HD4850 or single 4870X2?

 

[LeftSide]

single 4870X2, the 512mb limit on the 4850 would seem be a limiting factor at high resolutions

 

[solofly]

What if I used 1Gb version of HD4850, like this...

http://www.sapphiretech.com/us...iew.php?gpid=248&grp=3

 

[LeftSide]

Your still going to be limited by the gddr3, the 4870 uses gddr5 and it has 2x the bandwidth. I don't know, It would be interesting to see a 4850 1gb x3 vs. a 4870x2 but I still think the 4870x2 will come out on top with higher resolutions.

 

[SSChevy2001]

Your also forgeting the 3rd card would be bus limited at 4x. Also the power and heat of running all 3 cards. Besides what it would cost alone for 3 cards.

4870x2 is your best option or even a single 1GB 4870

Here's a link showing Tri a Quad 4850s Tweaktown

 

[bryanW1995]

that's not true about the 3rd card being bus limited to 4x. usually high end mobos go 16x / 16x or 16x/8x/8x. 8x pci-e 2 is plenty for 4850, so that shouldn't be the limiting factor. I think that the 3x 4850 would be slightly faster, but I'd still get the 4870x2 if it was me.

 

[SSChevy2001]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
that's not true about the 3rd card being bus limited to 4x. usually high end mobos go 16x / 16x or 16x/8x/8x. 8x pci-e 2 is plenty for 4850, so that shouldn't be the limiting factor. I think that the 3x 4850 would be slightly faster, but I'd still get the 4870x2 if it was me.

Can you list such a board? Just curious I never seen a intel board with that config. Besides it would have to be very expensive.

Edit remember 3-4 pci-e slots, where talking tri 4850.

These are the only board I can come with and the 3rd and 4 slots are 4x limited.
ASUS P5E64 WS Evolution
ASUS P5E3
Foxconn BlackOps X48

 

[firewolfsm]

X2, scalability suffers as you add more cards. The two cards will give you the best performance and let out less heat and noise.

 

[MichaelD]

A 4870X2 would be cheaper than two 4870's, use less electricity and generate less heat. It would be one less card in the case, improving airflow too (you have to think of all the positives/negatives!)

Trying three, 1GB 4850s vs a single 4870X2 would be a really cool showdown, but an expensive thing "just to try out."

I'd go with the 4870X2...when it comes out. I'm waiting for it myself. Plan on getting one unless NVidia comes out with something equal or better AT THE SAME PRICE POINT.

 

[JPB]

I agree with the other guys here. A HD 4850 gets hot the way it is, that alone having 3 of them in Tri-fire.

I would just go with the X2 variant when its released. Shouldn't be long now.

I myself am going with a HD 4870.

But I must also say, the EVGA 9800GX2 at Newegg for currently $285 is a steal I think.

 

[MarcVenice]

No such intel chipset exists as far as I know, for real tripple or quad crossfire goodness you'll be looking at a 790fx mobo, that means you have to run a phenom as well. Like this mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131291

 

[SSChevy2001]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
No such intel chipset exists as far as I know, for real tripple or quad crossfire goodness you'll be looking at a 790fx mobo, that means you have to run a phenom as well. Like this mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131291

So that's great lets go from 4x bus bound intel setup to a CPU and 8x bus bound amd setup. Honestly if your looking for tri 4850 you still need to wait for the 4850x2, and do it the right way on x38/x48 MB.

 

[MarcVenice]

Those pci-e slots are all 2.0, that means that the pci-e slots running at 8x speeds, are effectively running at pci-e 1.1 16x speeds, more then enough bandwith for a HD4850 or a HD4870. In fact I've yet to see a review where a GTX280 suffered performance loss on a pci-e 1.1 16x slot.

And no, having to deal with a Phenom quadcore might not be worth it to some, if you want the absolute fastest thing you go with tripple sli-ed gtx280's. But if you want three HD4850's, and can overclock a phenom to 3.0ghz or higher, you've still got a very fast system.

 

[Raventon]

2X4870 or 4870X2?

 

[solofly]

Thanks for your replies guys. I left this same question at another forum and one thing was brought up which was maturity/stability of crossfirex drivers in tri configuration. Good point that I didn't think about. And yes both of my P5E3 (X38) and P5Q3 (P45) only perform at 4x in the third slot. Oh well, I guess I'll be sticking with my original plan and going with a single HD4870X2...

Edit: Another thought comes to mind. How about one HD4870X2 with one HD4850 1GB (in a 8x + 8x config). How safe is that from a driver standpoint of view...

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Lets not forget running 3 cards will use as much power as running the city of Las Vegas.

 

[solofly]

I have just enough juice for a single HD4870X2. Anymore than that and I would need to upgrade my very nice, barely used power supply. But for more speed I`m almost willing to do anything...

 

[SSChevy2001]

@MarcVenice

Agreed you'll have a fast system, but you'll still be CPU bound making the 3rd GPU pretty much useless regardless of bus speeds. Heck Tweaktown review clearly shows 2x 4850 being CPU limited at 3ghz with a Q6600, which is about the same speed as Phenom 3.0ghz.

@solofly

Price for performance get's worst with the more GPUs you add. Multi-gpu single cards are you best bet for a good price vs performance ratio when it comes to multi-gpu setups. Just wait it out a little longer.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: solofly
I have just enough juice for a single HD4870X2. Anymore than that and I would need to upgrade my very nice, barely used power supply. But for more speed I`m almost willing to do anything...

I meant the monthly electric bill heh.