4870X2 + 4870 crossfire scaling?

[Peentje]

Hi, my question is actually quite simple, I tried searching the forum for a bit but couldn't really find a conclusive answer.
I'm about to purchase a 4870 X2 and thought that I could add another single 4870 later on. I know that for now the amount of memory equiped by both is different (X2 = 2x1GB vs. 512mb on the single 4870), so in crossfire it will be scaled down to the least of the 2 cards, resulting in using only 2x512mb on the X2 card. All i wanted to know is if there will be a big difference in benchmarking scores for example or in fps when gaming because the setup is scaled down to a lower amount of memory used, using a 1920x1200 resolution. Or would it mean a big gain if I should wait for a 1GB version of the single 4870 is released like MSI is about to.

If anyone could enlighten me on this matter I'd be very grateful :)

Thanks!

Peentje

[roller11]

CF basically doesn't work with the 4870x2 even with a second 4870x2. So obviously,
a second non-optimal 4870 won't work.

[freaksavior]

CF basically doesn't work with the 4870x2 even with a second 4870x2. So obviously,
a second non-optimal 4870 won't work.

I dont know were the chart is but your smoking crack.

the 3870 x2 did not have good scaling but if my memory serves me right the scaling was at least double the performance as the 3870 x2.

anyway, if you do a 4870 x2 2gb, get a 4870 1gb so match the ram amounts.

[Scray XXI]

What kind of motherboard do you have?

[Peentje]

What kind of motherboard do you have?

Asus Maximus Formula - QX9650 - 4GB Crucial Balistic PC8500
I have 2 PCI-E 16x slots available.

I'm just curious how much graphical power I'd loose in benchmarks and games on higher resolutions if I were to add a 512mb 4870 version in stead of waiting for a 1GB version.

[Peentje]

CF basically doesn't work with the 4870x2 even with a second 4870x2. So obviously,
a second non-optimal 4870 won't work.

There are several thorough reviews out there of the 4870x2 in crossfire and it does work, maybe not in all games due to support put it certainly works. But the reason I'm not going for a second X2 is I want to stick to a maximum of 3 GPU's since I wanna keep working in XP for now.

[xMrBunglex]

i know XP can theoretically support up to three GPU's, but i'm pretty sure i read somewhere that CrossFireX drivers are Vista only. and seriously, anything more than two GPU's is a waste of money.

[Peentje]

i know XP can theoretically support up to three GPU's, but i'm pretty sure i read somewhere that CrossFireX drivers are Vista only. and seriously, anything more than two GPU's is a waste of money.

Right, that slipped my mind. Doesn't really matter since I'm using dual boot and using both OS now. I can use Vista for gaming and XP for my other work.

About 3 GPU's being a waste of money, that's for each to decide right. Some people just like the idea of having something extra, for benching or just for the fun of it.

That still leaves my question unanswered lol, I still don't know in what degree adding a 512mb version would limit, lower or higher the performance of the X2 with 2x1GB of memory. Even if I will probably wait for MSI to release the 1GB single GPU version to add a third GPU, I'm just curious what effect it would have. I hope someone has the knowledge to give me a clear answer this time :)