Who will Crossfire a pair of 4870's on a Phenom platform first?

[Mechromancer]

Anybody?

Its now time to create a 100% AMD system to rule them all. I think with this, the 780a chipset will die unfortunately but oh well. I'm sorry but I'm a 2900XT owner and I haven't been this happy about new hardware since....its been a very long time (Athlon X2 debut). AMD is out of the gutter with this because even Intel fanboys have to get AMD GPUs to run a multi-GPU setup. AMD's stock is currently under $7 a share and I bet we'll see it go up a little even with our crappy market. I hate to say it but I'm obviously an AMD fanboy and here I am letting the world know. Even with them in serious trouble they stuck to their guns and hammered out the RV770. I have hope now that the K10.5 revision of Phenom will bring good optimizations as well. The changes AMD made in the RV770 micro architecture is proof that they know how to correct their mistakes. They systematically corrected mistakes from the R600 to the RV670, and now once again resulting in today's triumph. Even Havok, an Intel company, is optimizing Havok for ATI GPUs and the K10 architecture (thats the big news)! Theres light at the end of the tunnel and today we got a big ass flashlight in the form of the 4870.

Back to my original question. Who is ordering a 4850 or 4870 Crossfire setup?

[Oldguy932]

I'm tempted to, but I think I need to look at those 1356 opty needs some testing done first. Maybe I can sell my 3870's and 3850 and hope to be close enough to 4870 range.

[dng]

i got an asus 4850 on the way from newegg for $150. i read that a cross generation crossfire is not possible so i'm trying to sell my 3870x2. hopefully i can sell it and then get a 4870 to crossfire with the 4850. hopefully ati supports their loyal fans and create drivers that support cross generation crossfire. i also hope crossfire between a 4870 and 4850 is possible. i've been an ati fan since the 9700pro. go red team........................

[soundood]

like yourself i have allways been an AMD fanboy, Knocking the hell out of my bartons and T'breds, till present day with my Phenom 9850BE :up:

but i have allways been an Nvidia Fanboy too, (i Currently have a 9600GT in an AX78) but with the takeover of Ati by AMD, has thrown a spanner in the works, yes i know i can get a 780a, that will give me 3 way sli, but i think it really has come to the time where you need to decide what camp your in AMD/Ati or Intel/Nvidia.

with the forthcoming SB700 and SB750, I have decided to go the AMD/Ati route, for the first time in my computer building life, i will handle a Ati card.

that card has got to be the 4870, ultimately into crossfire with another, on a SB750 mobo, with my 9850BE screaming :eek: @ 3.5 ghz

i live in hope and fully intend to try this set up, i cant wait till they start showing up in stores :D

[Rammsteiner]

On my list Ive this:

1. 790FX/SB750
2. Phenom 9850BE/opteron 13xx if this CPU is :banana::banana::banana::banana:.
3. HD4870

Im close going on vacation, so most likely wont get it before that. On the otherhand it gives the opportunity of a better availability for the newer products while Im away and the prices to settle a bit better.

But to be short, yes Ill get SB750 with a 4870 CF and a Phenom doing at least 3.2Ghz... If it takes me to buy 10 Phenoms, so be it, I want at least 3.2Ghz:yepp:

[Jaivan]

Just bought two 4870's just waiting for them to come in. Hope i can get them for Friday :D

[Ben_Brown]

Just bought two 4870's just waiting for them to come in. Hope i can get them for Friday :D

Well crap....there goes my top 3DMark Phenom score.

[SocketMan]

I read some report earlier today (was half asleep) saying that we'll be able ti mix & match 3850/3870/4850/4870

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/38056/135/

the bad news the report is by Theo:( Valich



Mountain House (CA) – If everything goes according to plan, we will see AMD’s new Radeon GPU launch this week. But there is more news to this announcement and we are thinking about one special item you are unlikely to hear about: During AMD's Cinema 2.0 schmoozapalooza in The Americano restaurant in San Francisco we learned that your Radeon 3850, 3870 or 3870 X2 graphics card will hold extra value: Don’t get rid of your old card just yet.

A source close to AMD told us that there will be “inter-generation compatibility” between the Radeon 3800 and 4850: “Since they're both DirectX 10.1 parts, there is no reason why those two should not work together. (…) We will probably not qualify this interoperability, but who stops you from trying?"

It appears that ATI did not integrate a driver lock or something else that would stop you from combining a 3870 card with a 4850 or with a 4870 model. Just keep in mind that these two cards need to include the same amount of memory. If you mix and match a 3850 with 256 MB of memory with a 4850 512 MB, the 4850 card will default to 256 MB. If you wonder whether you will be able to combine a 3870 X2 card with a 4850 board, our sources indicated that this scenario should work as well.

There is nothing not to like about this interoperability. I personally believe this is a big win for the consumer: How often do you have to throw you old card away when a new generation is introduced? Usually, always (well, at least, if you are among those who try to always have the latest and greatest.)

[Mechromancer]

I read some report earlier today (was half asleep) saying that we'll be able ti mix & match 3850/3870/4850/4870

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/38056/135/

the bad news the report is by Theo:( Valich



Mountain House (CA) – If everything goes according to plan, we will see AMD’s new Radeon GPU launch this week. But there is more news to this announcement and we are thinking about one special item you are unlikely to hear about: During AMD's Cinema 2.0 schmoozapalooza in The Americano restaurant in San Francisco we learned that your Radeon 3850, 3870 or 3870 X2 graphics card will hold extra value: Don’t get rid of your old card just yet.

A source close to AMD told us that there will be “inter-generation compatibility” between the Radeon 3800 and 4850: “Since they're both DirectX 10.1 parts, there is no reason why those two should not work together. (…) We will probably not qualify this interoperability, but who stops you from trying?"

It appears that ATI did not integrate a driver lock or something else that would stop you from combining a 3870 card with a 4850 or with a 4870 model. Just keep in mind that these two cards need to include the same amount of memory. If you mix and match a 3850 with 256 MB of memory with a 4850 512 MB, the 4850 card will default to 256 MB. If you wonder whether you will be able to combine a 3870 X2 card with a 4850 board, our sources indicated that this scenario should work as well.

There is nothing not to like about this interoperability. I personally believe this is a big win for the consumer: How often do you have to throw you old card away when a new generation is introduced? Usually, always (well, at least, if you are among those who try to always have the latest and greatest.)

If thats true, it doesn't work with the current Catalyst 8.6 drivers. If AMD gets that working in the future then it will add a helluva lot of value to their GPUs. Me, I own a 2900XT so I'm screwed in so many ways I lost count. I simply need to upgrade ASAP. Now what I'm really waiting for are the Visiontek HD 4870s with their lifetime warranty. As good as the new RV770 GPUs are, they run a little toasty. I wouldn't mind having a warranty backing up the possibility of thermal failure.

[Rammsteiner]

Ok, I wont be the first one to get 4870 CF...

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=192576

Im waiting on Gainward and the 1GB GS editions:shocked:

[jas420221]

That would be a beastly system no doubt. Sadly, it wouldnt rule them all, at least synthetically. Intel (**dons flame suite for mentioning intel in an AMD thread to the ub3r sensetive crowd**) still owns those 3dmk CPU dependent (06 and Vantage) benchies. :(

[Mechromancer]

Ok, I wont be the first one to get 4870 CF...

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=192576

Im waiting on Gainward and the 1GB GS editions:shocked:

Judging from 3870 1GB performance, the extra 512mb of memory will have a big effect on the 4850/4870s. I'm amazed at what they can do at ultra high resolutions with just 512mb but with 1GB I'm sure a big weight will be lifted off the RV770s shoulders. I'm holding out for a 4870 1GB also.

[alexio]

If someone can lend me a 9850 BE I'll go completely crazy with a pair of HD4870s on a Jetway HA04-Ultra board (http://www.jetway.com.tw/jw/motherboard_view.asp?productid=511&proname=HA04-Ultra#) in my next forum review. Somebody? :)

[informal]

If someone can lend me a 9850 BE I'll go completely crazy with a pair of HD4870s on a Jetway HA04-Ultra board (http://www.jetway.com.tw/jw/motherboard_view.asp?productid=511&proname=HA04-Ultra#) in my next forum review. Somebody? :)

Thanks to you link there,we now might know what AMD has in store with SB750 ;).
Quote from product page:
# CPU Vcore 7-Shift/Debug Port

[alexio]

Thanks to you link there,we now might know what AMD has in store with SB750 ;).
Quote from product page:
I dont have a lot of experience with the AM2+ flatform. The SB750 supposedly helps with overclocking is that correct?

If what I posted is news you can open a news thread about it if you like to. Speculation is fun :up:

[naokaji]

4870 crossfire on phenom? nah... not me, sorry, I'll crossfire them on intel (yes, i'm evil), however, I'm considering something else, in the news section someone posted about amd bringing back AIW, so how about a regular 4850 and a 4850 AIW in crossfire on a yet to be launched matx board with sb750 and a 9550 in a silverstone crown case? I'm sure it would be possible to get it silent and it would rock as a living room pc...

[informal]

It is kind of a news,since we already know AMD implemented a some type of 1.8V/3.3V level shifter and made a 7 pin interconnection between the SB750 and CPU.This will supposedly help chip attain staility at much higher OC speeds than we have at the moment(2.8-3.1GHz we have on average right now should jump to 3.1-3.3/3.4Ghz stable-at least this is what has been suggested so far).

Since you linked the product page,you can make the news topic :).The pic below has been posted already by metro.cl and originally comes from his own site CHW.
http://www.chw.net/images/breves/200806/1213805666_Advanced_Clock_Calibration.jpg

[Mechromancer]

It is kind of a news,since we already know AMD implemented a some type of 1.8V/3.3V level shifter and made a 7 pin interconnection between the SB750 and CPU.This will supposedly help chip attain staility at much higher OC speeds than we have at the moment(2.8-3.1GHz we have on average right now should jump to 3.1-3.3/3.4Ghz stable-at least this is what has been suggested so far).

Since you linked the product page,you can make the news topic :).The pic below has been posted already by metro.cl and originally comes from his own site CHW.
http://www.chw.net/images/breves/200806/1213805666_Advanced_Clock_Calibration.jpg

Nice, very nice! My ideal Phenom system is becoming a reality. I hope they release all the SB750 mobos in early July. I hate waiting!

[duploxxx]

If thats true, it doesn't work with the current Catalyst 8.6 drivers. If AMD gets that working in the future then it will add a helluva lot of value to their GPUs. Me, I own a 2900XT so I'm screwed in so many ways I lost count. I simply need to upgrade ASAP. Now what I'm really waiting for are the Visiontek HD 4870s with their lifetime warranty. As good as the new RV770 GPUs are, they run a little toasty. I wouldn't mind having a warranty backing up the possibility of thermal failure.

following the way ati is thinking right now in future you should be able to cf

2900-3800-4800 series, lets wait and see when drivers mature a bit.

[Mechromancer]

following the way ati is thinking right now in future you should be able to cf

2900-3800-4800 series, lets wait and see when drivers mature a bit.

The days of giving away or throwing away last gen video cards is coming to an end! MWAHAHAHAH

[G0ldBr1ck]

Would be nice to be able to keep one of the HD3000 series cards to do just physx, hell if they did that you could even stick it in a spare PCI express x1/x4/x8 slot.

[gosh]

4870 crossfire on phenom? nah... not me, sorry, I'll crossfire them on intel (yes, i'm evil),

I don't think that you could get maximum performance for the crossfire setup using Intel. Not for the most demanding games any way.
You need very good I/O performance and the FSB may not be enough to perform that much I/O that the GPU can handle.

Check this test: http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/intel_q9450/
You can se there that a slower AMD pulls ahead in some games as the resolution goes up. There can only be one explanation to that behavior and that is that the GPU is waiting because the FSB can’t handle the traffic.
I have seen that there are very similar performance using 4850 and 4870 in crossfire setups for intel computers. The difference is smaller that comparing single card setup for these two. The reason for that could be that it isn’t possible to run the cards at maximum speed because they need more I/O performance.
I/O performance on AMD is much better and you don’t need to overcklock the processor to get it.

[demonkevy666]

I don't think that you could get maximum performance for the crossfire setup using Intel. Not for the most demanding games any way.
You need very good I/O performance and the FSB may not be enough to perform that much I/O that the GPU can handle.

Check this test: http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/intel_q9450/
You can se there that a slower AMD pulls ahead in some games as the resolution goes up. There can only be one explanation to that behavior and that is that the GPU is waiting because the FSB can’t handle the traffic.
I have seen that there are very similar performance using 4850 and 4870 in crossfire setups for intel computers. The difference is smaller that comparing single card setup for these two. The reason for that could be that it isn’t possible to run the cards at maximum speed because they need more I/O performance.
I/O performance on AMD is much better and you don’t need to overcklock the processor to get it.

lol at the cpu utilizations phenom 1.7 the rest are below 1.0

phenom win at 1680 x 1050 on crysis ?

win in World In Conflict at 1920 x 1200.

Call of Juarez 1920 x 1200 won that too.

Company of Heroes (Opposing Fronts) won again

& on the 3dmark 1680 x 1050 10035

1920 x 1200 10035 no change lol

I know I'm bottle necked right now My Be won't clock ( only the NB got up to 2.4ghz chip is at 2.5ghz )& I get about 13,000 with two 3870's in 3Dmark06

[Jaivan]

Won't be able to get my cards until at least July 2nd (stupid Canada Day Holiday):(

[SocketMan]

I don't think that you could get maximum performance for the crossfire setup using Intel. Not for the most demanding games any way.
You need very good I/O performance and the FSB may not be enough to perform that much I/O that the GPU can handle.

Check this test: http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/intel_q9450/
You can se there that a slower AMD pulls ahead in some games as the resolution goes up. There can only be one explanation to that behavior and that is that the GPU is waiting because the FSB can’t handle the traffic.
I have seen that there are very similar performance using 4850 and 4870 in crossfire setups for intel computers. The difference is smaller that comparing single card setup for these two. The reason for that could be that it isn’t possible to run the cards at maximum speed because they need more I/O performance.
I/O performance on AMD is much better and you don’t need to overcklock the processor to get it.



Not to mention they used a "crippled" B2 revision with the TLB bug fix ON in
BIOS (You can easily tell by the memory test results)
I'd like to see it on 9850 at 3.0ghz something tells me that
FSB would be really "pwned" by the HT;)


************************************EDIT********** ********************************88
Don't know if you guys have seen this :

Diamond Multimedia (diamondmm.com), a leading manufacturer of PC graphics cards, sound cards and communications products, launched today along with boutique system builder Smoothcreations, and Water cooling mavens, Danger Den the ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 XOC Black Edition graphics card. This card offers exquisite gaming capabilities combined with state of the art efficiency.

The HD 4870 is a smoking gun dual slot card, PCIE 2.0, with 512MB of DDR5 memory and a clock speed of 800 MHz. The memory speed is 1100 MHz and is designed with 800 stream processors. The HD 4870 provides plug-and-play ATI CrossFireX™ upgradeability with up to quad-GPU support. Continuing with ATI’s Power Play and 55nm processing technology, this card is the fastest and efficient. “The Diamond Radeon HD 4870 XOC Black Edition was clocked to kick some ass”. We didn’t just want a fast card out in the market, we wanted the fastest card that could kick the living daylights and bust some performance records, say Mario Gastelum, Director of Product Development & Engineering. “we wanted a card that kicked the competitions teeth into the curb”, and that’s exactly what our engineers accomplished”. “The firmware was custom designed to enable end users to go beyond the normal over clocked speeds and allow them to push their cards for higher performance via the catalyst control center.” The GPU’s custom firmware has been unlocked to push cards to GPU settings of up to 950 MHz and Memory of up 1200 MHz.


http://www.techpowerup.com/64446/ATI_Preparing_Super_RV770_to_Challenge_GeForce_GTX _200_Series.html

[Jaivan]

Got my 4870's today:D

So far I ran vantage in just single mode because in crossfire there is a lot of corruption even with the hotfix drivers. I'll try again later maybe tomorrow.

I have tried Grid in crossfire and it works perfectly even when I'm crunching I get ~40fps @ 1920x1200 4xmsaa and everything on high.

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/8407/vantagecat86perfrh6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Rammsteiner]

But:shocked:

You :banana::banana::banana::banana:, enable CFX:rofl:

[Jaivan]

But:shocked:

You :banana::banana::banana::banana:, enable CFX:rofl:

Here's a CF result and a slight 10mhz bump on both gpu's:
http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/2849/vantagecat86hotfixperfcgr1.jpg

[Rammsteiner]

Whoa, damn nice:up:

Now OC it more and get a SB750 board to get the Phenom at good clocks as well:D.

Ill have to wait after my holidays for ordering new parts. But well, at least Ill be quite sure 9950BE and SB750 boards will be around, or at least very close of being around:p:

[Jaivan]

Whoa, damn nice:up:

Now OC it more and get a SB750 board to get the Phenom at good clocks as well:D.

Ill have to wait after my holidays for ordering new parts. But well, at least Ill be quite sure 9950BE and SB750 boards will be around, or at least very close of being around:p:

haha yeah i'm waiting for sb750 too and maybe the 9950 if my 9850 really is a bad clocker.

[Mechromancer]

AWESOME!! I payed off my Newegg Preferred card on Monday so I'm debt free with them. I have enough cash to build a new system right now so I suppose I'll get started soon. I think I'll try out a 4870 on my old s939, nF4 rig next week to replace my 2900XT. You guys have really motivated me to upgrade ASAP. Words cannot describe how anxious I am for the release of the SB750. Theres an all-AMD system in my near future!

[perkam]

45nm Phenom @ 3.2Ghz + DDR3 Motherboards + DDR3 + HD 4870s = Awesome.

65nm 140W Phenom @ 2.6Ghz + DDR2 Motherboards + DDR2 + HD 4870s = The Ultimate Suckness.

Perkam

[DRT-Maverick]

Unfortunately I cannot run vantage on my PC as it gives me a strange error and crash loading the shaders for the Jane whatever first test. But I'd love to see how a 3.4-3.5GHz Phenom would perform vs a 2.9-3.0GHz phenom. I noticed almost 1000 point changes between 100mhz increments on my phenom in 3dm06.

[Rammsteiner]

45nm Phenom @ 3.2Ghz + DDR3 Motherboards + DDR3 + HD 4870s = Awesome.

65nm 140W Phenom @ 3Ghz + 750SB DDR2 Motherboards + D9GMH DDR2 + HD 4870s = Cool.

Perkam
Corrected a little bit.

From a recent review it even turned out the 9950 actually uses less power than 9850.
http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3344&p=9
Why is it stated as 140W TDP? Because that this CPU in combination with a SB750 and ACC will be 140W TDP and thus the motherboards need to support it.

If they would say its 125W TDP and people use this on a SB750 board while it actually doesnt support 140W but do intend to use ACC... yeah, then there's a slight problem and no one can be blaimed for it.

[informal]

Perkam,the 9950 + SB750 mobo are going to rock :)

[perkam]

9950 = stop gap low-clocked solution.

I just hope there will be 2.8Ghz 45nm chips for ~$300.

Perkam

[Macadamia]

Holy ****

If 9850 maxes out at 125 (never possible), the 9950 does it at 107 (probably even less)!

So we ARE TDP and SB limited instead of just Phenom not scaling.

[Particle]

4870s? Can us 4850ers still play in this thread?

[Jaivan]

Go ahead knock yourself out :up:

[Particle]

I just wish Vantage was worth buying. 3DM06 isn't very useful anymore due to its age.

[gosh]

Here is one review for 4850 crossfire

translated: http://translate.google.se/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forumdeluxx.de%2Fforu m%2Fshowpost.php%3Fp%3D9309783%26postcount%3D1&sl=de&tl=en&hl=sv&ie=UTF-8


original: http://www.forumdeluxx.de/forum/showpost.php?p=9309783&postcount=1

[Mechromancer]

Here is one review for 4850 crossfire

translated: http://translate.google.se/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forumdeluxx.de%2Fforu m%2Fshowpost.php%3Fp%3D9309783%26postcount%3D1&sl=de&tl=en&hl=sv&ie=UTF-8


original: http://www.forumdeluxx.de/forum/showpost.php?p=9309783&postcount=1

The Phenom is strong as hell according to those benches. It can really drive multiple GPU setups easily. I bought an HD4870 last Monday and put it in my Opteron 185@2.88Ghz box. The Phenom is leaps and bounds faster than my CPU. I think I'll definitely build a 45nm Deneb box this year.

SB750 can't come fast enough for me!