Confused about upgrading from HD4800 series

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Unholymess

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Feb 2, 2015
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Hi guys,

I need a little help figuring out upgrading my GPU.

I currently have a 4800 series, GDDR5 2GB graphics card, it's old but still trucking along brilliantly, playing most games on high still. However, it only supports as high as DX10.1 and I learned today that my shiny new copy of Shadow of Mordor is DX11 only

So, I'm looking to upgrade. But I'm confused because I've been looking at the R7 series of AMD cards (I am on a very tight budget) because they are DX11 enabled, but the majority seem to be either 1GB GDDR5 or 2GB GDDR3 with only a couple being 2GB and GDDR5

(notably, these two:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-329-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1866

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-349-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1866
)


Which seems odd to me. I would expect cards this much newer than mine to be faster than mine, but based on those numbers, the best I can do is match the specs of mine, not improve them. The only improvement is DX11, which then begs the question, why can't my card support DX11 if, on paper, it appears to be just as capable as the R7 cards?

I must be missing something, there is obviously something I am not understanding that explains how and why the R7 cards are an upgrade from the 4800 series and I would be incredibly grateful if somebody would walk me through it!

Thanks in advance and apologies if this is a really dumb question, I have been out of the hardware/diy building loop for quite a few years!

Unholy
 
Solution
sturm
"I figured that was the case but I am intrigued as to how and why exactly modern cards are faster."
How are modern processors faster than ones years ago?......
Advances in coding, smaller pathways, more and faster transistors, etc....
You also have to realize that current day cards are mostly benched marked at DX11 while the older cards were/are only benched at DX10. DX11 will put more of a load on the GPU, so thus frames may not appear to be better, but the quality is better.
Take a current card and bench it on dx10 against an older dx10 card and you will probably see a bigger difference.
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sturm

sturm

Splendid
Apr 1, 2002
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Your card can't support DX11 because the hardware doesn't support the features that DX11 has. How the card performs has no bearing on DX10 or DX11 support. Newer cards support more features and thus are faster, "prettier" than older cards. Frame rates aren't the only thing to look at.

I would save up some to get in the R9 270 to 280 range.
 
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bootcher

bootcher

Splendid
Feb 22, 2013
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You don't mention exactly what card which makes this a bit confusing since there are a couple of different 4800 series cards.
The cards you link might have less or slower memory but the chip might still outperform your old card, and comes with newer technology (directx-11 for example).
Both the cards you linked are entry-level cards, meaning they don't have much memory and are budget cards, while the 4800 series was more medium to high end level, depending which card you have.
 
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U

Unholymess

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Feb 2, 2015
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Sorry, meant to say, my current card is the 4870 :)

Thanks for the answers so far guys, I figured that was the case but I am intrigued as to how and why exactly modern cards are faster.

Ok, so you reckon look at R9s rather than 7s?
 
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sturm

sturm

Splendid
Apr 1, 2002
3,829
0
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"I figured that was the case but I am intrigued as to how and why exactly modern cards are faster."
How are modern processors faster than ones years ago?......
Advances in coding, smaller pathways, more and faster transistors, etc....
You also have to realize that current day cards are mostly benched marked at DX11 while the older cards were/are only benched at DX10. DX11 will put more of a load on the GPU, so thus frames may not appear to be better, but the quality is better.
Take a current card and bench it on dx10 against an older dx10 card and you will probably see a bigger difference.
 
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Solution
H

Hersh25

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Feb 2, 2015
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4,510
On similar lines I want to upgrade my HD 4850 to be able to play Witcher 3. I am somehow able to play DA Inquisition with everything at low (1920x1080)!The thing is my whole system is ancient, 6+ years 24/7 run time. So I will be upgrading everything but with DDR4 out I am thinking of waiting for better prices on DDR4 RAM and motherboards. At any rate I only have a budget for a i5 4690k with z97 mb and 8GB DDR3 with a 270x.
OR
I can upgrade just the graphic card if that is possible.
My current system is
Intel Q6600
Abit IP 35
DDR 2 4GB
HD 4850 1GB

Yet another option is to upgrade the system (DDR4 compatible)but not the card and later upgrade to GTX 970.
If I can hold out on either the card or the rest of the system which is better or is 4690k, z97 mb and 8GB DDR3 with a 270x the way to go?
 
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