Need Help comparing new Graphics cards

[richmone73]

Hello everyone, I am new to Toms Hardware but heard great things thus far so i thought i would seek your advice.

I am ready to buy a new video card and have three that i am considering in my price range. Could you advise and express your opinions about which one to choose. I am wanting the best one for gaming and video watching.


card 1

XFX HD-485X-ZDFC Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150351

card 2

XFX HD-489X-ZSFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150438&nm_mc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r-_-Video+Cards-_-XFX-_-14150438

card 3

XFX HD-577A-ZNDC Radeon HD 5770 XXX Edition 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150464


Any Advice would be greatly appreciated.

Current System to install card into:

AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.0ghz; MSI MB K9N6PGM2-V2; 4GB Patriot DDR2 800; 1.5TB WD SATA300 HD; RAIDMAX 630z 630W power supply

 

[Maziar]

Hello and welcome to the forums
Performance wise its like this: 4890>5770>4850 but i would go for 5770 because although its slower than 4890 but the difference isn't huge,and also it runs cooler,quieter and has less power consumption,moreover it has newer techs such as DX11,Eyefinity etc

 

[jryan388]

The 4890 would have the best performance, BUT it uses a lot of power, its older, no eyefinity/dx11
The 5770 would have near-4890 performance (about 85-90%), use much less power, eyefinity, dx11
The 4850 is also a good card for its value, but not that one. The powercolor 1gb model is $35 cheaper after warranty, making it a much better choice, unless you really really want the warranty.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131163&cm_re=4850-_-14-131-163-_-Product

Personally, I would get the 5770.

P.S. why do you want XFX so much? Other cards are way cheaper...

 

[shadow187]

Get the MSI HAWK HD5770 and overclock it..you'll hit HD4890 performance.

But agreed with the above.

 

[richmone73]

Thank you all for your quick replies. In response to selecting XFX brand cards I was just under the impression that they had better support from there website, however if you can all steer me in a different direction brand wise, I am open to that as well.

About overclocking a graphics card: some of you have suggested that with the ones that you promoted. How difficult is that to do and how do you do it?

Also does the 256bit of the 4800 series make a big difference to the 128bit of the 5700 series?

 

[shadow187]

Kind of, but the 57xx series is equal to the 48xx series, except for the HD4890.

About overclocking; it's as simple as sliding a few bars.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The 4870 outperforms the 5770 by about 10% (as does the 260) ... the 4890 is a step higher. But as to answering your question about what is the best card for you to buy, the question is very hard to answer w/o knowing what resolution you are going to use.

The 5770 is a great card in Dx11 up to about 1650 x 1050 resolution. At 1920 x 1200 it starts to get overwhelmed by the more demanding Dx11 games and you'll want a 5850 or 470

 

[richmone73]

THank you all for your help. After looking at your suggestions I think i will try to get the MSI Hawk 5770 if i can find one in stock anywhere. and then learn how to overclock it.

 

[shadow187]

You won't regret it.

 

[Maziar]

Thank you all for your quick replies. In response to selecting XFX brand cards I was just under the impression that they had better support from there website, however if you can all steer me in a different direction brand wise, I am open to that as well.

About overclocking a graphics card: some of you have suggested that with the ones that you promoted. How difficult is that to do and how do you do it?

Also does the 256bit of the 4800 series make a big difference to the 128bit of the 5700 series?

There are some ways to OC the graphic card and one of them is using RivaTuner and there are many guides about it,but don't worry much about OC'ng because a 5770 performs very well even at stock speeds
And about 256bit vs 128bit,well that's not the only factor to consider about the performance but overall it doesn't make a huge difference

 

[richmone73]

Best answer selected by richmone73.