HD 4850 Previews

[jas420221]

People will pay to have the best of the best and since it will presumeably be the best of the best post 4870 launch, they can charge it and damn well should since they can. Its up to the consumer to purchase what he prefers. Biggest e-peen and several more FPS, or average e-peen and less FPS?

[ceevee]

Performance/watt/price is what matters, not the actual configuration of the hardware.

Well two 4850s in crossfire draw more power at load than a single 280gtx.

I agree two for $400 US seems like a great deal but the review also shows that Xfire only works (at all!!) in about 50% of games, so I do not see why it is so great.

They should not say something has the greatest performance when they do not make fair comparison.

[MomijiTMO]

Clearly 3 GTX280 is the performance crown. Whether the cost is worth the performance gain is a totally different issue.

[jas420221]

Performance/watt/price is what matters, not the actual configuration of the hardware.

I have to admit, I dont get that performance /watt argument...unless you are some 5th level Vegan tree hugger.

[[XC] hipno650]

ya performance per watt for me is garbage. i care about:
1-single GPU performance
2-price
3-dual GPU performance
4-features (CUDA etc.)
5-heat output INTO the case
6-and finally power consumption

now the HD4850 looks like it meets 2,3 and 6 very well and 1 pretty well. still waiting on that hardwarecanucks review.

[LordEC911]

Well two 4850s in crossfire draw more power at load than a single 280gtx.

I doubt that...
I have seen one source claim that.

[Lightning_Rider]

I still don't understand why people compare two GPUs to one GPU and act like this is somehow an equal comparison.

Why don't you compare two GPUs to two GPUs?? Of course AMD will look better when you compare two to one.

Because 2 HD4850s cost way less than just 1 280GTX.

[ceevee]

Because 2 HD4850s cost way less than just 1 280GTX.

But Xfire doesn't work in 40-50% of games.





Xfire seems like its still a total crapshoot to me, just like it was when I got so annoyed with it back with 2x1950xtx.

Its great if you only like 1 or 2 games and are lucky enough that it will actually work on those games. Also Anand doesn't even show GTX280 in SLI.

[Macadamia]

^

There is a reason why almost all the articles are PREVIEWS. Duh

[eleeter]

I doubt that...
I have seen one source claim that.

GTX280 is 238 watts max, 4850 is 110 watts max times 2 = 220 so they are very close, according to their specs.

[eleeter]

Considering the price, a single 4850 is within spitting distance of the 280! Day-um that is amazing to me. We are talking over 3 times the cost. Fix the crossfire bug and it will probably be the highest performer in Bioshock.

[ceevee]

^

There is a reason why almost all the articles are PREVIEWS. Duh

The 4850 is available to buy everywhere just like the 280GTX, so this excuse is not valid.

Here are like 8 of them to buy now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scription=4850

[STaRGaZeR]

^

There is a reason why almost all the articles are PREVIEWS. Duh

He's right. And all of those games are very popular ones and in consecuence very well optimized. ATI driver team has put time into them. If you play non popular games, CF just don't work or it does with graphic problems.

[[XC] hipno650]

He's right. And all of those games are very popular ones and in consecuence very well optimized. ATI driver team has put time into them. If you play non popular games, CF just don't work or it does with graphic problems.

or they come with a healthy does of microstuddering.

it is good to see AMD really making an effort to fix CF though. gosh i remember when the X850XT's ran in crossfire. what a joke those were.

[ceevee]

Considering the price, a single 4850 is within spitting distance of the 280! Day-um that is amazing to me. We are talking over 3 times the cost.

Or here even two of them in Xfire is only 50% of the 280GTX performance even though the cost is 61% of the 280GTX.



It just seems like AMD's solution is much less consistent and reliable than Nvidia's.


Sure it is cheap but it seems you get what you pay for.


If they can fix these problems so that it performs in ALL games then I will be the first to buy two 4870s, but until then no thanks.

[Macadamia]

The 4850 is available to buy everywhere just like the 280GTX, so this excuse is not valid.

Here are like 8 of them to buy now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scription=4850

Hello Mister, does 3870 X2/CF scale?



You consistently ignore that the drivers are 1st release and not gone through 3 like the GTXes, and keep on threadcrapping.

2560 sometimes needs >512MB, we know that already. Geez.

Continue making fun of yourself then.

[STaRGaZeR]

Macadamia have you ever used CF? Or you base your opinion in reviews?

or they come with a healthy does of microstuddering.

it is good to see AMD really making an effort to fix CF though. gosh i remember when the X850XT's ran in crossfire. what a joke those were.

They have improved a lot since the X850 days. A LOT. But it's still not enough. Nothing like single card.

[onethreehill]

Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 In Crossfire
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/147...ire/index.html

[ceevee]

Hello Mister, does 3870 X2/CF scale?

You consistently ignore that the drivers are 1st release and not gone through 3 like the GTXes, and keep on threadcrapping.

2560 sometimes needs >512MB, we know that already. Geez.

Continue making fun of yourself then.

The only people who look bad here is rude mouthbreathing fanboys like you.

I have consistently said I will buy whatever platform gives the best performance. I have owned more ATI and NVIDIA cards than you probably have had in your entire life.

I have actually used Crossfire setups before for day to day computing. (have you? How many crossfire setups have you owned??)

Unless it has changed dramatically since my last 2 x1950xtxs, then crossfire has artifacting, glitches and zero performance increase on some less common games. I owned several games that I had to disable one video card because Xfire was WORSE than a single x1950xtx.

If this has changed and Xfire is now universally compatible then great sign me up, but so far I only see more evidence that it still has problems.

[natty]

If this has changed and Xfire is now universally compatible then great sign me up, but so far I only see more evidence that it still has problems.

From what I understand about SLI/crossfire, being universally compatible is impossible. They have to manually go in and make a profile for each game don't they? I doubt they will waste their time on any obscure titles.

[junkmonk]

Wow asus is already offering a $30 MIR on newegg bringing the price down to $169.99 now THAT'S a sweet deal for this card. Hopefully these manufacturers will begin to offer this rebate in Canada soon. (I know many people have problems with rebates, but sometimes you just have to take a few minutes out of your day to hassle the processor with e-mails and phone calls for that rejected UPC)

Now, I'm looking into building a new PC for my girlfriend soon. Yes the HD4850 is SWEET, but she wants a top of the line rig. Me personally, I'm going to try my luck at selling my 8800GT and buying an HD4850, but for her I'll have to look in the $300-$400 segment. ATM the 9800GX2 still takes the $400 segment just tipping at $399.99 Two 4850s come close, and sometimes beat it, but from what I could gather it seems that the 9800GX2 still comes out on top MOST of the time. I don't have until august. And the projected price for the 4870s ($329) doubled becomes $650. That is a LOT of money. Unless the price drops soon, I think I'm going to have to grudgingly support Nvidia. I hate Nvidia with their fake 9 series, and their monopolistic behaviour. I'm sure ATI would do it if they were in the same place, but they're not. They also had a really bad run the last couple gens and they seem to have an A+ product right now, so I would love to support the company

But, as it stands, sadly, but truly it seems the 9800GX2 still wins for $399. And it wouldn't be worth it to buy two 4850s for $349 if and when the price drops, because we wouldn't mind spending that extra $50 for the better performance. Is there any way I can support AMD and still be happy with my performance?

[Chickenfeed]

The nature of multigpu is some engines just aren't coded properly to take advantage of it. This is why some games show no gains or worse performance. Sure, if they tweak drivers and make profiles it can help but some games just will not benefit period.

Personally I'd say if SLI/Crossfire works very well in a game(s) you play alot then all the power to you. If you want consistent and predictable performance across the board stick with one gpu. It's that simple.

[aicjofs]

Anyone see any folding at home numbers, PPD on the new cards? I didn't see any in my travels today.

[Macadamia]

The only people who look bad here is rude mouthbreathing fanboys like you.

I have consistently said I will buy whatever platform gives the best performance. I have owned more ATI and NVIDIA cards than you probably have had in your entire life.

I have actually used Crossfire setups before for day to day computing. (have you? How many crossfire setups have you owned??)

Unless it has changed dramatically since my last 2 x1950xtxs, then crossfire has artifacting, glitches and zero performance increase on some less common games. I owned several games that I had to disable one video card because Xfire was WORSE than a single x1950xtx.

If this has changed and Xfire is now universally compatible then great sign me up, but so far I only see more evidence that it still has problems.

I specced 2 3870X2s to 16*10 widescreen users, and they were happy with it. I've played with a 9800GX2, I'm happy with it. I don't own either since I don't even game anymore, but jumping from one excuse to the other doesn't give you extra credence.

Crossfire was a mess in 2007. Undeniable. I wouldn't touch any config made with it then. In 2008 it got its act back up completely, which was the basis I made the recommendations. Why the fuss suddenly about driver profiles, AFR, etc when SLI/CF has been there, been much worse for so long and virtually nobody whined, this I'm VERY curious.

[gojirasan]

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...2320904,00.asp

Extremetech finally has their review with benchmarks up and as usual it is well written and interesting. Extremetech has been one of my favorite review sites for a long time now. Although I was a bit disappointed with the 4850 performance. It merely matched the stock 9800GTX. It didn't (significantly) beat it as in some other reviews.