Radeon 4000 series in Crossfire or a single 5000 series

[GObonzo]

trying to look into which is a better setup performance/price in mind. 2 1gb 4890s or a single 1gb 5800 series Radeon. anyone "upgraded" and have any comments??

[Naturphoenix]

Go for the 5870 IMO, Multi-Gpu tech just isnt there yet. Runs games nice and all, but in reality theres a bottle-neck or tearing issues and the most important driver issues. Im running a topend i7 platform and I just dont like multi-gpu's from a personal experiance, my prime example is how a single 4890 can run wow better than my crossfire. This is due to drivers not scaling properly and just how advanced multi-gpu's really are. I recommend you take a look at www.guru3d.com (http://www.guru3d.com) and look at hardware reviews, select video cards and see the performance for yourself. Single>>dual anyday.

[IndependenT]

I agree with Naturphoenix. It depends on the game you play and if it does support SLI / Crossfire. I just think that 2 gfx cards are just over rated. Right now the ATI 5000 series are the best at the moment hands down. Just look at reviews and you will see. Keep in mind, with 2 gfx cards you have to make sure you have everything like 2 pci slots, a good power supply that can handle the cards and the processor.

[IndependenT]

Also, all of the 5000 lineup are directx 11. Unlike the 4000 series lineup, they are directx10. Nvidia just released their 400 series and they are directx11 as well but its up to you on the brand. Keep in mind that there will be some games coming out soon with directx11.

[Naturphoenix]

The gtx 480 is also the fastest single gpu on the globe, but I imagine a new ati card will be coming out to overturn the "current" leader.

[GObonzo]

already have installed 2 4890s on my brother-in-law's system and runs every game i've given him seemless and near the highest settings. he needs a higher end cpu i think to reach full potential. i'm hoping to hear who has actually used both setups and can tell me a difference.

[Naturphoenix]

If u want driver issues and screen tearing go multi-gpu. Very simple, but don't overlook dx11 over dx10. I wouldn't waiste a few bills on out-dated hardware.

[GObonzo]

hooked up the 2 4890s I got new for $180 total on ebay last week. everything's running perfect and Crysis on highest settings. figure when everything starts supporting 3D i'll upgrade to the 5000 or whatever new series they've come up with. no driver issues and perfect quality NATURPHEONIX! every game i've run shows the crossfire logo onscreen so no lacking on program support.
current list of installed:
Aliens Vs Predator
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed II
Avencast
Batman Arkham Asylum
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Bioshock
BioShock 2
Borderlands
Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare
Cryostasis
Crysis
Crysis WARHEAD
Crysis WARS
Dark Sector
Dead Space
Diablo II
DiRT2
DOOM
Dragon Age
Drakensang
Dungeon Siege 2
Dungeon Siege 2 Broken World
Elder Scrolls
Enclave
Fable
Fallout 3
Far Cry
Far Cry 2
Gears of War
Ghostbusters
Gothic 3 - Forsaken Gods
Grand Theft Auto
James Cameron's AVATAR - THE GAME
Just Cause 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2
METRO 2033
Neverwinter Nights 2
Prey
Prince of Persia
Quake 4
Rainbow Six Vegas 2
RESIDENT EVIL 5
Rise of the Argonauts
Risen
Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel
Saints Row 2
Section 8
Silverfall
STREETFIGHTERIV
Stubbs The Zombie
The Last Remnant
The Lord of the Rings - Conquest™
The Witcher
Titan Quest
Titan Quest Immortal Throne
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Torchlight
Trine
Two Worlds
Ultima
Unreal Tournament 3

[Naturphoenix]

hooked up the 2 4890s I got new for $180 total on ebay last week. everything's running perfect and Crysis on highest settings. figure when everything starts supporting 3D i'll upgrade to the 5000 or whatever new series they've come up with. no driver issues and perfect quality NATURPHEONIX! every game i've run shows the crossfire logo onscreen so no lacking on program support.
current list of installed:
Aliens Vs Predator
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed II
Avencast
Batman Arkham Asylum
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Bioshock
BioShock 2
Borderlands
Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare
Cryostasis
Crysis
Crysis WARHEAD
Crysis WARS
Dark Sector
Dead Space
Diablo II
DiRT2
DOOM
Dragon Age
Drakensang
Dungeon Siege 2
Dungeon Siege 2 Broken World
Elder Scrolls
Enclave
Fable
Fallout 3
Far Cry
Far Cry 2
Gears of War
Ghostbusters
Gothic 3 - Forsaken Gods
Grand Theft Auto
James Cameron's AVATAR - THE GAME
Just Cause 2
Left 4 Dead 2
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2
METRO 2033
Neverwinter Nights 2
Prey
Prince of Persia
Quake 4
Rainbow Six Vegas 2
RESIDENT EVIL 5
Rise of the Argonauts
Risen
Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel
Saints Row 2
Section 8
Silverfall
STREETFIGHTERIV
Stubbs The Zombie
The Last Remnant
The Lord of the Rings - Conquest™
The Witcher
Titan Quest
Titan Quest Immortal Throne
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Torchlight
Trine
Two Worlds
Ultima
Unreal Tournament 3

There will 100% be issues somewhere along the lines. 4890's are not good enough to max crysis either so..?

[IndependenT]

There will 100% be issues somewhere along the lines. 4890's are not good enough to max crysis either so..?

4890 is good enough to run crysis at max. Look here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438&cm_re=4890_radeon_hd-_-14-150-438-_-Product)

[Naturphoenix]

Guru3d.com, your source of video benchmarks and when I say max crisis I'm talking hdr everything.
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-470-480-review/24

2x aa with a 480.

[GObonzo]

damn sure is good enough for crysis, warhead, and wars because i've been playing them. natureboy must be an nvidia employee or somethin

[GObonzo]

1920x1080 on maxed for every game i've tried

[I'mheretohelp]

You have to keep in mind that two gpu's are going to create a lot more heat compared to 1 gpu. So if you don't have good airflow I wouldn't recommend it. Most people will agree that going CF or SLI route does create a lot of trouble playing games. Driver issues will always happen. And if you have SLI or CF and don't THINK you experience this, you most likely do unless you tweak your settings. Think about it, if you have a high end card set up in CF/SLI then maybe that one graphics card is still enough to have high setting and good fps! Depending on your resolution, plenty of people are still satisfied with a 4870 in newer games!

[toddsauce]

I have the HD 5850.. thumbs up

[Naturphoenix]

damn sure is good enough for crysis, warhead, and wars because i've been playing them. natureboy must be an nvidia employee or somethin
statistics show that no video card on the globe can max crysis with aa and a 19x12 format. I have 4890 on my asus rampage 2 extreme, no nvidia fan boy here. I have a brain and with dx11 on the market I would never drop 2 bills towards outdated hardware, especially towards a cf config. Powerfull single gpu vs multi IMO. Statistics show single gpu is way more reliable than multi gpus. As great as you think it is, it's not.

[GObonzo]

checking back in. still no answer to actual question. "anyone upgraded from 2x 4890s to one 5000 series?" still want to know what difference we can get with the new hardware. everything's still running great so far with maxed out graphics with the 4890 2x crossfire setup.

Antec 300 Illusion case with 3x 120mm intakes (2 front, 1 side), 1x 120mm outtake (rear), 1x 140mm outtake (top), plus psu 120mm exhaust fan.
Phenom II 955 @ 3.6GHz idles @ +-40, full load @ +-55 degrees. Just ordered a Xigmatek Black Knight cooler so hopefully i'll be getting higher multiplier and lower temps soon.
XFX 4890s running @ 900MHz core clocks, 1000MHz memory clocks with fans @ 66%. Temps around 48 degrees at full load.

[I'mheretohelp]

not sure how much of a jump you'll see from 2 4890;s to a single 5870. only difference would be dx 11