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4890 or 4870 for the value

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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Hey guys,

I am currently working on a new system and need some important advise. I have been looking at ATI for a while and the 4000 series seems to be the best price for performance over the nvidia cards. I currently am using a 22inch LG monitor. I have not figured out what MB/CPU combo to get but I would like to get a 4870 or 4890 card with the option of running crossfire in the future when I can afford another card. My question is, for games like WoW, Far Cry 2, Call of Duty, is it worth it at my monitors resolution to run crossfire 4890s or 4870s? Also any opinions on if the 4890 is a bigger upgrade from the 4870, or should I just get 2 4870s since the price will be dropping soon. I have heard of driver/heat issues with the cards, but I have also seen benchmarks out performing 4-500 dollar Nvidia cards. Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks guys,

Chris

More about : 4890 4870

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Graphics card Expert

important notes:

1. you cant turn a 4870 into a 4890, thats impossible, whereas geforce 260-216 55nm can be clocked to match a 275.

2. but you can turn a 4890 to match a 285 @ stock.

3. valuewise - 4890

4. but you mentioned going 2 4870s. considering the 512mb versions are approaching the "disposable" price range already, thats a smart decision.

Have you thought about waiting for the 4890 X2? I dont know when its expected but I'm sure that will drive down prices on older cards somewhat. Thats what I'm waiting to happen anyway :) 
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I would get the 4890 for 22" screens right now. I have a 4870 512mb and although it's fine in most games, I feel like it just needs that little bit more to be perfect.

a 4870 1gb would be a good choice also, but imo it's worth spending that bit more for the 4890 now.

jennyh said:
I would get the 4890 for 22" screens right now. I have a 4870 512mb and although it's fine in most games, I feel like it just needs that little bit more to be perfect.

a 4870 1gb would be a good choice also, but imo it's worth spending that bit more for the 4890 now.



Do you actually have a 22"and a 4870 512? that was one of my choices when i bought my gpu but after seeing certain tests i felt it would be best to have the extra memory...i only paid 150$ after rebate for my gpu..
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rewindlabs said:
Do you actually have a 22"and a 4870 512? that was one of my choices when i bought my gpu but after seeing certain tests i felt it would be best to have the extra memory...i only paid 150$ after rebate for my gpu..


Yes my home pc has a 4870 512mb running on a 1680x1050 screen, and yep I wish I'd waited and bought a 1gb version instead.

My 4870 would cost the equivalent of $282 USD today, but that's what happens when you buy new tech at the outset. ;) 

i'd buy a 'good enough for now' graphics card and not blow my entire maximum graphics budget, with the plan of watching the price of the model you buy and picking up a second (sli/crossfire) when it gets super cheap. set a price alert on newegg...
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ErrolPartridge said:
Also, in the future what do you think would be the bottleneck for most games; an overclocked E8500 or crossfired overclocked 4890/4870s?


The e8500 because it's only dual core. Fast though it is, it can be made obsolete overnight if enough software houses move to quad core exclusively.

I doubt that will happen, and it certainly won't happen overnight. But we are already starting to see the dual cores falling behind in some games. Chances are it will be a slow trickle into oblivion.

I wouldn't buy a duel core now, especially at what $250 or thereabouts, but if I already had an e8500 then I wouldn't be rushing to ditch it yet either.

Its a joke that you people spend 200$ on a cpu without researching...im reading all kinds of posts...oh i just bought a new e8 this and e8 that...i can't wait for quad thread apps to kick some since into you...

That is why i researched and instead of going to the "amazing" dual core il be future proofing with the X4 phenom 940 or 955...for literally the same damn price as you paid for that E....ha ha ha...

Well short of getting a qualification in microprocessors I did do research and it seemed everyone was saying that unless you spent your time at Pixar it made more sense to get a dualcore. Anyway when everything is quad core I expect todays quads will have dropped significantly in price as all things do so it probably won't make too much difference. After all future proofing is only relative.
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