AHH!! amd/ati mainstream market is hell to choose from!!!

[rambo117]

OK! For the past few weeks, I've been in the market for a solid mainstream card that I can crossfire later on down the road, but everything between 90-115 dollars has me stooped...

For a nice and low $99 pricepoint, I can get a DX11 card (sure, it too weak on it's own to use DX11 but maybe CF can change that)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150466

For that SAME price range, I can get the much suppierior 4850, but that means I won't have DX11, and the 4850 is leaving the market faster than I like. So that may leave crossfire unavailable..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824

OR, the mainstream champian that has been getting better availablity lately, the 4770. I really like this card but as it doesn't have DX11 and is going the way of the dinosaur.. It has me a little worried.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150369

Please give me your thoughts everyone, my wallet is in your hands

 

[jennyh]

Tough one yes. If you can stretch to the 5750 that would be great, I dunno how much more they cost though.

 

[rambo117]

Thats the card I had my eye on but coming by money is pretty difficult until I have my job this summer.. I really want a new card so I can play Bioshock 2, Stalker Call of Pripyat, and Star Trek Online... But with my budget of $115... Things are looking grim without a discrete card...

 

[gomi]

I don't know the prices over there but where I am you can still find deals for 4870's for just under 100 dollars, the availability of the 4xxx series is shrinking fast though.

 

[rambo117]

I don't know the prices over there but where I am you can still find deals for 4870's for just under 100 dollars, the availability of the 4xxx series is shrinking fast though.

I live in the US, and the 4870 prices have skyrocketed to $160^... If the price WERE that low, I'd jump at that in a heartbeat.

Any other suggestions people..?

 

[wa1]

It must be hard for u...
well, won't u use any used card?
Don't buy an old tech, they will become rare and difficult to get if u on a plan to CF later.

 

[rambo117]

thanks for your great help wa1 *AHEM*
I NEED SUGGESTIONS!! Not observations of my crappy budget/position please.

 

[Ehsan w]

what you need to do is wait.
Just save money as much as you can. Those cards will get outdated soon since they're old anyways. Then get the 5770 and crossfire it.
you just need to hang on m8.

 

[rambo117]

Guhh.. Was hoping someone wouldn't say that..
must....have... Bioshock 2...

 

[jaguarskx]

If you want a card now, then buy the HD 4850. Yeah sure, it doesn't have DX11, but for DX9/10 it has good performance.

If you can wait for price drops, then wait. If you can't, then pull the trigger and just be done with it.

 

[rambo117]

If you want a card now, then buy the HD 4850. Yeah sure, it doesn't have DX11, but for DX9/10 it has good performance.

If you can wait for price drops, then wait. If you can't, then pull the trigger and just be done with it.

Versus my old 3870 crossfire solution, how well do you think the 4850 will do in say Bioshock 2, Stalker COP, and dare I say Crysis 2

My pointer is right on the "add to cart" button..

 

[jaguarskx]

Your XFired HD 3870 will give you a little better performance. There is no reason to upgrade given your limited budget.

I would guess what you have now is about equal to the HD 5770. Therefore, in order to get better performance (even for DX9/10) you will need to have HD 5770 XFired or a single HD 5850.

Save up more money.

 

[rambo117]

Your XFired HD 3870 will give you a little better performance. There is no reason to upgrade given your limited budget.

I would guess what you have now is about equal to the HD 5770. Therefore, in order to get better performance (even for DX9/10) you will need to have HD 5770 XFired or a single HD 5850.

Save up more money.

LOL, hardly m8.

I just compared my 3870s to a single 4850, and most of the time the 4850 comes out strong. If A single 4850 can beat my xfired 3870s, things are pretty ugly.
I have one other possible solution to my dilemma.. On christmas, I got the Zune HD that I was absolutely DYING for, and those go around $220 brand new... I was thinking of *sniffle* selling it for extra cash to get me a kickass graphics card...

BUT, I loovvee my Zune HD.. So im not sure...

What do you guys think?

 

[Mousemonkey]

Or wait for GF100 to be released which may result in ATi cards dropping to the price that some feel they should be at.

 

[rambo117]

Or wait for GF100 to be released which may result in ATi cards dropping to the price that some feel they should be at.

yes, but im a very impatient person... And May is just too far away. Most the games that are coming out are 2 weeks from release...

 

[jaguarskx]

Look at the benchmarks between the HD 4850 and HD 3870X2 (basically two HD 3870 XFired):

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/sapphire-toxic-hd4850_7.html#sect0


The only games that the HD 4850 smacked the HD 3870x2 silly were:

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (uses same engine as Quake)
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
Tomb Raider: Legend
Hellgate: London

 

[rambo117]

Look at the benchmarks between the HD 4850 and HD 3870X2 (basically two HD 3870 XFired):

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/sapphire-toxic-hd4850_7.html#sect0


The only games that the HD 4850 smacked the HD 3870x2 silly were:

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (uses same engine as Quake)
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
Tomb Raider: Legend
Hellgate: London

Well, even though the 3870x2 holds its own, the performance is very comparable. And thats one GPU versus two.
And by summer, I plan to crossfire, so singular card performance will not be for that long.. GUH!! This sucks...
Thanks for the link though..

I think im going to sell my Zune HD 16gb for $170... With that much, I can buy something nice... Summer, I can rebuy my zune back. So, with close to $290, what are my options?

 

[cobot]

Look at the benchmarks between the HD 4850 and HD 3870X2 (basically two HD 3870 XFired):

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/sapphire-toxic-hd4850_7.html#sect0


The only games that the HD 4850 smacked the HD 3870x2 silly were:

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (uses same engine as Quake)
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
Tomb Raider: Legend
Hellgate: London

Jaguarskx is right.

Toms benchmarks say the same, for 115 USD you will have a hard time finding a card that is worth the upgrade.
I'd recommend you to save up some more cash before upgrading.

=on&prod[3271]=on]http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-cards-charts-2009-high-quality-update-3/compare,1699.html?prod[3285]=on&prod[3271]=on

 

[rambo117]

Ya, I don't think that the 4850 is much of an option anymore.. Just listed my Zune HD on craisglist so I hope i'll get a buy soon..

So, with all my cash added up, what can I get with $280?
There are still 4850x2's available... Not sure thats such a good investment anymore though..

I was thinking of just getting a single 5770, and crossfire it this summer.

Anybody have other suggestions? Feels good to have a larger price margin...

 

[sabot00]

5850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131184&cm_re=5850-_-14-131-184-_-Product

 

[rambo117]

5850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131184&cm_re=5850-_-14-131-184-_-Product

Hot dam! We were just talking about 4850s earlier...

Anyways... Powercolor has a bad rep at making poor quality parts.. Any word on that? otherwise, as soon as I sell my zune hd, thats the card im going to jump on.\
Thankyou for your help everyone, much appreciated

 

[sabot00]

Don't worry about AIB's (Powercolor made the 5970 LCS). Newegg will cover you with 30-day replacement.

 

[rambo117]

Don't worry about AIB's (Powercolor made the 5970 LCS). Newegg will cover you with 30-day replacement.

Ya, but with my luck, it will stop working in 31 days

Sounds like this is the card that im going with. From a performance standpoint, will this card be able to handle DX11 in Stalker COP...? If not, its fine, thats what crossfire is for

 

[sabot00]

A 5850 has plenty of muscle, should be able to play DX11 on any game (it's like a 8800GTX when DX10 came out).
Powercolor is fine, don't fret it, as a plus 5850's OC like god.

 

[rambo117]

A 5850 has plenty of muscle, should be able to play DX11 on any game (it's like a 8800GTX when DX10 came out).
Powercolor is fine, don't fret it, as a plus 5850's OC like god.

Glad to hear it

You've all been helpful, a million thanks!!!

p.s. if any of you are interested in a mint zune HD 16GB, let me know