j-dogg

I have decided on a board but am not sure to go SLi or Crossfire. Suggestions from the local pimps?

Hak Foo

Neither.

You pay extra for the board in the event you want a second matching (or near-matching card) and by the time you get to wanting the second card, you can get a single card which performs as well for a similar price and it's cooler running.

Ninjaspeak

Quote: Originally Posted by Hak Foo Neither. You pay extra for the board in the event you want a second matching (or near-matching card) and by the time you get to wanting the second card, you can get a single card which performs as well for a similar price and it's cooler running.

Yeah, I second that.

If you want the biggest baddest on the block, just invest into DDR3, and grab a 4870x2.

j-dogg

I'm looking at two DFI boards, one supports 3-way Crossfire the other has two PCI-e x16 slots. I've been leaning toward Crossfire for a while since I've been more or less an ATi fanboy since I took ownership of my old 9700 Pro way back when it was still a 179 dollar card.

reflux

CrossFire and SLi are both far better solutions than they were when they came out, but at the moment CrossFire is the one to go for. This is for a few reasons;

-ATi cards are better value for money

-CrossFire scaling is generally better than what SLi gives you,

-Most importantly, CrossFire runs on Intel P45/X38/X48 boards, which are the best chipsets on the market. SLi confines you to nForce 750 (crap), nForce 780 (disappointing) or nForce 790 (not bad, but still poor performers and incredibly overpriced).

The sweet spot for price/performance right now is two Radeon 4850s. I don't know how US pricing compares, but they perform about as good as an Nvidia GTX280 for less. However, manufacturers such as Sapphire are launching 4850X2s, which would be a better choice than two single cards, and of course there's the 4870X2, which is an absolute monster and the place to be if you have more money than sense (i am guilty as charged )

j-dogg

okay, everyone put your n00b hats on

you can't get crossfire on an AMD board? I was going to build a Phenom system.

before any of you say anything remember I'm still on a Socket A 2600 with DDR1

reflux

Quote: Originally Posted by j-dogg okay, everyone put your n00b hats on you can't get crossfire on an AMD board? I was going to build a Phenom system. before any of you say anything remember I'm still on a Socket A 2600 with DDR1

Oh yeah, of course CrossFire works on AMD boards. Just that AMD isn't where the performance is atm, so I assumed you'd be going Intel.

Slaymate

SLI is the ticket. Crossfire has never worked correctly. Mainly because ATI can't make a decent driver. And the new X58 chipset supports both SLI and Crossfire.

denacopoliez

Quote: Originally Posted by j-dogg ...you can't get crossfire on an AMD board? I was going to build a Phenom system...

Quote: Originally Posted by reflux ... -ATi cards are better value for money -CrossFire scaling is generally better than what SLi gives you, -Most importantly, CrossFire runs on Intel P45/X38/X48 boards, which are the best chipsets on the market. SLi confines you to nForce 750 (crap), nForce 780 (disappointing) or nForce 790 (not bad, but still poor performers and incredibly overpriced). The sweet spot for price/performance right now is two Radeon 4850s. I don't know how US pricing compares, but they perform about as good as an Nvidia GTX280 for less. However, manufacturers such as Sapphire are launching 4850X2s, which would be a better choice than two single cards, and of course there's the 4870X2, which is an absolute monster and the place to be if you have more money than sense (i am guilty as charged )

I have to agree with Reflux on this i am running a 3870 X2 1GB right now on an AMD 5400 X2 chip and i LOVE it so smooth so clean Crysis and Fallout 3 look beautiful, and HD to my projector is immaculate. The sad fact is if you want to go AMD go AMD if you want intel go intel, if you want to go SLI do it, CrosFire, make it happen just every one say with me... I can find the facts on Tom's Hardware but in the end its really all about prefrence.

People who buy into the intel vs. AMD fights look like this on the weekends



remember when you couldn't build a gaming rig for less then 3k and now you can buy the parts today, have them overnighted, buy the extended warranty and still get a case of Bawls for less than 800$.

who really cares if AMD is crap, i still just sniped your a$$ from Italy on my 4Mb/s connection on my 800$ rig!

Phenom BTW is Fing sweet i just cant wait to get my hands on one!

reflux

Quote: Originally Posted by Slaymate Crossfire has never worked correctly. Mainly because ATI can't make a decent driver.

Evidence? CrossFire works very well in the vast majority of titles.

FeRaL

Quote: Originally Posted by reflux CrossFire and SLi are both far better solutions than they were when they came out, but at the moment CrossFire is the one to go for. This is for a few reasons; -ATi cards are better value for money -CrossFire scaling is generally better than what SLi gives you, -Most importantly, CrossFire runs on Intel P45/X38/X48 boards, which are the best chipsets on the market. SLi confines you to nForce 750 (crap), nForce 780 (disappointing) or nForce 790 (not bad, but still poor performers and incredibly overpriced). The sweet spot for price/performance right now is two Radeon 4850s. I don't know how US pricing compares, but they perform about as good as an Nvidia GTX280 for less. However, manufacturers such as Sapphire are launching 4850X2s, which would be a better choice than two single cards, and of course there's the 4870X2, which is an absolute monster and the place to be if you have more money than sense (i am guilty as charged )

Ready to be shocked? 2 4830's in an SLI beat down

HEXUS.net - Review :: Sapphire Radeon HD 4830 512MB - CrossFire making sense? : Page - 1/10


Talk about price performance.

j-dogg

Hollleee crap! I'm sold.

And so it begins

Dex

Sorry to butt in but does the panel think a single HD4830 would be a worthy upgrade from an 8800GTS 320Mb. I ask because it just died

reflux

Quote: Originally Posted by Dex Sorry to butt in but does the panel think a single HD4830 would be a worthy upgrade from an 8800GTS 320Mb. I ask because it just died

That's a shame mate - that card has served you well. Yeah, it's an upgrade, but if you can stretch to a 4850 it'll be more worthwhile. They're only about another £10-15.

4850 : Novatech HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 TVO/Dual DVI, HDMI, PCI Express Graphics Card - Retai : NOV-4850