Radeon 4850 vs GTS 250 XFX BFG and HIS

[funkifresh]

Hi i'm really undecided on these two video cards. I found the 9600gt palit for $70 brand new while the 4850 his for $90. Im running 1920x1080 and i play games such as starcraft 2 and l4d. I have windows 7 32-bit as well. The only thing that is drawing me back from the 9600gt is the 64 stream processors but that seems relatively low compared to the radeon, however, i know you can't juxtapose them. What do you guys prefer?
link to palit:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261013

link to 4850:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161296

thanks

 

[jyjjy]

The HD4850 is a much faster card. The Nvidia equivalent is the GTS 250.
Just make sure your power supply can handle it.

 

[funkifresh]

i have a 500w psu. will that be sufficient?

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah that should be enough unless it is a very poor brand.

 

[jyjjy]

BTW this is a nice deal on an HD4850;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102834

 

[funkifresh]

i believe its an asus psu. i would buy that card but the review ratings are drawing me back heh

 

[jyjjy]

It's a Sapphire Vapor-X. They are the largest video card manufacturer in the world and are highly regarded in terms of quality. It has 6 bad reviews over the course of over a year and almost all are from when the card first launched so that's hardly something to base a purchase on.

 

[funkifresh]

i see, thanks. what about this card?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134113

 

[jyjjy]

That's way too expensive. For a GTS 250 I would get this;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127495

 

[jyjjy]

How much are you actually willing to spend?

 

[funkifresh]

yeah I just realized the price after posting, sorry. Im willing to spend less than $100 and I don't mind used(actually looking through ebay) and I found GTX 260s for around that price as well. What do you think jyjjy?

 

[jyjjy]

Well, buying used is a risk but if you are willing to take it the GTX 260 is a better card. At least make sure the seller has a good feedback rating. You can also look for an HD4870 or HD5770. They both perform very similarly to the GTX 260. You might have a harder time find a good price on a used HD5770 but it is the best choice if you do because it is DX11 and uses significantly less power, especially at idle.

 

[funkifresh]

yeah Im pretty cautious when buying used. Thanks a lot!

 

[funkifresh]

hey jyjjy, i did some more research and im caught with these three now.
PNY GTS 250:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133266

BFG GTS 250:
http://www.bfgtech.com/bfgegts2501024e.aspx

HIS HD4850:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161296&cm_re=hd_4850-_-14-161-296-_-Product

the three links i provided were all 1gb 256-bit. Another question is if they're the same model(i.e gts 250) but its 512mb, how much in decrease would be in performance wise? Just a generalization. Thanks a lot

Like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150357&cm_re=xfx_gts_250-_-14-150-357-_-Product

Oh! and please excuse the price on these three as they are not a factor

Also I just found my PSU is an Antec 500 PSU

 

[notty22]

I would go for that VaporX 4850 that was recommended to you up the thread.
That is their patented cooler, and on the new top end 5870/5850 , the VaporX versions costs a extra 30 or so dollars that alot of people pay and feel it is worth it. I'm trying to get across to you the value of that 4850.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102834&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, I would stick with that Vapor-X if you go with an HD4850.
If price isn't really a concern however then you are looking at the wrong cards. What you want is an HD5770 or GTX 460;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102873
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121387
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125333
those are all basically appropriately priced for their performance.

 

[funkifresh]

hahaha i meant the price didnt concern for those links
Does the vapor-x beat the others by a margin? What is so great about the VaporX? Arent the stock coolers on other cards efficient and capable of doing their job?

 

[jyjjy]

The stock coolers are alright but the Vapor-X is both better and quieter. It's nice to have on a card with the power usage/temps of the HD4850. Assuming you are in the US it is also the best deal around for that card, even ignoring the cooler, so there's no reason to pick anything else.

 

[funkifresh]

Best answer selected by funkifresh.