Mmmm 4870x2?

[I Hunta x]

Basicaly a mates selling a 4870x2 soon and im pretty tempted to nab it off him as this 8800gt is starting to show its age performance wise but i have a few questions before i confirm anything with him,

1. Are there any bugs or issues that cause games to not like them still? I seem to remember reading some things about such problems when they were released but i cant realy remember.

2. How well do they scale compared to a single 4870/4890/5850 with the new driver revisions? I cant seem to find any reviews since they were first released so new drivers may have helped them performance wise but i cant find any newish comparisons =\

2. How loud are they compaired to say a 8800gt or 2x 4850', a little louder i could live with but loads louder would be a no no i guess unless i get it under water (he will throw in the water block for £20) or i could get one of the accelero coolers.

3. I can get it for £140 off him, is that a good price (no clue on prices of alot of stuff atm)?? Would it be worth spending the extra 60-80 quid on a 5850 ? (no need for wc or new cooler to keep quiet then)

Main uses would be finaly being able to games at a the full resolution on my 1080p TV instead of this 1280x1024 monitor (it works fine i just have to turn the quality down as this 8800 blows at 1080 )

 

[killablade]

the price is definitely ok since my mate just got an offer of €125 (110 pounds) on his xfx 4890 xxx and the 4870x2 is quicker Also watercooling it might be a good idea since the fan is pretty noisy. (I'm basing that on the noise levels of my mate's 4890 )

Cheapest I can get a new 4870x2 is for 300 euro's (well 270 but that's at a shitty store)

 

[tinytomlogan]

It will be quicker than a 5850, and Id deffo get the water block as thats a b loody cheap deal. Just remember youll need a decent PSU for it.

 

[Pyr0]

1. i have no issues with mine

2. can't really comment as i've not tested the other cards, but i did watercool mine for silence as i hate noisy pc's

3. 160 seems a really good price to me for a watercooled X2

 

[I Hunta x]

Thanks for the replys guys im prety much set on this now, ill get the water block with it and stick it on when i have the cash spair for the rest of the loop.

@ Tom, I know it says it needs 650w on the spec sheet for the x2 but alot of reviews say it only uses about 425w total system draw, my 600w ocz should be fine no?

On another quick note a thermo 120.3 should be fine for an e8600 + 4870x2 yeah?

 

[tinytomlogan]

I wouldnt use a 600w OCZ no matey, imho you should get a decent 650w corsair, like the HX650. Last thing you want is your OCZ to struggle and start killing hardware.

 

[I Hunta x]

Bah, well ill be able to buy a new psu in about a month, i know ill be able to borrow my mates 650w coolermaster psu for the time being as i just asked him so thats sorted.

If i do get a hx id spend the bit extra and get the 750w (£115 INC)/850w (£125 INC) instead of the 650w (£95 INC) for more futureproofness. (prices from scan)

Next is to decide if i should upgrade my ram from 2x1gb reaper to 2x2gb gskill TT 1000mhz (The same as here) can get a set for £60, from what ive read they can get to 1100mhz ish at 5-5-5-15 2.1v so ill look into that in a bit more.