Which 4890 to buy??

[saintluke]

Ive done a bit of reading around and have decided to settle on a HD4890 for my system - q9550, asus p5p43td pro, 4gig ddr3, win 7 rc1 x64. The only problem is that there are bout 15 to choose from, and vary from $275aud - $310aud. Ive narrowed my choices down to these 3

Gigabyte GV-R489OC-1GD overclock - $285aud
Sapphire Vapor-X - $299aud
XFX HD4890 XXX - $309

My choice would mainly be between the xfx or sapphire, the xfx comes with hawx, which is ok i guess, and the gigabyte is 20 bucks cheaper.. but if theres a difference i'd rather fork out the 20 and get something better seeing as im already paying 285. What are you recommendations and why?

 

[obsidian86]

the vapor x is the best cooled an quiet one an will easily overclock the xfx has the best warranty so decide what is best for you performence or reliability

 

[saintluke]

Thanks for the help... Starting to accept the fact that PSU i was supplied with isnt going to cut it (which ive used for a day), its rated at 480w max... What should i look for in a PSU? What sort of problems will i get if it was underpowered? Poor performance, or would it be a simple work or not work?

 

[myrddral]

poor performance, artifacts, crash/freeze nothing serious

look for a branded PSU around 600W

 

[darkvine]

Thanks for the help... Starting to accept the fact that PSU i was supplied with isnt going to cut it (which ive used for a day), its rated at 480w max... What should i look for in a PSU? What sort of problems will i get if it was underpowered? Poor performance, or would it be a simple work or not work?

PSU's are one of the few things in life where name brand counts. You want at least 500w, 600 if you are going to do overclocking or have a ton of fans in the case. Make sure they are at LEAST 80% efficient at load and are made of good, high quality parts.

You want brands like Corsair, OCZ, SilverStone, Antec, etc.

It isn't needed but always nice to be modular to cut down on cable mess. Out of today's companies I always suggest Corsair. They have some of the best PSU's on the market in a very number of wattage. OCZ tends to have some cheaper lower watt supplies if you are looking for around 500-600 and are also good solid PSUs.

 

[darkvine]

oh Also I forgot what the thread was about.

I would go with the Vapor-X as well unless you really want a good warranty. From what I am told Sapphire sucks with warranties but I have never had a card go bad to see for myself. However the Sapphire Vapor-X overclocks better, runs cooler and quieter. It also looks nicer in your case if your into that sort of thing.

 

[rodney007]

i just bought a gigabyte 4890 OC, works great