GeForce 9800 GT vs Radeon HD4650 vs Radeon HD4670

[Pathos]

Hello,

I am upgrading my aging GeForce 7600 GT on Windows 7 Professional 64-bit (see graphics card specs and PC specs), which has also been unstable since I moved to 7. However, I only know a little about graphics cards.

I have tentatively narrowed my choices down to three cards within $100. I'll be using it in a single-GPU setup.
■ $105 — GeForce 9800 GT (512MB 256-bit DDR3, effective clock speed 1800MHz)
■ $63 — Radeon HD 4650 (1GB 128-bit DDR2, 1000MHz)
■ $83 — Radeon HD 4670 (1GB 128-bit DDR3, 1600MHz)

Which of these is better for gaming? Ideally, I would like a card that will age well over the next few years. (Please do suggest a better card, if you know of one.)

Thank you,
Jesse

 

[Pathos]

Thanks. Could you explain why? That would help me decide next time I need to choose a graphics card.

 

[jyjjy]

If you are going to consider an HD4650 you would want the DDR3 version. It is cheaper and significantly better;
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814141113
That said Psycho is right, the 9800GT is the most powerful of those cards. In terms of longevity though I would probably get this for $10 less;
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102871
It's a bit less powerful than the 9800GT but not much and it is DX11 compatible.
From your screen shots I gather that your resolution is 1280x1024, either the 9800GT or HD5670 should be quite good but if you want something great for that resolution I'd spend a lil more on an HD4850 or GTS 250.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Get a 4770. It performs better than a 9800GT and costs $96 at Newegg.

Or get a 4830 for around $90 and similar performance to a 9800GT.

 

[outlw6669]

+1 9800GT or 4770

Why you ask?
Because they are faster
They have larger chips which include more Stream Processors, ROPs and Texture Units.
They also have larger memory buses and/or faster RAM.

As an example, the 4830, which performs about the same as a 9800GT, has double the Stream Processors and double the ROPs when compared to a 4670 or 4650.
It also has a 256 bit memory bus (vs the 4670's 128 bit) which gives a massive boost to memory bandwidth.

 

[jyjjy]

As an example, the 4770, which performs about the same as a 9800GT

The HD4770 is actually closer to the HD4850 in performance. It's the HD4830 that is on par with the 9800GT

 

[outlw6669]

Fixed

 

[Guest]

Go on , spend $29 more and get a 5750, it is honestly the better option,

Its as fast as the 4850, if not faster in some cases, It has DX11, Eyefinity, very low power consumption especially in idle, which will definately save you in the long run if you intend keeping it long, Shader model 5.0 HDMI with lossless sound pass through (Get that to work on 9800gt) and because of its manufacturing process and cool running it will overclock very well giving you 15%+ performance increase for free.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131331


An example on new egg Powercolor, have used cards from them before on budget builds and never had a comeback (6 Powercolor cards so far used in customer builds starting with 3850agp to new 5670 pci)

 

[outlw6669]

The 5670 performs a bit lower than a 9800GT and costs about the same.
It also draws quite a bit less power.

Not really a bad card, just overpriced.

 

[dualblade]

hd 4650 ddr3 ( even ddr2 ) will be good enough for resolution 1280x1024 or lower and cheap.

 

[Pathos]

Thank you for the responses.

The best card for my price range seems to be the $95 Radeon HD 5670 (512MB 128-bit DDR5, 1000MHz ECS). It's a bit less powerful than the Radeon 9800 GT, but it has DX11 (jyjjy) and okini also recommends it. However, it's good but overpriced (outlw6669) and "utter garbage" (PsychoSaysDie).

If I spend more, the $147 Radeon HD 5750 (1GB 128-bit GDDR5, 1150MHz) looks much better. It has Eyefinity, lower power use, Shader 5.0, and lossless sound pass through (moricon). It has DX11 (moricon & jyjjy), and okini 55 also recommends it. It has crash issues in many games, but this might be fixed by tweaking voltage settings (and I can always return it).

Is this a fair summary? Are there better options, like a 256-bit equivalent of the Radeon HD 5750?

Eliminated options:
■ $136 — Radeon HD 4850 (1GB 256-bit GDDR3, 1986MHz) — powerful card, but no DX11 (jyjjy).
■ $98 — Radeon HD 4770 (512MB 128-bit GDDR5, 3200MHz) — better than 9800GT (Bluescreendeath), faster than original options (outlw6669), but no DX11 (jyjjy).
■ $105 — GeForce 9800 GT (512MB 256-bit DDR3, 1800MHz) — "all the way" (PsychoSaysDie), fastest of original options (outlw6669), +1 (okini55), most powerful of original options but no DX11 (jyjjy).
■ $55 — Radeon HD 4650 (512MB 128-bit DDR3, 1800MHz) — cheaper and significantly better than DDR2 4650, but no DX11 (jyjjy).
■ $83 — Radeon HD 4670 (1GB 128-bit DDR3, 1600MHz) — no DX11 (jyjjy).
■ $63 — Radeon HD 4650 (1GB 128-bit DDR2, 1000MHz) — DDR3 better but no DX11 (jyjjy), good enough at 1280x1024 on a budget (dualblade), may or may not run demanding games well (okini55).
■ Radeon HD 4830 —similar to 9800GT (Bluescreendeath), but discontinued on newegg.ca.

 

[deadlockedworld]

PLEASE POST YOUR FULL SYSTEM SPECS: It was stupid of no one to ask you for this sooner--as it should strongly influence your decision. Power supply #s in particular.

If you are using an older computer you have no need for a DX11 card--since you wont be keeping it that long anyhow. You should get the best deal you can now.

This $106 4850 is equal to a 5750 in performance and vastly outperforms the 9800GT or 5670.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824&cm_re=4850-_-14-102-824-_-Product

 

[Pathos]

PLEASE POST YOUR FULL SYSTEM SPECS: It was stupid of no one to ask you for this sooner--as it should strongly influence your decision. Power supply #s in particular.

Hi deadlockedworld. I posted my graphics card specs and system specs above (click the links). Not shown in those specs:
■ Power: 500W OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP (ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V, modular active PFC)
■ CPU: triple-core 2.8GHz AMD Phenom II X3 720 (AM3, 95W, 3 x 512KB L2 Cache, 6MB L3 Cache)
■ Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P (AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD)
■ RAM: 2 x 2GB DDR3 CORSAIR XMS3 (240-Pin SDRAM)

I would prefer a DirectX 11 card like the Radeon HD 5670 or 5750, to avoid needing to upgrade for it later.

 

[deadlockedworld]

Wow.. sorry I missed that. At 1280x1024 no cards are really too weak, --so I think the difference is really only in how much you want to spend.

DX11 wont be a limiting factor for a few years at least--it might just make some games look better. Most games today still only require DX 9.. only a few of the newest require 10.

The GT 240 DDR5 is best at $70, 9800GT/5670 is the best card at $80, the 4850 is the best card at $100, the 5750 is the best at $135(all it has is DX 11--its the same power as 4850), the $5770 is best at $145.

or instead of listening to all of us you could just read the tom's best graphics for the money article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-graphics-card,2544.html

As you see below--value is debatable because performance varies by game:

 

[jyjjy]

Well if you want DX11 your options are basically the HD5670, HD5750 or HD5770.
The HD5670 will be good for your resolution, the HD5750 will be great and the HD5770 is overkill really but if you want a card that will last you a long while and perform very well it's a good choice if you can afford. It's also not much more expensive than the HD5750 and will serve you well if you do upgrade your monitor. This is a nice deal;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161317

 

[Pathos]

Although it's above my original price range, the Radeon HD 5750 seems like the best card for me. The 5770 looks better, but it's far beyond my price range ($170+ in Canada).

Thanks. I can only mark one response as the best answer, but many were helpful.

--
Jesse

 

[Pathos]

Best answer selected by Pathos.