need help choosing between ATI 4850 (1024mb), 4870 (512mb) and Nvidia 9800GTX+(512mb)

hackmagic · 16th Aug 2008, 09:50 PM

Hi all,

was looking to get a new PC. intending

Core 2 Quad 6600
4gb OCZ Reaper 8500

but cant decide between the aforementioned cards. i've decided not to go the crossfire/sli route as these cards deliver better performance for the same price and will eliminate the scaling issues i've read about with some games and allow be to xfire/sli these cards in the future. will the extra 512mb of the 4850 make any difference?

also the cpu and mem shouldn't bottleneck? i'm running 2ghz athlon 32bit 1.5gb ddr3200 and 7600gt agp at mo

and mem is definately bottleneck

i have been using
mmm.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=88&pgno=0
for gfx card speed reference

thanks for your advice

Peter

generalRage1982hrv · 16th Aug 2008, 10:15 PM

well 4870 (512mb and it use ddr5) is fastest card
so i dont think you will get any problems with her LOL

Unixlord · 16th Aug 2008, 10:23 PM

Well out of those options the 4870 is the best choice. The effect of 512MB extra memory on the 4850 is negligible compared to the awesome memory bandwidth of the 4870's GDDR5 memory which helps in bandwidth intensive situations (Anisotropic filtering and higher resolutions).

You haven't stated what motherboard, monitor or power supply you are using nevertheless the 4870 is the best choice and with that cpu/ram, you won't face a bottleneck (Assuming like everyone else you OC the cpu to at least 3GHz).

As far as scaling of CF/SLI is concerned, it's an issue that's being worked on all the time. But since Intel chipsets are overall far superior and more reliable than nvidia's chipsets, that should be your deciding factor (if you've yet to pick a motherboard).

Adrian Wong · 17th Aug 2008, 08:02 AM

The Radeon HD 4870 without question!!

Take a look at how it trashed the GeForce 9800 GTX+ here - Tech ARP - ASUS EAH4870 Radeon HD 4870 Graphics Card Review

Its memory bandwidth is just ... AWESOME!

Max_87 · 17th Aug 2008, 01:23 PM

4870 FTW!

Lacus · 17th Aug 2008, 04:24 PM

4870 FTW!!!!! A happy 4850 user here

hackmagic · 18th Aug 2008, 07:12 AM

Hey thanks everyone!

Guess thats my mind made up then

the board, psu and case were going to be
-GigaByte EP45-DS3R LGA775
-JeanTech JN120F 600w
-Antec Three Hundred Gamers Case

hope the card fits in the case, but i can do some sawing/bending. i really like the plain black styling and grill at the front. need some nice quiet fans too. lovely fans!

thanks for all the posts dudes,

Peter

Mac Daddy · 18th Aug 2008, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hackmagic

Hey thanks everyone!

Guess thats my mind made up then

the board, psu and case were going to be
-GigaByte EP45-DS3R LGA775
-JeanTech JN120F 600w
-Antec Three Hundred Gamers Case

hope the card fits in the case, but i can do some sawing/bending. i really like the plain black styling and grill at the front. need some nice quiet fans too. lovely fans!

thanks for all the posts dudes,

Peter

What is your Antec Case worth Bro?

hackmagic · 18th Aug 2008, 08:12 AM

only £36.72

why do you ask?

Pete

hackmagic · 18th Aug 2008, 08:12 AM

the Antec 900 does look a lot better though!

16th Aug 2008, 09:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
hackmagic Newbie Join Date: 16 Aug 2008 Posts: 5 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 0	need help choosing between ATI 4850 (1024mb), 4870 (512mb) and Nvidia 9800GTX+(512mb) Hi all, was looking to get a new PC. intending Core 2 Quad 6600 4gb OCZ Reaper 8500 but cant decide between the aforementioned cards. i've decided not to go the crossfire/sli route as these cards deliver better performance for the same price and will eliminate the scaling issues i've read about with some games and allow be to xfire/sli these cards in the future. will the extra 512mb of the 4850 make any difference? also the cpu and mem shouldn't bottleneck? i'm running 2ghz athlon 32bit 1.5gb ddr3200 and 7600gt agp at mo and mem is definately bottleneck i have been using mmm.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=88&pgno=0 for gfx card speed reference thanks for your advice Peter

16th Aug 2008, 10:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
generalRage1982hrv ARP Reviewer Join Date: 13 Apr 2008 Location: Vukovar, Croatia Posts: 397 Reputation: 111 Rep Power: 2	well 4870 (512mb and it use ddr5) is fastest card so i dont think you will get any problems with her LOL __________________ www.technewshw.com

16th Aug 2008, 10:23 PM	#3 (permalink)
Unixlord I'm a regular Join Date: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 291 Reputation: 98 Rep Power: 1	Well out of those options the 4870 is the best choice. The effect of 512MB extra memory on the 4850 is negligible compared to the awesome memory bandwidth of the 4870's GDDR5 memory which helps in bandwidth intensive situations (Anisotropic filtering and higher resolutions). You haven't stated what motherboard, monitor or power supply you are using nevertheless the 4870 is the best choice and with that cpu/ram, you won't face a bottleneck (Assuming like everyone else you OC the cpu to at least 3GHz). As far as scaling of CF/SLI is concerned, it's an issue that's being worked on all the time. But since Intel chipsets are overall far superior and more reliable than nvidia's chipsets, that should be your deciding factor (if you've yet to pick a motherboard). __________________ Intel E8400 @ 3.6GHz 1.23v load + Zerotherm Zen FZ120 \| ASUS Rampage Formula \| G.Skill PI 2x2GB DDR2-1066 \| Gainward GeForce 8800GT 700/1000/1750 + Zalman VF1000 \| PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750W \| Thermaltake Armor VA8003SWA

17th Aug 2008, 08:02 AM	#4 (permalink)
Adrian Wong Da Boss Join Date: 10 Oct 2002 Location: In front of my ASUS F8V notebook! Posts: 30,146 Reputation: 3081 Rep Power: 67	The Radeon HD 4870 without question!! Take a look at how it trashed the GeForce 9800 GTX+ here - Tech ARP - ASUS EAH4870 Radeon HD 4870 Graphics Card Review Its memory bandwidth is just ... AWESOME! __________________ Dr. Adrian Wong Tech ARP \| Blog @ Tech ARP \| The Free Trade Zone DYKT : The only offshore account I have is at the sand bank? Keep Tech ARP free! Visit our sponsors! We need PROGRAMMERS and TECHNICAL WRITERS! Contact us if you are a hot shot programmer or technical writer! My items for sale : 50x SD Card \| Memory Stick PRO \| Cyclone Energy Saver \| Seiko SS watch \| Tiger/Carlsberg beer jugs \| Travel Speakers \| Motorola V600 \| Nokia N90 SOLD! \| New Lowepro Mini Trekker AW Other items for sale @ the FTZ : Zalman CNPS9500 LED @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7700 Cu @ $20 \| Zalman CNPS7000 Cu @ $20 \| Swarovski bracelet watches \| Dell 17" LCD \| Hi-Fi speakers \| English DIVX movies \| HP LaserJet toners! \| Office chairs

17th Aug 2008, 01:23 PM	#5 (permalink)
Max_87 h@x! Join Date: 11 Aug 2003 Location: Sarawak, Malaysia. Posts: 11,293 Reputation: 2024 Rep Power: 37	4870 FTW! __________________ Max_87 Tech ARP http://www.techarp.com P4 630 / Abit IP35 Pro / G.Skill F2-8000CL5-4GBPQ / Radeon X1800 / Barracuda 7200.9 120GB / 7200.10 320GB x2 / Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS / WD6400AAKS x2 / Dell 2007FP x2 / Silverstone ST56F

17th Aug 2008, 04:24 PM	#6 (permalink)
Lacus Super Active Join Date: 28 Mar 2008 Posts: 1,026 Reputation: 166 Rep Power: 3	4870 FTW!!!!! A happy 4850 user here __________________ GUNDAM 00[CPU=Intel Celeron Dual Core E1200 (3200Mhz)\| Mobo=Asus Rampage Maximus Formula (Rampage Bios Mod)\| GPU=Gigabyte HD4850 512MB GDDR3+T-Rad2 \| RAM=4x1gb DDR2 800Mhz Corsair XMS2 \| HDD=Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB \| Soundcard=Doom's Creative X-FI XtremeMusic \| Speakers=Creative Inspire P5800 \| PSU=Silverstone Strider ST56F \| Keyboard=Creative Prodikeys DM \| Mouse=Logitech MX518\| Casing=Lian Li PC-7YCF]

18th Aug 2008, 07:12 AM	#7 (permalink)
hackmagic Newbie Join Date: 16 Aug 2008 Posts: 5 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 0	Hey thanks everyone! Guess thats my mind made up then the board, psu and case were going to be -GigaByte EP45-DS3R LGA775 -JeanTech JN120F 600w -Antec Three Hundred Gamers Case hope the card fits in the case, but i can do some sawing/bending. i really like the plain black styling and grill at the front. need some nice quiet fans too. lovely fans! thanks for all the posts dudes, Peter

18th Aug 2008, 08:12 AM	#9 (permalink)
hackmagic Newbie Join Date: 16 Aug 2008 Posts: 5 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 0	only £36.72 why do you ask? Pete

18th Aug 2008, 08:12 AM	#10 (permalink)
hackmagic Newbie Join Date: 16 Aug 2008 Posts: 5 Reputation: 0 Rep Power: 0	the Antec 900 does look a lot better though!

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