Need advice on new graphics card

[unibrow1990]

The XFX 4850 cooler is the best one available, if it is only $10 more I would get it, then you wont have any worrys about temps.

 

[pantherx12]

XFX themselves were selling 4870s for 90 quid .

 

[sneekypeet]

It's a 19" at 1152×864.

I'm after the XFX version of each for the cooling. Does Ati still have better AA than nvidia or has that all changed?

At that resolution you are going to be limited in gameplay by the single core AMD CPU then by any HD4 series or 9800 series card will do at that res. Just food for thought.

Now if you upgraded and got a new CPU, ram and mobo along the way, Id say a 9800GTX/GTS 250 is overkill and will play anything you want to throw at it. Jr's suggestions for ATI choices are spot on for your components.

 

[QuackPot]

At that resolution you are going to be limited in gameplay by the single core AMD CPU then by any HD4 series or 9800 series card will do at that res. Just food for thought.

Now if you upgraded and got a new CPU, ram and mobo along the way, Id say a 9800GTX/GTS 250 is overkill and will play anything you want to throw at it. Jr's suggestions for ATI choices are spot on for your components.

I know but for future proofing I'll go for the fastest at the most reasonable price.

 

[qubit]

I would get the nvidia card, because in my experience, they do run games with less glitches and possibly better performance (this depends on the two cards you're comparing, of course).

Also, you get PhysX which is used by some games and the awesome 3D Vision capability (which I have) but you need a high end card and system to get a decent frame rate in modern games out of it.

I find that the nvidia control panel is easier to navigate at the moment, since AMD recently did that silly redesign in removing the menu tree on the left. More importantly, the nvidia control panel gives you more advanced 3D options.

And finally, the nvidia driver installs more quickly.

Note that I'm not a fanboy of either brand and for years I swore by ATI/AMD, because I felt their products performed better and I really liked their monthly driver updates.

 

[sneekypeet]

I know but for future proofing I'll go for the fastest at the most reasonable price.

Im not trying to be an ass by saying this, just an honest aproach to your issues with no BS attached. That being said, Id just like to say, there is no such thing as "future proof" in the PC market. One exception may be if the future is until you get your card inhand. Already the 4series is pretty much EOL. Buy what will get the job done the best, and for the best price. Buy a slightly lesser card, possibly used, and get a six pack and a pizza on the change left over

 

[QuackPot]

Im not trying to be an ass by saying this, just an honest aproach to your issues with no BS attached. That being said, Id just like to say, there is no such thing as "future proof" in the PC market. One exception may be if the future is until you get your card inhand. Already the 4series is pretty much EOL. Buy what will get the job done the best, and for the best price. Buy a slightly lesser card, possibly used, and get a six pack and a pizza on the change left over

I know what you mean. But come a year or so's time I'll probably get a new CPU and mobo and PSU and the 250 will probably be still decent enough.

 

[Woody112]

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=106561

If you're still looking for a card I have my 4870x2 I'm selling cheap.

 

[QuackPot]

Would a 1GB card see benefit when using AA and AF at 1280×960 resolutions when compared to the 512MB one?

Plus with CS4 using the GPU support would the extra ram be useful in that too?

So would this gigabyte be worth the extra £20 odd over the power color?

http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyte-gts-2500c-16x-1024mb--dvi-hdmi-68R8.html?q=gts 250

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/512M...it-2200-MHz-GDDR3-GPU-738-MHz-HDTV-DVI-Retail

 

[sneekypeet]

CS4 more so than gaming at that res. I ran a 1280X1024 screen for a long time and could max most games in AA and AF since my 1950 Pro. Any of these cards on that res shouldn't be an issue.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

if your looking at paying £80 for a card (or maybe more depend on your budget) Id high recommend a ATi 4770 if you can get hold of 1. Its sucks up less power then a 4850 & in theory it should overclock very close to or even high then 4850 clocks with better cooling due to the 55nm fab.

its really up to you. the only real advantage behind getting an Nvidia card is CUDA, PhysX & the fact that they tend to fold 2-5x better then ATi cards.

-----

also just to let you know - you can also pick up a 1Gb 4870 for more or less around £100 which would again be a better option but i dont think your PSU is gonna be up to powering it - it does suck up a lot of juice.

£76-80 on a 4850 just isnt worth the price anymore.

 

[Jstn7477]

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=106561

If you're still looking for a card I have my 4870x2 I'm selling cheap.

That is a good offer, but it will pound his single-core AMD 3500+ into the ground.

 

[francis511]

Either is slight overkill for CSS. 1 GB ram makes only a small difference. I found a 450 w power supply struggled with a 4850. Better cooler for 4850 can rly help.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

1 GB ram makes only a small difference.

depends what resolution you run at & how high you choose to run your AA & AF settings. 1Gb gives you more room to buffer textures. if you run small resolutions such as 1024x768 then 1Gb wont make any difference at all.

anything above that mark is pretty much useless unless you run really high resolutions on a 30"+ monitor for example.

 

[JrRacinFan]

C'mon now guys, 1152x864 is not a very strong resolution to even need 512MB let alone 1GB. Even way older tech like HD3850 would be overkill for that res.

@QuackPot

Now that you gave a resolution (which i was going to ask), You would be fine with even an ATi HD4600 series. How soon you looking at upgrading your display? Oh and that GTS250 for 80 isn't too too bad. The extra 20-30 for an HD4870 would be money better spent tho.