ATI HD ???? card...

[faun]

Hey ho chaps, I've decided its time to move on from my X1950's and get a new ATI card. I've read around on whats available and their reviews, but i can't make my mind up - do i go for the best value for money - 4850? Or do I go 1 higher - 4870? Or even the 4870 x2. OR, since i DO have a crossfire specific mobo, 2 cards is possible...(and before it gets pointed out, yes, my ram will be getting an upgrade before any of this happens. As will my processor....maybe. I do love the Phenom 2 Black.) Anyways, any thoughts from you chaps would be much appreciated!

 

[BetaMan]

I don't know, I was reading a review that said the 4870 was better than the GTX 260, so you might go there. Also, the 4850 is about the equivalent to the GeForce 8800, and that's not very bad. It depends, what do you want to do? 3D CAD? Gaming? If so, what games?

 

[Thrax]

I think the HD 4850 or CrossFire 4770s is a good deal, provided you have a sufficiently large screen to make use of the latter (21"+).

 

[Kougar]

Since you are running Crossfire it looks safe to assume you have a PCIe motherboard... some x1950's were AGP so that's good to know.

I think the HD 4850 or CrossFire 4770s is a good deal, provided you have a sufficiently large screen to make use of the latter (21"+).

The 4870 you mean? I would agree, the 4850/4870 is probably a good upgrade option right now.

 

[faun]

I don't know, I was reading a review that said the 4870 was better than the GTX 260, so you might go there. Also, the 4850 is about the equivalent to the GeForce 8800, and that's not very bad. It depends, what do you want to do? 3D CAD? Gaming? If so, what games?

Predominantly gaming/work. Work being illustration/animation so basically, Gaming requirements again. My whole set up is geared towards AMD/ATI hardware so Intel/Nvidia is a no no.

And as for what titles, im waiting for Modern Warfare 2, currently playing TF2, L4D, and Prototype (my god is prototype fun).

 

[faun]

I think the HD 4850 or CrossFire 4770s is a good deal, provided you have a sufficiently large screen to make use of the latter (21"+).

Im on a 20" wide right now, am gunna get a 22" wide when i get a PS3.






My god, im going on a technology spending spree this summer. And in the wake of a global recession lol.

 

[Thrax]

Since you are running Crossfire it looks safe to assume you have a PCIe motherboard... some x1950's were AGP so that's good to know.



The 4870 you mean? I would agree, the 4850/4870 is probably a good upgrade option right now.

No, I mean 4770. 2x 4770 is faster than a 4870 for less money, and because of the fill rate limitations on these cards, performance scales very well even on small displays.

 

[faun]

Since you are running Crossfire it looks safe to assume you have a PCIe motherboard... some x1950's were AGP so that's good to know.



The 4870 you mean? I would agree, the 4850/4870 is probably a good upgrade option right now.

Whoops sorry i missed that first bit - yes, I'm using an Abit AX78.

 

[faun]

No, I mean 4770. 2x 4770 is faster than a 4870 for less money, and because of the fill rate limitations on these cards, performance scales very well even on small displays.

The HD 4770 has a memory bandwidth limitation to 128mb, which means hi res = no no.
Even crossfired i don't reckon it would keep up, especially with better cards dropping in price...sortof. Once the 4890 comes out I'd expect everything to drop rather nicely...

 

[Thrax]

The HD 4770 has a memory bandwidth limitation to 128mb, which means hi res = no no.
Even crossfired i don't reckon it would keep up, especially with better cards dropping in price...sortof. Once the 4890 comes out I'd expect everything to drop rather nicely...

Actually, high res = yes. I don't make suggestions without knowing they are educated:

http://en.expreview.com/2009/04/28/first-look-at-radeon-hd-4770-crossfire-benchmark.html/4
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/966/3/
http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/f22/ati-hd-4770-crossfire-vs-hd-4890-four-games-compared-63320/

And so on. The Crossfire 4770s have the best price/performance ratio of any current GPU subsystem.

The 4890 is also already available at retail, and has been for several weeks.

 

[faun]

Actually, high res = yes. I don't make suggestions without knowing they are educated:

http://en.expreview.com/2009/04/28/first-look-at-radeon-hd-4770-crossfire-benchmark.html/4
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/966/3/
http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/f22/ati-hd-4770-crossfire-vs-hd-4890-four-games-compared-63320/

And so on. The Crossfire 4770s have the best price/performance ratio of any current GPU subsystem.

The 4890 is also already available at retail, and has been for several weeks.

OOOH goddamn. Nicely sourced Thrax! I dont profess to know everything, so I'm not ashamed to say "how on earth does the 4770 X2 do that well?!"

Apparently i read a review on the 128mb version as opposed to the 512.

My question now is, does w7 support crossfire?? I remember reading an article on how microsoft are saying a big fat NO to it...

P.S Thanks to all who reply

 

[clifford_cooley]

My question now is, does w7 support crossfire?? I remember reading an article on how microsoft are saying a big fat NO to it...

Supporting crossfire is not upto Windows 7 to support. If you have the proper hardware and video drivers then Windows will support crossfire.

 

[Thrax]

Clifford is absolutely right. Windows 7 handles SLI and CrossFire swimmingly; in fact, WDDM v1.1 makes the whole thing even more fluid.

 

[faun]

@Clifford & Thrax: (I mentioned this in a different thread) My 1950s currently aren't in crossfire mode, and I cant install any drivers other than whats already installed, the default WDDM versions. Uninstalling them via device manager turns off my screen instantly so that wont work, and everything from vista drivers to w7 ones wont install over the default. Im thinking its because 1950s are "too old" since the list of w7 drivers available are for the HD series of cards?

 

[Thrax]

Yes, I don't believe the 1900 cards are on the support list for ATI's newest GPU drivers. I believe support starts at the 2900-series, but I would have to double check the release notes for Cat v9.3+.

 

[clifford_cooley]

So the problem falls on ATI's support not Windows 7 - Thrax are there any clues as to why the 1900 was not included?

 

[Thrax]

In GPU years, it's very old.

 

[faun]

Bottom line - HD 4770 Crossfire seems the best bet. Oh how I hate the speed in which advancements are made. How much do you guys think I can get for my X1950's?

 

[clifford_cooley]

This should give you a hint - http://www0.shopping.com/xFS?KW=radeon+x1950+pro

 

[faun]

This should give you a hint - http://www0.shopping.com/xFS?KW=radeon+x1950+pro

Apparently my card isn't even available now haha.

Thanks for all the help guys, now to find the cheapest HiS Cards I can find