Should I go with the HD 4870

[IcHLL]

Hey guys I was wondering if I should go with a video card upgrade,

I'm gonna travel to the US tomorrow and it's a one chance opportunity to buy a bunch of stuff, so I was wondering if I should change my Nvidia 8800 GTS 640Mb for the new HD 4870. Consider that if I change the video card I would like to change the motherboard so it would be more compatible ( I own an nforce 680i sli ) and I would change it for a ASUS rampage formula X48.

What do you think? Worth the effort and money?

 

[shaundwm]

The card is, I wouldn't bother changing the mobo as it will cost unnecessary money unless you're planning to further change you system (crossfire, overclocking your cpu).
Your current mobo will run the 4870 just fine, make sure you get a good price for your old GTS =-)

 

[themyrmidon]

What size is your monitor (people always leave out the biggest factor).

 

[dagger]

What size is your monitor (people always leave out the biggest factor).

It doesn't matter in this case. An aging g80 8800gts has trouble keeping up with the newest games even at a moderate 1280x1024 resolution, which basically all monitors can handle. It's time for an upgrade.

 

[themyrmidon]

Um, what? It isn't that far behind, especially not at 1280x1024. 1680x1050, sure, time for an upgrade, but not at 1440x900.

If you have a 680i you could almost get 2 GTX 260's in SLI at the same price of changing out your mobo to a X48 and getting a 4870.

 

[dagger]

Um, what? It isn't that far behind, especially not at 1280x1024. 1680x1050, sure, time for an upgrade, but not at 1440x900.

If you have a 680i you could almost get 2 GTX 260's in SLI at the same price of changing out your mobo to a X48 and getting a 4870.

It's pretty far behind. g80 8800gts perform about the same as 9600gt.
http://en.expreview.com/2008/04/02/g80-vs-g92-hi-end-geforce-gfx-cards-round-up/?page=10
It's a g80 card, not g92. They're actually a generation apart, despite the naming scheme. The gap is significant.
http://en.expreview.com/2008/04/02/g80-vs-g92-hi-end-geforce-gfx-cards-round-up/?page=13

If you're going to keep 680i, consider either dual sli two g92 8800gts, now costing as little as $120 ar, and will outperform a single gtx280, far outperform 4870. Or tri-sli 3 9800gtx. It doesn't scale as well, but still deliver better performance, and at as little as $150 each, is more cost effective than using the latest generation cards.

g92 8800gts and 9800gtx run on the same g92 gpu with 128 stream processors. 9800gtx support tri-sli, 8800gts does not.
http://en.expreview.com/2008/04/03/geforce-9800gtx-review/12/

Also, the 9800gx2 dropped to $280, outperforms 280gtx, far outperforms 4870, and is now a good choice. It's slower than g92 8800gts sli due to slower core clock, but gives you the choice of quad sli at reasonable price/performance ratio.

 

[invisik]

keep ur mobo and get 2 gtx260. 2 gtx260 will beat 1 4870 easily.

 

[dagger]

Uhm no it doesnt have trouble...my G80 gts 640 is still kicking butt and playing them just fine at 1920 x 1200 all high settings...cod4, frontlines and even runs crysis on high avg 24fps. I am moving to a gtx280 since the price drop now.

Most people would not consider average 24 fps playable. But that's a matter of opinion...

The point is, that old g80 8800gts has served its purpose. 3 generations is long enough to wait for an upgrade. The performance gap also justifies it. It's time.

 

[IcHLL]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm planning on buying a 24'', will that change anything? So I have 3 different oppinions, buy another gts 640Mb, buy the 4870 or 2x260gtx (im thinking this could come out quite expensive) and the final thing on the motherboard is that I shouldnt change it? I was also considering changing Q6600 for Q9550, that's why I took into consideration the motherboard change !

 

[-Fran-]

Maybe posting your budget might help us...

If u plan on gettin almost a new rig, then build it with a P45 imo, keep the Q6600 and get 4Gb-6Gb of RAM (DDR3 is an expensive horse atm, so i'd say stick with DDR2). Also if u plan on going for a 24"+ display, get 2x4850 or a 4870X2 if budget allows.

Esop!

 

[dagger]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm planning on buying a 24'', will that change anything? So I have 3 different oppinions, buy another gts 640Mb, buy the 4870 or 2x260gtx (im thinking this could come out quite expensive) and the final thing on the motherboard is that I shouldnt change it? I was also considering changing Q6600 for Q9550, that's why I took into consideration the motherboard change !

If value matters, you should look beyond just the latest generation cards like 4870, gtx260 and gtx280. 9800gx2 cost $280, far less than gtx280, same as 4870, but outperforms gtx280, and far outperforms 4870.
http://techreport.com/articles.x/15293/8
http://techreport.com/articles.x/15293/5
http://techreport.com/articles.x/15293/6

 

[spathotan]

Im suprised the GX2 is so low now, that is definetly the card to buy right now.

 

[dagger]

Im suprised the GX2 is so low now, that is definetly the card to buy right now.

Quad sli does not scale well. The 3rd and 4th gpu only add average 30% extra performance. For single card, it's the best value though.

 

[L1qu1d]

Not true at all, in CoD4 my frame rates doubled with the Second GX2. There were scaling problems, but most games get at least 30% increase from the second GX2, after running Crysis, I use to get 40 fps now I get 70 on Very with shadows on Med.

Although it does do alot heat.

Upgrading from the 8800 GTS 640, which is 30% slower than the 8800 GTX. I do beleive that it holds its own for current gen games. I would suggest an upgrade to ppl with the 8800 GTS 320, which still can hold its own.

Either way, I wouldn't suggest a multi GPU over a single GPU, but the GX2 is soo darn cheap now. ANd in Quad can best the 280 GTX in COD4. Althgoutht he 280 GTXs drivers are getting better and better.

9800 GX2 Quad> 280 GTX sli > 4870 X2 etc.

 

[The_Abyss]

I game at 1920 x 1200, and went from a 8800 GTS 640 to a 4870.

In games where it works, it absolutely flies - fantastic performance. However there are all too many games where it doesn't work properly - the driver support is poor - plus the card is noisier than my old GTS and also runs hot. You can cool it down, but then it just gets louder.

My system is designed to run quiet, so it is more noticeable than normal.

Think very carefully before pulling the trigger on a 4870. At the end of the day, they're cheap for a reason.

 

[hallowed_dragon]

If you are not a dB freak you can buy the 4870 with no problem. I have a CPU cooler running at 2500 RPM , a 25 cm side fan at 800 RMP , a 12 cm back fan at 1600 RPM, but the card at 45% fan speed (3100 RPM I think) is louder then all put together , but I still manage to sleep with that monster in the room, so you judge the dB volume. Under max load the card doesn't exceed 56 C

 

[Nils]

What to do when you want a multi-gpu setup and you have an Intel chipset mobo? Can you go SLI on an Intel mobo or is there not other way than choosing for crossfire, because Inetl supports it?

 

[dagger]

What to do when you want a multi-gpu setup and you have an Intel chipset mobo? Can you go SLI on an Intel mobo or is there not other way than choosing for crossfire, because Inetl supports it?

At the moment, only the top of the line Skulltrial motherboard support sli(actually both cf and sli), no other Intel boards do.