Xbit article on HD4830 CF vs HD4870 1GB

[BFG10K]

Originally posted by: Azn

makes me wonder why I would want to spend $300 on GTX 280 when you can get nearly same performance for much less.

Because a single card solution is inherently more robust than a multi-card solution. That and you only have 512 MB VRAM with 2x4830 and that becomes a serious limitation in modern games.

Microstuttering is blown out of proportion

It?s a very real problem for those that can see it.

 

[dflynchimp]

Originally posted by: evolucion8
The review was nice, but since the demand for VRAM has gone up quite a lot since the introduction of DX10, I can see that later on, the edge in performance will go to the HD 4870 with 1GB of VRAM and for God sakes, stop the nVidia propaganda here, nobody cares about CUDA, PhysX and Stereo thing, don't know why people here don't understand that bashing their rivals will not change people's way of thinking, the reasoning doesn't scream, it convince the people with nice features that will not dry your wallet (Unlike the stereoscopic thing), PhysX is nice and CUDA is not a must have, specially for us the gamers. Far Cry 2 stuttering ocurrs in DX10 with ATi and nVidia cards alike, the only way that I found to solve it it was capping the FPS, or using FRAPS to record my gameplay which is an easy way to fill up your HD. Microstuttering affects all multi GPU configuration.. The HD 4830 is a hell of a card for such low price, is like having an HD3870X2 in a single GPU, strangely enough, the latter one still faster, probably due to it's 800MHz GPU clocks.

yes and no. Memory bandwith saturation might not be happening, but memory size requirements have definitely gone up.

It's not nvidia propaganda. CUDA and PhysX definitely have its share of proponents (hence the adverts and fanbois here). I'm moving from a 8800GTS to a 4870X2 so it's not much of an issue for me. eventually ATI will implement software handover of havok physics from CPU to GPU, and it's inevitable that the more advanced both physX and havok get, the closer they'll be in implementation. There's only so many ways you can interpret gravity and particle mass (only one way, in fact)

Hopefully I won't be getting too much microstutter (or won't notice it), but I've spent the gold, and I'll find out if the problem is there once my X2 arrives ($355 off ebay, tested by seller but not used)

 

[Dribble]

I know quite a few people who have tried Xfire, it's mostly ended in tears. Quite a few went for Xfire 3870's, nearly all gave up in the end after they just couldn't get their favourite games to run stably. Not seen much Sli (hardly anyone has an Sli motherboard). Hence my advice is avoid Xfire like the plague. Stick to single gpu solutions and you will spend more time playing the games and less time fighting with drivers.

 

[AzN]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Originally posted by: Azn

makes me wonder why I would want to spend $300 on GTX 280 when you can get nearly same performance for much less.

Because a single card solution is inherently more robust than a multi-card solution. That and you only have 512 MB VRAM with 2x4830 and that becomes a serious limitation in modern games.

Robust sure but the facts remain. You can get nearly same performance for less money.

Don't hate on it until you try it. ;P

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: Azn

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Originally posted by: Azn

makes me wonder why I would want to spend $300 on GTX 280 when you can get nearly same performance for much less.

Because a single card solution is inherently more robust than a multi-card solution. That and you only have 512 MB VRAM with 2x4830 and that becomes a serious limitation in modern games.

Robust sure but the facts remain. You can get nearly same performance for less money.

Don't hate on it until you try it. ;P

Weren't you just a couple months ago the pitch-man against multi-gpu for things like microstutter and compatibility? 😉

 

[AzN]

Originally posted by: SunnyD

Originally posted by: Azn

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Originally posted by: Azn

makes me wonder why I would want to spend $300 on GTX 280 when you can get nearly same performance for much less.

Because a single card solution is inherently more robust than a multi-card solution. That and you only have 512 MB VRAM with 2x4830 and that becomes a serious limitation in modern games.

Robust sure but the facts remain. You can get nearly same performance for less money.

Don't hate on it until you try it. ;P

Weren't you just a couple months ago the pitch-man against multi-gpu for things like microstutter and compatibility? 😉

I'm not sure about pitch man but yeah I do point out the drawbacks. Unless I try it for myself I won't know for sure and you can't either. At the same price point there's no question a single card has the right of way but when it cost half as much and be on par with a single card that cost 2x as much? It shouldn't be overlooked.

 

[Tempered81]

got my first sli rig (since voodooII 12mb piggy back) via the NCIX hotdeal last week. I like it so far - very strong for most all my games w/ 4xAA on 22".

here is a screenie:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...090&stc=1&d=1233706459

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: jaredpace
got my first sli rig (since voodooII 12mb piggy back) via the NCIX hotdeal last week. I like it so far - very strong for most all my games w/ 4xAA on 22".

here is a screenie:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...090&stc=1&d=1233706459

with just 384mb you will certainly run out of vram in a couple of games at 1680x1050 with those settings.

 

[BFG10K]

Originally posted by: Azn

Robust sure but the facts remain. You can get nearly same performance for less money.

When it works properly.

When it doesn't, you get nothing but trouble. You'll also frequently come across glitches and issues that are not present on a single card.

Case & point in the XBit review, where CF was being disabled in some games when the reviewer changed resolutions.

And that?s to say nothing about input lag and micro-stutter, even when it's working properly.

Don't hate on it until you try it. ;P

Heh, I've probably tried it a lot more than you. 😉

 

[BFG10K]

Originally posted by: Fox5

BTW, can Crossfire work with two cards of different speeds? Like a 4670 and a 4830?

I could be mistaken, but I believe Crossfire does allow mixing & matching cards like that, and the system simply resorts to the lowest common denominator.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Originally posted by: Fox5

BTW, can Crossfire work with two cards of different speeds? Like a 4670 and a 4830?

I could be mistaken, but I believe Crossfire does allow mixing & matching cards like that, and the system simply resorts to the lowest common denominator.

This is correct, faster card has to wait for the slower, less scaling.

 

[dflynchimp]

strangely enough mixing a 3870 and a 3850 was right about between two 3850's and two 3870's (there was a benchmark somewhere). I haven't seen mixed Xfire benchies for the 4xxx series so the same probably doesn't hold true. It might also be a point of concern with the differing memory types (GDDR3 on 4850 and GDDR5 on 4870) for mixed Xfire. in general there's no point mixing up cards if it's going to handicap the faster one (unless you're using NV cards for PhysX)

 

[AmdInside]

I would not recommend going to Crossfire. ATI/AMD is not very good and keeping up to date at dual card crossfire optimizations. I'd rather have a single fast GPU.

 

[TC91]

Originally posted by: AmdInside
I would not recommend going to Crossfire. ATI/AMD is not very good and keeping up to date at dual card crossfire optimizations. I'd rather have a single fast GPU.

QFT.

Even for single cards if a game doesn't have a profile you can't force any settings such as fsaa or af in the ati ccc.

 

[shangshang]

running an HD4870 or GTX280 is like eating fine imported caviar in an Aston Martin.
running 4830 CF is like eating Costco sushi in a supped up Civic.
The results are pretty much the same: in that you feel satiated at high speed.

Now considering that I got my 4870 1GB for $185, and 2 4830s could be had for $150, that's a $35 difference,.. but why would I want to become racerboy eating Costco sushi in a Civic when I can be like 007?!

The 4830 with its 512 MB RAM will run into problem quickly if you game on a 24". And when it comes time to upgrade, I can simply drop another 4870 1GB into my system and viola! Upgrade done! For racerboys with 2 4830s, you guys will be contemplating.. "hmm should I build a new system or should I ebay my 2 4830s (hopefully for $40 per) and get 2 new cards because 512 MB VRAM is not enough? Oops time to spend again. Ok so you saved $35 earlier so you can spend more money and time later. Me... I'll just drop in another 4870 1GB down the road (hopefully will drop to around $120 when it comes time) and call it a day. Done.

 

[dflynchimp]

eh the analogy didn't work for me, but to each his own I guess...

 

[konakona]

Originally posted by: shangshang
running an HD4870 or GTX280 is like eating fine imported caviar in an Aston Martin.
running 4830 CF is like eating Costco sushi in a supped up Civic.
The results are pretty much the same: in that you feel satiated at high speed.

Now considering that I got my 4870 1GB for $185, and 2 4830s could be had for $150, that's a $35 difference,.. but why would I want to become racerboy eating Costco sushi in a Civic when I can be like 007?!

The 4830 with its 512 MB RAM will run into problem quickly if you game on a 24". And when it comes time to upgrade, I can simply drop another 4870 1GB into my system and viola! Upgrade done! For racerboys with 2 4830s, you guys will be contemplating.. "hmm should I build a new system or should I ebay my 2 4830s (hopefully for $40 per) and get 2 new cards because 512 MB VRAM is not enough? Oops time to spend again. Ok so you saved $35 earlier so you can spend more money and time later. Me... I'll just drop in another 4870 1GB down the road (hopefully will drop to around $120 when it comes time) and call it a day. Done.

and of course by the time you really need another 4870 it will no longer be the hottest thing out there. history proves again and again attempting to be futureproof is a wishful thinking at best. With each card costing well under $100, what do you have to lose? I guess your plan makes sense only if you are building a rig that you won't be using to play games for right now. The fact is 4830 CF is of better value AND faster than a 4870 for current games as we speak. you may care about your image, but I care more about how my video cards perform in games.

 

[evolucion8]

Originally posted by: konakona
and of course by the time you really need another 4870 it will no longer be the hottest thing out there. history proves again and again attempting to be futureproof is a wishful thinking at best. With each card costing well under $100, what do you have to lose? I guess your plan makes sense only if you are building a rig that you won't be using to play games for right now. The fact is 4830 CF is of better value AND faster than a 4870 for current games as we speak. you may care about your image, but I care more about how my video cards perform in games.

Futureproof isn't something that always work with the computer world, but look at this, a single HD 3870 priced currently at less than $100 will be a nice way to improve performance of people that bought it some time ago and waited until now to buy another and do Crossfire, at the end, the HD 48701GB will be cheap and will be a nice option for Crossfire, but probably will happen the same situation as today, fot the same money he can get a faster card, there's always a catch.

 

[bigsnyder]

It would have been nice to see some current HD4850 single and crossfire results thrown in the mix.