4850x2 for $220 a good deal?

[mirzai_m]

Hey everyone,

Building a rig and will be running a 24" 1900x1080 monitor.

The 4850x2 is on the egg for $220.

I will want to play Crysis, Borderlands, all brands of old and new MMOs, etc...

I don't mind "overkill", because "overkill" becomes "inadequate" REALLY fast.

I know that by the time DirectX11 becomes fleshed out the price of the 5850 will drop to $200, and of course I want to get into the 5000 series. But it's expensive right now.

So knowing all this...is the 4850x2 for $220 a good price/performance bang for the buck?

Should I get that, a single 4890, or just shut up and get the 5850?

Thanks!

 

[OvrClkr]

If it is a new card with factory warranty then I would say go ahead... If used, stay away....

 

[coozie7]

Really, we need to know the rest of the system specs so we can offer good advice.
As for the question: as long as you remember the possible problems of crossfire (read the FAQ at the top of the Forum page) it's a very good deal and should easily hold up for a year , if not longer.
Also bear in mind the HD4850x2 runs hot and can be noisy, do not install it in a case that has limited airflow or you are asking for problems.

I would, however really advise you to go for the HD5850 if you can afford it, it's quieter, uses less power and most of the coolers exhaust their heat out of the case, so you do not need a case with howling, cyclonic airflow to keep it cool.

 

[Guest]

+1 5850 4850X2 is too long and may not fit in your case. 5850 DX11 New 40nm Eyefinity ... They should perform on par with crossfire games but the 5850 will rocket in single GPU games. And last thing, 5850 will oc like h e l l to 1Ghz, 4850 you wont even get 50 mhz extra due to heat and 55nm

 

[rptechnogeek]

Took a quick look on Techbargains and it looks like there are good 5850 graphics card deals too ($251-$299). Might also want to check out their Video Cards Deals page too...

 

[rolli59]

You can buy 2 x HD4850 for $199.98 on newegg. So if you are not going to use all the monitor outputs and you have a crossfire board. That should answer the question about the HD4850x2.

 

[skywalker9952]

If I am not mistaken the 4850X2 only has 512MB of memory available because it is crossfire on a card (I believe each GPU uses it's own 512MB of memory, which is cloned). Since you are running at 1900x1080 you want at least 1GB of video memory to be able to turn on all of the eye candy. So I would recommend just getting the 5850 now instead of later

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

If you really want to maxout Crysis at that rez, then a 4870x2 is the minimum you should buy... You can get one for $299 from eBay.

 

[thebigring]

IMO a 4850x2 is a bad buy right now for that price. Save up the extra ~$40 and get a new 5850! rptechnogeek posted a golden link.

 

[mirzai_m]

Took a quick look on Techbargains and it looks like there are good 5850 graphics card deals too ($251-$299). Might also want to check out their Video Cards Deals page too...

Outstanding my man. I am now the soon-to-be proud owner of the VisionTek 5850. Thanks for the tip.