256-bit HD4850 or 128-bit HD4770?

[mikeylufc]

Yes i know that these cards are quite old but i'm thinking of upgrading my graphics card for a price of around £40-£70. I play call of duty 4 and modern warfare 2, and i want to display these games with a higher resolution. At the moment im using a HD3450 and absolute minimum graphics... (640*800 i think) I've seen that the 4850 and 4770 are good graphics cards to get but i dont know which one to choose

any help would be appreciated, thanks

 

[mikeylufc]

thanks for the quick reply saying that the 4850 has a better performance if i overclocked both cards which one perform best?

edit: also, my psu is only 350W (the model is DPS-350VB), so i'm not quite sure how the psu would handle an HD4850 or an overclocked HD4770. any suggestions?

 

[jay2tall]

The 4850 will overclock pretty well, but does give off some heat. If your PSU is adequate this is your best option. The 256-bit memory interface is an advantage over the 4770 and will help as well once you start overclocking.

Personally I'd take a 4850 over a 4770 any day. As mentioned the 4770 is more power efficient, but that is really all. It performs slightly under a stock 4850, in most cases.

 

[mikeylufc]

ah about that... i have a standard dell case and i think a Delta Electronics DPS-350VB which has 350W... would that be ok? :S

 

[jay2tall]

^
I am going to have to go with no. Neither of those cards will work with that PSU. The 4770 at the least would need a 400-450W with a 6pin and a few amps on the 12V rails.

I would say the very most you could upgrade to with that power supply is a 5670. It is a little overpriced for what it is as a gaming card, but you won't have to replace the power supply. It performs under a 4770, but would run the COD games pretty well. Modern Warefare 2 is based off the old COD4 engine so they would run similar. I would personally rather replace the PSU and get an actual gaming card over this.

If you want to replace your PSU the corsair 400W is a good choice for a 4850. It has a 6pin connector and a 30A 12v rail. You can sometimes fine them for a good deal.

 

[jay2tall]

^
I'm just a cautious fellow. But I do agree with what ct1615 says about the power supply. Dell PSU's do tend to be pretty solid.

what is the rating on the PSU?

 

[mikeylufc]

thanks both for your replies but just to add i have other components that are really taking much strain from the psu, i dont have a custom built computer. the ratings are...

DPS-350VB-1A
+12VA/12A, +12VB/18A
+5V/18A +5Vaux/2A

im sorry if these arent the ratings you were expecting, i dont know much about power supplies. if you could tell me what i needed to find out i can get it =] also these numbers are taken straight off the psu

 

[jay2tall]

DPS-350VB-1A
+12VA/12A, +12VB/18A
+5V/18A +5Vaux/2A

Actually those really aren't that bad at all. Actually pretty good for a 350W PSU. Is there any sort of wattage rating on the power supply?

Those are really making me think a 4770 would be ok. You will probably have to use a 4pin molex connector to 6 pin PCI-E power connector, but that is not big deal as long as you have free power cables, preferably on a spare cable segment.

 

[mikeylufc]

also im not sure what you mean by 6 pin connector, it looks like i have one on my current psu but ive no idea if it is the right one. and as i said before, i dont have any special components running with my computer either, so using this psu might be a possibility?

 

[mikeylufc]

umm is this a wattage rating? =S

max power: 350W
The combine power on +12VA and +12VB total 300W max
The combine power on +5V and +3.3V total 160W max

 

[mikeylufc]

it looks like i have some free power cables on my psu, i have what i think is a 6 pin PCI-E power connector which is unused straight from my psu. would that be ok?

 

[jay2tall]

Wow 300W on the 12V rails means 25A. To get this its 300W/12v=25A. Just so you know. You can't just add the 12V rails. I really think this may be an exception to my rule. A 4770 or 5750 would be ok on this.

A 6-pin PCI-E power connector looks like this:

 

[mikeylufc]

yeah i have one of those connectors spare from my psu in that case a 4770 should be compatable, but will a 4850 be out of the question?

 

[jay2tall]

I personally wouldn't try a 4850, it does draw a bit more power, I think 40-50W more. The 5750 would give you some pretty decent performance over a 4770, it has similar power requirements.

 

[mikeylufc]

ok thanks for all your help i might get a 5750 but it depends on how much more it will cost compared to the 4770 xD

 

[mikeylufc]

just one last quick question, would the 4830 compare to the performance of a 4850 and does it draw more or less power, and, if less, would it possibly be low enough to run on my psu? thanks for your answers

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, that PSU will handle an HD4770 or HD5750 just fine. When comparing those two cards the HD5750 is about 10-15% faster and gives you DX11 compatibility.

 

[jyjjy]

just one last quick question, would the 4830 compare to the performance of a 4850 and does it draw more or less power, and, if less, would it possibly be low enough to run on my psu? thanks for your answers

The HD4830 is weaker than the HD4770 and uses notably more power.

 

[mikeylufc]

well to be honest, i cant really afford a 5750 however, are there any nvidia cards that come close to the performance as the 4770? i hear the 9600GT is good :S i may be wrong

 

[jyjjy]

You are wrong. The only Nvidia card you might consider that is better than the HD4770 is the GTS 250 and I wouldn't run that on your power supply.

 

[jay2tall]

You are wrong. The only Nvidia card you might consider that is better than the HD4770 is the GTS 250 and I wouldn't run that on your power supply.

Agree.

I think in the budget you are looking at the 4770 or 5750 are your choices. The 5750 will give better performance though and i think it is worth it. What is the price difference in your area?

 

[mikeylufc]

about £40 maybe £60 between them

 

[mikeylufc]

at the moment i have windows vista 32-bit, 3GB RAM, Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 and my monitor is the DELL E2009W, which i think has a native resolution of 1680 x 1050
again thanks for answers

 

[jay2tall]

1680x1050.... I'd go for the 5750 then. You need a little power to push that res. We just want you to be happy!

 

[mikeylufc]

lol yeah but, the 5750 at the moment is just slightly too expensive... unless you have a link to a shop which sells it to Uk for less than £80? Also just to check, would an HD5670 run on my psu?
your answers are much appreciated xD
also, is the 5670 even any better than the 4770?