Best Radeon 48XX video card for playing at a resolution of 1280x1024

jimenezboy · May 3, 2013

Hey guys, I have just cleared school. I would like to assemble a low-end gaming machine. My budget is really tight. I have decided upon getting a core 2 quad q6600 processor (i plan to overcloack to at least 3ghz), a board with an fsb of 1333mhz with overclocking ability, 4gb of ddr3 ram, and a 1tb hard disk. I know guys will be quick to ridicule me and tell me to get an i5 or something current, but we all know you can never have anything current with pcs, besides my budget won't allow it. Am really stumped with the choice for a video card, I have these three on my mind: Radeon 4850, Radeon 4870, Radeon 4890 and a Radeon 4870 x2. I intend to play at 1280x1024. Again, cue the ridicule,lol! My question is, which of the 4 cards would provide me with the most cost-effective playing experience at that resolution? I have a huge collection of games I've been piling from the days I was in school, I just didn't have the time (and money) to even give a thought to games. Thanks.
PS. I have a 700w power supply unit.

ThomasJ93 · May 3, 2013

Are you planning to buy that 48xx series card second hand or brand new? If you're thinking about brand new, don't do it. The cards are often more expensive than what they are worth.

smorizio · May 3, 2013

Jim for the money your better off buying an amd apu.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1291148

As you can see your the money your getting newest mb for amd CPU and a CPU with a 7000 gpu built in. Also when you have more money you can add a gpu.

jimenezboy · May 3, 2013

ThomasJ93 :

I am planning to get everything second-hand, except the hard disk and RAM.

bgrt · May 3, 2013

5770/6770 handles that resolution pretty well and has DX11. Since you're considering a 4890, the 6770 should also be within your budget.

jimenezboy · May 3, 2013

smorizio :

Thanks for the link and for pointing me towards that direction. It's a really nice deal! However, is the AMD A4-5300 processor comparable to a q6600 at 3.0ghz? Also, is the 7480 apu really worth it for games like crysis 1 and 2? Another thing that will stop me from getting the setup is that am in Kenya. Am relying on a friend of mine in the US to get me the parts then ship them to me. PC stuff are prohibitively expensive these sides.

jimenezboy · May 3, 2013

bgrt :

I hadn't given a thought to those cards. The Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart has them alongside the 4890 and 4870. Their prices are even lower than those of some 4890s on eBay. My task has now gotten more complicated with that suggestion, lol.

bgrt · May 3, 2013

jimenezboy :

Go with a DX11 card. Properly written DX11 games look much better in general than DX10/9. Your resolution isn't demanding so a 6770 will be OK.

smorizio · May 3, 2013

Jim with a gaming pc there three parts you don't skimp on one is the power supply. The other is the CPU and the last is the gpu. When you look at pc parts try not to go back to fair like the older 775 CPU. The newer amd and intel CPU kill the older CPU in raw power. If you have too look at the intel g line and the newer amd CPU. A lot of times here in the us micro center and new egg and other web pages have combo deals like the one I posted. The amd CPU I linked is faster then the older CPU you linked. Take a look at new egg intel sandy and ib g line of CPU. They start at 49.00. Look to pair them with an h61 mb.

jimenezboy · May 3, 2013

bgrt :

jimenezboy :

Go with a DX11 card. Properly written DX11 games look much better in general than DX10/9. Your resolution isn't demanding so a 6770 will be OK.

The games am intending to play are Sleeping Dogs, Crysis 1 and 2, NFS: MW 2012, FIFA 13, Far Cry 3, Max Payne, Metro 2033 and little BF3. Are any of these games DX11?

jimenezboy · May 3, 2013

smorizio :

That's true smorizio, the CPU chart lisys a sizable number of Pentium G cpus alongside the quadcores of olden days. There's something that I don't quite understand, that the Pentium G and the AMD A4-5300 CPUs are dual cores and the q6600 is a quadcore. I thought the extra two cores would make them 'not that bad'... Does hyperthreading help in games?

simon12 · May 3, 2013

If you only have $200-250 and a 700W PSU then a core 2 quad and a Radeon 4870 on Ebay makes sense. In the UK 4870s in auctions sell as low as £40 and they do perform as well as 5770/6770s but lacking dx11 and you get get a complete PC with a C2Q from around £100 (though mainly OEM so no overclocking). If you have $300-400 then a New CPU board and RAM make more sense maybe with a cheap 4870. I would avoid 4870x2s used as they run hot and are likely to not last.

jimenezboy · May 3, 2013

simon12 :

I have a budget of around $320. If you were in my shoes, what components that reside in the case would you get? Excluding the PSU as I already have that.

bgrt · May 3, 2013

jimenezboy :

Just off the top of my head, the only thing that doesn't support DX11 on this list is Crysis 1.

shadovraven · May 3, 2013

For your resolution even 7750 will be enough. I don't recommend 48xx card series, they are mostly expensive and very old. If you really want to get 48xx for some reason, answering your question 4850/4870 will be most "cost-effective"

smorizio · May 3, 2013

If you have too look at picking up the mb and CPU and 4g of ram. Intel and some amd chips have gpu built in. Use the built in gpu then drop in the video card when you can.micro center if your friend near one there some nice cheap cases there.

simon12 · May 4, 2013

This leaves you only $50 for the GPU so you likely want to try to get some used parts a bit cheaper & you could skip the DVDRW altogether if you have other means of installing the OS and there are cheaper cases out there http://pcpartpicker.com/p/V2Kw

simon12 · May 4, 2013

Note I only upgraded my 4870 under a year ago and slightly regret not holding on a bit longer (mainly due to price drops) it ran everything I wanted it to well on high settings with no lag. Games like farcry 3 I have bought since may have needed lowering to medium but its still a viable option and great for the price if you get one for $40-60 especially since a 7750 will need turning the settings lower or running DX9 in many games.

simon12 · May 4, 2013

Also I was using it @ 1920x1080.

Best Radeon 48XX video card for playing at a resolution of 1280x1024

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