X-Fire question

[Kuga]

Hey guys.

I currently have a Force3D 4870 1 gig card. Looking to add a second card. However I see on Sybaritic they are selling a Club3D 4890 for less than the Asus 4870 they currently have.

4890 = http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?cPath=74_224_562&products_id=40083

4870 = http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?cPath=74_224_483&products_id=16287

My question is this :

Does it matter if you mix brands while running X-Fire? And if I get the 4890, will it run with my current 4870?

If I get the 4890 I'll put it in the primary PCI-E slot and the 4870 in the secondary PCI-E slot. Just makes sense that way?

*edit*

Also, more than likely I will need to upgrade my PSU? Have a generic brand 500w. Looking for something that will be modular if anyone can find the cheapest price for one.

 

[chickenbeef]

So you want to xfire on a G31 board? Not a good idea

 

[Kuga]

How so?

 

[chickenbeef]

The cards will run at 16x/4x right? Won't the 4x slot be a bottleneck

 

[Kuga]

Yar... you have a point thar. Just checked the full spec's now.

That just got me thinking. Why the hell make boards that run at a slower speed on the secondary channel? WTF? It can't cost that much to make two 16x channels?

 

[Nameite]

Its not the cost of the channels but the cost of the chips supporting two 16X slots..G31 is cheap coz it on budget, hence with less features. At 4x, the card would probably hinder performance instead.