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Worth upgrading from a 4850 512 to a 4870 1gb?

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Worth upgrading from a 4850 512 to a 4870 1gb?

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I have a 4850, its a good card but was wondering if i upgraded to a 4870 1g would i see a performance diff? would it be worth the update?

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"worth".. I don't know, it really depends on you. Do you require more performance? Would the performance that you require or do not require be worth the cost? A single 4870 smokes two 4850's in CF, if that is what you are asking.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts [...] ks,30.html

Reply to ghmage

I personally wouldn't do it as the difference wouldn't justify the cost. You'll definitely get a better performance, but it won't be anything mind blowing. But being "worth it" is a matter of opinion. I guess if you have the money, any upgrade can be "worth it". If not, I'd save up and upgrade when next generation of CPUs and video cards become available.

Reply to zeroyb

Welcome to the fourms!

The answer to your question is dependent on a few factors.

First off, what does the rest of your system look like.
It very well could be that your current GPU, and thus a 4870, is bottlenecked bye your configuration.
If that is so, you would see no improvement in performance at all.

Secondly, what resolution do you game at.
If you are gaming at 1650x1080 or lower, you likely will not see to much of a boost in performance.

Lastly, what games are you playing and what makes you unhappy with your performance in them.
If you are already getting a steady 60+ FPS, it will make no sense to upgrade as most displays run at 60Hz.

Please answer the above questions and we will gladly help you make the correct decision.

------------------------------ If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce today would cost $100, get a million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.
PSA
Reply to outlw6669

@ ghmage

LoL!
I want some of what you are smoking!
A single 4870 smoking a 4850CF :lol:
Look at some REAL benchmarks and try to justify your position to me.
Toms GPU charts are terrible and very inaccurate.

As a quick example, Anandtech's 48X0 Review.
Even using very early drivers, 8.5 and 8.7 press beta, only one game in their review does not scale far past a single 4870.

Message quoted 1 times

outlw6669 wrote :

You seem to have confused yourself with someone who I might feel compelled to answer to. If you have issues with the integrity of Tom's charts, feel free to take it up with those responsible.

Reply to ghmage

ghmage......im afraid that you just have answered

And a single 4870 is simply never going to be faster than a 4850cf setup.

@OP Dont bother, the only worthwhile upgrade would be a 4870x2.
The extra memory is only going to be of benefit at very high resolutions, and at those resolutions, performance in recent games is till going to be choppy on a single4870 core....the 4870x2 or wait.

Reply to lameness

General rule of thumb, when you upgrade your video card, you want to make a 2 tier jump. Most of the time, upgrading to another card in the same tier, even upgrading to a card in the next tier is an expensive purchase for very little performance gain.
I can think of one exception, if you have a 3850 for instance, it would be worth the money to buy a 4850. But the biggest reason to make this move is because the 4850 has a really great price point for the performance you get.
It's ultimately up to you, but a 4870 is not going to be a eye popping difference over a 4850. Probably no difference at all on the vast majority of setups out there.
If you feel the need, yeah the X2 would be the way to go.

Reply to jitpublisher

hm I was thinking the 4870x2 but $300 vs $530? heh... I wounder if the 4850x2 would be worth it, anyways the rest of my system is

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400@3.0
ECS A780GM-A
CORSAIR 4GB DDR2 800
500 watt ultra x connect
and vista 64 ultimate

also i play at @ 1680x 1050

i guessing from what u guys are saying it wouldn't be a significant upgrade as getting and 4870x2 or next gen card.

Reply to redwave3099

that psu would be a problem for crossfire setups.

If you are unhappy with your current performance and reviews show suitable gains in the games you play go for it, otherwise just wait for next gen.

Also, toms charts have never been able to get multi gpu setups done right as long as i can recall. indeed, don't trust these charts full stop is my advice and that goes for any site.

------------------------------ I'm a git, deal with it.

Antec 1200,PC Power & Cooling 750,Gigabyte DS4-x48,Intel Q9550@3.4 W/Xigmatek S1283,8GB OCZ DDR2 800,ATI 4870X2,X-FI>CA 640C amp>Tannoy R300/Senn 595's
Reply to strangestranger

The HD4850 is a nice card and as already said you won't see much of a difference with the 4870, unless you get it on 2x.

Reply to universedo

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Worth upgrading from a 4850 512 to a 4870 1gb?

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Worth upgrading from a 4850 512 to a 4870 1gb?

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