ATI HD4870, PowerColor HD4870 PCS+ or ATI HD4890

[Captain Zero]

The HD4870 is an exceptionally fast card. The biggest difference between that and the 4890 is the price. Get a 4870 for now, add another later. I run QuadFire and it's ridiculous overkill. I'd only run two HD4870's if I was doing another build.

 

[samstar1412]

The HD4870 is an exceptionally fast card. The biggest difference between that and the 4890 is the price. Get a 4870 for now, add another later. I run QuadFire and it's ridiculous overkill. I'd only run two HD4870's if I was doing another build.

Well i was looking at the 1gb 4890 because its in between the 1gb 4870 and the 2gb 4870x2. I can get a 1gb 4870 for $230au, a 1gb 4890 for $340au or a 2gb 4870x2 for $450au. I was originally going to get a 4870x2 but i'll just have to wait and see what kinda money i can round up in the next couple of months

EDIT: If i got a corsair hx850 PSU would it run 2 hd4890's in crossfire? probably a stupid question but i thought i would ask it. Or maybe 2 4870's? depends what i end up getting

 

[smarteyeball]

Any quality 850W should handle both 4870/4890 crossfire fine. If push comes to shove, a single 4870 should keep you going for quite a while. You can save up and then grab a 4870x2 for some tri-fire

I just went to my local MSY to pick up two XFX 4890's. They didn't have any. In fact they stopped stocking XFX altogether. The only 4890 they had was a single powercolor and that was reserved

Now I have to order online, pay an extra $100 all up and fess up to my girlfriend I'm doing it (I need her credit card since I flatly refuse to have one )

*sigh*, Bloody upgrade bug

 

[samstar1412]

Sounds like you have a plan there "tri-fire" i like the sound of that . That sucks they didnt have the XFX 4890, that looks like one beast of a card. You have basically the entire PC i want going by your system specs, P5Q-PRO, Q9550, HX1000 haha oh well.

 

[Captain Zero]

samstar, I would not run 2x HD4870X2's on 850w. You need 1KW to be safe. 850w will be sufficient for CrossFire, not QuadFire.

 

[smarteyeball]

Sounds like you have a plan there "tri-fire" i like the sound of that . That sucks they didnt have the XFX 4890, that looks like one beast of a card. You have basically the entire PC i want going by your system specs, P5Q-PRO, Q9550, HX1000 haha oh well.

lol They were only the stock XFX and not the Black Edition, but I can overclock them my self if needed.

samstar, I would not run 2x HD4870X2's on 850w. You need 1KW to be safe. 850w will be sufficient for CrossFire, not QuadFire.

Whoops. You're right mate. I got carried away there
For tri-fire of one single 4870 + one 4870x2 you would need a 1KW+ for headroom like CZ said. Sorry about that

 

[samstar1412]

samstar, I would not run 2x HD4870X2's on 850w. You need 1KW to be safe. 850w will be sufficient for CrossFire, not QuadFire.

Ok then lucky i asked here, im still not making any definite decisions yet so its all good.

lol They were only the stock XFX and not the Black Edition, but I can overclock them my self if needed.



Whoops. You're right mate. I got carried away there
For tri-fire of one single 4870 + one 4870x2 you would need a 1KW+ for headroom like CZ said. Sorry about that

Haha its ok i still like the sounds of "tri-fire" and "quad-fire" its just got a certain ring to it

 

[smarteyeball]

Haha its ok i still like the sounds of "tri-fire" and "quad-fire" its just got a certain ring to it

lol, It does doesn't it

 

[Pinoy55]

The HD4870 is an exceptionally fast card. The biggest difference between that and the 4890 is the price. Get a 4870 for now, add another later. I run QuadFire and it's ridiculous overkill. I'd only run two HD4870's if I was doing another build.

+1 on this one. I am currently running Palit Sonic Dual Edition xfire

 

[misterck]

dont move too fast if your building upto 6 months.

amd are releasing a new line of direct x11 cards in line with the release of windows 7,if theyre too expensive im sure the older cards will take a good price drop.

"With Microsoft Windows 7 set to be released in October 2009, rumors are flying rampant in the video card industry as DirectX 11 graphics card will also be launching at the same time. As many of our readers are already aware AMD has already been pushing DirectX 11 as the next be step for graphics. Those who read Legit Reviews will remember AMD started promoting DirectX 11 all the way back to August 2008 when they discussed plans to add full support for DirectX 11 in their Stream Software Development Kit (SDK). More recently on June 2nd, 2009, AMD actually demonstrated tessellation on the worlds first DirectX 11 graphics processor! AMD says they are on track to launching their 'Evergreen' series of DirectX 11 cards around the time Microsoft Windows 7 launches, which makes sense due to all the marketing hype they are trying to build." ~legitreviews.com

 

[MorbidGod]

dont move too fast if your building upto 6 months.

amd are releasing a new line of direct x11 cards in line with the release of windows 7,if theyre too expensive im sure the older cards will take a good price drop.

I was about to state that. Dont get too carried away with the Dx10 cards, in a near future we will be getting Dx11 cards, and you can still buy those 4879/4890´s X2 or not for almost half price when that time comes.

 

[samstar1412]

I was about to state that. Dont get too carried away with the Dx10 cards, in a near future we will be getting Dx11 cards, and you can still buy those 4879/4890´s X2 or not for almost half price when that time comes.

Im not buying anything yet just planning, i won't be buying anything until around december. The 4870/4890 are DX10.1 i read somewhere that they will support DX11 anyway?

 

[smarteyeball]

DX11 is backwards compatible with DX10.1 cards, however DX10.1 cards will not support DX11 only features.

Realistically though, it will be a couple of years before DX11 support in games will be commonplace.

But considering the time frame you're looking at purchasing, the prices of dx10.1 cards will be much better for then you than they were for me now

 

[samstar1412]

DX11 is backwards compatible with DX10.1 cards, however DX10.1 cards will not support DX11 only features.

Realistically though, it will be a couple of years before DX11 support in games will be commonplace.

But considering the time frame you're looking at purchasing, the prices of dx10.1 cards will be much better for then you than they were for me now

oh ok now i get it, thanks for even more info. It seems i learn something new everyday around here its nice to have such a great community of people to talk to. It looks like i'll be buying at just the right time then, just as all the new cards come out

 

[smarteyeball]

There's plenty of knowledgeable users on this forum, so it would be hard not to pick something up and the majority are always happy to help

 

[Corei7Extreme]

You really should consider the 4890. It's a more refined variant of the 4870 and in all the benchmarks and reviews I read the 4890 comes out on top VS the 4870.

 

[MorbidGod]

You really should consider the 4890. It's a more refined variant of the 4870 and in all the benchmarks and reviews I read the 4890 comes out on top VS the 4870.

I think that too. Like i said previously, theres lots of non-aparent differences.

 

[DJG]

dont move too fast if your building upto 6 months.

amd are releasing a new line of direct x11 cards in line with the release of windows 7,if theyre too expensive im sure the older cards will take a good price drop.

+1

It's way too early to plan now if your target shopping is for Dec - whole new platforms could be out by then .

 

[samstar1412]

+1

It's way too early to plan now if your target shopping is for Dec - whole new platforms could be out by then .

Yeah i know it is way to early to plan, i just really want this build to start already but i don't have the money right now. Put it this way: im exploring my options. Also what is so special about physx in nvidia cards that make em so expensive? i dont even know any games that use it.

 

[smarteyeball]

Physx is in use in quite a few games to varying degrees of implementation. It's a nice feature to have, looks good in those games that support it, (especially mirors edge and cryostasis) but there are no current "must have" titles that need it.