Need help on choosing the card(4870) ordering tomorrow

[mark $]

Any ideas towards which have an aftermarket cooler? Would it be better to get a factory OC so it runs cooler? The Asus appears to be aftermarket but not sure.

How about the 1gb for $300?

Cheap gigabyte stock 4870 245(free shipping)
Vistiontek stock 255+shipping
Powercooler 800 OC edition 290+shipping
Asus (after market cooler?) 270+9 shipping

or 1gb for $300.

Would it be a better buy for me to get the 1gb for roughly $50 more?

Antec 1200, Asus P5Q-E board, Q6600 @ 3.0~ (xigmatek S1283 + bracket). 750w Corsair tx PSU.

 

[mactronix]

You are going to have to give us links to the specific cards for us to tell you if the coolers etc are any better.

Mactronix

 

[copasetic]

Yeah, links would be good.

Generally though the 4870 can be overclocked real easy by bumping up the fan speed a little on the stock cooler. An aftermarket cooler would make things even easier, though you want to keep in mind that most of them aren't rear exhaust coolers. They'll just blow the hot air back into the case, and the 4870 moves a lot of hot air.

 

[atrain]

The fan on the 4870 does a fine job as long as you change its default speed(which is set anywhere from 12% to 22%). You don't really need an aftermarket cooler unless you're doing hardcore overclocking.

I have mine at 830 core 1100 memory with the stock fan and it doesn't ever get above 70C with my current fan settings.

Also, you're not going to notice a whole lot of difference with the 1GB model, so unless you have extra money, I would just go with one of the other 512MB models. I personally have the ASUS brand, but that's just because it was on sale at the time.

 

[emp]

Unless you're running on really crazy resolutions, I'd suggest ASUS one or the Visiontek one if you don't mind it running a little hotter. If your screen is 1920x1200 or above, you *might* benefit from the extra memory though...

 

[mark $]

Sorry for not providing the links, they're all from newegg. I went with the Asus aftermarket (or at least appears to be) since it just got a mail in rebate for the day, putting it's price at $230. The cheapest 4870 atm. Good deal