4850 xfire or GTX280 for 30" LCD

layte · 18 Aug 2008 at 14:33

I currently have a 4850 xfire setup which is now having a few issues running on my new 30" display. I am guessing due to stuff hitting the 512MB memory limit.

I have been pondering swapping them out for a GTX280, I know at lower resolutions my xfire setup will probably win out, but what about at 2560x1600? Will the extra video RAM make a difference? Also all the CUDA and PhysX stuff is interesting. Plus I play a lot of FFXI which has a really old engine, absolutely no xfire support and it seems to like pure pixel throughput over anything else.

What do you all think?

Thanks in advance for any advice, and boo hiss at any fanboy comments!

gurusan · 18 Aug 2008 at 14:35

I would go for either the 4870x2 or a GTX 280

TheCenturion · 18 Aug 2008 at 14:48

gtx 280

Xtrema · 18 Aug 2008 at 14:58

gurusan said:
I would go for either the 4870x2 or a GTX 280

+1
You may be rather underwhelmed by the PhysX stuff though. The PhysX demos are nothing to rave over.

TheGamingGeneral · 18 Aug 2008 at 14:59

gurusan said:
I would go for either the 4870x2 or a GTX 280

TheCenturion · 18 Aug 2008 at 15:02

whichever you choose, there will be a big difference from a 4850xfire

layte · 18 Aug 2008 at 15:03

Xtrema said:
+1
You may be rather underwhelmed by the PhysX stuff though. The PhysX demos are nothing to rave over.

Yea, I kinda guessed that. But it does give promise of more to come.

So unless the x2 suddenly loses a ton from the price I reckon team green is the one for me.

gurusan · 18 Aug 2008 at 15:04

Yup you won't be disappointed with the 280...however you might want to just hang in there a bit longer until the 55nm models are released.

TheCenturion · 18 Aug 2008 at 15:07

gurusan said:
Yup you won't be disappointed with the 280...however you might want to just hang in there a bit longer until the 55nm models are released.

what he said

pieman109 · 18 Aug 2008 at 16:01

I've got a pair of 4850s in Xfire and rather than just jumping in with a 4870X2, I'm waiting for the new nvidia offering and see how it performs on a 24" screen.

Leezy · 18 Aug 2008 at 17:06

gurusan said:
I would go for either the 4870x2 or a GTX 280

layte · 18 Aug 2008 at 17:22

gurusan said:
I would go for either the 4870x2 or a GTX 280

Goods Shipped:
�319.99 x 1 - HIS ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB GDDR5 TV-OutDual DVIHDMI (PCI-Express) - Retail

Whoever said patience is a virtue was wrong.

gurusan · 18 Aug 2008 at 17:28

well done lol

J.D · 19 Aug 2008 at 10:31

layte said:
Whoever said patience is a virtue was wrong.

Enjoy your new card when it comes.

Agent WD40 · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:44

Let me know how it performs for you dude. I am currently in the same situation and wondering if I need to get a bit more "umph" from a gfx card.

Ta,

Agent

J.D · 19 Aug 2008 at 12:49

Agent WD40 said:
Let me know how it performs for you dude. I am currently in the same situation and wondering if I need to get a bit more "umph" from a gfx card.

Ta,

Agent

If you're at 2560x1600 then I'd recommend the X2 4870. If you are at 1920x1200 and could live with 4-8xAA (maybe more) then the GTX 280 would be the better buy due to price.

Agent WD40 · 19 Aug 2008 at 13:00

J.D said:
If you're at 2560x1600 then I'd recommend the X2 4870. If you are at 1920x1200 and could live with 4-8xAA (maybe more) then the GTX 280 would be the better buy due to price.

hhmm.. Good advice.

I do enjoy my 2560 x 1600 gaming and this is really going to be the last time I get to upgrade my PC for another 2 years (becoming a student for that time and cash-in will be at an all time low and therefore no cash-flow).

Ideas on the price of the X2 4870 dropping in price / competition?

Agent

J.D · 19 Aug 2008 at 14:59

Agent WD40 said:
hhmm.. Good advice.

I do enjoy my 2560 x 1600 gaming and this is really going to be the last time I get to upgrade my PC for another 2 years (becoming a student for that time and cash-in will be at an all time low and therefore no cash-flow).

Ideas on the price of the X2 4870 dropping in price / competition?

Agent

If you can hang on for now then I'd wait to see how well the GTX 280+ performs and if it will bring about the reduction of the X2 4870 that we're all hoping for. ATI dropped the GTX 280 from £430 (roughly) to today's £250 so it would be nice if Nvidia could manage to do the same with ATI. Even if the GTX 280+ is faster than the GTX 280 I can't see it closing the gap too much but I feel with it creeping closer to the X2 4870 that ATI (AMD) will see fit to reduce pricing to keep the X2 4870 look tempting.

So I'm hoping for price drops when the GTX 280+ is launched and that is only hope

.

If you are going to be using this PC for two years with little cash to upgrade in this time then I think you should get the best of the best. Especially @ 2560x1600. So my advice would be to wait, see what the GTX 280+ does to the X2 4870 pricing and pick this card up then. From gaming benchmarks I have see it simply is the best card at 2560x1600.

Agent WD40 · 19 Aug 2008 at 15:31

Again, sound advice from the OcUK forumers..!

Any idea as to the launch date for the GTX 280+?

ta muchly,

Agent.

layte · 19 Aug 2008 at 19:21

Well the x2 is installed.

I cannot see the Crossfire tab in the CCC, is this correct for a x2 card? (I guess it makes sense, but I would like confirmation)