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View Full Version : 4 x HD4670 vs. 2 x HD4870


blueonblack
09-17-2009, 11:54 PM
I'm currently running two HD4870 cards in Crossfire, but since my board will handle quad-Crossfire I was thinking of running four HD4670 cards instead.

I like the 4670 because they're smaller and don't require any external power source. (And besides, four cards just looks cooler.) No way am I going to fit four 4870 cards in there and power them and make it look even halfway decent.

Given that the PCIe will be cut from 16x to 8x with four cards running, does anyone have any opinions on performance comparison between these two setups?
rithunder916
09-18-2009, 12:13 PM
I havne't really seen any difference myself, but if you want to do it, then go for it!
Kayin
09-18-2009, 01:34 PM
With overclocking you'll beat your setup.

Just be careful, that's a lot to pull through a board. What board, BTW?
x88x
09-18-2009, 01:49 PM
I would doubt that you would see any performance increase; remember, Crossfire (with 4xxx boards) has better scaling than SLI, but it's still nowhere near 100% (last I saw, with 4xxx boards, it was around 60-65%). So, if you're just going for a performance upgrade, I would say no. Also, Kayin makes a good point; since the 4670 doesn't pull external power, it's pulling all of its power from the PCIe bus..I'm not sure what the upper limit is, but that would definitely be something you would want to make sure you're not overloading.
blueonblack
09-18-2009, 04:52 PM
With overclocking you'll beat your setup.

Just be careful, that's a lot to pull through a board. What board, BTW?

An excellent point. I'll be using an Asus M4A79 Deluxe board with a Kingwin 1000-watt PSU.
haha49
09-25-2009, 05:02 AM
why not wait for the ati 5870 instead dx11... comeing out soon.. and the preformance out of 1 card is not bad.. I ran 2 ati 4870 and the preformance I saw with it sucked so I went back to 1 card instead..
p0Pe
09-25-2009, 06:59 AM
you have to remember, that if you play a game that dosnt support multi gpu´s, then your way down in performance. i would stick with the 2 4870´s. i doubt that you would find anything it dosnt run on max
SXRguyinMA
09-25-2009, 07:26 AM
I'm running a 3870x2 1GB and it plays COD4 on max flawlessly :up:
Kayin
09-25-2009, 10:18 AM
I run 2x4870x2s. NOTHING won't run on max on my setup.

But, as for running Quadfire...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/KayinStorm/008-3.jpg
BuzzKillington
09-25-2009, 09:02 PM
I'm running a 3870x2 1GB and it plays COD4 on max flawlessly :up:

lmao, I would hope so!
blueonblack
09-26-2009, 01:54 AM
I've decided to go entirely the other direction and run a single video card. I need the space more than I need the higher benchmark numbers. Appreciate all the input, guys.

Anyone want to buy a good ATI card? :)
(Seriously, it's in the For Sale section...)
Spawn-Inc
10-04-2009, 06:47 PM
i vote for 4 GTX 285's :) friggin 12 power input lol.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3592/dsc0306bd.jpg
x88x
10-04-2009, 09:24 PM
How.....what?.. How does that even work? Like, how do the top 3 get any airflow??
blueonblack
10-04-2009, 10:02 PM
It wouldn't work at all, for that very reason. The bottom card would probably work, but the other three would fry pretty quickly.
Spawn-Inc
10-05-2009, 12:37 AM
who knows, it looks hella sweet though.

besides that i would remove the stock heatsinks and cut out the cores, and slap some MCW60's on the cores and put the stock heatsink back on for a clean water cooled look.

this is what i mean (http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/539067-9800gtx-stealth-watercooling-mod-save-some.html#post6670724)
blueonblack
10-05-2009, 02:17 AM
I like the idea of the stock heat sink covering the water-cooling setup. Nice idea, I may have to steal it. :D
x88x
10-05-2009, 02:58 AM
That's actually really smart, with full-coverage blocks costing as much as they do...or if you can't get a full-coverage block for your card..
Spawn-Inc
10-05-2009, 07:59 PM
the only issue with doing it, the reason i didn't, is you cannot rma it.
blueonblack
10-05-2009, 08:17 PM
If I was worried about RMA I'd never get anything modded. :D

I just always assume any problems with anything I mod are mine as soon as the first screw is removed.

I'll have to find a way to mount a quieter fan in it for the ramsinks, but this could work out very well.
Spawn-Inc
10-05-2009, 10:05 PM
fair enough, the main reason is it's a lifetime warranty. if i knew it would expire i would go for it.

but i do enjoy making heatsinks for the cards so why not.

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showpost.php?p=237427&postcount=1