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June 2008: Battleground for PC Graphics - Geforce GTX 200 v Radeon HD 4800

Zzoram

Member
I got a VisionTek HD4870 512mb GDDR5 with Race Driver GRID for $269.99 ($249.99 after MIR) + $6 shipping + $8 expressRMA insurance on a limited special deal that I happened to be lucky enough to refresh into on NCIX.com :D
 

zoku88

Member
Beaten by a stealth edit.

Did you look at those benchmarks though?

Hint: GTX + only won in the 'older games' section. And just barely, too. And it's MSRP is like $220-230
 

Druz

Member
zoku88 said:
Which is still more than what you can get a 4850 for...

and if I was on the market for a new video card, the small price difference wouldn't be a factor, you get what you pay for. GTX+ doesn't run as hot as the 4850, and will probably outperform it easily after OC'd
 

zoku88

Member
Druz said:
and if I was on the market for a new video card, the small price difference wouldn't be a factor, you get what you pay for. GTX+ doesn't run as hot as the 4850, and will probably outperform it easily after OC'd
Counting the mail in rebate... the "small price difference" is $50...

For that "same small price difference" up from the 9800 GTX+, you could get the 4870... (counting mail in rebate...)

EDIT: and I believe the heat issue can be solved by changing the fan speeds.
 

Druz

Member
zoku88 said:
Counting the mail in rebate... the "small price difference" is $50...

For that "same small price difference" up from the 9800 GTX+, you could get the 4870... (counting mail in rebate...)

EDIT: and I believe the heat issue can be solved by changing the fan speeds.

That'd be $100 dollar difference from the 4850, $50 over the $200 budget. Besides, what you pay at face value is what you're paying, rebates are usually just a bonus for later.

I doubt the heat issue is solved by changing the fan speeds. Puts OCing out of the question, and puts you in line for a new fan sooner than later.
 
I bought a radeon 4850 today but now I have to install a new power supply which I also bought along with it. I've never swapped out a power supply before unfortunately :(
 

zoku88

Member
Druz said:
That'd be $100 dollar difference from the 4850, $50 over the $200 budget. Besides, what you pay at face value is what you're paying, rebates are usually just a bonus for later.

I doubt the heat issue is solved by changing the fan speeds. Puts OCing out of the question, and puts you in line for a new fan sooner than later.
Money is money no matter when you get it. If you think the the improvement in some games is worth $50, then that's good for you...

And wth is with the bolded statement. Of course increasing fan speeds helps with heat. That's what they're for...
 

Vic

Please help me with my bad english
Stoney Mason said:
I bought a radeon 4850 today but now I have to install a new power supply which I also bought along with it. I've never swapped out a power supply before unfortunately :(
It should be fairly easy to change the PS. It's a pain for me to install the front LEDs and front USB ports correctly, ugh :~
 

Druz

Member
zoku88 said:
Money is money no matter when you get it. If you think the the improvement in some games is worth $50, then that's good for you...

And wth is with the bolded statement. Of course increasing fan speeds helps with heat. That's what they're for...

I wouldn't agree with the money is money part, rebates show up months later and unless it's a nice chunk of change, not a great factor.

I think the cooling and OC capability is worth the $25 difference that you'd actually be paying. The benchmarks shown were of ultra high resolutions only, the GTX+ has success/equal marks on the 1280x1024 and around range.

Fans help with heat, yah... but heating issues right out of the box says a lot.

It's an amazing card no doubt, and it being able to match the GTX+ with a 25 dollar difference is killer.. but I see OC as a deciding factor. You don't lose either way, I would be happy with either card... but you ATI guys are downplaying the GTX+


edit: To clarify... when I think of the people who are looking for a card in this price range, I immediately assume that they're using pre-built PCs with under clocked components and poor ventilation. Having a hot card is bad enough, couple it with a case with no breathing room.
 

godhandiscen

There are millions of whiny 5-year olds on Earth, and I AM THEIR KING.
The 4850 doesn't run as hot with the cat 8.7 according to the ATI forums. Now it runs at regular temps. Was the fan not enabled before or something?
 

Zzoram

Member
Where do I get the latest free version of Driver Cleaner? I'll need to remove my old drivers before installing the HD4870
 

Druz

Member
godhandiscen said:
The 4850 doesn't run as hot with the cat 8.7 according to the ATI forums. Now it runs at regular temps. Was the fan not enabled before or something?

makes me think of the evga BIOS update for 8800GT when the fan wasn't ramping up properly to match the heat.
 

zoku88

Member
Druz said:
I wouldn't agree with the money is money part, rebates show up months later and unless it's a nice chunk of change, not a great factor.
That's great. But for people like me, it doesn't really matter. I don't see why it matters for you, either. It's an extra $25 in your pocket. Unless you hate having extra money, I wouldn't be able to understand why you would just disregard a rebate...

It's an amazing card no doubt, and it being able to match the GTX+ with a 25 dollar difference is killer.. but I see OC as a deciding factor. You don't lose either way, I would be happy with either card... but you ATI guys are downplaying the GTX+
Don't call me a fanboy


edit: To clarify... when I think of the people who are looking for a card in this price range, I immediately assume that they're using pre-built PCs with under clocked components and poor ventilation. Having a hot card is bad enough, couple it with a case with no breathing room.
I don't think that's a good assumption. How did you even arrive at that?

Anyway, as I said before, it runs hot because the fan isn't running like it's supposed to. The drivers aren't running the fans correctly, yadda yadda yadda. It has NOTHING to do with the card architecture. A 9800 GTX+ will run hot to if (for some reason) the fans weren't working correctly. Everything you say about heat is negligible...
 

otake

Doesn't know that "You" is used in both the singular and plural
just got a 4850. now; what game should I get?

-just started pc gaming.
 

otake

Doesn't know that "You" is used in both the singular and plural
zoku88 said:
Orange Box

Supreme Commander

Company of Heroes

Sam and Max

off the top of my head.

definetly getting orange box. so happy I'll finally be able to play half life proper. I can only afford one strategy game, company of heroes or supreme commander. advice?
 

Wallach

Member
Druz said:
makes me think of the evga BIOS update for 8800GT when the fan wasn't ramping up properly to match the heat.

It's worse by about twice the fan speed cycle at minimum.

The 4850 will OC pretty similarly to a 9800+ once you fix the fan speed duty cycle not being stuck at 15-ish percent regardless of load. There is nothing about the reference card itself that generates more heat than would be expected, it's a driver issue.

There's not much reason to invest in a 9800+ right now, they aren't that comparable when put at the same price point.
 

zoku88

Member
otake said:
definetly getting orange box. so happy I'll finally be able to play half life proper. I can only afford one strategy game, company of heroes or supreme commander. advice?
I didn't play either that much, but I think CoH was more enjoyable. You might find gaffers to play with at some time.
 

Nikorasu

Member
Crap. I was so dead set on waiting for the 4870x2, but then I remembered that I thrive on aftermarket coolers. My ability to hold out for this thing hinges almost entirely on the assurance that there will be a compatible heatpipe available in a timely manner. I've gotten so used to having a dead silent/cool pc that I couldn't tolerate otherwise. Has the 3870x2 even gotten any heatpipes yet?

I may just hang on to my 4870 after all. :(
 
otake said:
definetly getting orange box. so happy I'll finally be able to play half life proper. I can only afford one strategy game, company of heroes or supreme commander. advice?
CoH, CoH, CoH. $40 for both original and OF, or just put $20 down on OF if you're strapped for cash, you'll still get plenty of fun.
 
otake said:
definetly getting orange box. so happy I'll finally be able to play half life proper. I can only afford one strategy game, company of heroes or supreme commander. advice?

after playing hundreds of hours of both, I'd say go with COH. It's the better game.
 

otake

Doesn't know that "You" is used in both the singular and plural
Fragamemnon said:
after playing hundreds of hours of both, I'd say go with COH. It's the better game.

COH it is then, should run fine on this card. I'm only going to be playing at 1650 by 1080.
 
Ok guys. I have a 8800GTS 320mb version. I really want to get a 4850 512mb, would it make that big of a difference or should I just wait until later and get a better card?

Thanks.
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
Labombadog said:
Ok guys. I have a 8800GTS 320mb version. I really want to get a 4850 512mb, would it make that big of a difference or should I just wait until later and get a better card?

Thanks.


What's your CPU?
 

Wallach

Member
Labombadog said:
Its a Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GH.

In this case I'd have to say the upgrade is not worth the money. You'd be looking at "real" gains of anywhere between 0-10% depending on the title.

Your card is still quite capable as it is, so my recommendation would be to upgrade your CPU first - look into the E8400.
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
Wallach said:
In this case I'd have to say the upgrade is not worth the money. You'd be looking at "real" gains of anywhere between 0-10% depending on the title.


I disagree with this. His Core 2 Duo certainly won't max the 4850 out, but he will most certainly see a performance increase far greater than 10% in most games. Actually, I'm not quite sure where you're getting that number.

If he had said a 4870 or GTX 260, I would definitely agree that an upgrade would be pointless, but a 4850 is not a bad choice at all, IMO.
 
Wallach said:
In this case I'd have to say the upgrade is not worth the money. You'd be looking at "real" gains of anywhere between 0-10% depending on the title.

Your card is still quite capable as it is, so my recommendation would be to upgrade your CPU first - look into the E8400.
Thanks alot man. I will be building a new pc probably late next year, so hopefully there will be cheap GPU like the 4800 series. And more than likely I will have a quad processor.

Thanks Wallach. :)
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
Labombadog said:
Thanks alot man. I will be building a new pc probably late next year, so hopefully there will be cheap GPU like the 4800 series. And more than likely I will have a quad processor.

Thanks Wallach. :)


Apparently, I'm chopped fucking liver. :D Whatever, believe his fork-tongued lies if you want!
 

Wallach

Member
Chiggs said:
I disagree with this. His Core 2 Duo certainly won't max the 4850 out, but he will most certainly see a performance increase far greater than 10% in most games. Actually, I'm not quite sure where you're getting that number.

If he had said a 4870 or GTX 260, I would definitely agree that an upgrade would be pointless, but a 4850 is not a bad choice at all, IMO.

I'm basing it on the overhead he's currently sitting at with his current card/CPU combo. If he isn't OC'ing his E6600 his 8800 GT is already getting pretty close to hitting it's ceiling. If it were a Q6600 my opinion would be different. Some games would benefit more - Bioshock, COD4 - but for more CPU-bound titles like World of Warcraft, there would likely be little to no (especially in WoW's case) performance gains.

You can go for it, but for the performance gains that money is better put towards a higher frequency CPU. Alternatively, look into after-market cooling and OC the E6600 yourself (it's a great chip with a lot of headroom on air) before looking to upgrade your video card.
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
Wallach said:
I'm basing it on the overhead he's currently sitting at with his current card/CPU combo. If he isn't OC'ing his E6600 his 8800 GT is already getting pretty close to hitting it's ceiling. If it were a Q6600 my opinion would be different. Some games would benefit more - Bioshock, COD4 - but for more CPU-bound titles like World of Warcraft, there would likely be little to no (especially in WoW's case) performance gains.

You can go for it, but for the performance gains that money is better put towards a higher frequency CPU. Alternatively, look into after-market cooling and OC the E6600 yourself (it's a great chip with a lot of headroom on air) before looking to upgrade your video card.

Labombadog said:
Ok guys. I have a 8800GTS 320mb version.


But he doesn't have an 8800GT. Otherwise, I'd completely agree. Still, a better CPU is hardly a bad idea.
 

Wallach

Member
Chiggs said:
But he doesn't have an 8800GT. Otherwise, I'd completely agree. Still, a better CPU is hardly a bad idea.

Ahh, I did indeed misread his card.

In that case, I think your best solution would probably be to go for the 4850 (or whatever price/performance chip we have when it comes time to upgrade) and see what you can push on air cooling with your current setup to ease how CPU bound the system is under load. Even on the stock heatsink I imagine you could easily hit 2.7-2.8Ghz with that chip.

That said, if you are going to wait it's possible that the 4870 will be within your budget and at that point a CPU upgrade would still be warranted.
 

zoku88

Member
Seriously, if I had a 8800 card, I would just wait. I mean, they pretty much perform 'good enough' for most games anyway.
 
Chiggs said:
Apparently, I'm chopped fucking liver. :D Whatever, believe his fork-tongued lies if you want!
No dude. While I was thanking him you posted, and I did not see it. Thanks for your post dude seriously!

Thanks Chiggs! :D :D .... :lol

Wallach said:
Ahh, I did indeed misread his card.

In that case, I think your best solution would probably be to go for the 4850 (or whatever price/performance chip we have when it comes time to upgrade) and see what you can push on air cooling with your current setup to ease how CPU bound the system is under load. Even on the stock heatsink I imagine you could easily hit 2.7-2.8Ghz with that chip.

That said, if you are going to wait it's possible that the 4870 will be within your budget and at that point a CPU upgrade would still be warranted.

I have a Tuniq Tower 120 for my heatsink, but I am scared of overclocking. I understand most of the basics, but I am still terrified of it.
 

Tenacious-V

Thinks his PR is better than yours.
Labombadog said:
No dude. While I was thanking him you posted, and I did not see it. Thanks for your post dude seriously!

Thanks Chiggs! :D :D .... :lol



I have a Tuniq Tower 120 for my heatsink, but I am scared of overclocking. I understand most of the basics, but I am still terrified of it.

I say go for the 4850, you will still see a decently large gain. Hell, I'm on an S939 Athlon X2 4800+ (not OC'd) and I just got a 4850 for it. Your CPU is better than mine is.
 
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