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Very close performing GPU which one to choose?

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Very close performing GPU which one to choose?

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srourg   10-19-2008 at 09:59:28 PM

Could anyone tell me which one is better and why (they have comparable prices)?

ATI Radeon HD 4870 v/s Nvidia Gforce 8800 Ultra

Objective high definition gaming :D

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bakalhau   10-19-2008 at 10:11:10 PM
- 0 +

The 4870 is much better, that's all you really need to know.

Reply to bakalhau
calam1ty   10-19-2008 at 10:21:45 PM
- 0 +

the ATI 4870 is A LOT newer compared to the 8800 ultra (essentially an overclocked 8800 GTX) which is still a great card but has been on the market for almost 2 years now. Therefore it pretty much goes without saying that the recently released 4870 will perform better than an 8800 ultra at whatever res or setting.

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Heyyou27   10-19-2008 at 10:22:33 PM
- 1 +

The 8800GTX/Ultra were great cards during their time, but it is old Nvidia tech, and the 4870 should be noticeably faster in most cases. The Radeon 4870 also supports Direct X10.1, where as the Geforce 8800Ultra (as well as ALL current Nvidia cards) only support Direct X10.0.

Reply to Heyyou27
coozie7   10-19-2008 at 10:58:38 PM
- 0 +

Make sure it`s the 1 Gb version of the HD4870. There is little difference in price and for hi rez gaming the extra memory wiil be very useful.

Reply to coozie7
spathotan   10-19-2008 at 11:03:08 PM
- 0 +

While the 1GB version will help at higher resolutions, its $60 more than the regular 512mb model. The 512mb one is down to $240.

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Intel Xeon X3370 @3.6ghz Under Enzotech Extreme-X,EVGA GTX 285 SC, 4GB Mushkin Ascent eVCI @ 1066mhz, Gigabyte P45 UD3P
 Reply to spathotan
jitpublisher   10-19-2008 at 11:30:00 PM
- 0 +

Careful, check out the GPU charts.
The 8800Ultra is still a plenty powerful card, and in higher resolutions with AA/AF enabled will outpace a 4870 most, not all, but most of the time by a considerable margin. It along with the GTX have the 384 bit wide memory buss, and that makes a difference when you start cranking things way up.
Nvidia did their homework on these cards.
While they are older tech, you cannot pass them off as slower because they are older.
Best advice, check out the GPU charts for the games and res you play at before you make your decision.

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to jitpublisher
invisik   10-19-2008 at 11:50:27 PM
- 0 +

i would go with the 4870 since it tends to handle aa very well and in general new tech. 8800ultra is still a powerful card but i would only select the 8800ultra or 8800gtx if you can find it within 130$.

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jitpublisher   10-19-2008 at 11:52:45 PM
- 0 +

^yeah, good point. Only get the Ultra if the price is right.

Reply to jitpublisher
aevm   10-20-2008 at 12:05:51 AM
- 1 +

I'm still very happy with my 8800GTX OC2, but I'd prefer a HD 4870 these days. It's 55nm technology rather than 80nm.

Reply to aevm
z999   10-20-2008 at 03:27:48 AM
- 0 +

the charts are incorrect. the latest gen suffers seriously from the CPU (note the topic w/ the far cry 2 bench as an example). the 4870 is better (although not by much) than the 8800 ultra and will be supported for longer time (driver optimizations for new games).
it's also DX10.1 and if you're into it has pretty nice HD features.

Reply to z999
LAN_deRf_HA   10-20-2008 at 03:34:08 AM
- 0 +

"along with the GTX have the 384 bit wide memory buss"

Ever hear of GDD5? Not only does the 4870 have more bandwidth, the core has a greater effect on increasing perf with the 4xxx series. On a side note.... you really shouldn't be giving out advice based on tom's hardware charts.

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Reply to LAN_deRf_HA
spathotan   10-20-2008 at 05:50:41 AM
- 0 +

GDDR5 eliminates the need for a bus larger than 256mb. Its so much faster than GDDR3/4 that even a 512mb bus cant help it. That 512mb bus REALLLLY helped out the 2900XT, eh?


Message edited by spathotan on 10-20-2008 at 05:51:34 AM
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Intel Xeon X3370 @3.6ghz Under Enzotech Extreme-X,EVGA GTX 285 SC, 4GB Mushkin Ascent eVCI @ 1066mhz, Gigabyte P45 UD3P
 Reply to spathotan
emp   10-20-2008 at 05:53:59 AM
- 0 +

jitpublisher wrote :

Careful, check out the GPU charts.
The 8800Ultra is still a plenty powerful card, and in higher resolutions with AA/AF enabled will outpace a 4870 most, not all, but most of the time by a considerable margin. It along with the GTX have the 384 bit wide memory buss, and that makes a difference when you start cranking things way up.
Nvidia did their homework on these cards.
While they are older tech, you cannot pass them off as slower because they are older.
Best advice, check out the GPU charts for the games and res you play at before you make your decision.

 

You are aware that the 8800 Ultra loses to the HD 4850, let alone the HD 4870... right?


Message edited by emp on 10-20-2008 at 05:54:38 AM
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srourg   10-21-2008 at 06:52:52 PM
- 0 +

Thanks guys will go for 4870 1gb at 270 $, is it worth it to pay additional 30$ to get a 3600 MHz memory clock (instead of a 1800 MHz)?

Reply to srourg
aevm   10-21-2008 at 08:04:31 PM
- 0 +

LOL, some manufacturers say 1800Mhz, some say 3600Mhz. They're confused about and GDDR5. For example a HIS HD 4870 advertised with 3600MHz and a Visiontek HD 4870 with GDDR5 advertised with 1800Mhz are in fact using the same clock. Don't worry about the clocks. Do get the 1GB version, it's worth the extra $30 IMO.

Reply to aevm
srourg   10-22-2008 at 07:18:40 AM
- 0 +

Thanks for this info

Reply to srourg
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