HD 4850 1 GB or 512 MB ?

You probably won't need the 1GB unless you're planning on getting a 24" or larger monitor. If you're going to be playing games in resolutions higher than 1680x1050, then I'd go with the 1GB version. That's my opinion anyway.

Yeah that sounds about right.. Thanks a lot

Any other opinion ?

I agree with arson94...

I have the 512Mb version from sapphire and it's great for gaming at 1680*1050, but i agree that the extra RAM would be a good investment for a higher resolution.

Blatantly 1 gig

http://www.guru3d.com/article/gigabyte-radeon-hd-4850-1...

I'd tend to agree. Check out the Crysis results for 1680x1050 and 1920x1200. The 4850 1GB actually beats the 4870 at those two resolutions, and it can't hurt to have the extra VRAM. If you are outside of the United States then how much is the price difference between the two? (the difference on Newegg.com is around $40-50)

Yea I'd definitely go with the 1GB, but I got the extra $50 to burn in such a situation and I wouldn't think twice about it. Actually, I'd get the 4870 1GB if anything. But, it's also Crysis. It also probably won't make too much a difference unless he gets a higher end dual core or any quad core as Crysis is one of those CPU intensive bastards, isn't it?

If an extra $50 is going to break the bank, get the 512MB. If it's nothing, get the 1GB. I'd even go further and say that if you're playing higher end games like Crysis, spend $300 and get the 4870 1GB. I'd hump the 4870 1GB if I could. I would absolutely cherish the 4870 X2 'till death do us part but that whore is $550 or so and I just can't part with that kind of cash for a single graphics card.

About £25

I have a 4870x2 with a q6660 at 3.2ghz and its performance is beastly. get 55fps with everything maxed on crysis - but i am playing at 1680x1050. Annoyingly, my mate gets about 48fp with everything maxed on crysis and he uses a 4870 1 gig. the 4870x2 doesn't do that much better at this resolution - you need a bigger screen to make it count.
I agree with arson94 - I reckon that the 4870 1 gig would be the sweet spot in performance vs. price

Its not just about the resolution. Crysis is one of those games that doesn't scale very well in crossfire and sli. A 4870x2 is very similar to 2 4870s in crossfire. It is Crysis's fault. It just doesn't scale well.

get the 1gig, but you will only see a difference if you run a huge monitor with over 1900x1200. Smaller than that the 512m is overkill. I think it only uses 128 or 256mb of it anyways.

Well that sounds a lot like a cpu limitation...

High-resolution isn't the only thing extra memory is good. It also helps performance when there is an increase in textures and and such. The 1gb model is a little more future-proofed for new games than the 512mb version.