3850 256M vs. 3850 512M

[rhorwitz]

Folks,

I'm recently looked at a sweet deal from New Egg for a Saphire 3850 w/256M for $137. I'm not a real heavy gamer, but I do want the best bang for the buck. Problem is that a 512M version appears to be almost $30 more. Does the extra performance command this price?

Thanks,



Rick

 

[Maziar]

Go for the 512MB version. many games now benefit from the extra memory even if u play @ resolutions lower than 1600x1200

 

[jay2tall]

If you are a low res gamer you won't notice much of a difference. If you are at 1024x768 or 1280x1024 it would be fine. I always opt for the 512MB but if you are trying to go cheap and don't game much and rather save $30 just get the 256MB version. Get what you can get and be happy.

 

[rhorwitz]

If you are a low res gamer you won't notice much of a difference. If you are at 1024x768 or 1280x1024 it would be fine. I always opt for the 512MB but if you are trying to go cheap and don't game much and rather save $30 just get the 256MB version. Get what you can get and be happy.

Hmm, I might be upgrading to a 1080p LCD. Would that be pushing it?

Thanks,


Rick

 

[LukeBird]

Hmm, I might be upgrading to a 1080p LCD. Would that be pushing it?

Thanks,


Rick

With 256mb, yes I tihnk it would be for pretty much any game.

 

[jay2tall]

If you want to drive a 1080P lcd that is 1900x1080. You may want the 512MB for that one. If you want to play games you will need more horsepower than the 3850 though. Well technically no but you will have to lower graphics settings a bit.

 

[crusoe74]

Even if you weren't to upgrade your monitor I think you'll struggle with games released later in the year. Basically 256Mb has had it's day as the 'standard' GFx size.

 

[aevm]

LOL at Crusoe's avatar. Love it!!!

1080p will be pushing it indeed. Even the 512MB 3850 will find that tough in some games. Spend that additional $30, it's well worth it.

 

[jay2tall]

CAT FISH!

 

[pauldh]

If you are planning on 1080P gaming, I'd forget both of those. You can get an IceQ HD3870 512MB for $170. Well worth the money over a $167 512MB 3850.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161218

Or get the MSI for $5 cheaper AR and the Witcher for free.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127315

I'm kinda keen on the iceQ's myself.


Alright, another edit. The ice Q HD3850 512MB for $133 AR:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161216

 

[KyleSTL]

CAT FISH!

Meow.

Agreed, a 3870 is the way to go @ 1920x1080 for pretty much any game, and in some games may still not be powerful enough if you like to crank up the eye candy and detail settings.

 

[yipsl]

If you can wait, wait for June when the 4850, 4870 and 4870x2 arrive. That should drop prices of the 512 meg version of the 3850 if you still want it.

If you need it now, the 256 meg version looks like a steal. That way, you can buy the next gen card when you can afford without too much guilt.

The main reason for having 512 megs over 256 is it allows for higher textures to be loaded during games. Some games benefit from high textures, others do not.

 

[rhorwitz]

Folks, Thanks for all the great advice. I think I'm going to put the 1080p TV and 512 Meg option on hold and in the meantime enjoy the std 256Meg 3850 on my existing 720p TV.

My postponement is based on a few reasons: 1) PC gaming is currently being affected by the game console. 2) Blue Ray drives have not budged yet on price since they won over HD DVD. 3) My 42" Toshiba LCD 720p only a year old and it's not broken yet ;-). Alas, my biggest reason is that I fell in love with this carbon bike road frame, and my current ride is over 20 years old. -I'll see what develops next year when the 8800 GTX are priced under $200.

BTW- Neccessities are always NEEDS, but toys are always WANTS.

Regards,

Rick

 

[pauldh]

You'd really buy the plain 256MB HD3850 for $131 vs the His IceQ Turbo model for $133 AR (+$7 shipping)? Do you need a single slot cooler? Ice Q coolers are quiet and perform well, plus you get 512MB and higher clock speeds. I'd gladly mail in a rebate to get that iceQ 512MB for almost the same price.

Are we talking this one for $131 AR?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161211

If so it's less than $2 more and the same rebate to get a much better card.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161216


Better cooler, 512MB, and much higher clock speeds out of the box.

 

[KyleSTL]

Alas, my biggest reason is that I fell in love with this carbon bike road frame, and my current ride is over 20 years old.

What frame? (just curious) I'm riding a '92 Schwinn that's still in excellent condition, so I'm kinda in the same boat with the old bike. It's actually pretty light for it's day (7000 series aluminum frame, Shimano components, etc).

My other bike is a '96 Raleigh M60 mountain bike, it's a beast at ~27 lbs, but hasn't let me down (yet). Alivio/STX components, Shimano v-brakes (upgraded from the factory caliper brakes), full rigid. Nice to know someone else around here digs bikes. Happy riding!

 

[pauldh]

I used to be bigtime into Mt. Biking but last couple years it's been collecting dust. Mine's an old Trek ZX series 970 with all Deore XT components. It was 24.5 Lbs as purchased, but then I added Judy XC's to it and increased the weight. My dream at the time was the superlight trek 9900 OCLV Hardtail. *drool*

 

[pauldh]

Here we go, had to google a pic (although I wanted the pro series bare Carbon)
http://www.light-bikes.com/bikegallery/BikeListing.asp?id=126

 

[randomizer]

I don't think you'll have too much of a problem with 256MB VRAM with that 720p TV. ATIs cards suffer alot less with minimal VRAM than Nvidia's value-for-money offerings. OTOH, double the VRAM and the nvidia card comes out on top (talking the 8800gt 256mb vs 512mb mostly here).

 

[rwayne]

Did anyone see what ASUS is working on???

An HD3850x3!!! THREE RV670 chips on one board! WOW!

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6458&Itemid=1

It is a neat engineering feat but it is hard to get excited about it when the R700 coming in June is projected to be anywhere from 50% to 100% faster than the current RV670 chips.

One HD4870 card may very well beat out this HD3850X3 with likely half the energy consumption.

 

[randomizer]

Why bother... seriously?

 

[rwayne]

Why bother... seriously?

Because MORE must mean that it is BETTER!

 

[jimmysmitty]

Even if you weren't to upgrade your monitor I think you'll struggle with games released later in the year. Basically 256Mb has had it's day as the 'standard' GFx size.

This is true. Games like Oblivion and Crysis love more video memory due to larger textures being used even at lower resolutions. Heck I saw a mod for Oblivion that would replace the background textures with much higher quality 2560x2560(not sure if thts right res). It was suggested only for those with 256meg+ video cards as a minimum and 512+ were the best ones for it.

 

[randomizer]

Because MORE must mean that it is BETTER!

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f44/Rwayne/jet.jpg

Do they use the cabin for passengers or as an extra fuel tank?

 

[rwayne]

Passengers are allowed as carry-on luggage to stow away a 5 gallon gas canister under the seat in front of them or in the overhead compartment as needed in the fore and aft sections of the aircraft.

The gas canisters may only be removed during flight when the pilot turns on the low fuel sign.

 

[rhorwitz]

Thanks again for the suggestions.

As for the His IceQ Turbo 3850, the reviews indicate bugs in the firmware and quality of PCBA build (DOAs and early fails). I almost chose the Diamond Viper 3850PE3512O, but the heatsink appeared much differenct from the reference design.

As for my current bike, it is an original ST500 Cannondale '93 vintage. I'm looking at a Taiwanese built Carbon frame with a Motobecane label (Immortal?) for ~700 usd.