AMD HD 4850 or 8800GT?

[dizietsma]

Probably obvious which is faster. The cost of the cards are £85 or 115 ( $170/$230) respectively.

My 8800U died so I am suffering with an 8600GTS and need to tied me over till a LOT better card comes out than the 8800U at a reasonable cost ( times as they are). So I don't want to spend too much.

Currently I am playing a 3d rpg Titan Quest and there is a space simulator to go next. I guess when it comes out Far Cry 2 and perhaps Fallout3. So no horribly FPS gpu cruisher apart from Cry2 perhaps.

I have a 24 inch monitor so 1920x1200 would be good with 16AF. I can sacrifice AA for the mo. Currently the 8600GTS goes down to <20fps at 1600x900 on Titan quest and looks horrible. Guess this is more due to the 128bit memory bus than the 32 sp.

So, should I spend an extra 30% on the 4850 considering those games and that resolution mentioned, or do you think the 8800GT will tide me over?

The last ATI card I bought was a 9800 and the one before that a Rage 128! Maybe a change of IHV is in order.

Or should I stop being a cheapskate and go 4870/260GTX in a couple of months when prices are down and perhaps nvidia GT200b is out and suffer up to then.

Normally I have no problem making a purchase decision but this time I have more than one option.Maybe they are all right?

 

[ShaidarHaran]

Tough call... I have an 8800 GT @ 700/1688/1980 and play all games @ 1080p with 16xCSAA & 16xHQ AF and highest in-game settings (all where applicable, of course). There are times when I could use more performance in games like Oblivion, but for the most part the card does an outstanding job even with these "extreme" settings.

At this point, I'd say go for the 4850, unless you think the added cost will prevent you from sleeping well

 

[Davros]

what space sim ?

 

[dizietsma]

Thanks both for answering. Space sim is Sins of a Solar empire.

I noticed after I wrote the above the 8800GT only had 256MB of memory so I have gone for the 4850 as recommended by SH above.

I know for a fact my nv4disp BSOD will be gone for a start

I'm looking forward to this change after so many years of nvidia.

 

[suryad]

Wow ShaidarHaran you able to play Crisis at that res and setting?

 

[Skrying]

Wow ShaidarHaran you able to play Crisis at that res and setting?

No he's not, and many other games he's not unless he finds 20 FPS playable.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

Wow ShaidarHaran you able to play Crisis at that res and setting?

No he's not, and many other games he's not unless he finds 20 FPS playable.

Oops, meant to say "I play all *MY* games..." not all games.

Here are the games I've played on my setup with the aforementioned settings:
Oblivion w/QTP3
MSFS 9
AOE 3
COD 2
Doom 3 + ROE
Fear + Extraction Point + Perseus Mandate
Prey
Supreme Commander + Forged Alliance
Orange Box
X3 the Reunion

Anyway, no need to derail the thread, dizietsma already purchased a 4850 - but hey! Why let facts get in the way of a pointless argument?

 

[Refreshment]

AMD 4850 Advice required.

Instead of opening a new thread might as well use this one. Advice from owners or well informed people is welcome

Since June i have been thinking about this card. Decided to wait a month or two to see if the card has any quality or performance issues. So far heat and power consumption are the main ones being mentioned. It supposedly gets REALLY hot, even when idle. Considering this, will the card bear this high temperatures enough to last a decent life time? (decent meaning a couple of years)

I have seen people suggesting a profile manipulation to somewhat mitigate the problem. My ambient operating temperature is above 30 Celsius, so i dont know how much that will help.

Next is the power supply. The one in the rig is 500-550w generic, no big names here. Will this be able to handle the card? Also it doesn't have the PCI express 6 pin plugs, but i think there are molex to PCI express 6 pin converters. Maybe the card itself comes packed with them, anyone knows this? Also how many molex connectors will i need 1 or 2?
I think the power supply isn't overloaded some of the components connected are an HD, a DVD writer, 1 Thermaltake TR CPU fan and 2 Gigs of memory. The nominal power of the CPU is 65w.

Next is the price range and company, going for the sub 199 U.S. price in this case. So far i've seen HIS, Sapphire and Diamond in this range.
Diamond>
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-4850-...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1218019279&sr=8-1

Sapphire>
http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-HD48...3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1218019279&sr=8-3

HIS>
http://www.amazon.com/HIS-H485F512P...4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1218019279&sr=8-4

Sapphire>
http://www.amazon.com/SAPPHIRE-1002...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1218019279&sr=8-10

Btw, whats the difference between the 2 Sapphires i listed???

From what i could investigate Sapphire was/is tied to ATI/AMD, so it might look like an obvious choice. But the thing is the price for the Sapphire fluctuates a lot, going above and below the 199 price range periodically.

Not very big into PC gaming. But i see this as a good alternative to a XBOX360 (maybe 300 in September) or a PS3 (400). At sub 199 this is kind of an impulsive buy since the little card might have what it takes to handle (decently) the current and upcoming games for the next 1 or 2 years.

As always Newegg is not an option

Thanks for your time.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

I'm going to answer your questions a bit out of order.

First of all, there is no difference between the two Sapphire 4850's linked. They have the same model number. Likely a mistake on Amazon's part to have it listed twice.

Secondly, WRT heat output/power consumption - this is supposedly fixed in this month's Catalyst release, so I wouldn't worry too much. TBH, even if the "problem" is never solved, it's not much of a problem anyway. These things are built to operate at extremely high temperatures for lengthy periods of time. GPUs just plain run hot.

Your PSU is very likely not to be adequately-equipped to handle the load of a serious video card like the 4850. Total wattage is irrelevant, since most of the cheapo/generic PSU brands claim higher amperage on the 3.3/5v rails, which goes completely unused. High-draw devices generally get their power from the 12v rail(s). I suggest you replace your PSU with a quality unit from the likes of Corsair. Go for at least 38A on the 12v rail(s) - all other ratings (including total wattage) are IRRELEVANT. Don't buy an inferior PSU just because it has a big number on the box.

Good luck!

 

[Refreshment]

I'm going to answer your questions a bit out of order.

First of all, there is no difference between the two Sapphire 4850's linked. They have the same model number. Likely a mistake on Amazon's part to have it listed twice.

Secondly, WRT heat output/power consumption - this is supposedly fixed in this month's Catalyst release, so I wouldn't worry too much. TBH, even if the "problem" is never solved, it's not much of a problem anyway. These things are built to operate at extremely high temperatures for lengthy periods of time. GPUs just plain run hot.

Your PSU is very likely not to be adequately-equipped to handle the load of a serious video card like the 4850. Total wattage is irrelevant, since most of the cheapo/generic PSU brands claim higher amperage on the 3.3/5v rails, which goes completely unused. High-draw devices generally get their power from the 12v rail(s). I suggest you replace your PSU with a quality unit from the likes of Corsair. Go for at least 38A on the 12v rail(s) - all other ratings (including total wattage) are IRRELEVANT. Don't buy an inferior PSU just because it has a big number on the box.

Good luck!

Hello there.

A PSU like this... is it good enough?

Corsair>
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-550W-Power-Supply-CMPSU-550VX/dp/tech-data/B000WU2FGK/ref=de_a_smtd

Wich right now brings a big dilemma to me:

-On one hand i could order the videocard and see if it works with the cuarrent generic PSU.

-On the other hand the amazon PSU has a very competitive price (it even rivals what newegg offers). A quality PSU is a very important component in any system.

The things is... yet again i went over budget. What to do hehehhe

EDIT: In case i cant get that 550 W PSU, will this work?

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-450W-Power-Supply-CMPSU-450VX/dp/tech-data/B000UF28V4/ref=de_a_smtd

And of the 4850 brands listed (Sapphire, HIS or Diamond) are they in the same league of quality? Im considering the Diamond since is the least expensive

 

[ShaidarHaran]

That is the *exact* PSU I have (VX550) Excellent choice. Runs my E8400 @ 4GHz (500x8) and my 8800 GT @ 700/1688/1980 24x7. The 450W version is probably the best PSU in its class, but for the negligible price difference I'd go for the 550.

Don't take chances with a crappy PSU and high-end, high-draw hardware - you only stand to lose in that scenario. Best-case is you don't fry anything other than the PSU (and you WILL fry your PSU if you try to use a decent graphics card).

As for which 4850 brand to buy - TBH it really doesn't matter, in my experience. They're all reference designs anyway, which means Sapphire is manufacturing the card for all the other board partners so you're buying a Sapphire no matter how you slice it

 

[Davros]

i just installed a 9800gtx (xfx) and the instructions said dont use molex to 6pin pci-e adapters

 

[Skrying]

i just installed a 9800gtx (xfx) and the instructions said dont use molex to 6pin pci-e adapters

It doesn't matter, as long as the rail can support the card it will be fine. They only state this because PSUs without a 6-pin PCIe connector tend to be older and not designed for the heavy reliance on the 12v rail in today's computer.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

^What he said

 

[Davros]

arnt molex connectors 5v ?

 

[ShaidarHaran]

arnt molex connectors 5v ?

silly molex connectors are the 4-pin connectors used for hard drives, optical drives, AGP graphics cards, additional power to the mobo for multi-GPU configs, etc. They most certainly provide power at the 12v level

 

[Putas]

They deliver both 5 and 12 V.

 

[Davros]

ahh,

 

[Freak'n Big Panda]

Hello there.

A PSU like this... is it good enough?

Corsair>
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-550W-Power-Supply-CMPSU-550VX/dp/tech-data/B000WU2FGK/ref=de_a_smtd

Wich right now brings a big dilemma to me:

-On one hand i could order the videocard and see if it works with the cuarrent generic PSU.

-On the other hand the amazon PSU has a very competitive price (it even rivals what newegg offers). A quality PSU is a very important component in any system.

The things is... yet again i went over budget. What to do hehehhe

EDIT: In case i cant get that 550 W PSU, will this work?

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-450W-Power-Supply-CMPSU-450VX/dp/tech-data/B000UF28V4/ref=de_a_smtd

And of the 4850 brands listed (Sapphire, HIS or Diamond) are they in the same league of quality? Im considering the Diamond since is the least expensive

All of the 4850s are the same. The differentiating factors between the manufacturers are 1) price and 2) warranty.

Also on the PSU issue if your budget is tight you could always try the 4850 with the crappy PSU and if it works great and if it doesn't then you can go ahead and get a new PSU. the 4850 doesn't exactly suck boatloads of power so I'm guessing you'll be OK.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

All of the 4850s are the same. The differentiating factors between the manufacturers are 1) price and 2) warranty.

True.

Also on the PSU issue if your budget is tight you could always try the 4850 with the crappy PSU and if it works great and if it doesn't then you can go ahead and get a new PSU. the 4850 doesn't exactly suck boatloads of power so I'm guessing you'll be OK.

DO. NOT. DO. THIS.

You are extremely likely to burn out the PSU, and you will be lucky if it's the only thing that goes out when it blows.