Which 4850 TM???

[FwoGiZ]

Which ATI 4XXX card would be the best for me??
Mainly for online FPS gaming,
i ll prolly buy another ATI card later on to Xfire em (maybe in a year and a half, addin another 2x2gb ram at the same time too)
here s my rig
E8400, 2x2gb 1000mhz, p5e mobo, 700w psu, 226bw monitor, a few more fan for better cooling, 7200.11 barracuda
i ll overclock this thing eventually (fsb up to 500 prolly) but i need to read more about that first (already blew one p5e up)
this rig didnt cost me much, like 1500$ with monitor (226bw) and all the gears... and i think its very decent for the price
im not much of a fan on spending many extra bucks for a few more power... i try to get the best bang for the bucks, without being too cheap too
you get my point, so which card would be best for me? also, when i ll eventually xfire another card, should i get another same card (Which will be ultra cheap in 1year and a half) or shud i get some other better card?
Tx a lot for your opinions/expertise

***********************

now that the answer is clearly 4850, im wondering what trademark i should get! i ll be buying my card from ncix.com and if im lookin at their best sellers, i d get the diamond radeon 4850 for 175$
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=33502&vpn=4850PE3512V&manufacture=Diamond
is that good? or do u guys have any other suggestions for canadian sellers, or other trademarks i shud get instead?
Tx in advance

 

[Zecow]

Best bang for the buck at 1680x1050 will be the 4850. I'm using 4850 as well no problems - upgraded the monitor to 24" playing 4850 crossfire @1900x1200 - as smooth as silk.

 

[malveaux]

Heya,

Best bang for the buck is the HD4850.

Note: The HD4850 and the HD4870 are the same card, the 4870 has a higher clock speed. So if you overclock the 4850, you have a 4870 for less money. And clearly, it will overclock. Just get a nice cooling setup (it's cheaper than the difference between the cost of the 4850 and 4870).

Very best,

 

[bornking]

4580 hands down

 

[ragsters]

I don't think the 4850 and 4870 are the same card. The difference is the video ram. 4850 is DDR3 and 4870 is DDR5. Regardless, I would choose the 4850 as well.

 

[bosshoss]

Heya,

Best bang for the buck is the HD4850.

Note: The HD4850 and the HD4870 are the same card, the 4870 has a higher clock speed. So if you overclock the 4850, you have a 4870 for less money. And clearly, it will overclock. Just get a nice cooling setup (it's cheaper than the difference between the cost of the 4850 and 4870).

Very best,

Almost, but not quite. The big, HUGE, difference between the two cards is the 4870 utilizes DDR5 ram, the 4850 utilizes DDR3. The difference between the two as far as VRAM is concerned is quite large. What this means is the 4870 has an effective memory clock of 3600mhz, while the 4850 has a memory clock of very near 2000mhz. Quite a large gap. The way I see it, overclocking a 4850 to near 4870 clocks, would net you more like a 4860...

I will however vouch for the 4850 and later grab one for crossfire, I have a pair myself and they are nothing short of amazing! Heat is a MAJOR issue for the 4850, you need to have either one of two things...
1. An ATX full tower with plenty of cooling fans (which does the trick for me)
2. Either a 4850 with a dual slot solution, or purchase aftermarket cooling.

The heat will only become a major issue once you decide to crossfire. I game at 1680x1050 myself and I haven't played a game yet (including Crysis) that brings these cards to their knees.

 

[FwoGiZ]

now that the answer is clearly 4850, im wondering what trademark i should get! i ll be buying my card from ncix.com and if im lookin at their best sellers, i d get the diamond radeon 4850 for 175$
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=33502&vpn=4850PE3512V&manufacture=Diamond
is that good? or do u guys have any other suggestions for canadian sellers, or other trademarks i shud get instead?

i bought an after market CPU cooler, and i added 1 120mm rear fan, +1mini fan
i think that might be enough as long as i dont xfire ? when the time comes, i ll then add some other fans or do a better setup
tx a lot