Hd 4870 and Hd 4350 together?

[sargentchimera]

My dad and I baught a computer from dell and its shipping with a hd4350 512ram but were getting a 4870 1024ram and putting it in the computer when it arrives. Im wondering if its possible to use both graphics cards at the same time, say the 4350 to handle physics and stuff and the 4870 to handle everything else. Ive seen systems from maingear.com that have an option for an extra graphics card thats dedicated to physx and openGl but it can only be a geforce 9800 not matter what other cards you pick. Im wondering if its possible with these 2 cards, if so how do i do it, also is it a good boost in gaming?
The rig it will be on is
i7 920,
6gig ram,
soundblaster
xtreme card,
mobo is xps 435 (i think).

If it isnt possible for the 2 cards to work together do you guys think the hd 4870 1024ram is good enough to play crysis on vhigh, no aa or af, and at 1920 1080 resolution? If it is possible how much of a boost in gaming will the extra card give me?
Also what is the minimal power supply for the 4870? Im not sure what comes with the system so i dont know if we need to upgrade that or not.

Thanks for your replies!

 

[coozie7]

You cannot mix those two cards, sorry.
The use of a seperate card for physics calculations is currently only supported by Nvidia cards under the PhysX title and you cannot mix Nvidia and ATI cards on the same machine unless it is running either Windows XP or an evaluation copy of Windows7.
For a single HD 4870, look for 500-550 Watts from Antec, Corsair, OCZ Silverstone or Pc Power and Cooling. Make sure it has TWO 6 pin PCI-E connectors and expect to pay 60-90 dollars US.
Do not buy a cheap unit, they are cheap for a reason and cheap power supplies can and have destroyed entire systems when they pop!

No, a single HD4870 will not play Crysis at that resoloution at very high, high yes, but not very high.
Rather than the HD4870, consider a GTX260 from Nvidia, Crysis loves Nvidia hardware and it uses the same power as a HD4870.
This is nice:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150361

 

[sargentchimera]

Ok thanks for telling me, is there any thing i can do with the hd 4350 then since i cant use it in my system? And will the hd 4870 1gig run vhigh at 1440 900 with 30+ fps?
Thanks!

 

[coozie7]

The HD4350 is a good card for HTPC use: It has good Blu-Ray playback but it's no use at all for games, just too slow.
I was never able to run Crysis at Very High because that is a DX10 option and I am on XP (and could not be bothered to find any of the modded files to do so).
That said, at 1920X1200 I could run the game acceptably well with a 512Mb HD4870, so yes, at 1440x900, Very High, should be no problems, even with 8XAF, and-possibly-2XAA, especially considering you're on an i7 and not my inferior C2D E6600🙁

 

[sargentchimera]

lol thanks, what kind of fps did you get at 1920 1200? ill be gaming at 1920 1080 or 1440 900 though =(. Can you really tell a huge difference between 1440 900 and 1920 1080 anyway? I know you can in games like empire total war, but crysis? Also is there ANYTHING i can do with the 4350? I cant really sell it and i dont have anytyhing else to do with it...

 

[coozie7]

Put it in a suitably sized box and keep it-You would be amazed how useful a spare card can be-to you and your friends for troubleshooting.

Crysis benchmarked at 37 FPS @1920x1200 all High, DX9, expect better, perhaps 45 FPS under the benchmark because of your faster CPU and extra video memory.
BUT you may get less or you may get more. Half the fun of a PC is playing with the settings😉

 

[sargentchimera]

Ok thanks for all your help! Right now im trying to decide between high at 1920 1080 or vhigh at 1440 900! The exitement for my new system is killing me, just 10 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[coozie7]

Whichever monitor you use, always use its 'native' resolution, do not use a 1920x1080 monitor to display a 1440x900 image, it looks terrible.

 

[sargentchimera]

Really? Well the monitor ill be using probly is a 24in dell monitor with a native res of 1920 1080. How does it look terrible when i use a lower res? i know that more linbes will always look better but i dont know that its a WHOLE lot better to use 1920 1080 over 1440 900. Im playing on a samsung 24 monitor right now (better than the 1 i will be playing on for the dell) that supports 1920 1200 but i use 1440 900 mostly for gaming, i sometimes use 1920 1200 and it does look better, especially in mideival total war 2, but i figured it just because its a higher res =/. But i dont see how using 1440 900 makes it look terrible especially since the settings will be higher.

 

[coozie7]

We all see in a slightly different way and if you prefer to use 1440x900 on a larger monitor I am not going to pass any judgments; It is what works for you that counts, after all, it's your game, your system and your enjoyment that matters, not the resolution.
To see what I mean, though, run Windows on the larger monitor in both resolutions, you'll see what I mean about the image quality.

 

[sargentchimera]

K thanks for your help! I have 1 more question lol. The disk that comes with the 4870, is the drivers in it its newest or not? I dont know if they update their install disks for the 4870 or if i have to install the disk then go and download the drivers from their site. This will be my first time installing a graphiucs card lol.

 

[coozie7]

Keep the disc, it's always handy for troubleshooting.

My way:

Download Driver Sweeper and install.

Download the latest drivers, in this case from ATI, do not install yet.

SET A RESTORE POINT.

Ununstall the existing video drivers and reboot into Safe Mode. Do not delete the old driver folders, System Restore will need them if something goes wrong.

Run Driver Sweeper. Warning, this type of software is not perfect, examine every item it is going to delete and deselect anything that looks wrong.

turn off the computer, and remove the power lead.

Remove the old card and install the new, remember to connect both 6-pin connectors and secure the card with the clip or screw depending on your case.

Reconnect and boot up.

Install the drivers you downloaded earlier.

Reboot, reset the desktop resolution and colour options as required.
ENJOY

 

[sargentchimera]

Alright thanks, I dont know if ill need driver sweeper though since i dont think they install the drivers for the 4350 at dell but ill use it just in case. Is that the name of the program Driver Sweeper? Do I just google it? Oh and you say reboot into safe mode, i figured once i uninstalled the drivers i just turn off computer, unplug, take out old card, put new 1 in, boot up, install new drivers. Im actually not sure what safe mode is lol.

 

[coozie7]

Just Google it.
You need to boot ino Safe Mode to run Driver Sweeper, Safe Mode does not load much in the way of drivers, so they are not in memory, and once in memory, the files on hard drive cannot be remmoved, because Windows will not let you.
To get into Safe Mode, press and hold the F8 key while the machine is booting, when the options screen appears use the arrow keys to select "Safe Mode' and press enter (Return).

 

[sargentchimera]

Just got the computer a hour or so ago. I put it together works fine, card not here yet though so the 4350 is still in it. Now when i turned the computer off by clicking the power symbol on the start screen it said it was going into safe mode then the screen went blank and the comp powered down. Is that safe mode? So when i get the card i run Driver sweeper and right when i start running it i click the power symbol in the start menu which takes me to save mode, correct? Also if Driver sweeper detects all drivers how will i be able to tell which is the hd4350s?
Thanks for your answers so far, your really helping alot!

 

[coozie7]

To reach Safe Mode: From the desktop use the Windows 'Restart' control and when the computer shows the boot screen hold the F8 key down until the next black and white screen appears. Then select your Windows installation this will take you to another screen. There use the arrow keys to highlight the Safe Mode option and press enter (return).
This is how it works in XP, it may be slightly different under Vista, check the computer manual if my instructions do not work, it may need a different key to F8.

 

[sargentchimera]

Ok thanks for your help. I might post here in the future if i run into problems. I think the card will either be here tomorrow or early next week. Thanks agian!