4870 base vs. factory OverClocked versions

doctor lo

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Hi everyone,


I'm planning to build a new gaming PC and I'm trying to choose carefully every component. One of the most important ones for me is the Graphics card... even though I dont plan to spend too much on my build I am ready to spend a bit more here, always keeping in mind performance/price ratio.

The kind of components I'm planning to buy are the following (so you have and idea of my budget): q6600, 4gb DDR2 800, (ATI 4870), Corsair650TX, WD6400AKKS.

I want my build to last as long as possible, and thats why I thought the upgrade from 4850 to 4870... but now im thinking about another step. Some of the OCed versions of this GPU.

So... the contenders would be:

Sapphire HD4870 - 200 € (aprox)
Gainward HD4870 "Golden Sample" - 229 €
Club 3D CGAX-4872DDO Overclocked - 234 €

SAPPHIRE HD 4870 TOXIC Edition - 269 € (the place i was checking it just got the card at this price)


The Sapphire TOXIC looks really good... but I havent found it anywhere.. and I have no idea of how much it would cost... do you guys think it could be worth the wait plus the possible extra cash ?


I've read that the 4870 can get quite hot.. and since this "special" versions all have improved cooling I thought it could be already worth the extra money because of that... On the other hand money is really an issue, and I dont wanna spend extra if its not worth it.


Thanks in advance.


P.D. In case everyone is intersted here is where im checking the prices: http://www.alternate.es/html/shop/productListing4C.html?group=manufacturerName&cat1=9&cat2=255&cat3=000&treeName=HARDWARE&Level1=Gr%E1ficas&Level2=Tarjetas+PCIe&Level3=ATI& is in spanish but specs and prices are understandable by everyone I think :p
 

hannibal

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Gainward:
core clock 775 MHz
memory clock 1000 MHz
temperature 46C / 62C

Saphire Toxic
core 780 MHz
memory 1000 MHz
temperature ? / ?

Club
core 800 MHz
memory 900 MHz
temperature ? / ?
 

doctor lo

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Well,it depends... the "normal" cards with this chip seem to be having some heating problems... so it seems like the stock cooling systems are not that good. All this OC'd cards have improved cooling... so they should be cooler even when they are already factory overclocked. Plus... they would be factory guaranteed.

Thanks for the comment anyway :) I just dont know if its like that with this exact GPU...
 

johnyeah

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Honestly, I wouldn't spend the extra 69 € for something I can do myself (OC'ing the GPU yourself does not void its warranty, if you're worrying about doing it yourself).

OC'ing the GPU is relatively easy and quite fail-safe if you don't attempt anything too extreme.
 

doctor lo

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Sapphire "standard":
core clock 750 MHz
memory clock 900 MHz
temperature ?? / ??

Gainward "Golden Sample":
core clock 775 MHz
memory clock 1000 MHz
temperature 46C / 62C

Saphire Toxic
core 780 MHz
memory 1000 MHz
temperature ? / ?

Club
core 800 MHz
memory [strike]900[/strike] 950 ??MHz
temperature ? / ?



Thanks hannibal
 

doctor lo

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Well, yeah, your probably right.. I shouldnt spend the 69€ extra on the Toxic for example (unless the price goes down....), but the other is more like 30€ difference... which as I said.. could be the price for the cooling system it has ? that would allow some additional overclocking perhaps ?
I´m just afraid of overclocking a card (im talking about the normal ones), that everyone is saying heats up too much without even doing any OC....



Thanks for the link.. I´ll take a look a it. I dont know about overclocking.. but I would do it once I have the knowledge.

 

johnyeah

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If it's 30€ difference, well, it's really up to you. I checked up on the CLUB 3D card, it seems to use the standard cooler instead of an aftermarket one (it's only worth the 30€ difference if it uses a decent aftermarket, otherwise it's no different from a standard one).

Or if you're lucky (like I was), you might get a factory overclocked GPU when you order a standard one, heh.
 

doctor lo

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That would be nice.. but is the kind of thing that probably wont happen to me :p
Now I´ll illustrate the post with some photos.. so you can see the difference


Yes.. the golden sample looks good, and is not too expensive. I´ve just read somewhere that its quite noisy... cos the smaller fan keeps spinning no matter what you do, and it can be a bit annoying...

Well, here are some photos:

Sapphire HD4870 512MB:
245specimage.jpg

huge photo here: http://www.sapphiretech.com/ss/gallery/img/337/11133-00_HD4870_512GDDR5_PCIE_C02.jpg

Club 3D HD4870 512MB:
2610720281_dfd3e2d950_o.jpg

high res: http://www.club3d.nl/index.php/download/highres/CGAX_4872DD.jpg

Club 3D FActory overclocked:
91827.jpg

high res: http://www.club3d.nl/index.php/download/highres/CGAX_4872DDO.jpg

Gainward HD4870 Golden Sample
Gainward-HD4870-512MB-Golden-Sample.jpg


Sapphire HD4870 TOXIC:
254specimage.jpg

also: http://www.sapphiretech.com/ss/gallery/img/346/11133-06_HD4870TOXIC_PCIE_C02.jpg

(edited to fix some issues with the photos... )
 

doctor lo

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but not with the TOXIC.. or it looks like it (why does it have to be the most expensive ?!).

I was planning to get an Antec 900 though... so airflow should be good.
 
Find out which one has the better higher clockable bois too. That way, if you want to go even higher on your overclock, you can. Ive heard good things about both the GS and the Sapphire, havnt heard anything on the Club3D tho
 

johnyeah

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To be honest, the time you spend on figuring out these nitty-gritty details, you might as well pay the extra $$, heh.

Either way, they're all 4870's (aftermarket cooler or not, it's really a fractional difference in performance), sure overclocked means it'll run faster, but it's only slightly faster (unless you need every single FPS you can get from games like Crysis, then I'd say just wait for next generation cards).
 

doctor lo

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Yes... me too, I´ve heard good things about Sapphire and Gainward.. and dont know that much about Club3D... well, except my personal experience: I´ve had one for 5 years or so.. and no problems with it. Never touched it or measured its performance though... I prefer the 1st two brands anyway.



I´m not specially interested in crysis, and I wont play very high res neither... I just want the build to last as long as possible... And I dont mind waiting a month or so before I buy, but I guess next gen takes longer to arrive ?


Thanks once more

 

hannibal

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Well I supose that next updates are updates to smaller production node for both companies. Not sure though Nvidia. It may be guite possible that NVIDIA reduces back to 256bit memory controller, but who knows. It would be cost effective change if everything else reamains the same.

 
From the times of the Radeon 8500 i've always noticed that OCing a video card does actually little to nothing in "real life" gaming experience. 5 or 6 FPS increase for a premium of $60? More over when you can actually get them for yourself?

Makes me wonder if it's really worth it actually. Now, paying that extra cash for the improved cooling solutions might be a different story, but then again, the regular cooling solution can handle this card perfectly.

If you ask me, wich card is worth that premium, i'd say the one with the better cooling solution.

Esop!
 

johnyeah

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Heh, I'd totally agree with Yuka.

Pretty much that's my point for the last couple posts, :p. I guess I couldn't really convey my point being that I just pulled an all nighter.
 

doctor lo

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Thanks guys.... The issue is that the cooling system that looks the best is the one on the most expensive card... the TOXIC...
But as you say its probably not worth paying that much for it

I could go for the standard... or for the club3d or "golden sample" which are just slightly more expensive... Im just a bit worried no one knows about the 1st.. and what I've heard is that the 2nd can be quite noisy.

No one seems to have heard that much about the heat issues in the standard HD4870 neither ??
 

doctor lo

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Long enough... ur talking about the wait for the next gen ? or the time I want the build to last ? I could wait around 1month for the build... And I want it to last perhaps 3 years at least ? without throwing much or any money on it.

Cheers
 

wonderingwhatis

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by the standard 4870 seriously.
even if you dont OC the card a simple fan adjustment will make it run in the 55-60c range which is perfectly fine. (mine is OCed to the max in CCC; 1100mhz on the memory and i believe its 790 in the GPU and it runs at the temps i mentioned)