5870 vs 4890 crossfire

fjc1998

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I gonna upgrade as soon as i figure wich to buy.When i upgrade ill also be upgrading my cpu ,a phenom X3 720 to core i5.My phenom's bottleneking too abd :D
 
Solution
I'd suggest the HD 5870.

DX11.
Lower power requirements.
Similar performance.
Less noise.
No worries about Crossfire scaling issues.
Easier on the system as a whole.
Less components to go bad.
Future driver performance increments.

JofaMang

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Today, the 4890cf will outperform the 5870 in dx10, but not by a large margin. In time the 5870 will grow in its abilities, if the 4xxx driver arch is to be trusted as any sort of precedent. I think the 5870 would be a safer investment in the long term, especially with a CF option open as the prices drop.
 

TheViper

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I'd suggest the HD 5870.

DX11.
Lower power requirements.
Similar performance.
Less noise.
No worries about Crossfire scaling issues.
Easier on the system as a whole.
Less components to go bad.
Future driver performance increments.
 
Solution

JofaMang

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Jun 14, 2009
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Open Catalyst Control Centre. Under ATI Overdrive Screen:

Unlock overdrive settings.
Enable ATI Overdrive.
Change fan speeds as needed to accommodate your card temp/fan noise requirement.

Running cool and quiet under load? Got back to CCC and stark overclocking :D
 
Ok... I've been down this road. I had a 4870 and bought a second for Crossfire. This was a few weeks back. The top card got SO hot it overheated and crashed. It was hitting 102C. The bottom card only 80C. The top fan was running 100%, so you want to listen to fans running. Oh boy! I ended up selling both cards, taking a bit of a hit and buying a 5870. Let me tell you the 5870 is pretty quiet even at load. It idles in the low 40C and I don't think its gone over 72-73C in gaming yet.

PS... your Phenom isn't bottlenecking crap, just stick with it. Get the new cards and you will see a difference.
 

TheViper

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It might be but the review probably had a monster CPU oveclocked to get that 40 fps average. But you said you'll get an i5 soon too.


Those pictures are engineering samples and do not reflect what the final product will look like. It will get a PCB and cooler shrink. The name seems to be a point of confusion right now. Some are calling it the HD 5970 while others are calling it the HD 5870x2.
 

Crysis is a BAD benchmark when comparing systems. You can have a HUGE difference in systems and only gain like 2 FPS. Besides, I am not going to get into the whole bottlenecking debate in this thread. Just remember, every PC has bottlenecks, they are EVERYWHERE. Your CPU waits on the L1 cache, which waits on the L2, then L3, Then RAM, then Hard Drive. You just try to reduce the bottlenecks a little. An OCed i7 is going to outperform the same setup on a Phenom X3 720. However, if you have an i7 with a 4870 and a Phenom x3 720 with a 5870... Guess who wins?
 

Gryphyn

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I have a Phenom X3 720, as well as (2) 4890s in crossfire. I have mine unlocked to 4 cores and clocked up to 3.5 Ghz and it doesn't bottleneck my cards, even when they're overclocked too.