Crossfire 2 4890 or 4870X2?

[dark0anima]

I'm planning to upgrade from a HD3850 512mb. Currently my mobo has 1 pciexpress 16x and 1 pci express 8x with a 500watt psu. What would be my best option for an upgrade? I'm planning to play at 1920x1080 res.

 

[SunnyD]

2x cards crossfired will almost always give you better performance than a single X2 card for some reason. Just the way it is.

 

[happy medium]

Crossfired 5770's is a great price performance combo if your looking for a crossfire setup.

Currently at Newegg you can get 2 of these cards for 308$ shipped.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161317

More importantly they will run on a good 500watt power supply.
2 4890's or a 4870x2 will not.

What king of power supply do you have?
Look in your case and tell us what it says on the chart on the power supply under 12v+. How many amps? does it have 12v 1 and 12v 2? If so what do they both say?

This is important to help you choose the right card or cards for your setup.

Edit : and welcome to Anantech forums.

 

[zerocool84]

It doesn't really seem like you can get any 4870x2's from any decent retailer online anywhere unless you go the used route and the prices seem insane. The cheapest I'm seeing anywhere is in the $550 range. 4890's are in the $200 range each and sometimes lower so I'd probably go that route.

 

[KIAman]

2x cards crossfired will almost always give you better performance than a single X2 card for some reason. Just the way it is.

Typically because the X2 card is slightly detuned for heat reasons.

500Watt psu... not gonna help any configuration much.

You might consider a single HD5850.

 

[happy medium]

Typically because the X2 card is slightly detuned for heat reasons.

500Watt psu... not gonna help any configuration much.

You might consider a single HD5850.

I thought a 5850 would be a good choice ,but looking at the performance he wants (5870 +), I figured for the same price as the 5850 he could use 2 5770's and get more performance. 2 -5770's will match a 5870 and they overclock great also.

 

[lavaheadache]

Typically because the X2 card is slightly detuned for heat reasons.

500Watt psu... not gonna help any configuration much.

You might consider a single HD5850.

a 4870x2 is not detuned at all an is exactly double the spec of a 4870

 

[Rifter]

2 4890 will give better performance than a 4870X2 or 2 5770's so if you are looking for best performance go that route. Just make sure to get a huge PSU, my single 4890 would not run stable on my old 550w.

 

[blanketyblank]

I second the 2x5770. The performance difference between the 5770s and 4890s crossfired is negligible since the 5770s scale better. However the power usage difference is not so you may be able to use your old PSU. ATI recommends 450W PSU for a single 5770 and 500W for 4890. You'll also have much fewer problems with heat with the 5770s and DX11 capability in the future.

I haven't seen a single benchmark comparing both of these, but you can get a general idea about the difference between 2x5770 vs 2x4890 by comparing these 2 reviews.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ATI/HD_4890_CrossFire/6.html
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5770-review-test/18

not perfect though since it seems one review likes to use x4 AA and the other x8, and the review was done before 9.12 drivers which were supposed to improve 5xxx CF performance.

 

[deimos3428]

I'm planning to upgrade from a HD3850 512mb. Currently my mobo has 1 pciexpress 16x and 1 pci express 8x with a 500watt psu. What would be my best option for an upgrade? I'm planning to play at 1920x1080 res.

You're starting from a 3850, so I'd skip the 48** series altogether. Get a single 5*** series card, whatever fits into your budget. If you need still more performance, get another later on and crossfire them.

 

[Arkaign]

Another vote for skipping the 4xxx series. They were great cards, but for buyers now, 57x0 or higher is the way to go for 1920x1080. 5770 crossfire is awesome, and another option might be to look for a single 5850.

 

[TemjinGold]

2 4890 will give better performance than a 4870X2 or 2 5770's so if you are looking for best performance go that route. Just make sure to get a huge PSU, my single 4890 would not run stable on my old 550w.

Your old PSU must have had some serious issues then.

 

[zerocool84]

2 4890 will give better performance than a 4870X2 or 2 5770's so if you are looking for best performance go that route. Just make sure to get a huge PSU, my single 4890 would not run stable on my old 550w.

Your old PSU must have had some serious issues then.

Yea seriously that must have been a really crappy psu.

 

[dark0anima]

thanks for the input guys i've decided to go get 2 5770s after upgrading my psu

 

[Rifter]

Yea seriously that must have been a really crappy psu.

It Was the Arctic Cooling 550RF, has ben running fine on my server for months just doesnt seem able to put out its rated power. It is really quiet though quiestest PSU i have ever used.

 

[nitromullet]

thanks for the input guys i've decided to go get 2 5770s after upgrading my psu

That will be an insane upgrade from a singe 3850. What does the rest of your system look like (cpu, mobo, RAM, etc)?

 

[Arkaign]

That will be an insane upgrade from a singe 3850. What does the rest of your system look like (cpu, mobo, RAM, etc)?

If he built the 3850 system when that was a high-end option, I'd imagine he's got a E6xxx or Q6xxx series Intel, which should be great, particularly if it's overclocked to the ~3ghz+ range. If it's an Athlon X2 (not Athlon II), then he might consider an upgrade at this point.