HD 4850 or 9800GTX?

[doomsdaydave11]

I'm looking to buy a new graphics card for a single card gaming rig. $200-$250 is my ideal budget. My specs are:

E8400
4GB RAM
(7900GS)
Corsair VX550W PSU
1680x1050 22" LCD

I primarily play FPS and RTS games.
What would be my best option?

 

[doomturkey]

Performance is basically the same, they edge each other out in about the same number of benchmarks. I would buy the 4850 myself, I tend to prefer AMD cards to nvidia. I think the 4850 runs a little bit cooler too, it does use a single slot cooler compared to the dual slot on the 9800GTX. Really, since price and performance are pretty much the same, it doesn't matter much. I would say it boils down to if you have a brand preference, and whether or not you mind a dual slot cooler.

 

[nawfal]

im going with 4850 for me on this one-

1) its here now
2) drivers will improve (9800 has little chance because is just an oc 9800)
3) cheaper (can get it fro 170bux in the US)
99) Give the underdog a chance!!!!

 

[Just_An_Engineer]

im going with 4850 for me on this one-

1) its here now
2) drivers will improve (9800 has little chance because is just an oc 9800)
3) cheaper (can get it fro 170bux in the US)
99) Give the underdog a chance!!!!

Another one that I'd add to your list is that the 4850 will easily fit in most cases, while the Nvidia cards are extremely long and can be hard to it in many cases.

 

[Maziar]

I say go for HD 4850, it delivers better performance than a 9800GTX in almost all games and it cheaper

 

[reikalusikka]

In addition to everything alrdy mentioned 4850 is 55nm and 9800 65nm.

If I were you I'd wait till 4870 is released, I think it'll cost less than 300$ so is a good option.

 

[yadge]

Actually, I've seen that the 4850's run quite hot...

Since performance is the same, I've been thinking I might go with a 9800gtx, for the dual slot cooler.

But then again, the 4850 has DX10.1, and a more forward looking architecture. At least I think...

 

[yadge]

I say go for HD 4850, it delivers better performance than a 9800GTX in almost all games and it cheaper

Actually they're the same price now.

 

[Maziar]

Thanks for that, i didn't know it because in the first previews i read, the HD 4850 was the same

So well both perform the same, but HD 4850 beats the 9800GTX (as i said) but the difference isn't much

 

[Paris Lee]

of course 4850
you can oc the card to 700mhz easily by adjust the catalyz-control center
but 9800GXT is on a high frequence now

 

[kelfen]

of course 4850
you can oc the card to 700mhz easily by adjust the catalyz-control center
but 9800GXT is on a high frequence now

Yea wait a little while ATI partners probably will come out with a 1gb/with a better cooling solution

 

[Just_An_Engineer]

Yea wait a little while ATI partners probably will come out with a 1gb/with a better cooling solution

Apparently ASUS has just such a card that will be available in the near future.
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/9105/asushd4850a1gbdhfx57fu4.jpg

 

[yadge]

Apparently ASUS has just such a card that will be available in the near future.
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/9105/asushd4850a1gbdhfx57fu4.jpg

Yeah, I can't wait to see how that does at 1920x1200 compared to the standard 4850

 

[iicsus]

Plus the 4850 needs a lot less power, an aspect to consider if you have a less powerful power supply.

 

[nkal83]

Also 4850 has excellent idle power consumption and excellent HD video acccelaration!!

 

[goonting]

Yep HD 4850 on this one. at the same price. With additional feature for HTPC is more like an all around card HDMI feature really is something to consider.

 

[chuckshissle]

I'm going for the HD4850 on this one.

$199
Single slot
55nm
Power efficient
single 6-pin power
HD
TeraFLOP computing
silent, goes 80c but it's normal
excellent price-performance ratio
this card can fit and can run in regular stock pc

And thanks to AMD's new chips, the prices on Nvidia has forced down.

 

[chuckshissle]

Nvidia launch the 9800GTX+ which is basically 8800GT rev.3.

 

[EXT64]

I went with the 4850. I know this isn't the prevailing opinion, but I like their drivers better. They seem to be doing a better job with each set and they release them every month. I too am concerned about heat and the single slot cooler, so I plan to mod it with and extra fan and some ducting so it exhausts out the back and has a little higher airflow.

 

[JeanLuc]

I'm looking to buy a new graphics card for a single card gaming rig. $200-$250 is my ideal budget. My specs are:

E8400
4GB RAM
(7900GS)
Corsair VX550W PSU
1680x1050 22" LCD

I primarily play FPS and RTS games.
What would be my best option?

There's no point posting a poll since you can't see the results.

BTW I voted HD 4850.

 

[lightzy]

I'd go with the 9800+ coming soon..
and physx enabled, so that may buy you some serious power later on,

I don't want any card that operates as hot as the 4850. It means crossfiring them is scary hot, all the heat is dumped in the case cuz of the single slot profile and it basically means they'll wear out faster.

single slot sounds nice in theory, but there's a reason they're using two slots now for good cards.

 

[Zenthar]

I chose "Something else" because if you were considering a 300$ card, you had the budget for it. Therefore the 4870 coming soon could be of interest to you; moreover, it might have a dual-slot cooler which I prefer for temp control in my case. If you insist on buying right now, I don't think you can go wrong with a 4850 for 200$.

 

[boredatcanon]

Misconceptions about the heat on 4850 already. The heat on the card is fine, it's the drivers that control the fans which don't have it operating too high to keep noise down. The 8800gt is a hotter card than this but people haven't complained so far.

 

[foxhound009]

I'm going for the 4870 or 4870 x2 ... depending on my budget...
you should do the same

 

[dario77]

save up an extra $50 whilst waiting for 4870.
possibly, save up another extra $30, and see if sapphire does an "atomic" edition.
or, at least, thats what i'd do...