• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

AMD Radeon HD 4890 CrossFire

W1zzard

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
27,729 (3.71/day)
Processor Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory 48 GB
Video Card(s) RTX 4080
Storage 2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s) 30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software Windows 10 64-bit
Our HD 4890 CrossFire review investigates whether running two of these brand-new cards is a viable choice if you need that extra bit of performance or want to run with even more eye candy than what is possible with a single HD 4890 board.

Show full review
 
Last edited:

ShadowFold

New Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Messages
16,918 (2.74/day)
Location
Omaha, NE
System Name The ShadowFold Draconis (Ordering soon)
Processor AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8ghz
Motherboard ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870
Cooling Stock
Memory Kingston ValueRAM 4GB DDR3-1333
Video Card(s) XFX ATi Radeon HD 5850 1gb
Storage Western Digital 640gb
Display(s) Acer 21.5" 5ms Full HD 1920x1080P
Case Antec Nine-Hundred
Audio Device(s) Onboard + Creative "Fatal1ty" Headset
Power Supply Antec Earthwatts 650w
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Benchmark Scores -❶-❸-❸-❼-
Thanks for the review. And the addition of Crossfire benchmarks are awesome! I can't believe that it scales 92% at 1920, they've come a long way haven't they!
 

DaMulta

My stars went supernova
Joined
Aug 3, 2006
Messages
16,168 (2.42/day)
Location
Oklahoma T-Town
System Name Work in progress
Processor AMD 955---4Ghz
Motherboard MSi GD70
Cooling OcZ Phase/water
Memory Crucial2GB kit (1GBx2), Ballistix 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-16000
Video Card(s) CrossfireX 2 X HD 4890 1GB OCed to 1000Mhz
Storage SSD 64GB
Display(s) Envision 24'' 1920x1200
Case Using the desk ATM
Audio Device(s) Sucky onboard for now :(
Power Supply 1000W TruePower Quattro
I think this is the first CF or SLi review I have EVER seen you post Wiz.

Has there been another?

OMG 2 is better than one is all you can really say after seeing that review......
 

HammerON

The Watchful Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
8,400 (1.47/day)
Location
Up North
System Name Aki
Processor AMD 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-A
Cooling MSI MAG CoreLiquid E360
Memory Patriot Viper Elite 5 32GB 6200
Video Card(s) PNY RTX 4090 XLR8
Storage Samsung 960 Pro 512 GB + WD Black SN850 1TB
Display(s) Dell 32" Curved Gaming Monitor (S3220DGF)
Case Corsair 5000D Airflow
Audio Device(s) On-board
Power Supply EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G5
Mouse Roccat Kone Pure
Keyboard ASUS ROG Strix Scope II Wireless
Software Win 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores Always changing~
:toast:Thanks for the review
 
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
2,165 (0.34/day)
Location
Wallingford, CT
Processor Intel i7-5930k
Motherboard ASRock Taichi X99
Cooling Phanteks PH-TC14PE
Memory 4x8GB HyperX FURY DDR4-2666 15-17-17-15
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X 8G
Storage 1x Plextor PX-512M6S SSD, 1x WD 750gb HDD, 2x Hitachi 2TB HDD, 1x Seagate 4TB HDD
Display(s) 2x Dell P2314H
Case Fractal Define R4
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair AX860i
Mouse ROCCAT Kone Pure Color White
Keyboard Corsair K95 RGB - Cherry MX Brown
Software Windows 10 Professional x64
HD 4890 CrossFire is available on any AMD or Intel chipset motherboard that has two PCI-Express slots.

That's not true...is it?
I thought it's only available on CrossFire compatible mobo's...
 

ShadowFold

New Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Messages
16,918 (2.74/day)
Location
Omaha, NE
System Name The ShadowFold Draconis (Ordering soon)
Processor AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8ghz
Motherboard ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870
Cooling Stock
Memory Kingston ValueRAM 4GB DDR3-1333
Video Card(s) XFX ATi Radeon HD 5850 1gb
Storage Western Digital 640gb
Display(s) Acer 21.5" 5ms Full HD 1920x1080P
Case Antec Nine-Hundred
Audio Device(s) Onboard + Creative "Fatal1ty" Headset
Power Supply Antec Earthwatts 650w
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Benchmark Scores -❶-❸-❸-❼-
That's not true...is it?
I thought it's only available on CrossFire compatible mobo's...

Crossfire's been like for awhile, where have you been :p
 
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
2,165 (0.34/day)
Location
Wallingford, CT
Processor Intel i7-5930k
Motherboard ASRock Taichi X99
Cooling Phanteks PH-TC14PE
Memory 4x8GB HyperX FURY DDR4-2666 15-17-17-15
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1070 Gaming X 8G
Storage 1x Plextor PX-512M6S SSD, 1x WD 750gb HDD, 2x Hitachi 2TB HDD, 1x Seagate 4TB HDD
Display(s) 2x Dell P2314H
Case Fractal Define R4
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair AX860i
Mouse ROCCAT Kone Pure Color White
Keyboard Corsair K95 RGB - Cherry MX Brown
Software Windows 10 Professional x64
Crossfire's been like for awhile, where have you been :p

Obviously not paying attention, haha!

ATI's site says it only works on specific motherboards, then they list the chipsets.

EDIT: Holy crap, I'm a tard...Sorry, it's late and I misread it...I kept thinking nVidia chipsets (650i,680i,750i,780i) lol...
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 17, 2008
Messages
643 (0.11/day)
System Name PIA
Processor Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard ASRock B550M Steel Legend
Cooling Corsair H50
Memory 2x8GB Gskill DDR4 3600
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1660 Super
Storage Samsung EVO 970 1TB
Display(s) 2xAOC Curved 24" 144hz
Case Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L
Power Supply CORSAIR RMX (White) RM750x
Mouse Logitech G305
Keyboard Logitech G915 TKL
Software Windows 10 Pro
I like this review, it was a great comparison with some good results...

Crossfire/SLI isn't that bad especially with the better ati drivers now... for a 21% if i was going for performance I'd skip the gtx285 and go for 4890CF.
 

CStylen

New Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2008
Messages
448 (0.07/day)
Location
AZ
System Name The Money Pit
Processor i7 980X @ 4.4
Motherboard EVGA E760 w/B3 stepping
Cooling Corsair H5O, 3x Gentle Typhoons
Memory 12GB Ballistix Tactical
Video Card(s) Galaxy GTX 480 / Zotac GTX 480 SLI
Storage 3x X-25M 80GB G2 RAID 0; 1x M4
Display(s) Acer Al2423W
Case Lian Li V2010 w/window side panel
Audio Device(s) HT Omega Claro+
Power Supply Corsair HX1000
Software Windows 8 64-bit Pro
Benchmark Scores 3DMark 11 10144 9/21/11 AS SSD X-25M Array: 978; M4: 568 9/12/12 (sata2) Cloud Gate 26968 2/21/13
My 280 suddenly feels like a dated, crusty, craggly piece of hardware.

The 4890 looks sweet, thanks for the review!

random ADD prediction: ATI 5870X2 = 2 4890's
 
Joined
Jul 17, 2008
Messages
643 (0.11/day)
System Name PIA
Processor Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard ASRock B550M Steel Legend
Cooling Corsair H50
Memory 2x8GB Gskill DDR4 3600
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1660 Super
Storage Samsung EVO 970 1TB
Display(s) 2xAOC Curved 24" 144hz
Case Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L
Power Supply CORSAIR RMX (White) RM750x
Mouse Logitech G305
Keyboard Logitech G915 TKL
Software Windows 10 Pro
My 280 suddenly feels like a dated, crusty, craggly piece of hardware.

The 4890 looks sweet, thanks for the review!

random ADD prediction: ATI 5870X2 = 2 4890's

I really doubt that. That would be a gay naming scheme on AMD's part. It would be logical to be 4890x2.

280 is still plenty powerful.... I'm sure your fps is high enough :p
 

CStylen

New Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2008
Messages
448 (0.07/day)
Location
AZ
System Name The Money Pit
Processor i7 980X @ 4.4
Motherboard EVGA E760 w/B3 stepping
Cooling Corsair H5O, 3x Gentle Typhoons
Memory 12GB Ballistix Tactical
Video Card(s) Galaxy GTX 480 / Zotac GTX 480 SLI
Storage 3x X-25M 80GB G2 RAID 0; 1x M4
Display(s) Acer Al2423W
Case Lian Li V2010 w/window side panel
Audio Device(s) HT Omega Claro+
Power Supply Corsair HX1000
Software Windows 8 64-bit Pro
Benchmark Scores 3DMark 11 10144 9/21/11 AS SSD X-25M Array: 978; M4: 568 9/12/12 (sata2) Cloud Gate 26968 2/21/13
It's just depressing watching your video card go further down the list lol...
 
Joined
Oct 27, 2008
Messages
2,230 (0.38/day)
Location
Look up. Look way up.
System Name Ultimate Vortex III
Processor Intel Core i7-9700K
Motherboard Asus ROG MAXIMUS XI GENE
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition
Memory Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8Gb) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz C16
Video Card(s) Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT - 12 GB
Storage 2 x WD Blue SN550 1Tb NVMe in RAID 0 Striped Set
Display(s) TUF Gaming VG279QL1A 165 Hz
Case Cooler Master MasterBox Pro 5 ARGB
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek
Power Supply Coolermaster Silent Pro 850W
Mouse Corsair RGB
Keyboard K70 Rapidfire with Cherry MX Speed
Software Windows 11 Pro x64
Thanks for the review Wizz!
 

TooFast

New Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2005
Messages
391 (0.06/day)
Location
montreal quebec
System Name OVERKILL
Processor INTEL I7 965@ 3.6
Motherboard ASUS RAMPAGE 2
Cooling STOCK
Memory 6GB DDR3 1333
Video Card(s) ATI HD 5970
Storage 4X 60GB SSD RAID 0
Display(s) 30 INCH DELL
Case ANTEC 1200
Audio Device(s) XFI-PCI-E
Power Supply CORSAIR 1000WATT
Software WIN 7
Benchmark Scores netcore.24 COD4 server 76.65.250.134:28960
by the looks of the benchies, a 4890x2 would beat the gtx295... and it would use less power than the 4870x2
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
3,459 (0.59/day)
Location
95350
Processor ???
Motherboard 760
Cooling HK
Memory 3x1gb
Video Card(s) 285 Classified / EVGA 480
Display(s) 22" Acer /42" Toshiba
Case Stacker
Power Supply Toughpower 1000w / Coolmaster 650w
Software All of them
by the looks of the benchies, a 4890x2 would beat the gtx295... and it would use less power than the 4870x2

if a 4890x2 would come out i would sell my 4870x2 w/ koolance water block for the same price of a 4890x2 :):)

maybe a little less with free shipping
 

TooFast

New Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2005
Messages
391 (0.06/day)
Location
montreal quebec
System Name OVERKILL
Processor INTEL I7 965@ 3.6
Motherboard ASUS RAMPAGE 2
Cooling STOCK
Memory 6GB DDR3 1333
Video Card(s) ATI HD 5970
Storage 4X 60GB SSD RAID 0
Display(s) 30 INCH DELL
Case ANTEC 1200
Audio Device(s) XFI-PCI-E
Power Supply CORSAIR 1000WATT
Software WIN 7
Benchmark Scores netcore.24 COD4 server 76.65.250.134:28960
wow we are such pc junkies...sitting in front of our pcs waiting for the review...lol now we have the rv870 on the way
 

ShadowFold

New Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Messages
16,918 (2.74/day)
Location
Omaha, NE
System Name The ShadowFold Draconis (Ordering soon)
Processor AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8ghz
Motherboard ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870
Cooling Stock
Memory Kingston ValueRAM 4GB DDR3-1333
Video Card(s) XFX ATi Radeon HD 5850 1gb
Storage Western Digital 640gb
Display(s) Acer 21.5" 5ms Full HD 1920x1080P
Case Antec Nine-Hundred
Audio Device(s) Onboard + Creative "Fatal1ty" Headset
Power Supply Antec Earthwatts 650w
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Benchmark Scores -❶-❸-❸-❼-
wow we are such pc junkies...sitting in front of our pcs waiting for the review...lol now we have the rv870 on the way

It's 12:28 where I am. I got school in 7 hours lol I stayed up for this review specifically.
 

TooFast

New Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2005
Messages
391 (0.06/day)
Location
montreal quebec
System Name OVERKILL
Processor INTEL I7 965@ 3.6
Motherboard ASUS RAMPAGE 2
Cooling STOCK
Memory 6GB DDR3 1333
Video Card(s) ATI HD 5970
Storage 4X 60GB SSD RAID 0
Display(s) 30 INCH DELL
Case ANTEC 1200
Audio Device(s) XFI-PCI-E
Power Supply CORSAIR 1000WATT
Software WIN 7
Benchmark Scores netcore.24 COD4 server 76.65.250.134:28960
Joined
Oct 27, 2008
Messages
2,230 (0.38/day)
Location
Look up. Look way up.
System Name Ultimate Vortex III
Processor Intel Core i7-9700K
Motherboard Asus ROG MAXIMUS XI GENE
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition
Memory Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8Gb) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz C16
Video Card(s) Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT - 12 GB
Storage 2 x WD Blue SN550 1Tb NVMe in RAID 0 Striped Set
Display(s) TUF Gaming VG279QL1A 165 Hz
Case Cooler Master MasterBox Pro 5 ARGB
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek
Power Supply Coolermaster Silent Pro 850W
Mouse Corsair RGB
Keyboard K70 Rapidfire with Cherry MX Speed
Software Windows 11 Pro x64
It's 12:28 where I am. I got school in 7 hours lol I stayed up for this review specifically.

Haha! Me too...it's 1:30 here and I've got to be at work in 6 1/2 hours...:laugh:
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2006
Messages
2,325 (0.35/day)
Location
Houston
System Name mult1kill
Processor Ryzen 7 1700X @ 3.7
Motherboard GA-AX370-GAMING 5
Cooling Cryorig H7
Memory Team Group 32gb 3200mhz
Video Card(s) RTX 2060
Storage Seagate 3TB+ Corsair 120GB SSD+120 ssd smansung 256gb m.2 Samsung 970
Case NZXT S340
Audio Device(s) Sundara JDS Labs Atom
Power Supply FSP HydroG 850W
Mouse WMO
Keyboard Ducky Shine 3
Software Windows10
YAY so this mean I can get 2 4890's instead of the 4850x2's woooo
 

DaMulta

My stars went supernova
Joined
Aug 3, 2006
Messages
16,168 (2.42/day)
Location
Oklahoma T-Town
System Name Work in progress
Processor AMD 955---4Ghz
Motherboard MSi GD70
Cooling OcZ Phase/water
Memory Crucial2GB kit (1GBx2), Ballistix 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-16000
Video Card(s) CrossfireX 2 X HD 4890 1GB OCed to 1000Mhz
Storage SSD 64GB
Display(s) Envision 24'' 1920x1200
Case Using the desk ATM
Audio Device(s) Sucky onboard for now :(
Power Supply 1000W TruePower Quattro
YAY so this mean I can get 2 4890's instead of the 4850x2's woooo

dual 4850x2 would out run it. IMO

4 GPUS oced vs 2 GPUS that oc very little

Some it would be slower/much more it would be faster.
Did you see how close the x2 was in many of those. Some it was behind in as well to be honest.

It would cost the same to go either way.
 
Joined
Nov 28, 2006
Messages
2,325 (0.35/day)
Location
Houston
System Name mult1kill
Processor Ryzen 7 1700X @ 3.7
Motherboard GA-AX370-GAMING 5
Cooling Cryorig H7
Memory Team Group 32gb 3200mhz
Video Card(s) RTX 2060
Storage Seagate 3TB+ Corsair 120GB SSD+120 ssd smansung 256gb m.2 Samsung 970
Case NZXT S340
Audio Device(s) Sundara JDS Labs Atom
Power Supply FSP HydroG 850W
Mouse WMO
Keyboard Ducky Shine 3
Software Windows10
dual 4850x2 would out run it. IMO

4 GPUS oced vs 2 GPUS that oc very little

Some it would be slower/much more it would be faster.
Did you see how close the x2 was in many of those. Some it was behind in as well to be honest.

It would cost the same to go either way.

yeah thats true, we'll see what I will decide
 
Joined
Jan 31, 2005
Messages
2,081 (0.29/day)
Location
gehenna
System Name Commercial towing vehicle "Nostromo"
Processor 5800X3D
Motherboard X570 Unify
Cooling EK-AIO 360
Memory 32 GB Fury 3666 MHz
Video Card(s) 4070 Ti Eagle
Storage SN850 NVMe 1TB + Renegade NVMe 2TB + 870 EVO 4TB
Display(s) 25" Legion Y25g-30 360Hz
Case Lian Li LanCool 216 v2
Audio Device(s) Razer Blackshark v2 Hyperspeed / Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e
Power Supply HX1500i
Mouse Harpe Ace Aim Lab Edition
Keyboard Scope II 96 Wireless
Software Windows 11 23H2 / Fedora w. KDE
Thanx for the review....but it unfortunely has a BIG downside...
Well ... I am drooling.....and my wallet is crying ....hmmm that also would mean I have to buy a bigger monitor...
Like CStylen I can see my GTX285 droping down the list...:cry:
 

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
41,913 (6.61/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
by the looks of the benchies, a 4890x2 would beat the gtx295... and it would use less power than the 4870x2

ya considering the 295 is practically 2x260 in SLI, and the 4890 in Crossfire Takes on the 295, very good performance range AMD released and AMD releases very little in the Top End bracket.
 
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
2,667 (0.44/day)
Location
Switzerland
Processor i9 9900KS ( 5 Ghz all the time )
Motherboard Asus Maximus XI Hero Z390
Cooling EK Velocity + EK D5 pump + Alphacool full copper silver 360mm radiator
Memory 16GB Corsair Dominator GT ROG Edition 3333 Mhz
Video Card(s) ASUS TUF RTX 3080 Ti 12GB OC
Storage M.2 Samsung NVMe 970 Evo Plus 250 GB + 1TB 970 Evo Plus
Display(s) Asus PG279 IPS 1440p 165Hz G-sync
Case Cooler Master H500
Power Supply Asus ROG Thor 850W
Mouse Razer Deathadder Chroma
Keyboard Rapoo
Software Win 10 64 Bit
ya considering the 295 is practically 2x260 in SLI, and the 4890 in Crossfire Takes on the 295, very good performance range AMD released and AMD releases very little in the Top End bracket.

Are you sure ? I mean GTX 295 is 2x280GTX not 2x260GTX...
 
Top