4870 x2 or GTX 280 for FSX

[Guest GamePlayer]

A few months ago I looked at a video card roundup review at SimHQ.com and it showed that a GTX 280 was much faster than a 4870x2 in FSX and that the ATI cards used were slower than the Nvidia cards in FSX. I currently have an 8800 Ultra and was thinking of upgrading to a 4870 x2 or a GTX 280 and selling my 8800 Ultra but don't want FSX performance to drop. I also play other PC games. Has the performance of the 4870x2 improved in FSX with later driver releases to at least the levels of Nvidia or is it still much slower than a GTX 280 in FSX?

[Guest GamePlayer]

I made a mistake on my original post. It was not SimHQ.com that had the review that I was mentioning. It was tomshardware.com that had the review. I apologize for that. Here's the link. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/4870-x2-amd,1992-4.html

[Guest GamePlayer]

So anyone here have the 4870 x2 since it came out and noticed better performance in FSX with the latest drivers or has FSX performance with that card not improved with later drivers than in that review? Is there anyone with the 4870 that noticed better performance in FSX with the latest drivers? I might upgrade to a GTX 280 instead if the performance is still lower than the GTX 280 since I think that I might need a new power supply if I upgrade to a 4870 x2 and I don't want to buy a new power supply and a more expensive video card if I'm going to lose performance in FSX.

[Arklight1 140]

I would stick with a GTX 280 over the 4870X2. The ATI offering is a fast card no doubt, however, ATI drivers are still not known for their "quality" in quite a few cases. Also, some have reported microstutters with the 4870X2 and general stability issues. Crossfire also isn't up to speed (no pun intended) fuctionality wise. You could also wait and see what the tech refresh is going to produce (January 2009). Initial previews have the GTX 295 beating the 4870X2 and retailing for about $499 MSRP. There is also the GTX 285 that should be out soon which has similar specs to the Evga GTX 280 FTW Edition. GTX 280 prices are at a pretty nice spot right now and may drop even further. Also, what resolution are you running at? The sweet spot for the 4870X2 ad GTX 280 are 1920x1200 ad 2560x1600 respectively. If you are running 1650x1080, I would actually recommend a GTX 260 or even a GTX 260 SLI setup (if you have a mobo that supports SLI). The GTX 260 SLI setup beats the 4870X2 in almost every test I have seen and does so for less money. My only concern would be the difference in performance you would see with regards to your 8800 Ultra vs a single GTX 260. The 8800 Ultra is a great card. The best place to head over tio is HardOCP.com. There is a wealth of information over there.Let me know if you have any questions. If I am unable to answer them I might be able to point you in the right direction.

[Buckster 0]

hi thanks for the reply, after owning a 3870x2 I wouldn't own another ATI x2 card again ...my config is a Q6600 @ 3.5 gig + 6gb RAM (Vista 64 bit) - perhaps a GTX275 would be good then ... ?I do like my FSAA .... :)

I would stick with a GTX 280 over the 4870X2. The ATI offering is a fast card no doubt, however, ATI drivers are still not known for their "quality" in quite a few cases. Also, some have reported microstutters with the 4870X2 and general stability issues. Crossfire also isn't up to speed (no pun intended) fuctionality wise. You could also wait and see what the tech refresh is going to produce (January 2009). Initial previews have the GTX 295 beating the 4870X2 and retailing for about $499 MSRP. There is also the GTX 285 that should be out soon which has similar specs to the Evga GTX 280 FTW Edition. GTX 280 prices are at a pretty nice spot right now and may drop even further. Also, what resolution are you running at? The sweet spot for the 4870X2 ad GTX 280 are 1920x1200 ad 2560x1600 respectively. If you are running 1650x1080, I would actually recommend a GTX 260 or even a GTX 260 SLI setup (if you have a mobo that supports SLI). The GTX 260 SLI setup beats the 4870X2 in almost every test I have seen and does so for less money. My only concern would be the difference in performance you would see with regards to your 8800 Ultra vs a single GTX 260. The 8800 Ultra is a great card. The best place to head over tio is HardOCP.com. There is a wealth of information over there.Let me know if you have any questions. If I am unable to answer them I might be able to point you in the right direction.

[TechguyMaxC 516]

hi thanks for the reply, after owning a 3870x2 I wouldn't own another ATI x2 card again ...my config is a Q6600 @ 3.5 gig + 6gb RAM (Vista 64 bit) - perhaps a GTX275 would be good then ... ?I do like my FSAA .... :)

There's a world of difference between the Radeon HD 3000 series and the 4000 series. Namely the 4000 series is DX10 (or 10.1, to be precise) done right. Also drivers have matured quite a bit. I built a Core i7 920 4870 X2 rig for my roommate and he loves it. Plays every game he can throw at it maxed out @ 1920x1200, including Crysis. Not trying to convince you to buy one, just don't want you to develop a mistaken impression.

[Guest harleyman52]

The 4870X2 rapes just about all games but FSX....I own three of them....My 3850 outperformes my 4870X2 in FSX hands down...FSX can not handle multi GPU's at all....

[Sharrow 0]

For FSX go with the single gpu Nividia card, no doubt about it.