help with crossfire HD4850 + HD4870 - Overclock.net

this n00b again · 06-11-09

So i've been out of touch with the video card side since i first picked up the HD4850 before it came out. BUT i did just acquire a 4870.

I did some poking around and found that you could now crossfire two different cards. So i was wondering:

1) would it be better to crossfire the HD4850 with the HD4870 or would it be better to just run the HD4870 alone?

2) about how much power (amps / wattage) would you need to run that crossfire setup?

3) What is required for crossfire setup? I would assume I would need to get a new board. I'm still on the P6N-SLI, which is the Nvidia 650 chipset. I doubt you could run crossfire with nvidia chipset, can you?

4) If i need a new board, what do you recommend? I don't want to upgrade to the I7 now, it's not cost effective. Lets keep in mind i would like the board to have raid features.

I found some benchmarks of the two hybrid crossfirex setup here: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...-review-9.html

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

rico2001 · 06-11-09

1) would it be better to crossfire the HD4850 with the HD4870 or would it be better to just run the HD4870 alone? It would be better to run in CF; you would be 30% faster than the single 4870. For your case since you have a 4850, I would put $40 more to the pot and get a 4850 X2 and go tri-fire (if you plan to stick with the 4850’s).

2) about how much power (amps / wattage) would you need to run that crossfire setup?
A 4850+4870 in CF would use ~120W idle/~250W load.

3) What is required for crossfire setup? I would assume I would need to get a new board. I'm still on the P6N-SLI, which is the Nvidia 650 chipset. I doubt you could run crossfire with nvidia chipset, can you?
You do need a CF compatable mobo and yes, I think you are correct, I don’t believe there are any nvidia chipset ati CF compatable mobos. You will also need a CF bridge (ribbon), which comes with most all CF capable video cards.

4) If i need a new board, what do you recommend? I don't want to upgrade to the I7 now, it's not cost effective. Lets keep in mind i would like the board to have raid features. Right now I like the Asus or Gigabyte P45 (intel chipsets) mobos. They seem to be the best overclockers at the moment. I’m not too sold on the I7’s yet, so if I were you, I’d stick to a nice intel dual core E8xxx if you going for high game fps or intel quad core Q9xxx if you are looking for high 3dmark scores.

jigglylizard · 06-11-09

I've heard that (and read reviews) that going tri-fire and quad-fire gives diminishing returns. I think you'd be better off with crossfire myself, but rico seems to have a lot of experience with multi-gpu (see his sig lol)

this n00b again · 06-11-09

hmmm interesting.

well i mean i have a 4850 now. where could i acquire a 4850 x2 for $40 more?

right now my current setup is in my sig. and just realized if i was going to use crossfire i'd need to get w new mobo + psu. hmmm starting to get pricey. I don't see any good deals on good mobo's right now.

Well if possible i'd like to keep with the Q6600 that i have now.

unless you think it'd be more cost effective to go with an AMD setup?

rico2001 · 06-11-09

You may be in luck my friend. I have (2) 4850 X2's and I'm getting ready to sell one of them on here or ebay.

soth7676 · 06-11-09

Until you get the new mobo... Replacing your 4850 with your 4870 would be a good idea... you would see in a increase immediately from your single 4850.

The i7 versus core2 dilemna... *shrugs*...that would be upto your tastses and budget ... Seeing you already have a Q6600 on your currently rig it would not hurt to get a board that supports crossfire and supports 775 sockets. But if your heart is set on the i7 and your budget allows it, might as well bite the bullet and do that...

If you are going to get a board that only has two PCI-E slots... getting the 4850X2 would give you the biggest boost perfomance wise...

this n00b again · 06-11-09

hmm i guess the question now is can my psu support the 4870?

it's has i think 33A on the 12v rail.

i googled it and wow, i found it for 9 dollars. http://enermaxusastore.com/enermax-eg465pve-465.html

that's like 84% off of what i paid years ago. may be it's time for a new psu...

Contagion · 06-11-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by this n00b again

hmm i guess the question now is can my psu support the 4870?

it's has i think 33A on the 12v rail.

i googled it and wow, i found it for 9 dollars. http://enermaxusastore.com/enermax-eg465pve-465.html

that's like 84% off of what i paid years ago. may be it's time for a new psu...

i highly doubt it. HIGHLY DOUBT IT. i would upgrade PSU to a 550vx for $70 at least.

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help with crossfire HD4850 + HD4870

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