50% more for 4870... worth it?

[Jawed]

I'd wait until seeing if edge detect MSAA is considerably better on HD4870 than HD4850 before deciding - I presume bandwidth plays a part here.

Anyone know of a review that evaluates ED performance on HD4850 and HD4870?

Then of course there's the drivers. And sadly it'll prolly be September before things are reasonably straight. I presume Catalyst 8.7 WHQL will actually turn out to be an older driver than the HD48xx Hotfix driver. So it'll be 8.8 at least before further improvements roll in, unless there's another hotfix release.

Jawed

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

I think the price differential will go down soon enough as more 4870s gets into channel, and then it becomes a more reasonable upgrade from a price point of view.

 

[Tim]

I'd wait until seeing if edge detect MSAA is considerably better on HD4870 than HD4850 before deciding - I presume bandwidth plays a part here.

I thought that edge detect MSAA was math-heavy, but easy on the bandwidth.

Then of course there's the drivers. And sadly it'll prolly be September before things are reasonably straight. I presume Catalyst 8.7 WHQL will actually turn out to be an older driver than the HD48xx Hotfix driver. So it'll be 8.8 at least before further improvements roll in, unless there's another hotfix release.

Dave said that the 8.7 drivers are based on the hotfix drivers (at least for RV770)

 

[Mintmaster]

One thing that should be considered here is system cost.

For example, when excluding the video card, if your system (including monitor and accessories) is worth $500, then really you're looking at paying 14% more for ~30% more performance when comparing the 4850 and 4870. Depending on how much you game, that may or may not be a good idea.

In the end, I think that for buying decisions it's better not to look at percentage increase in cost and just think whether that 30% is worth $100. It won't buy you a standard resolution step (~60% more pixels, usually needing 30-50% more overall power per frame), but it'll get close.

If you like to fix resolution and adjust IQ, it's hard to quantify the improvement.

 

[CNCAddict]

These are all good points, but another way to look at it is to spend $150 for a 4850 now, then 4-5 months out spend another $150 for a 1GB 4870 card. Doing it this way, you end up with way more graphics power, and spending about the same amount of cash as a single 4870 at current pricing. Just need a bit of patience is all. I tend to think buying the highest graphics power/dollar is usually the best bet. Right now it is certainly the 4850.

But then again, I'm not rich either. If I was Billy G looking at a nice long retirement, I'd buy 4 4870's and then replace them with 4 4870 X2's when they are available.

 

[Sxotty]

But then again, I'm not rich either. If I was Billy G looking at a nice long retirement, I'd buy 4 4870's and then replace them with 4 4870 X2's when they are available.

Hmm I would buy g280s if $ meant nothing to me.

 

[Geo]

Well, this kind of question always comes down --for me-- to how long do you expect to keep it as your main card. Less than a year, then maybe the cheaper card makes sense. More than a year, maybe not so much.

Tho the other question to answer is how much do you dislike SLI/CF? Two 4850s largely looks like the sweet spot to me right now. . . if you don't despise multi-gpu (and many people do despise it). But if you don't, and you have a supported mb, then you can get one now and one a bit down the road for a cheap mid-life kicker.

 

[epicstruggle]

Well, this kind of question always comes down --for me-- to how long do you expect to keep it as your main card. Less than a year, then maybe the cheaper card makes sense. More than a year, maybe not so much.

Tho the other question to answer is how much do you dislike SLI/CF? Two 4850s largely looks like the sweet spot to me right now. . . if you don't despise multi-gpu (and many people do despise it). But if you don't, and you have a supported mb, then you can get one now and one a bit down the road for a cheap mid-life kicker.

Im waiting for 4870x2 to make my decision. I can live for a few more weeks before upgrading my pc.

 

[Geo]

Yes, the price on that could make my 4850 CF comment somewhat moot. We'll see.

 

[epicstruggle]

Yes, the price on that could make my 4850 CF comment somewhat moot. We'll see.

What a nice change to have options this time around. Seems that the last few launches have not been this refreshing.