ATI HD4870, PowerColor HD4870 PCS+ or ATI HD4890

[samstar1412]

OK so im planning to build a gaming PC in the next 6months ( i started a thread in the hardware/devices section) and i was originally going for a HD4870x2 but i dont think im going to have he funds for that so i have been looking at a few other cards: ATI 1gb HD4870 (750/900mhz), PowerColor 1gb HD4870 (overclocked 780/925mhz) and the ATI 1gb HD4890 (850/950-1000mhz? not sure). Anyway i was just wondering what people opinions were on these cards and what version or brand should i get?

 

[smarteyeball]

Go the 4890. It's newer and quicker than the 4870. It will leave an option for 4890 crossfire down the track.

 

[samstar1412]

Go the 4890. It's newer and quicker than the 4870. It will leave an option for 4890 crossfire down the track.

Thank you once again smarteyeball you posted quite a bit in my other thread and your always very helpful. I shall look into the 4890 a little further

 

[smarteyeball]

No worries mate

If the budget does get a little tight, the 4870 is still a good card. When it comes time to make a decision, , just do a bit of googling when you have your short list.

Your short list will depend on where you're getting it from, which makes it a little easier

Two other alternatives would be the GTX 260 (216) or the GTX 275. Both are good cards themselves, not too expensive either. However it will rule out SLI on a crossfire board.

 

[samstar1412]

No worries mate

If the budget does get a little tight, the 4870 is still a good card. When it comes time to make a decision, , just do a bit of googling when you have your short list.

Your short list will depend on where you're getting it from, which makes it a little easier

Two other alternatives would be the GTX 260 (216) or the GTX 275. Both are good cards themselves, not too expensive either. However it will rule out SLI on a crossfire board.

Yeah im just planning ahead in case i dont get the needed funds for my 4870x2 Nah i will most likely just get a 1gb 4890 anyway and then when i get a little extra money buy another one and run crossfire.

 

[screwballl]

as of right now it seems AMD is having some video card driver issues with Windows 7 but I hope they have that resolved by release time.... I use nvidia (was 8800GTS, now 9800GT) cards so no problems here,

 

[kpo6969]

Wait to see what's out there when you are ready to build. 6 months is a long time to lock yourself into something now. But if you were buying now:

Have a look at these 4890's:

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

 

[MorbidGod]

Go the 4890. It's newer and quicker than the 4870. It will leave an option for 4890 crossfire down the track.

I agree. I was hoping i could get one of those 4870x2 too, but i couldnt aford it so, i was looking for the new XFX version, regardless of all Sapphire´s i had in the past. And i was afraid of regreting but i didnt. You can easily reach the golden 1Ghz clock on this chip, so my choice would go to an XFX HD 4890 1GB DDR5 BLACK EDITION (clock already @ 1Ghz). If you have mobo for that, you can later add a second.

 

[samstar1412]

as of right now it seems AMD is having some video card driver issues with Windows 7 but I hope they have that resolved by release time.... I use nvidia (was 8800GTS, now 9800GT) cards so no problems here,

Yea i had a few problems with my laptop card driver but that was easy to sort out. (just downloaded the ccc beta for win7)

Wait to see what's out there when you are ready to build. 6 months is a long time to lock yourself into something now. But if you were buying now:

Have a look at these 4890's:

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Thanks for the link, im not locking my self into anything yet im just planning ahead.

I agree. I was hoping i could get one of those 4870x2 too, but i couldnt aford it so, i was looking for the new XFX version, regardless of all Sapphire´s i had in the past. And i was afraid of regreting but i didnt. You can easily reach the golden 1Ghz clock on this chip, so my choice would go to an XFX HD 4890 1GB DDR5 BLACK EDITION (clock already @ 1Ghz). If you have mobo for that, you can later add a second.

Couldn't i just get a regular ati card and clock it to that? Or would it be better to get a sapphire or HIS card? Cause i duno if i can get XFX cards here in Aus (im talking bout the 4890)

 

[smarteyeball]

Overclocked cards sometimes have a better heatsink/fan than stock models, but you can overclock stock cards to a certain degree.

XFX cards are available in Aus:
XFX Radeon HD4890 Black Edition XFX Radeon HD4890 Black Edition 11X-HD4890-1GBBTCH [11X-HD4890-1GBBTCH] - $459.00 : PC Case Gear, Quality case accessories and components
ouch

By the end of the year, both ATI and Nvidia should have their new range of cards hitting the market which will hopefully lower the prices of existing cards.

 

[samstar1412]

Overclocked cards sometimes have a better heatsink/fan than stock models, but you can overclock stock cards to a certain degree.

XFX cards are available in Aus:
XFX Radeon HD4890 Black Edition XFX Radeon HD4890 Black Edition 11X-HD4890-1GBBTCH [11X-HD4890-1GBBTCH] - $459.00 : PC Case Gear, Quality case accessories and components
ouch

By the end of the year, both ATI and Nvidia should have their new range of cards hitting the market which will hopefully lower the prices of existing cards.

Thanks for the link, Does anybody know if they plan on releasing a 4890x2? because i have been reading a lot about them and it seems that manufacturers such as sapphire, etc.. have the rights to produce them.

 

[smarteyeball]

No idea to be honest. Two 4890 in crossfire would probably be a better and cheaper option.

Also the stock XFX 4890 is also available at MSY for $309 ATM.

Hmmm, I can feel an upgrade coming on

 

[samstar1412]

No idea to be honest. Two 4890 in crossfire would probably be a better and cheaper option.

Also the stock XFX 4890 is also available at MSY for $309 ATM.

Hmmm, I can feel an upgrade coming on

Well it would have to beat them 4850s i wish i had the money to build my pc now

 

[smarteyeball]

lol, yep, although the 4850 crossfire is a pretty good performer as it is. I can comfortably game at 1920x1200 maxed out in a few titles and only have to lower a few details here and there in others. - Crysis doesn't count

I can't really afford an upgrade, but that's never stopped me before. Some bills can wait

I know it sucks waiting for your build to come together, but you'll enjoy it when you do. On the plus side, by the time you start putting it together, things should be even cheaper

 

[samstar1412]

lol, yep, although the 4850 crossfire is a pretty good performer as it is. I can comfortably game at 1920x1200 maxed out in a few titles and only have to lower a few details here and there in others. - Crysis doesn't count

I can't really afford an upgrade, but that's never stopped me before. Some bills can wait

I know it sucks waiting for your build to come together, but you'll enjoy it when you do. On the plus side, by the time you start putting it together, things should be even cheaper

What about GTA IV does that count? haha
Yeah there is always an upside to waiting a little longer, plus it means i have a while to learn a little more a plan a little more

 

[MorbidGod]

I had a 4850, and some time later a 4870, both of them Sapphire. If its games we are talking about, theres a difference between the raw power and memory of both of them and the 4890 (almost all 4890´s models, go from 750mhz to 1ghz).
Im almost positive sure that pushing some 750ghz gpu clock to 1ghz or more can bring problems, because the heatsink is exactly the same since the early´s 4850´s (i can see the XFX sticker on top of the regular ati heatsink, the same for other brands) and im not sure about proper cooling to the gpu with this heatsink. The XFX (not-black edition) 4890 brings on a 900mhz clock that can easily pushed to 1ghz with ATI Overdrive, or even ATiTool.

Examples from migration of previous ATI HD48xx´s to the HD 4890 (XFX in this case):

- Far Cry 2 had lots of problems in running at Ultra High settings, now its perfect, and all the game physics change dramaticaly at the time we play it at Ultra High, as stupid as it can sound.

- GTAIV: Not the best optimized game for pc, can sometimes turn into a resource devouring monster, making quad-cores look like pentium II, so its not the best example but it can really put a graphic card to its test, and the built in benchmark gave some very positive results, althoug the game still has some glitches.

- Crysis (Warhead or not): Smooth as hell.

- The Witcher: Massive paisagistic environments, an incredible number of multiple moving objects, all at high textures, needs a graphic device with plenty and fast GDDR, so this jump made me finally say "ok, now its 100% smooth.)

Conclusion:

Its really worth it to buy (for now) a single 4890, or two maybe depending if we are going to have an HD 4890 X2

PS: I hate the brand HIS (personal taste). :huh:

 

[skunksmash]

Thanks for the link, Does anybody know if they plan on releasing a 4890x2? because i have been reading a lot about them and it seems that manufacturers such as sapphire, etc.. have the rights to produce them.

they'll release the HD5xxx series cards before a 4890x2 IMO.... (though a 4890x2 would STOMP!!)




SK

 

[samstar1412]

@MorbidGod
Thanks for the insight on how this card performs, as long as i can play GTA IV on relatively high settings im happy
@skunksmash
I want to see these new cards, got any links for info on em?

 

[smarteyeball]

I want to see these new cards, got any links for info on em?

It's all still speculation at this stage, so there are no real 'factual links' available.

And as Morbid mentioned, GTA IV isn't really optimized for the PC. With mostly high details, I yo-yo between 20-60fps, hovering around 30-40 most of the time. But a 4890 will definitely make it playable

 

[samstar1412]

It's all still speculation at this stage, so there are no real 'factual links' available.

And as Morbid mentioned, GTA IV isn't really optimized for the PC. With mostly high details, I yo-yo between 20-60fps, hovering around 30-40 most of the time. But a 4890 will definitely make it playable

Thanks yet again always helpful and sent you some rep