Worth it to get HD 4870 over 4850?

[mroldboy]

Recently got an offer for an HD 4870. Its about $40 over what I wanted to get a 4850 for, but its an XFX 1gb, so he can transfer the warranty to me so its like getting another brand new, sort of.

I am sticking with a single card as I have a mATX mobo. I am returning my corsair 400cx to amazon and getting a modular since I cant fit the damn cables in my case properly. So I'll get a PSU to accommodate the 4870.

I want to know how future proof an HD 4870 is over the 4850, if it saves me money in upgrading down the line than I feel its worth it to pay up front a bit more.

 

[KidHorn]

If you're running at 1920 or higher, then the 4870 will make a pretty big difference, otherwise saving $40 and going with the 4850 is a no brainer IMO. Put the $40 towards a future DX11 card.

 

[mroldboy]

i will be at 1920x1980

This is my first gaming pc, I dont feel any need to overdue it. the 4870 is already pushing it as far as I'm concerned.

 

[JofaMang]

If you don't own the 4850 yet, shell out for the 4870. Your resolution will utilize the 4870, and may strain the 4850. I currently run a 4870 512mb for 1920x1080 gaming (generally) and get fantastic performance, but wish I had gotten a 1gb model from the get go. Having the second lifetime warranty to lean on is a pretty solid deal, and one of the reasons I recommend XFX to whoever asks: resale is higher than any other brand that doesn't offer the double-lifetime warranty. Since you are the second owner, the resale value is dropped to average, but you still have the coverage. Nice.

I would find the extra 40 bucks for the 4870 over a 4850.

 

[mroldboy]

Yeah after searching around it seems like a fair price, plus all the original stuff is included.

And after reading reviews on the 4890 and stuff over the 4870 I cant see myself appreciating the extra FPS, I can live without 8xAA and things like that. Plus I do most of my gaming on my 360/ps3, so I essentially am building an overprice gaming console as far as I see it. I just want to play the games and do the things you can only do on a pc.

well, the seller was willing to go down $10, so I think that is a great option, a bit over what I originally set out to pay (Used xfx 4850), but I think worth it down the line.

 

[Bluescreendeath]

Yep, the 4870 or 5770 (usually around the same price or $5-$10 more) will be great for your needs.

 

[mroldboy]

yeah, I'm gonna get it. i asked him to if he could wait to transfer the warranty so I could resell it if it didn't fit my mobo.

Some people have complained that if you install a video card it blocks the sata ports, but most people say at least 1 or 2 are left open.

 

[JofaMang]

Some people have complained that if you install a video card it blocks the sata ports, but most people say at least 1 or 2 are left open.

That completely depends on the motherboard. My GA-MA780g-UD3H allows the 4870 to be installed and still have all my sata ports open.

Edit: Re-read your original post and noticed you have an mATX m/b. Disregard, hah.

 

[seerwan]

to answer your original question, a 4870 is significantly more powerful than a 4850.

I'd however recommend a 5770.

Gd luck.

 

[MARSOC_Operator]

To really notice a big improvement, I'd recommend getting a 4890.

 

[mroldboy]

I ended up getting the 4870, couldn't pass up the price + the XFX warranty. And I can save the warranty until either I need it or sell it for the next buyer since I know the seller.

Got 30-34 fps in crysis on high settings 1080p 2xAA. Not bad considering I only have 1x2gb stick of ram.

 

[skolpo]

I ended up getting the 4870, couldn't pass up the price + the XFX warranty. And I can save the warranty until either I need it or sell it for the next buyer since I know the seller.

Got 30-34 fps in crysis on high settings 1080p 2xAA. Not bad considering I only have 1x2gb stick of ram.

Extra RAM wouldn't help in framerate anyway. But glad you're happy with your new video card. Have fun!

 

[mroldboy]

really, but I've seen on benchmark testing that 4gb does show small improvements over 2gb. And I assume even more for me since I am not running dual channel.

In crysis In remember seeing like a 5fps increase on the benchmark test.

 

[JofaMang]

Ram, whether system or GPU, only really helps performance when you need it. As in, a game that runs fine on 2gb will run the same on 4gb. But a game that needs more than 2gb will be crippled by having only 2gb.

It is a bottleneck, not a booster. Having 4gb or more of ram on a 64bit os removes memory as a possible limitation.

 

[mroldboy]

ok makes sense, on the benchmark test it has crysis as using like 1.4 with 2gb and 1.9 with 4gb. I assume there is some mem used by the Os too so 4gb in that case helped.

Wouldn't dual channel help out too in terms of performance, not gaming but just generally?