Two GTX 480s vs Three 5870s

**AdamK47** · 08-29-10, 02:10 PM

Would like some input on which setup is better overall. My current specs are as follows:
Intel Core i7 980X @ 4080MHz
Asus P6X58D Premium @ 24 x 170MHz
6 GB Mushkin Redline @ 2040 DDR
Three ATI 5870 in CrossFireX @ 930/1250
50GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD
Three 1TB SpinPoint F3 in RAID-0 - 3TB
1TB SpinPoint F1
LG 32LD450 32" LCD
Samsung 22X SH-S223L DVD-RW
Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card
Antec Twelve Hundred case
Prolimatech Megahalems heatsink
Corsair HX 1000W power supply
Windows 7 x64

I've been debating on selling the three 5870s and going with two GTX 480s. I'd like some input on how the drivers are on the nVidia side. How does SLI compare with two 480s vs CrossFire with three 5870s?

trivium nate · 08-29-10, 02:42 PM

ive used sli before it really easy to setup ive never had problems with it imo i think drivers are fine id go with sli evga gtx 480's

Madpistol · 08-29-10, 06:06 PM

My opinion on this situation is "Don't fix what ain't broke." If your Tri-Crossfire 5870 setup is working, don't waste the money selling those cards and getting those GTX 480's. Best case scenario, you'll break even on money. However, you will probably be losing some money. Overall, I think the Tri-5870 setup will be faster.

Intel17 · 08-30-10, 06:36 AM

Stick with the Tri-5870s...

newparad1gm · 08-30-10, 08:41 AM

It's only worth it if you really want to check out 3D Vision, or use PhysX without hacks, or check out some other NVIDIA specific techs. Otherwise, just stick with what you have. I can't comment on whether SLI or Xfire is better personally because I only have one 5870 in my ATI machine, but according to online reviews, SLI has better scaling. But any deficiencies in Xfire should be made up by that 3rd 5870.

tweaked · 09-10-10, 02:48 PM

2x 480's hands down.

I just sold 2x 5870's and only have one 480 and i'm much happier with a single 480 than i was with dual 5870's.

benchmarks don't tell the whole story.

**AdamK47** · 09-12-10, 12:31 PM

I bought the two GTX 480s. I'm trying them out before selling the three 5870s.

Seems like there's a lot of room for overclocking. I'm currently sitting at 800MHz Core, 1600MHz shader, and 2000MHz memory. Can probably go higher still.

One thing I didn't expect is nHancer not working. When I had my two GTX 285s and two GTX 280s, it was easy to use the utility to create custom SLI profiles for games that didn't have it, or didn't work with the default profile. Luckily, nVidia released a tool called "GeForce SLI Profile Tool" to edit in custom profiles in a non-GUI manner. Still have to figure out what all of the hex codes mean.

tdream · 09-14-10, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tweaked

2x 480's hands down.

I just sold 2x 5870's and only have one 480 and i'm much happier with a single 480 than i was with dual 5870's.

benchmarks don't tell the whole story.

it's called microstutter and minimum framerate

**AdamK47** · 09-14-10, 12:51 PM

Bought a third GTX 480 and a Corsair AX1200 power supply. So far so good. Haven't tripped any circuit breakers in my house yet.

tweaked · 09-15-10, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdream

it's called microstutter and minimum framerate

As well as better driver compatibility. But that will start me on a whole rant.

DCult · 09-16-10, 03:48 AM

2x 480 absolutely. There is an article in xbitlabs.com where even 4x5870 can't touch 2x480 in some games. The architecture and/or drivers of 5870 seems to be the handicap , but maybe I'm wrong.

**AdamK47** · 09-16-10, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slaWter

Lovely power supply

It's a beast of a power supply with it's single 100A 12V rail.

08-29-10, 02:10 PM	#1
AdamK47 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Cinci, OH Posts: 984	Two GTX 480s vs Three 5870s Would like some input on which setup is better overall. My current specs are as follows: Intel Core i7 980X @ 4080MHz Asus P6X58D Premium @ 24 x 170MHz 6 GB Mushkin Redline @ 2040 DDR Three ATI 5870 in CrossFireX @ 930/1250 50GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD Three 1TB SpinPoint F3 in RAID-0 - 3TB 1TB SpinPoint F1 LG 32LD450 32" LCD Samsung 22X SH-S223L DVD-RW Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card Antec Twelve Hundred case Prolimatech Megahalems heatsink Corsair HX 1000W power supply Windows 7 x64 I've been debating on selling the three 5870s and going with two GTX 480s. I'd like some input on how the drivers are on the nVidia side. How does SLI compare with two 480s vs CrossFire with three 5870s?

08-29-10, 02:42 PM	#2
trivium nate Registered User Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 4,023	Re: Two GTX 480s vs Three 5870s ive used sli before it really easy to setup ive never had problems with it imo i think drivers are fine id go with sli evga gtx 480's __________________ CM-HAF-932//AMD Phenom-II-X4-965-BE-Deneb-3.4 GHz-Quad Core//CorsairH50 ASRock 770 EXTREME3 Mobo//EVGA GTX-480(1536MB GDDR5)-Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme+cooler 180GB SSD//3TB//G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB//DVD-RW//blu-Ray//1000 Watt Corsair PSU 42"Vizio TV-1920x1080-1080P-120Hertz//Win 7 Ultimate(64)//XBox360-pc controller Saitek Eclipse 2 keyboard//Razer DeathAdder Mouse//250gb-Xbox 360//160gb-PS3

08-29-10, 06:06 PM	#3
Madpistol It's a wittle baby! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: United States Posts: 4,554	Re: Two GTX 480s vs Three 5870s My opinion on this situation is "Don't fix what ain't broke." If your Tri-Crossfire 5870 setup is working, don't waste the money selling those cards and getting those GTX 480's. Best case scenario, you'll break even on money. However, you will probably be losing some money. Overall, I think the Tri-5870 setup will be faster. __________________ http://bfbc2.statsverse.com/sig/deta...d%20Pistol.png MadPistol's Rig AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE (RB-C3) @ 4Ghz, 1.425 Vcore, 1.25V NB VID Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (w/ Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm fan) Gigabyte UD3H AM3 790GX motherboard XFX Radeon HD 5870 PNY XLR8 2x2GB CL8 DDR3 1600 G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2GB CL8 DDR3 1600 Soundblaster X-Fi Fatality Titanium OCZ Vertex II 120GB SSD (OS drive) Western Digital 500GB Caviar (black) Western Digital 640GB Blue Samsung DVD burner Logitech MX performance mouse Logitech G15 keyboard Corsair HX 750-watt Modular PSU Antec Nine Hundred case Windows 7 Home Premium x64 ASUS MK241 24" LCD ACER X241W 24" LCD - RIP

08-30-10, 06:36 AM	#4
Intel17 Is not an Intel fanboi Join Date: May 2004 Location: Burlington, VT Posts: 1,368	Re: Two GTX 480s vs Three 5870s Stick with the Tri-5870s... __________________ Intel Core i7 980X Extreme Edition @ 4.00GHz, 2.94GHz uncore\| Corsair H60 \| ASUS P6X58D-E \| Zotac GTX 580 @ 872/1744/2145\|Western Digital Caviar Black 1.5TB (Games/Steam)\| Seagate 1.5TB (media/misc.) \|Seagate 1 TB (OS/Main) \| 24 GB G.Skill RipJaws X 1.5V DDR3-1333 \| Creative X-Fi Titanium \| Sennheiser HD 202 Headset \| Dual Gigabit Realtek LAN \| Antec True Power Quattro 1200W \| Acer G235Hbmbd 23" LCD Display \| Logitech K320 Wireless Keyboard \| Logitech Performance MX Mouse

08-30-10, 08:41 AM	#5
newparad1gm Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 690	Re: Two GTX 480s vs Three 5870s It's only worth it if you really want to check out 3D Vision, or use PhysX without hacks, or check out some other NVIDIA specific techs. Otherwise, just stick with what you have. I can't comment on whether SLI or Xfire is better personally because I only have one 5870 in my ATI machine, but according to online reviews, SLI has better scaling. But any deficiencies in Xfire should be made up by that 3rd 5870. __________________ WAR MACHINE: Intel Core i7 3930K \| Asus X79 Sabertooth \| 4x4 GB G.Skill RipJaw PC3-12800 \| 2x EVGA NVIDIA GTX TITAN Signature 6GB SLI \| OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD \| 2x500 GB Seagate Barracuda RAID 0 \| Seagate FreeAgent 500GB External \| LG BD-ROM \| Cyber Acoustics CA3001WB 2.1 Speakers \| ABS SL 1050W PSU \| 3x Acer GD235HZ 23.6in 120Hz \| Silverstone Fortress FT02 \| Windows 8 Pro x64 \| NVIDIA 3DVision SURROUND CRIMSON DYNAMO: Intel Core i7 2600K \| Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H \| 2x4 GB G.Skill Ripjaw PC3-12800 \| XFX AMD HD7970 3GB \| Intel X-25M G2 160GB SSD \| 2x250GB RAID 0 \| Samsung BD-ROM \| Corsair TX 850W PSU \| Toshiba 42" REGZA 1080p HDTV \| Antec 900 ATX \| Windows 8 Pro x64 Sailor Jupiter (HTPC): Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200 \| ZOTAC Geforce 9300 \| 2x2 GB OCZ Fatal1ty PC2-8500 \| WD 1TB \| Hitachi 2TB External \| MediaSonic HFR2-SU3S2 6x3TB Seagate Barracuda RAID 1+0 \| LG Blu-Ray/HD DVD-ROM \| FSP 150W PSU \| Toshiba 42" REGZA 1080p HDTV \| Foxconn RS233 mini-ITX \| Windows 7 Pro x86

09-10-10, 02:48 PM	#6
tweaked Crazed Crack Head Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 275	Re: Two GTX 480s vs Three 5870s 2x 480's hands down. I just sold 2x 5870's and only have one 480 and i'm much happier with a single 480 than i was with dual 5870's. benchmarks don't tell the whole story.

09-12-10, 12:31 PM	#7
AdamK47 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Cinci, OH Posts: 984	Re: Two GTX 480s vs Three 5870s I bought the two GTX 480s. I'm trying them out before selling the three 5870s. Seems like there's a lot of room for overclocking. I'm currently sitting at 800MHz Core, 1600MHz shader, and 2000MHz memory. Can probably go higher still. One thing I didn't expect is nHancer not working. When I had my two GTX 285s and two GTX 280s, it was easy to use the utility to create custom SLI profiles for games that didn't have it, or didn't work with the default profile. Luckily, nVidia released a tool called "GeForce SLI Profile Tool" to edit in custom profiles in a non-GUI manner. Still have to figure out what all of the hex codes mean.

09-14-10, 12:51 PM	#9
AdamK47 Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Cinci, OH Posts: 984	Re: Two GTX 480s vs Three 5870s Bought a third GTX 480 and a Corsair AX1200 power supply. So far so good. Haven't tripped any circuit breakers in my house yet.

09-16-10, 03:48 AM	#11
DCult Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Greece Posts: 264	Re: Two GTX 480s vs Three 5870s 2x 480 absolutely. There is an article in xbitlabs.com where even 4x5870 can't touch 2x480 in some games. The architecture and/or drivers of 5870 seems to be the handicap , but maybe I'm wrong.