Hailscott

Quad core vs Single core, No compairison...

__________________

Rucka315

4850 crossfire

ericeod

Did you read what I posted? Looking at his hardware, it is obvious he is holding out for a Phenom II.

Dont look at the CPU score. And please post something to help the OP make an informed decision.

Here are some comparisons of a 3870x2 compared to a single 4850:

MSI R4850 Radeon HD 4850 512 MB

__________________
eVGA 680i Overclocking guide .......... ASUS P5E/Maximus Thread.......... 4.4GHz CPU-Z

Cod2player

Benchmarks aren't really comparable to real life performance. I used to get 19k @ 3.7ghz with my quad and 2x 3870's. Now I only get like 16.5k or around that with a 48701GB. But I still get improvements on performance in practically every game especially games like Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3 and Crysis. That said a 3870 might still be the better option. I just wanted to point out that a benchmark isn't the right reason to upgrade.

__________________

ericeod

I agree, benchmarks are not the end all, but it was at least something to add as a form of evidence. Others will post only an opinion, which can be faulty sometimes and offer no evidence towards the truth. So I dug up some comparisons to show the op first hand (see previous post). The results are part of the reason I haven't upgraded my 3870s.

__________________
eVGA 680i Overclocking guide .......... ASUS P5E/Maximus Thread.......... 4.4GHz CPU-Z

hout17

Go for the 3870 CF they are great cards for the cash. Here's a 3dmark06 run with my e8400 and a 3870x2. The 8.12 drivers greatly increased the crossfire efficiency in games at least it did for me.

__________________

E8400 E0 4.4ghz 8 hours Prime Stable!

Cod2player

Okay If I still had my 2nd 3870 on hand I'd do a direct comparison to a downclocked 4870 but unfortunately I've already sold one 3870.

__________________

CyberBoy

I dont tell people what to get
Its your choice though. I would personaly Give the 3870 in Xfire a shot!

My reason of course if you have never done Crossfire then this will let you know how it works instead of tweeking it in the future with more expensive card. I say go with your heart on this. The 3870 in Xfire or Tri fire is a good setup for sure.

So IMO give Xfire a shot!

SnickieX

Looks like I'm going Crossfire. Dual 3870's aren't that much lower than the GTX 280, but yet, getting another 3870 would be far, far, far cheaper than the 280.

I'd upgrade the CPU first, but, ah, yeah, new bank account=90-some odd dollars in overdraft fees. So I'm looking for the cheapest upgrade right now, I'll worry about getting a new CPU in 2 weeks.

P.S. Random-ness at 2:30 AM...Overdraft=bad.

__________________
Most Important: I support Gay Marriage

"No wind can blow my faith away, no fear to drown, I'm merging oceans." - Merging Oceans by Rotersand

AMD LE-1640 Validated AMD LE-1640 Before I took it out Phenom 9950BE Validated Core 2 Duo Validated

ericeod

Now that you mention the 280 GTX, I'll point out that a pair of Ati 4830s in crossfire can give the 280 GTX a run for its money, and right now you can get them for $99 each at newegg.

__________________
eVGA 680i Overclocking guide .......... ASUS P5E/Maximus Thread.......... 4.4GHz CPU-Z