Cant decide between an ATI 1gb 4850, or an ATI 1gb 5770

Im looking to purchase a new computer and have decided on either an HP or Dell.

I've narrowed it down to either an HPE-150t and a Studio XPS 8100 from dell.

I've customized both with similar builds but I'm having trouble figuring out which offers the better value on a graphics card.

The HP offers the 4850 and the Studio XPS the 5770. I'm sort of gathering that the 5770 is better, but I wonder if it's necessary. I do game often but it's not important that I have a gaming rig. I spend just as much time using Photoshop CS4 or just general web browsing.

Now the HP is about $100 cheaper with deals and such and im leaning towards that. But with the newer games coming out in the next year or so, would I have to replace the 4850 to enjoy them at a high quality, or would both last me long term?

3 Comments:

1. What resolution is the monitor? the 5770 will be better at higher resolutions.

2. How long do you plan to keep the computer? If its more than a 2-3 years the 5770 is a better choice because it supports newer DX 11 technology. (its only just now available in the newest games and wont be a mandatory requirement for a couple years)

3. Dell is a better quality brand than HP. (subjective)

However, all those things considered... the 4850 is probably enough performance for anyone thats not a serious gamer... so cheaper is always good. You can always upgrade later if you want to... and everything will be cheaper then.

Well, the 4850 is still a very capable card, but the 5770 is more capable NOW

If you can get a sweet deal WITH the 5770, go for it. If the difference in prices are too much, keep the 4850 for some time, cause it still can game with high details on 1680x1050.

Cheers!

First of all thanks for the replies, most appreciated in helping me get an idea of what I should be looking for.

The two specs for both systems are pretty similar
XPS 8100:
i5-750 processor(8MB Cache, 2.66GHz)
6GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs
21.5" Dell ST2210 Full HD Monitor with VGA cable
ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5
750GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
16X DVD+/-RW Drive

The HP has:
HP 2159m 21.5" Diagonal Full HD Widescreen LCD Monitor
500GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
1GB ATI Radeon HD 4850

Both come out to roughly $1100. And yes I'm looking for something thats going to last me a few years. I'm not a computer tech but I do know how to install easy things like RAM and Hard Drives, etc so something that can be upgraded is nice too. Im not sure wether Dell or HP is better concerning that.

Where would one go for this. I know there are other computer companies that offer lower prices, but they some to have shady reputations. For example i've heard Cyberpower has good prices, but there computers have a tendency not to work.

He is talking about building the system yourself. It's a good idea and will save you $300+ and you will end up with a better computer. Putting one together is really not as hard as you might think. Basically if you can use a screw driver, plug in cables and follow instructions you can handle it. It's picking out the parts that can be tricky but that is what sites like this are for.
The first question would be if you would rather have a system similar to the ones you've been looking at but for a few hundred less or if you would prefer a better system for the $1100 you have to spend.

Thanks guys. This gives me a much clearer picture.

It should be not having the extra cash that encourages it, not the opposite. Don't worry about messing up. Just that you manage to communicate coherently and in full sentences shows you are smarter than a lot of people on this site who have managed to build their own

I've actually been browsing around to see what's out there. There are just too many variations of too many parts. It's maddening. But I did play around with an old computer I have and I do kind of wonder why I thought they were so difficult to put together. Doesnt seem terribly hard.

Thanks for linking those! I had been looking around newegg and actually replaced a number of items I had selected with ones you linked there. I went with a few different selections though.

Acer P235Hbmid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 824009179]
- I don't have the largest desk space so I think I'll have to go with a smaller monitor

I'm also thinking of a different case and liked the look of http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 811146025]
I may go for something simpler though since a better looking case wont do me much good if I dont know where everything connects to.

Im now torn between the i5/radeon 5850 combo you showed me and perhaps going with something cheaper in the 5770 still. Browsing the combo's is a little annoying because it doesnt seem like you can fine tune the search very much.

With a network card and I assume a sound card I should be complete, and i think the price will still be within the limit i was looking for.

On a side note, since my original question was answered is there a way to move this topic to the proper forum. Im not looking to break any rules here =)

You're telling me. I just came in for a simple question and have learned more in the last day or so than in the last few years.

One last thing I realized I was curious about was cooling. I notice that most cases come with built in fans, and graphics cards have them as well. Plus of course the processor has it's own cooler. So what is this I hear about cpu coolers? Is that just people replacing the stock cooler that comes with the processor?

Yes, CPUs come with a fan/heatsink that is usually ok but not great. They can handle a decent overclock but if you want to push things as far as they can go you can get a better one separately. A good one should be $25-30ish I think.
I don't think the size difference will be that much difference spacewise between a 23" and 24.6" monitor. The one I linked has a 2ms response time which is generally considered better for gaming. It's a subtle thing though and some people can't tell the difference at all(but others are really bothered by it.)
Yeah, feel free to change the case. The case is mostly about aesthetics so just pick one you like. Picked that one based on the combo really although Antec makes nice cases. I like this one better actually;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042
As for the thread you can just make a new one in the home build section listing your current idea for the build.