Is the time right to retire the 4890?

[qasam]

Hi Guys

Due to the release of the new 5000 ATI GPU cards I purchased a XFX 4890 GPU at a low price a few months ago. Can the community please advise if it’s the right time upgrade my GPU to one of the new 5000 series cards? Is the 4890 in your opinion still capable of playing the best games on the PC?

 

[daedalus685]

What resolution do you play at, what games do you play?

I use 4890s in crossfire and for me there is absolutely no reason to upgrade. If you want to upgrade to a 5870 and game at no less than 1920*1200 then it might be worth it. It would be of questionable point to upgrade to a 5850, certainly some improvement but not a large leap except to better idle power and dx11.

 

[qasam]

I play my games at resolution 1920 x 1080 on a 24inch Samsung 1080p Monitor.
The types of games I play are Gears of War, Modern Warfair 2 ect and is looking forward to the upcoming release of Alan Wake. I do stress I only have a single 4890 gpu sitting on my p6t motherboard. Would you reccommend purchasing another 4890 in corssfire instead of upgrading to the 5870?

 

[daedalus685]

If you can find a 4890 cheep then that would be the best performing option. Only if you don't get enough performance in your games now though. Keep in mind though that a 4890 uses a ton of power at idle compared to the newer 5000s.

My upgrade criteria is very simple, "can I play this as max settings." None of the games you mention would have an issue with that even now. It might be the best bet to simply sit on your money until a game with dx11 comes out you care about.

The rapid changing of the computer industry is a big reason why it is silly to wait if you need something now.. but it is also a reason why you should wait if you don't.

 

[gamerk316]

There is no reason whatsoever to upgrade from a 4890. 400 series aside, the only things better are the 5850 (and only then, just barely). 5870, and 5970. Metro2033 aside, there aren't any games a single 4890 can not max out, and you can get a second for half the price of getting an "upgrade".

 

[abhishekk89]

seriously... u don't need an update... 4890 was the top of the line in 4000 series... so it should sustain for some time...

 

[jay2tall]

The 5830 was supposed to fill in the gap between the 5770 and 5850 which for a while was the 4890. And yet the 4890 still slightly outperforms it. So unless you are upgrading to at LEAST a 5850, you won't get any benefit.

The 4890 is still a VERY VERY capable card and I see no reason to upgrade unless you are going to get a 5850 or 5870 at the least. Sure you don't have DX11, but is that REALLY a reason to upgrade?

 

[shubham1401]

Keep the 4890 for some more time.

Its a very powerful card.

 

[qasam]

Thanks Guys.
Will go with your advice and keep the 4890 for some time. This site is a great resource.

 

[DarthPiggie]

I myself was facing this delimma a few weeks ago and decided to purchase a second 4890 for 150$. It gave me nearly double the performance. This performance is even better than 1 5870. Think about it, for less than 200$ you can upgrade your performance more than just purchasing a 5870. Please note though that you will need a very good PSu tohandle it since it sucks more power.

 

[rofl_my_waffle]

Back when I was using my 1080P monitor I was getting respectable quality with my 4870 which is slower.

Of course as the monitor got to 2560x1600 I was forced to upgrade but the 4890 is more than ample to handle everything at 1080P.