^^ O rly?
at 2560x1600 let's see how GTX280, HD 4850 Crossfire and HD 4870 Crossfire compare. In raw power as well as price/performance ratio
at
Hardware Canucks:
3D Mark 06 (default+4AA, 16AF
4870 C: 14322
4850C: 11523
GTX280: 8896
3D Mark Vantage (extreme+default res)
4870 C: 6430
4850C: 5172
GTX280: 4900
Unreal Tournament (everything max)
4870 C: 96
4850C: 78
GTX280: 61
Prey (everything max)
4870 C: 120
4850C: 94
GTX280: 97
Devil May Cry 4 (dx9, Super high details)
4870 C: 125
4850C: 93
GTX280: 75
Crysis (DX10, 1920X1080, High, 2AA)
4870 C: 34
4850C: 32
GTX280: 30
CoD4 (Everything max, 4AA, 16AF)
4870 C: 107
4850C: 95
GTX280: 67
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
4870 C: 103
4850C: 86
GTX280: 76
World in Conflict (Everything max, 4AA, 16AF, DX10)
4870 C: 28
4850C: 25
GTX280: 24
Couple it with what
Guru3D found with their review of Crossfire of HD 48XX and TweakTown recently found from their
Crossfire of HD4850 Toxic, and I don't get what you are talking about when you say HD 48XX crossfire is not enough for 2560x1600 res. There are three reviews and in none of them Crossfire solution buckles under the load.
As for the supposedly justified price of GTX280, cant you see that two HD 4850s pile up shame on this card. Ok there are some disadvantages like power requirements and heat (with cards like Toxic, even this is not an issue anymore) but just see the price difference between these two solutions.
GTX280 still costs not less than $400 while two HD 4850s can be bought for, in worst case scenario, $370. In India, GTX280 costs not less than 30,000. On the otherhand, two HD 4850s can be bought for just 22,000. That's saving of Rs 8,000 (almost $200). :tongue:
GTX 280 costs a lot because of its manufacturing quirks. But in no way its performance justifies its price. Yes, GTX260 is priced alright.
As for SLI and Crossfire, this is what Hilbert said in his review of CrossfireX:
Honestly, except Crysis, is there a game that you can not play with almost max settings on a 2560x1600 res with a pair of 4850, let aside 4870. And this will cost you not more than $750 ($360 for GPU, $180 for Crossfire compatible mobo and rest of the money for a sturdy PSU).
Contrast it with cost of SLI of GTX280s. can you get it for less than than $1100? This is almost $400 dollar difference and it offers you almost no significant advantage over the cheaper option.
I wonder if a sane person will still go nuts over SLI