9800GT vs HD 3870; 9800GTX vs HD 4850

[jourdy]

Which is better for gaming that has a system running on:

Windows XP Service Pack 3
3 GB Ram
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 (have plans of upgrading to i7, but maybe not yet soon)


I am contemplating on one of the following:
9800GT or HD 3870
9800GTX or HD 4850

The reason there are two choices is because I am not yet sure which among the 2 price ranges to get. If the difference is minimal between the 2 price ranges, then I might get the cheaper ones. If the difference is quite noticeable then I might opt for the more expensive ones.

I have heard that ATI is better, but the guy from the computer shop told me that Nvidia GFX cards are better suited for Intel processors. Is this true?

Also, will these 4 run on a Gigabyte 550P PSU?


Thanks in advance.

 

[rwayne]

I think the guy at the computer shop is a Nvidia Fan Boy.

That is BS.

A card is card reguardless of the processor. Intel chips do not offer advantages to one card over another at least in single card configurations. If anything Intel would favor ATI because of their X-Fire compatible chipsets. Relations between Nvidia and Intel have been strained over the past couple years with figures from both companies making harsh remarks about the other.

To answer your question.

a 9800GT would be far better than a HD3870

And a HD4850 would be better than a 9800GTX.

Now you can also consider the 9800GTX+PLUS however most of them are priced above the 4850 and you can even get several models of the 4870 which are significantly faster than the 9800GTX+ for the same price if not cheaper.

You have to recognize which chips are the best.
The RV770 chip aka ATI 48XX series offer the best performance per watt of any chip on the market right now.

G92 > RV670

RV770 > G92 & G92b

 

[jourdy]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I didnt expect that the 9800GT would be FAR better than the HD 3870.
I have a 1024mb 9800GT ddr3 right now, and I'm planning to change it to HD 4850 since I have 2 days to exchange the the 9800GT for another.

Would a Gigabyte 550P be enough to power it?

Also, I keep having messed up screens in CoD4 and CoD5 (happens after playing 30 minutes or so). Other games (team fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, DMC4) run fine.

This occurs with an 8600GT and the new 9800GT. Is my motherboard's PCI-E slot broken?

Here is a picture by the way of what it looks like.

 

[jonpaul37]

Go 4850 all day.

I would have to say that it may be a heat issue, or perhaps just an issue with CoD... monitor your temps while playing CoD(s)

 

[turboflame]

I have heard that ATI is better, but the guy from the computer shop told me that Nvidia GFX cards are better suited for Intel processors. Is this true?

I keep hearing this on a lot of different forums, I've even seen a couple of people who argued that Nvidia was owned by Intel. I wonder where people come up with this crap.

 

[jourdy]

Temperature of GPU when playing COD is 65-70.
CPU around 50+
Core around 65-70

I forgot to mention that when this happens, the PC hangs and restarts automaticall after a while.

I'm hoping nothing's wrong with any hardware parts and that it would be fixed when I get the HD 4850.

 

[jasobnd]

i throught that when your PC itself restarts automatically then its to do with CPU over heating. something to stop the processor from causing permament damage to itself. sorta like a fail safe. but i got issues like that on and of with my 3870 Hd XT gddr4 overclocked card when i used ATi catylist to oC it further so gave up in the end. infact if i try to OC anything ony my build it just goes mental so gave up lol think it might have somink to do with the mix of Hardware.

 

[jourdy]

I don't have anything overclocked.
Though I think you are correct, I tried removing the side of the casing and placed a small electric fan in front. It never happened since.

Very strange, I didn't know one could get errors by having 70+ temp for the GPU.. I thought one should watch out only if the temp is close to 100 (or so I've read).

Anyway, tomorrow I'm getting the HD 4850. I hope it's a strong VC. I would hate to upgrade once again any time soon. Hehe.

Any last word in, guys? Am I going to see a huge difference from 8600GT, performance wise?

Thanks in advance once again.

 

[jourdy]

Anyone?

I just read that the HD 4850 runs at 80+ temp normally.
Is that safe, considering my 9800GT messes up at 70+

 

[jsreece52]

From what i've read the 4850 can handle the temps w/o a problem

 

[OneHumongousLoser]

I have a 4850, and it runs really cool, and i oc it fully and doesnt go above 59 deg during game play. It is manufactured with the 55nm process, and is actually the same as a 4870 when oc (except the mem is ddr3 not ddr5)