Which Brand of ATI 4870 is good?

HIS?, XFX? Visiontek?, sapphire?

give me some good reasons why these brand is good (your opionions)

thanks

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xfx is the best no question about it, but more expensive but sapphire is also good.

xfx has the best warranty

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to col-p-todd

XFX has a better than lifetime warranty? hmmm....

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2096.html

Reply to zipzoomflyhigh

in my country all brand are having same period of warranty,

I prefer cheapest brand (PALIT,SONIC etc)

Reply to kdinx

I have heard that HIS make good cards. I am currently using a Sapphire and it's doing fine but I had a few problems with their products in the past. I had a 1950XT and a HD3850 that didn't last too long. Also to be noted, Sapphire customer service plainly sucks. It took 2 months to get a replacement for my 1950XT, in my book it's unacceptable. I understand that things have to be processed and all but 8 weeks for RMA outch.......

Reply to fatcat

I'm voting for Visiontek. If you look at Newegg, they have the most reviews by far for the HD 4870 and they got 5 eggs (the best rating):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] er=REVIEWS

Reply to aevm

col-p-todd wrote :

xfx is the best no question about it, but more expensive but sapphire is also good.

xfx has the best warranty

XFX has a very good reputation earned over the years with their nVidia cards. When it comes to ATI cards, however, they are newbies and I'm not sure I'd trust them yet.

Reply to aevm

Just go for the brands with better cooling mechanism.. I've seen impressive reviews for HIS and POWERCOLOR 4870's, especially about their cooling techniques..

Reply to emperus

yeah i was waiting for XFX reviews on newegg cuz it juz released recently so i dont trust them yet....
XFX looks good cuz more memory speed than all... and good core speed...

I was thinking about HIS cuz it included iceq for less cooling and turbo for more faster....

I currently have 1950x Pro from HIS for 2 years....no plms with it....

YA i saw on newegg for visiontek got award too and more reviews/Rating..

By the way is Palit good too.. It is new brand recently ...

Reply to wake4x4paintball

visiontek... overclockable to 850 / 1100 without a glitch + good warranty

Reply to M0r0n

I just got an asus 4870 Dark Night version. It runs COOL for an ATI card. But the fan is a little loud at 50%. Not THAT loud im just picky about noise. It's about 48C in a warm apartment. It has a 3 year warranty but who the heck keeps a gaming cards longer than that? I've had many ASUS products in the past and they are great. I had to return a DVD burner and thier warranty replacement processes is easy and nice.

Message edited by jay2tall on 01-12-2009 at 08:10:03 PM

Reply to jay2tall

i run a saphire 4850 with an aftermarket zalman gpu heatsink and it runs cool + quiet. the overclock is pretty good, but not where id like to see it. especially in the ram department. still a good card for what i paid ($170 i think?)

------------------------------ E8500 oc'd 4.5 @ 1.44 vcore with 92mm Zalman
ATI 4850 oc'd 680/1158 with aftermarket Zalman
Asus P5Q Pro mobo
2 gigs 800 Corsair ram @ 4-4-4-12
Reply to werxen

Just orderd a powercolor 4870 1gig factory overclocked from ebuyer (£221) with next day delivery.All the reviews ive read were good and they stated its at least 14% cooler than the stock cards it should be here tomorrow so ill let you no.Oh and just to let you no im upgrading from my ageing foxconn 8800gts 320mb.

Reply to ubascouser

Force 3D Radeon HD4870 Freezer DHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! one of the BEST HD4870s on the markets it runs sooooo very sexyily cold! http://www.overclockercafe.com/Rev [...] index.htm.

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148210!!!
Sorry for the enthusiam wanted to stress my point of view

------------------------------ If you're falling off a cliff you might as well try to fly, you don't have much to lose...

BUILDING!!~ i7 920/GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5/3GB TripChan DDR3/Sony DVD-DL writer/ HDD500GB/HD4870 1GB/A+ Case/ANTEC500Earthwatts

Reply to OmegaStalker

I think the Sapphire Vapor-X Toxic Edition is one of the best HD 4870s right now, and not only that it is cheaper than some 4850s. It is $209 with a $30 rebate which brings the price to $179 plus shipping on newegg!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102796

The Vapor-X Wick technology is what makes this card one of the better 4870s. It is like built in water cooling but with out the pump. I have not seen a single review for this card where as load temp exceeded the lower 50's at the stock settings. And the card comes overlocked as is.

Here is how the Vapor-X cooling works:

Quote :

The Vapor-X cooler works similar to heatpipe technology, but it is much more advanced, and it uses clean water and a process called water vaporization. In the process of cooling water gets vaporized by heating, and vapor fills the vacuum chamber. The vacuum chamber has low air pressure, which enables water to evaporate much faster. An important role is played by three layers in the vapor chamber, a vaporization wick, a condensation wick and a transportation wick. The GPU and memory are in direct contact with the vacuum chamber and they represent the heat source that heats the vaporization wick. The created vapor then moves freely in all directions toward the colder part of the chamber where it comes in contact with cold parts of cooler air and becomes plain water again. The condensation wick then takes that water and the transportation wick routes it back to the vaporization wick thus completing the cooling cycle.

Here is a video of the 1GB Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzV [...] annel_page

Message quoted 2 times
Message edited by Rwayne on 01-13-2009 at 05:00:52 AM

Reply to Rwayne

anyone bought XFX ati video card yet?

Rwayne yea this video card look tight but why there no reviews on it? if you can find reviews send links here....

which cards have less problems? i still have few weeks left to figure out before im going buy it.

Reply to wake4x4paintball

I would not expect anything fantastic out of the XFX 4870 just because it uses the ATI 4870 reference fan heatsink on it which probably 80% or more of all 4870s use. So it is just going to be your BASIC 4870, however it is going to have a warranty on it better than any other ATI card on the market.

And knowing XFX I am sure it is just a matter of weeks before they start releasing over clocked versions of it.

Pay attention to XFX's non-reference 4850 and watch for reviews to come out on it.

(pictured above the non-reference XFX HD4850)

The heatsink on the XFX 4850 is something that XFX came up with so it may be good. It would not surprise me if they slapped that heatsink on a future 4870 then overclocked it.

Check the links on my previous post. There are plenty of reviews on the Sapphire Toxic.

Just to let you know I ordered A Sapphire Toxic 4870 a few days ago and should be receiving it sometime this week. I will give you an update once I get it installed and try it out.

Good luck hunting for a card.

Message edited by Rwayne on 01-13-2009 at 08:48:13 PM

Reply to Rwayne

yea juz let me know if u like it when u got it and installed.

Im thinking about that card i juz read reviews and bechmarks.. not bad..

good prive.... is 512mb should be good for a year? or get 1gb?

Reply to wake4x4paintball

Get the 1GB version if you have (or expect to have) a 24" monitor. On smaller monitors the 1GB is still better than the 512MB, but the difference in fps is smaller.

Reply to aevm

For resolutions 1680 x 1050 and lower (basically a 22" monitor) then 512MB is more than adequate. However once you go beyond that then your card can start taking advantage of more ram.

The reviews on the Sapphire Toxic edition are good, but not as good as the standard Sapphire 4870 which has a similar looking heatsink but without the vapor X cooling.

To me it is an absolute NO BRAINER choosing between the two because the Toxic Edition is:

A faster Card because of it's Over Clock
A Cooler Card because of the Vapor X Cooling and Copper Pipes
It comes with about $50 of free software on 5 Discs
The futuremark rating software is a part of that bundle
Plus right now it is cheaper than the standard 4870 which is slower and runs warmer.

Standard Sapphire 4870 $184 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102810

Sapphire TOXIC Edition Vapor-X 4870 $179 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102796

Reply to Rwayne

I won't you recommand any brands at all.

BUT a good company will make a website where it will be easy to find your drivers that are often upgrade.

Make a phone call or send an e-mail and you will see if you can get a good service about request of a product.

Also check many stores websites (at least 3 of them and big ones) to have the review of many users on the product you're looking for.

Hope this will help you to make your choice.

Message edited by zigonneux on 01-13-2009 at 11:00:43 PM

Reply to zigonneux

is the memory clock speed important cuz i looked at sapphire toxic there only 1000 mhz....

other brand like HIS 1800mhz other one at 4000mhz

i read many reviews on toxic it look badass

i have 19inch and 21inch monitor so i guess i stay with 512mb?
and also i prob will buy another 4870 few months later so i can crossfire it

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to wake4x4paintball

Just installed my new card powercolor 4870 1 gig and i must say its a big improvement on my 8800gts played crysis warhead all settings on gamer and x2 aa and at 1400x900, fps was between 45 and 22 sometimes hitting 60.Also tried world at war all settings maxed out and hitting a steady 70 not dropping below 60. company of heroes all settings maxed out hitting a steady 118.Also on idle with 50% fan its at 50c havent checked yet under full load but put the fan on full at idle and dropped to 44c and my case setup isnt the best all in all im happy with this card now ive just got to test armed assault ill let you no on that one.

Reply to ubascouser

wake4x4paintball wrote :

is the memory clock speed important cuz i looked at sapphire toxic there only 1000 mhz....
other brand like HIS 1800mhz other one at 4000mhz

That is a very good observation. I did not realize it until you mentioned it but the card vendors are listing the clock speeds differently.

What you have to understand is that there is a multiplier of 4 on the memory clock. The sapphire toxic has memory clock of 1,000MHZ. However if you check their website it says the effectiveness speed is 4GB per second. In other words 1000Mhz x (a memory multiplier of 4) = 4 Gigabytes per second

Here is another example:
A 4870 by HIS. It has a memory clock speed of 950MHz and an effectiveness rate of 3.8 Gbps.
(950MHz x 4 = 3,800 MHz / 100 = 3.8 Gigabytes per second.)
The DDR5 ram is what jumps the effectiveness rate of the memory up so much. DDR5 memory is a MAJOR advantage that the 4870 has over all other cards right now.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814131140

Message edited by Rwayne on 01-14-2009 at 12:41:23 AM

Reply to Rwayne

so i think i will get sapphire toxic i looked on website it pretty tight...
thx for help me out but keep update when you get yours and let me know if u liek it and fast?

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to wake4x4paintball

I have this one and like it very much.

http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx? [...] odelmenu=1

Reply to topper743

wake4x4paintball wrote :

so i think i will get sapphire toxic i looked on website it pretty tight...
thx for help me out but keep update when you get yours and let me know if u liek it and fast?

How far out are you from buying? 2 weeks? A month? That ASUS 4870 Black Knight Card that other guy made a post about is pretty Kick Arse too. I think it is all going to come down to who has the best deal the week you make the decision pull the trigger and buy.

Reply to Rwayne

Rwayne wrote :

I think the Sapphire Vapor-X Toxic Edition is one of the best HD 4870s right now, and not only that it is cheaper than some 4850s. It is $209 with a $30 rebate which brings the price to $179 plus shipping on newegg!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102796

Ship internationally dammit!

Reply to randomizer

How about noise? Is that Toxic version quieter or noisier than other versions?

Reply to aevm

That is the confusing part to me. If you look at the reviews some people say it is whisper quiet while other say it is almost as loud as the stock fan.

I spoke with another person on the forum who actually owns one and he says it is very quiet. He bought his when it first came out for $305 dollars! yikes!

I think at first it may have been an issue for some but at this point I would say it is a non issue.

The reason I say it is a non issue is because the newest release of Catalyst now allows you to control the fan speed for the 48XX series cards.

The toxic edition is the coolest 4870 I know of so I am sure if fan speed was an issue you could tone it down substantially.

Here is a good video for those of you who are interested in how loud the reference stock fan can be. This is exactally why I wanted a non-reference cooler.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh1OkEy6MTk

Message edited by Rwayne on 01-14-2009 at 02:57:36 AM

Reply to Rwayne

Sounds good. Thanks!

Reply to aevm

Palit make a nice 4870 too.

Reply to randomizer

im planning to buy in 2 weeks before Feb....
So far im thinking abt toxic... so far...

what about Palit?

Reply to wake4x4paintball

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1 [...] index.html

Reply to randomizer

Rwayne wrote :

I think the Sapphire Vapor-X Toxic Edition is one of the best HD 4870s right now, and not only that it is cheaper than some 4850s. It is $209 with a $30 rebate which brings the price to $179 plus shipping on newegg!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102796

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f44/Rwayne/toxic.jpg

The Vapor-X Wick technology is what makes this card one of the better 4870s. It is like built in water cooling but with out the pump. I have not seen a single review for this card where as load temp exceeded the lower 50's at the stock settings. And the card comes overlocked as is.

Here is how the Vapor-X cooling works:

Quote :

The Vapor-X cooler works similar to heatpipe technology, but it is much more advanced, and it uses clean water and a process called water vaporization. In the process of cooling water gets vaporized by heating, and vapor fills the vacuum chamber. The vacuum chamber has low air pressure, which enables water to evaporate much faster. An important role is played by three layers in the vapor chamber, a vaporization wick, a condensation wick and a transportation wick. The GPU and memory are in direct contact with the vacuum chamber and they represent the heat source that heats the vaporization wick. The created vapor then moves freely in all directions toward the colder part of the chamber where it comes in contact with cold parts of cooler air and becomes plain water again. The condensation wick then takes that water and the transportation wick routes it back to the vaporization wick thus completing the cooling cycle.

Here is a video of the 1GB Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzV [...] annel_page

I've got news for you: That description of the Vapor-X system is pretty much a perfect description of a standard heatpipe. The working fluid varies, but that is basically how a heatpipe works.

Of course, heatpipes work quite well, and that cooler is well designed, so I would definitely recommend it.

Reply to cjl

Palit Sonic look nice....

i still have atleast 2 weeks to decide and look stuff lol

any comments about other cards...

so far to me Sapphhire or Palit is my choice

Reply to wake4x4paintball

thx cjl for the recommend of this card...

Reply to wake4x4paintball

Interestingly, if you read the review from Tweaktown on the 1GB Sonic (with several copy/pasted pages from this one), the cooler runs quieter and cools the card more than here. I guess ambient temps were different.

512MB: http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1 [...] index.html

1GB: http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1 [...] index.html

Clearly they didn't retest the other cards each time, which is pretty poor, as the results are skewed.

Message edited by randomizer on 01-14-2009 at 08:35:39 AM

Reply to randomizer

so seems like toxic more cooler than sonic cuz it has heatpipe and water cooling.....

Reply to wake4x4paintball

It doesn't have watercooling, it's just using heatpipes.

Reply to randomizer

I hear that Palit is really popular in Europe and other international locations. For some reason they have not caught on very well in the United States. However, they are a major manufacture of video cards and do make a quality product. I think they even manufacture some cards for Visiontek and other companies.

Message edited by Rwayne on 01-14-2009 at 11:05:21 AM

Reply to Rwayne

The brands that I know are made by Palit are Palit (yea?!), XpertVision and Gainward. The first two are usually identical in design with only a sticker change, even the websites are almost identical. Gainward is always more costly. Palit's biggest downfall is warranty, which is usually 2 years. Gainward gets 3 years. At least for Australia, that's excellent for warranty periods :lol: XFX, eVGA and BFG don't honour lifetime warranties here.

Reply to randomizer

If you want a great warranty get a XFX 4870.
If you want great performance get a HIS 4870 IceQ 4.
That basically sums it up man.

Reply to yoda8232

you can also inform him about the software bundles that will come with the card.

Palit sucks with the bundles.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to wh3resmycar

I think Nvidia GTX 260/280's come with FarCry 2 but I don't see any ATI bundles right now.

I like HIS but wasn't going to pay $40 more for their upgrade cooler over the ASUS. I have found my asus OC's very well. I have set a fan profile in Rivatuner so that when its idle it doesnt run so loud. Other than that it's great. When i mean loud it isn't THAT loud, I just have a pretty quiet PC to begin with.

All 4870's generate alot of heat though.

------------------------------ Big Brother Rules with an Iron Fist
Reply to jay2tall

Sapphire has the worst customer service i have ever delt with. Plus everyone sapphire ive had got artifacts within 45 days.

I have owned several visionteks. I have never had a problem with them and they perform well.

i think this is the best version of hd 4870 1 gb with beefier capacitors and a better pcb design than a refrence one...

Reply to ayushp13

i wanted to see reviews from XFX before i buy it....

Sapphire give good bundles
HIS too

If i decide to buy toxic i have 5 days left before MIR close

Reply to wake4x4paintball

wh3resmycar wrote :

Palit sucks with the bundles.

Yea, they do, but usually the software bundles that you get with other brands have useless things like 3DMark anyway. I'd rather cut $30 off the price and skip the crapware.

Reply to randomizer

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