9800gt vs. 4850

[utaustinstud]

So I'm wanting to know if a dual slot cooler on a 4850 is worth the price increase over a 9800gt. Newegg has the 9800gt for around $115 after s&h and MIRs while the dual slot 4850s are around $180-$200.

According to an article here on Tom's http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-comparison,2007.html the 8800gt wins in the price/performance area but the 4850 wins the award for best overall card.

It seems like the difference between the 2 with regard to fps is around 5-8 fps at higher resolutions and sometimes the 4850 wins and sometimes the 9800gt wins--just depends on the game. In either case it seems like they're fairly close to each other. As such it's hard for me to justify the extra $75 for the dual slot 4850. However, there are a couple single slot 4850s that look like they have good fans on them:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261027
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121272

Both of these are about $150 after MIRs, etc. Are either of these good cards in terms of brand and support in case they ever need to be RMAed?

Thanks a lot in advance for the help.

 

[one-shot]

I would go with the 4850. It will hold up better in future games. The 9800gt is alright but I'd lean towards the ATi card this time.

 

[utaustinstud]

So if I go with the 4850 which one should I get?

 

[rambo117]

no, you cannot compare the 9800gt(exactly the same as 8800gt) with a 4850. the 4850 easily beats 8800gt in crysis. but i have to point out that both of those cards dont look very well constructed, the heatsink is GPU only, no full coverage of the graphics card. you should look at the 4850 ICEQ4 cooling soloution, it cools every part of the card and exauhst the heat out the back of the case so theres no hot air in your case
dont go for the 9800gt, 4850 competes with the 9800GTX+, how would the 9800gt even stand up to the 4850?

 

[4745454b]

I think you missed the point rambo. I'm sure everyone would agree that the 4850 is the more powerful card. You would have to find an Nvidia zealot to say the 8800/9800GT is the more powerful card. The question he asked was

I'm wanting to know if a dual slot cooler on a 4850 is worth the price increase over a 9800gt.

To answer this question, we need a few more details. What types of games do you play? At what resolution do you play at? If you play mostly RTS games or sim games, these are mostly CPU bound and the difference between the cards is rather small. Also, if you play at a low resolution like 1440x900 or 1680x1050, the 8800/9800GT is fine for that res with current games. You might not be able to enable all details with lots of AA/AF, but even the 4670 can handle 1680x1050.

You said it yourself. The difference between the two can be up to $75 dollars. You can get a good PSU for that much difference. Or more ram. A new harddrive to go with that raptor. Without knowing what you play, at what size, and what you already have, its hard to say what you should get.

 

[utaustinstud]

At this point I have nothing because my old computer died and I'm building a new system. As far as games go I'm much more of a FPS shooter type game. I've played a little Quake Enemy Wars and would like to play COD4. I realize I won't be able to play Crisis but it seems for those two games I'd be good with either card (correct me if I'm wrong).

As far as resolutions go I currently have a 1600x1200 monitor so I'd like to play at that resolution--and even at that resolution it seems like most games are perfectly playable even with some of the eye candy turned on and high quality of everything.

I don't think I'd notice the difference between 50fps and 45 but maybe I would--I really don't know. I'd probably notice it between 30 and 40.

Also at some point down the road I'd like to upgrade and get around a 24" widescreen but I'd get that mainly for T.V./movie viewing and not necessarily gaming--although it wouldn't be out of the question. At the same time though I don't want to spend an extra $75 on a video card just so I can play on a monitor I don't even own yet and may never own. And who knows--by the time I have money for that monitor I might have money for a better gaming system anyway.

The thing is after this system build I most likely won't have money to upgrade for 2-3 years and so in some regards it seems like the 4850 is more future proof and probably will play the next generation of games better--but then again it may not too.

And even with a game like Crysis I'd get maybe 25-30fps on a 4850 vs. 22-26fps on a 9800gt and it seems like I wouldn't really notice a big difference in 2 or 3 fps.

A related question--in the article I referenced above, will I see similar FPS rates in my system? I'm planning on getting a E7200 and OCing it to at least 3.2ghz and 2x2gbs of Crucial Ballistix RAM.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Nica Guy]

i think it is worth i paid $200 for my iceq4 including s&h and a $10 mail in rebate i have not send yet.
i have it overclocked to 675/2200 and my temps are 33 idle 45-48 full load.
the coolest thing is the fan is super silent to the point i cant hear it spinning at 100%, i havent tried a 8800gt but im guessing it is far from the performance i get from my 4850, so i think the extra $75 are worth it.
Remember nvidia cards are pretty bad with AA enabled, so by getting the 4850 not only u will have more performance, but ur system will also be more future proof.

thats what i think at least..

 

[Nica Guy]

u will be able to play crysis with either:

all medium settings with 2xAA at 30 - 40fps.
all high settings no AA 25 - 30fps.

its a matter of personal preference, i didn't even like the game that much...

 

[xxcoop42xx]

pshhh, ill sell you my 1 month old 9800GT for $90-100 if thats what you want to go with. its not from a 3rd party vendor though. i want to sell this card anyway. thought i would let you know. never gets above 60C with fan at 55%.

 

[4745454b]

1600x1200 isn't much bigger then 1680x1050. As I said, even the 4670 does a good job at 16x12, so the 8800/9800 or 4850 will do just fine. If you don't think you'll have the money again for several years, you are better off getting the more powerful card, the 4850.

Now the question becomes is the dual slot cooler worth it? Single slot is around $150, while the dual slots are closer to $200. I personally would try to get the dual slot, but if the budget won't allow it, drop to the single slot. Performance should be the same, the temp in the case will be higher. How much is a case fan, $15?

 

[dirtmountain]

It all depends on how much you can spend. If you can only spend $110, get the 9800GT, if $140 is your budget get the 4850 with the small aftermarket type cooler, $170 get the ICQ, $200 get the GTX260, $240 get the 4870. Each $30 gets you a better card. What's your budget for a card?

 

[L1qu1d]

the only 9800 GT that comes close to comparing to the 4850 is the 9800 GT Ultrimate, which is bascially a 8800 GTS, which we all kno the 8800 GTS is basically a 9800 GTX downclocked.

 

[Nica Guy]

It all depends on how much you can spend. If you can only spend $110, get the 9800GT, if $140 is your budget get the 4850 with the small aftermarket type cooler, $170 get the ICQ, $200 get the GTX260, $240 get the 4870. Each $30 gets you a better card. What's your budget for a card?

true... except ur prices are all wrong for $10 - $20...
$200 for gtx 260? $220 after rebate is the cheapest i heard...
hd 4870 for $240? $250 the cheapest...
iceq4 4850 $170? $190 + shiping.... before rebate... $180 after rebate...