2x Radeon HD 4830 CF VS 1x Radeon HD 4870 1GB

[Techno-boy]

Hi people! I was thinking about making this interesting thread so now, I will make one...

If I am going to buy a new video card today, I would think more about 2x Radeon HD 4830 CF for 1920x1080 monitor. Before the release of Radeon HD 4830, I planned to get 1x Radeon HD 4870 1GB as many people suggested but now there could be something like cheaper and faster 2x Radeon HD 4830 Crossfired. 2 of HD 4830 could be faster than a single HD 4870 1GB and much cheaper. I've checked the price on Newegg.com. 2x HD 4830 could cost about $200 USD VS $230-250 USD for 1 HD 4870 1GB. You could save $30-50 USD for getting 2x HD 4830 instead of 1x HD 4870 1GB and they will be much faster. 1 Review website also mentioned that 2x Radeon HD 4830 Crossfired is much faster than a single HD 4870 1GB. I also hope that the power consumption of 2x Radeon HD 4830 CF will be about 310-320W total since 2x HD 4850 are 350W. However, I knew that some people said that some games are not optimized for multi-GPU solution but I hope that in the future, all new games will support/optimize the multi-GPU solutoin. I just hope that it will be stable enough and not having any micro-stuttering effects.

Well, what do you people think? Which is the best deal for today? Is 2x Radeon HD 4830 CF a better deal than a single Radeon HD 4870 1GB for 1920x1080 resolution????

 

[jerseygamer]

The 4870 1gb is a very solid card for your resolution. It is always best to stick with a single, stable, reliable single gpu setup over xfire/sli. Your xfire solution is really only going to shine up to 1680x1050 and thats IF everything runs perfect in the given application and all your hadware gets along.

 

[Techno-boy]

Thanks for the reply jerseygamer!

I also forgot to mention that HD 4830 is even much more quiet than HD 4870.

Anyway, if anyone else wanted to comment please feel free, I would be appreciate...

 

[Antman56]

The 4870 1gb is a very solid card for your resolution. It is always best to stick with a single, stable, reliable single gpu setup over xfire/sli. Your xfire solution is really only going to shine up to 1680x1050 and thats IF everything runs perfect in the given application and all your hadware gets along.

Just to throw in my 2 cents, I am currently running a TriFire 4850 setup (1 ASUS EAH 4850 + 1 Sapphire 4850X2) and every game I play runs without a problem... even the old ones.

I wrote some stuff about it. You may way to see how well crossfire is scaling these days...

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/259595-33-pearly-940x4-4850x2-4850

 

[cyber_jockey]

Just my my 2 cents. I have a 4830 and in a few months from now i'll replace my card with something stronger and stable like my current setup so no cf for me. Cf is good scales slightly better then sli but if theres an upgrade option stay away from multi card solution. My point is 2 4830's will kill a 4870 game that support cf but overall all games don't so you better of with one 4870 just get a good cooking system in your tower if your haven't got one yet.

 

[L1qu1d]

Lets clear things up.

2 4830 > 4870

Yes thats true.

But the 4870 1 gig has a much stronger structure...meaning worst case scenerio you will always have raw power, even if the game doesn't support crossfire/sli...and there have been some cases (Unreal 3 is a good example).

I would say bite the bullet and grab a 4870....from what I've see the 8800 GT came is slightly weaker than the 4830...and the 8800 GT came out around Oct 2007 soo I would say grab a nearer stable technology...I mean you can always upgrade to another 4870, 4870 X2 etc and have much better gains than 2 4830s.

But if you want save some money, than the 4830s are amazingly fast cards. Very impressive for the price range.

Cyber_jockey makes a good point in saying that Cf (sli as well) is generally a last resort option, but its much better to have 1 card...unless your an enthusiast and love to see high numbers like me

 

[Techno-boy]

I am not sure if Crossfire/SLI should be consider as the last resort option because I've seen many people buying dual-GPUs with Crossfire configuration like Radeon HD 4850 X2 and Radeon HD 4870 X2 to gain better/higher performance over a single card with single GPU.

 

[L1qu1d]

its not what ppl buy...its what something was meant for

Adding an extra card was a last resort situation. Your card couldn't pull it's weight anymore so you add a 2nd 1 to help it with out paying the extra cost of a new high end card.

Nothing to argue about that.

 

[Dynaverse]

2 X 4830 are by far faster! up to 120fps in certain games while as the 4870 is about 80. You can't beat 2 video cards with one! But if you haven't bought either id go with the 4870 for sure! and at a later date you can crossfire that.