Cards:
4870 Vapor-X 2GB
4890 OC Edition 1GB .. The specs are wrong in the Specs tab, and right in the subtitle, I believe: 1000 (incorrect) vs 901 (correct)
As noted in the title, I'm looking at these for CrossFire. (So maybe 2 x 4890 pull way ahead in CF, as compared to only 12% better in single mode? This is one thing I'm not sure of)
OK, so before I make a huge assumption, I believe the 4890 is nothing but an OC'ed 4870 with a few extremely minor tweaks. Please correct me if I'm wrong or missing something vital.
Thoughts on 4870 Vapor-X:
- 8-9% cheaper
- 4870 seems to perform no more than 12% (on average) worse at my resolution than the 4890
- 2x the video RAM is a HUGE bonus... (will elaborate below)
- Cooling system seems promising, as in same temps at lower fan speeds. I hear 4800's sound really loud at 50% fan speed.
- Potentially more cooling at 100% fan speed = higher OC?
- OC from at least one website shows near-stock 4890 speeds (822/1086)
Thoughts on 4890:
- Newer = better
- More expensive
- But only 12% better on average (at stock, not sure about 901MHz)
- Improvements made seem to cause less heat under idle/load, and less wattage under idle from the charts I've looked at (puts 4890 as cooler/less power than 4870)
- Already OC'ed to 901MHz ... Not much room for improvement?
- STOCK cooler... bad thing?
Reasoning for 2GB:
It seems from all the benches I've been looking at, that 2GB at only 1920x1200 (my current resolution, though I may upgrade within the life of the card) can greatly improve minimum FPS due to the video RAM normally becoming full and stuttering in 1GB cards.
Also, GTA IV. I'm interested in playing this game and I've heard it can be a nightmare for 1GB cards.
Also, Oblivion. I've recently reinstalled it on my friend's computer (280 GTX, Q9450) and we've modded the heck out of it. Installing QTP3 (entire-game texture replacement) and RAEVWD (makes more distant objects visible at all times) alone puts VRAM usage at ~750, when you include higher draw distances and maxed settings. Not only that, but the in-game VRAM reporting knows nothing of the overhead the GTX 280 needs to do MSAA, HDR, and AF. So the stuttering is a HUGE problem. I also use Better Cities, which makes the cities probably 10x more complex (and stunningly beautiful, I might add.) I got only 11 FPS when standing in the IC Market District entrance, but I turned the 16xQ CSAA down to 4x MSAA because it wasn't worth it and I got 2x the FPS. But that's not good enough! And the stuttering is just unbelievable (not the typical Oblivion stutter when moving between cells) just when trying to turn back around in the other direction, for instance. All these stuttering problems are bothersome considering I've installed "Streamline" which is an intelligent purging/caching and FPS smoothing (it adjusts graphics settings on the fly) mod for Oblivion.
I also figure that having 2x the RAM may just *slightly* 'futureproof' my future system more than going with 4890CF, because I will be able to reach nearly 4890 speeds on this 4870, while having 2x the video RAM. And that should hopefully support more intensive games in 2010 and 2011?
I'm trying to find more complete info on the vapor cooling of the 4870, and direct comparisons between 4870CF 2GB and 4890CF 1GB. I'd really like to see more complete info about temps and idle/load wattage, and NOISE especially. So if there any reviews/benches I'm missing I'd like to know about them.
Thanks for any advice, and if I'm dead wrong about something please let me know. And again, if there are any specific comparisons about noise/heat/power between the two in single and CF please do share.
Thanks!
.......
GOSH... Came to the realization that EVGA also has a GTX 285 2GB. Now I have to look up benches for that compared to 4890/4870 in CF.
So what about a GTX 285 2GB then? I do prefer single cards, and it gives me the option to add another 285 2GB in a year when they are going for much cheaper.
4870 Vapor-X 2GB
4890 OC Edition 1GB .. The specs are wrong in the Specs tab, and right in the subtitle, I believe: 1000 (incorrect) vs 901 (correct)
As noted in the title, I'm looking at these for CrossFire. (So maybe 2 x 4890 pull way ahead in CF, as compared to only 12% better in single mode? This is one thing I'm not sure of)
OK, so before I make a huge assumption, I believe the 4890 is nothing but an OC'ed 4870 with a few extremely minor tweaks. Please correct me if I'm wrong or missing something vital.
Thoughts on 4870 Vapor-X:
- 8-9% cheaper
- 4870 seems to perform no more than 12% (on average) worse at my resolution than the 4890
- 2x the video RAM is a HUGE bonus... (will elaborate below)
- Cooling system seems promising, as in same temps at lower fan speeds. I hear 4800's sound really loud at 50% fan speed.
- Potentially more cooling at 100% fan speed = higher OC?
- OC from at least one website shows near-stock 4890 speeds (822/1086)
Thoughts on 4890:
- Newer = better
- More expensive
- But only 12% better on average (at stock, not sure about 901MHz)
- Improvements made seem to cause less heat under idle/load, and less wattage under idle from the charts I've looked at (puts 4890 as cooler/less power than 4870)
- Already OC'ed to 901MHz ... Not much room for improvement?
- STOCK cooler... bad thing?
Reasoning for 2GB:
It seems from all the benches I've been looking at, that 2GB at only 1920x1200 (my current resolution, though I may upgrade within the life of the card) can greatly improve minimum FPS due to the video RAM normally becoming full and stuttering in 1GB cards.
Also, GTA IV. I'm interested in playing this game and I've heard it can be a nightmare for 1GB cards.
Also, Oblivion. I've recently reinstalled it on my friend's computer (280 GTX, Q9450) and we've modded the heck out of it. Installing QTP3 (entire-game texture replacement) and RAEVWD (makes more distant objects visible at all times) alone puts VRAM usage at ~750, when you include higher draw distances and maxed settings. Not only that, but the in-game VRAM reporting knows nothing of the overhead the GTX 280 needs to do MSAA, HDR, and AF. So the stuttering is a HUGE problem. I also use Better Cities, which makes the cities probably 10x more complex (and stunningly beautiful, I might add.) I got only 11 FPS when standing in the IC Market District entrance, but I turned the 16xQ CSAA down to 4x MSAA because it wasn't worth it and I got 2x the FPS. But that's not good enough! And the stuttering is just unbelievable (not the typical Oblivion stutter when moving between cells) just when trying to turn back around in the other direction, for instance. All these stuttering problems are bothersome considering I've installed "Streamline" which is an intelligent purging/caching and FPS smoothing (it adjusts graphics settings on the fly) mod for Oblivion.
I also figure that having 2x the RAM may just *slightly* 'futureproof' my future system more than going with 4890CF, because I will be able to reach nearly 4890 speeds on this 4870, while having 2x the video RAM. And that should hopefully support more intensive games in 2010 and 2011?
I'm trying to find more complete info on the vapor cooling of the 4870, and direct comparisons between 4870CF 2GB and 4890CF 1GB. I'd really like to see more complete info about temps and idle/load wattage, and NOISE especially. So if there any reviews/benches I'm missing I'd like to know about them.
Thanks for any advice, and if I'm dead wrong about something please let me know. And again, if there are any specific comparisons about noise/heat/power between the two in single and CF please do share.
Thanks!
.......
GOSH... Came to the realization that EVGA also has a GTX 285 2GB. Now I have to look up benches for that compared to 4890/4870 in CF.
So what about a GTX 285 2GB then? I do prefer single cards, and it gives me the option to add another 285 2GB in a year when they are going for much cheaper.