Need some advice. 4870 512mb or 4890 1gb

[Guest]

hi
i currently have a visiontek 4870 512mb, but i recently upgraded my lcd monitor. it's a samsung t240 (24" @ 1920x1200 res).
I used to be able to play Dragon Age on my old monitor at Max settings (@1650x1080 res, 21.5").
I was just wondering if i'll see a huge difference if i upgraded to a 4890 with 1gb mem. Could the 512mb be holding me back?
Would it be worth it to upgrade to a 4890? They are pretty expensive still...though i could pick up a used one for around $170
(i'm in canada. canadian $.)

 

[Guest]

or should i not bother with a 4890 and switch to a 5850?

 

[coozie7]

What are the rest of your specs? It may be the card, but then again, the CPU also has some bearing on framerates, particularly with RPGs' like Dragon Age.
It might also be wise to check the game settings: AA and lighting effects like shadows and sunbeams can also have a heavy impact on framerates if set too high.

 

[Guest]

i have:
i5
asus maximus iii gene
4gb (2x2gb) of ddr3 corsair dominators
30gb ocz (win 7os)
a couple SATA drives for storage and i run games off 1.
(i just built this new system)

ya the game just lags when i max out the AA. Its much better when i turn the AA down to around 4x or 2x. (i'm playing as a mage so all the fireballs probably don't help either. lol)

 

[JofaMang]

The 4890 will be a visible upgrade, but probably not worth the price. For that you would have to step up to a 5850, and for your resolution, a 5850 would kill most titles.

I use a 4870 512mb as well, specs in sig, @ 1920x1080, and am fine in most games at native res, but AA is definitly what kills em. If I want 2xaa in crysis warhead, I have to drop down to 1280x720.

 

[Guest]

thanks
i should probably wait a bit for a 5850 then. lol
kinda out of stock everywhere.

 

[coozie7]

OH, red face
Nice build.
I see two options: Get the HD4890, it'll be a useful upgrade and most overclock very well, giving a bit more boost. Or, get a second HD4870 512 and Crossfire it with your existing card, this is the cheapest option but has all the pitfalls of a multi-GPU setup.