Sapphire 4870 1GB, Powercolor PCS or HIS 4870 512mb??

winterwonderland · Feb 15, 2009

***** EDIT *****

after a sudden change from my friend, he couldn't offer Sapphire 4870 1GB, so i'll either have to go for a 4870 with 512MB memory for a good price, or take the Sapphire 1GB for almost $200 USD, which is then a brand new card.

so yeah... can you please help me to find a nice card?

Which card should I go for? I've got these requirements for the card:
- not expensive (below $200 if possible?)
- must have good standard gear (cooling, performance etc.), because i don't want to start changing stuff etc
- either 512MB or 1GB. most preferable would be 1GB...
- must be as quiet as possible
- must have good performance
- NOT an X2 card! i am only going for a single (X1) for now!
- NOT other card than Radeon 4870!

more info:
- i am NOT a hardcore gamer, so i DON'T want max performance or something like that since i won't be playing all the newest games etc.
- i've got a 19" Dell UltraSharp for now, but will upgrade to a 22" or 24" either in summer or autumn

Here's the rest of my computer specs:
- AMD Phenom II X3 720
- Antec Three Hundred
- Asus M3A78-T
- Corsair TX 650W
- OCZ Gold XTC 4096 MB DDR2 PC6400

so... any suggestions on which Radeon 4870 would be perfect for my use??

so far, it seems that HIS, PowerColor and Sapphire are the clear choices. each with 1GB memory. what you all reckon?

zithe · Feb 15, 2009

I'd say sapphire. What models did you look at specifically?

RevengE · Feb 15, 2009

uhhh sapphire.

winterwonderland · Feb 15, 2009

I see... Sapphire, huh? How come? Because it has 1GB? What about cooling and silence? How's that according to the other cards I mentioned?

These cards:
- Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4870 PCS Extreme 512MB
- HIS Radeon HD 4870 512MB 750Mhz
- Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1024MB 750Mhz

Not sure how I can explain this any further...

Here's the rest of my computer specs:
- AMD Phenom II X3 720
- Antec Three Hundred
- Asus M3A78-T
- Corsair TX 650W
- OCZ Gold XTC 4096 MB DDR2 PC6400

RevengE · Feb 15, 2009

Well due to the fact that it's 1GB and sapphires cool well as long as your case is organized and you use rivatuner. In the future you may want to upgrade your monitor and the 1gb will help performance. I am a Sapphire guy but I also like HIS I have owned both and both are great cards.plus I would prefer a Single card setup over crossfire anyday. Ask yourself this would you rather have the dirty hooker for a night? (powercolor) or the beatiful young intelligent girl for life? (sapphire)

spearman914 · Feb 15, 2009

Sapphire is better in my experience. But since ur not a hardcore gamer then get the PC PCS.

RevengE · Feb 15, 2009

spearman914 said:
Sapphire is better in my experience. But since ur not a hardcore gamer then get the PC PCS.

Why the sapphire is the same price? Why not get more than you need..in the future he might upgrade something.might as well for the price being the same. That's like saying hey we will give you 2 houses for the price of one and you saying no that's okay I'll take one.

Darknova · Feb 15, 2009

Personally I'm a Powercolor fan, but their 4870s have been a let down. Mine had to go back for RMA, and I know a few others in the same boat. However my Sapphire 1GB is performing flawlessly and I've not heard a bad word against them. If you can get yourself the one with the custom dual-slot cooler then you're kicking.

JrRacinFan · Feb 15, 2009

My vote: Get the sapphire.

ShadowFold · Feb 15, 2009

1gb card and a 512mb card for the same price?... You're seriously asking this

RevengE · Feb 15, 2009

I really don't know why? It's a pretty obvious answer GET THE SAPPHIRE!!

HolyCow02 · Feb 15, 2009

yea Sapphire FTW. That 1GB one has a great cooler on it

BrooksyX · Feb 15, 2009

Go with the Sapphire. The others are good to but the Sapphire seems to have a pretty good aftermarket cooler on it that supposedly performs better than the default cooler.

kiriakost · Feb 15, 2009

Powercolor was very poor to none support ... tested by my self .

My vote on Sapphire ...

paulm · Feb 15, 2009

Not to be cliche, but go with the Sapphire.

The other cards are no better in terms of cooling or performance, but they have 512MB less memory. Makes it quite easy to decide

winterwonderland · Feb 15, 2009

wow. so many replies in NO TIME! hella nice! thank you for all your replies!

the only thing that seems to make A BIIIT confused about this, is that the Sapphire Radeon 4870 1GB is ALMOST new. my friend has been using it for 2 weeks (only a few days though, since he barely play any games), but then he got a monster card for his birthday, and he is reliable, and it works like a charm. he also said that if that's making me to back away from the deal, i can go for either the HIS or Powercolor PCS, but they are, like I mentioned before; NEW and 512mb, while the Sapphire is slightly used for 2 weeks (it looks really new too) and it is 1GB ...

so yeah... i am leaning more and more towards the Sapphire now, yes. and will probably go for it was well.

also, i calculated the price a bit wrong; i get the Sapphire for $20 USD less than the Powercolor and HIS because the Sapphire card is used, while the PowerColor PCS and HIS are new in box.

All cables, drivers and warranty comes with the Sapphire card.

So yeah, should I still go for the Sapphire one then?

kiriakost · Feb 15, 2009

Are we talking about the Sapphire toxic ?

The one with the cooler that looks like Zalman GV1000 with a plastic cover on it ..

BrooksyX · Feb 15, 2009

kiriakost said:
Are we talking about the Sapphire toxic ?

The one with the cooler that looks like Zalman GV1000 with a plastic cover on it ..

Nah pretty sure its the basic Sapphire one that has the black cooler on it.

RevengE · Feb 15, 2009

Two weeks is nothing man go for it!

winterwonderland · Feb 15, 2009

Goodie gumdrops!

I will tell my friend before he leaves tomorrow that I will take his Sapphire one. He works at this hardware store, so he got a good deal on his Gainward 4870X2, so that's why he's offering a friendship-based deal for one of the mentioned cards.

But yeah, it's the basic Sapphire 4870 1GB, not the Toxic one.

So, you all agree that I shall go with the 1GB, yes?

Also, I _will_ upgrade my monitor to a 24" this autumn, so I guess it's a better reason to go for the 1GB _even_ if it's used, yes?

RevengE · Feb 15, 2009

Yes and yes I use a 24inch with my 4870X2 your 4870 1gb will be great for that size monitor.

kiriakost · Feb 15, 2009

minstreless said:
a friendship-based deal ......... But yeah, it's the basic Sapphire 4870 1GB, not the Toxic one.

So, you all agree that I shall go with the 1GB, yes?

Nop ....you will go for the Toxic one .... or else you will have to pay for another cooler , and that , will cost more .

BrooksyX · Feb 15, 2009

kiriakost said:
Nop ....you will go for the Toxic one .... or else you will have to pay for another cooler , and that , will cost more .

The stock cooler is just fine. The toxic isn't even all that much better.

Go with the 1gb Sapphire. It will be great for you for a long time to come.

winterwonderland · Feb 15, 2009

Ah. I understand. Well, I think that even if the 4870 is used for a couple of weeks, I am quite sure that the Sapphire 1GB will do excellent for me, especially for future purposes, right?

I should probably mention that I will get the card for $75 USD while the other 2 cards goes for $100 each. That's an acceptable price, yes?

kiriakost · Feb 15, 2009

minstreless said:
best cooling and the most silent one

Just find out the db levels of its one , and make your mind.

Few dollars more or less , does not count , you will have to live next to it for some time.

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Sapphire 4870 1GB, Powercolor PCS or HIS 4870 512mb??

winterwonderland

zithe

RevengE

winterwonderland

RevengE

spearman914

New Member

RevengE

Darknova

JrRacinFan

Served 5k and counting ...

ShadowFold

New Member

RevengE

HolyCow02

New Member

BrooksyX

kiriakost

paulm

New Member

winterwonderland

kiriakost

BrooksyX

RevengE

winterwonderland

RevengE

kiriakost

BrooksyX

winterwonderland

kiriakost

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