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ndriver182
Mar 3, 2009, 11:27 PM
It's no big secret that today Apple announced that the ATI 4870 will be available sometime in the near future for the new Mac Pros and some of the other recent models. So the question is for those of us who are running a single 3870, is it worth dropping it for the 4870 or better to go 2x3870 in crossfire. This is more of a question geared towards Windows usage and not OSX since OSX doesn't support crossfire.

Just a couple of weeks ago I purchased the Mac/PC edition of the 3870 from OWC and added the Accelero passive cooler to it and it's working out well. I was thinking about buying an additional 3870 to crossfire sometime in the relatively near future solely for the purpose of Windows gaming since you can get PC versions of the 3870 for so cheap. I'm guessing the Mac edition of the 4870 is going to be pricey so would the dual 3870 option make more sense?


Chaos123x
Mar 3, 2009, 11:28 PM
Or better yet, Can you crossfire a 3870 with a 4870?

Does the Apple 4870 have a crossfire connector? I bet they covered it up.
nanofrog
Mar 3, 2009, 11:57 PM
Or better yet, Can you crossfire a 3870 with a 4870?

Does the Apple 4870 have a crossfire connector? I bet they covered it up.

Or never even etched it onto the board. :eek: :p
ndriver182
Mar 4, 2009, 01:15 AM
Or better yet, Can you crossfire a 3870 with a 4870?

Does the Apple 4870 have a crossfire connector? I bet they covered it up.

Even if you could crossfire them, doesn't the crossfire configuration only work as fast as the slowest card?
peskaa
Mar 4, 2009, 03:54 AM
Even if you could crossfire them, doesn't the crossfire configuration only work as fast as the slowest card?

CrossFireX can work with different card types, however I don't think it'll work with a 4870 and a 3870. My understanding is that it will only work with 48xx or 38xx pairings (ie: a 4870 with a 4850)
chewietobbacca
Mar 4, 2009, 06:58 PM
CrossFireX can work with different card types, however I don't think it'll work with a 4870 and a 3870. My understanding is that it will only work with 48xx or 38xx pairings (ie: a 4870 with a 4850)

Correct, only the same gen

Also, the 4870 will be faster than the 3870s in CF and you won't have to deal with CF issues