Hd 4850 X2

[Radiator]

It actually is faster , than the HD 4870 X2 at 1680x1050 and 1920x1200 , it seems . And it's cheap ! ( albeit noisy )

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4850_X2/8.html

[-RK]

I will remain somewhat skeptical on this one for now...

[Radiator]

Well , I certainly hope those tests are indeed true , but yeah , it doesn't make much sense , considering the much lower core clocks .

[Headfoot]

I'd say chalk it up to the differences in the runs.
I think what it's telling us is that the 4870X2 is overkill at those resolutions.

Also it might be due to the fact TechPowerUp doesn't like games that came out earlier than 3 years ago. Seriously though they need to update their benchmark suite. They still use 3dMark03 and not 3dMark Vantage.

[Radiator]

I for one don't give a rats ass about 3Dmarks ... I usually look at games performance .
Well according to that logic , it would mean the HD 4850X2 would outperform the HD 4870 X2 at lower resolutions not higher resolutions .

[Headfoot]

Yeah thats my point. The fact that they use 3dMark03 is ridiculous.

[ultima]

that and AA is off

also if you notice for some of the results a single card is about 95% the speed of the X2, saw in one game the 3850 X2 beat the 4850 X2

in this case i hate to say it but the cpu was the limiting factor and the
screen resolutions needed to be turned up to start to see differences

games like UT3 use more than 2 cores and it does make a difference in the results.

or even in crysis
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/645/9

Check this review out, they do crysis at low and high settings
even a 3850 X2 does better at low setting, then kick it into high
and then you get to see the spread of the cards

same on the next page for UT3

they uses an extreme quad core, vs the above with a high speed dual core

[Radiator]

As far as I know , UT3 doesn't properly utilize over 2 cores , and I'm certain Crysis doesn't .
The CPU might indeed be a limiting factor and based on newer reviews , like this http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/11/10/winter-2008-graphics-performance-update/1 , it's safe to say , that the HD 4870 X2 is indeed faster .

[Headfoot]

Well Crysis uses 2 with light use of a 3rd.

The 4850x2 is a definitely solid product (provided you won't try to add another later) at a solid price.

[Tofuman88]

Sry to butt in, but :) I firmly stand behind the shaky ground that holds up the midclass heavyweight 4850x2, the performance is actually spot on for the price...almost. In comparison to the GTX 260 which is more streamlined, the 4850x2 seems to just rip through whatever is thrown it's way like a ravenous dog, however it does get eked out in ultra high resolutions somewhat from what I've seen, unlike it's big brother the 4870x2 which is in a way like the necronomicon...completely powerful but entirely unpredictable, until revised drivers and whatnot come out. And yes techpowerup's lineup is quite antiquated...but I must digress I don't own 3dmark vantage yet :( and for the record...those who coded Crysis need to shoot their own foot off...such poor coding results in the high stress environment created by said game. One game that I think should be put on is The Witcher, graphically pretty, uses speedtree tech and anything above 2xAA is murder on a system...well mine at least lol. FPS can go from 60 to 22 in areas, and with 2xAA cripples it to 45 and under.

[Headfoot]

I definitely agree with putting the Witcher into the line up.

[Radiator]

At 0xAA The Witcher ran great on my machine even ... at the highest settings at 1280x1024 , though .

[mrstew]

The HD4850 2048MB is not as fast as a HD4870X2 in games that config for Crossfire.

GPU top five imo

1st) HD4870X2
2nd) HD4850X2
3rd) GTX280
4th) 9800GX2
5th) HD4870

[Radiator]

The HD4850 2048MB is not as fast as a HD4870X2 in games that config for Crossfire.

Lol it's quite obvious , that a 2 GB HD 4850 isn't faster , than a HD 4870 X2 .
Anyway , in the review I linked somewhere in the beginning of this thread , the HD 4850 X2 was faster , than the HD 4870 X2 at lower resolutions , like 1680x1050 .

[mrstew]

^^^^^

Yes the HD4850X2 is a fast card it can still perform like it's big brother the HD4870X2 @ lower res.