4890HD Crossfire vs $200ish new card?

[scorpian61]

The title pretty much says it all, except for one thing. I am currently running on a 28inch monitor whose resolution is 1920x1200. I am not an expert in graphics card mechanics but from the miniscule knowledge I have, I am under the impression that at a resolution, as high as I run, would benefit more from an average crossfired card opposed to 1 newer card whose single gpu benchmarks are maybe only 10ish% better than that of the old single card. Or, I could be talking out of my butthole. I really do not know. Thus, the reason I have come here. So yeah, I was thinking about rather spending 100 or so dollars getting another ATI Radeon Xfx 4890HD card off of ebay, or, getting maybe a 6850 caliber type card for $170-200ish. I also wanted to do some gameplay recording in a few games I play, so I also do not know if crossfire would gravitate towards more awesomeness opposed to a single, more modern card.

Not too sure if this makes any difference in judgement, but, here are some specs of my comp at the moment:

asus m4a79xtd evo mobo
corsair xms3 2x2gb ddr3
amd phenom x2 550 black edition (actually is unlocked as a quad core) 3.1ghz
xion 1000watt p14he power supply
seagate 7200rpm 1tb hard drive
haf 932 cooler master case (i don't know, just thought i would throw it out there lol)

 

[gracefully]

Actually, it's good that you mentioned your case, because cases with good airflow can better accommodate powerful graphics cards.

The single most useful benefit that you will get by buying a new card is actually realized when you're not gaming: idle power consumption. The power consumption of a current-gen mid-high end graphics card is about 15-20W. Then again if you don't mind power consumption, crossfire isn't a bad choice. You can also try selling your card to fund your next GPU purchase.

 

[scorpian61]

As far as power consumption goes, I do not mind a behemoth-power sucking card(s) if it performs to the level I would like. Heat is maybe an aspect I would consider, but like I said, if the card or cards perform significantly better, I can always attune my rig to be more heat resilient and/or adjust some things. Yeah, If I go the 'new card' route, I would more than likely sell my current card for whatever I could get; I still do not know though if it would be better to crossfire. I just feel that the resolution I have at the moment would still bog down a $200 range card if I was recording gameplay at decent quality settings. I just do not know what would be the best way to go. Thank you for the input grace

 

[4ktv]

If you did the crossfire then you would have to get a used card and hope it work's. The crossfire would be fast at the cost it won't work 100% of the time and about a 60-70% better if it does. I don't think crossfire is bad it's just that some game's don't "play nice" with it. Hope you like the card you end up with.

 

[jay2tall]

I would not CF a 4890 it is a 2 gen ago card. If you are looking to upgrade I'd get something new with all the benefits of the new cards like DX11, better power utilization, Tessellation, etc. I'd sell it off for like $50 or whatever they are going for and just get a new single card. Is $200 a solid number or can you play with that a bit? If you are an avid gamer you may want to throw a little more money at that and get a GTX570 or something like that. They are $350 before rebate, but they will last you a good while.

There is an EVGA for $310 after $40 MIR. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130613&cm_re=gtx570-_-14-130-613-_-Product

If that is way out of the question I think a GTX 560 Ti or AMD 6950 1GB would be a good choice. You can get them for close to $220 after MIR. Either would be a good choice. I would just recommend a new gen card. DX11 is amazing and most good new games coming out are incorporating it.

 

[scorpian61]

I see. Well, the main goal I have right now is just being able to record gameplay with decent quality. I am not exactly looking for a long-term card. I am just looking for an outlet that will last 12months or so. I am a college student and $350ish bucks for a non-necessity is just not rational at the moment lol. I really really really appreciate the helpful replies; I feel like a bunch of people are spamming f5, waiting to attack a thread! Awesome!

 

[jay2tall]

I would think you could record your gameplay now with your current card, could you not? I think those programs record at a lower resolution than your diaplay anyway, like 320 or 640, something like that. Maybe higher. I think that would consume more CPU and memory though.

I think I'd stick with the 4890 unless you could get something in the realm of GTX560 Ti or 6950. Somewhere in that ballpark.

 

[scorpian61]

I cannot. I record at the same resolution of my game, which is 1920x1200+the audio. So, when I am at the optimal peak of certain gameplay, I lag up really bad and run at about the low teens range of fps. When I record at half-size, the lag is not as bad, but, there still is noticeable lag. I basicially just want to upload 1080p video quality on to youtube. That is the overall goal I suppose.

 

[jay2tall]

I wouldn't think the video would have much to do with that. I dunno.

I'd try a newer video card as mentioned above.

 

[scorpian61]

Best answer selected by scorpian61.

 

[scorpian61]

I see, well thank you very much jay2tall for your help. Much appreciated!