Ooo... I'm tempted.

Ketxxx · Apr 6, 2009

I've just seen a HD4830 for £72 + postage and a WD Black 500GB for £50 + postage.. I REALLY have a urge to buy one of them! Problem is I'm not sure which.. The 4830 is made by the god awful XFX, I'm only tempted as its so friggin cheap, looks to have a real sweet cooler on it and it has a black PCB, perfect for my system. On the other hand I should probably buy the WD Black drive as my Maxtor DM10 has well and truely had its day.. the Black drive stomps all over it by literally being twice as fast at everything.. Vote now guys and help my dilemma!

Pete1burn · Apr 6, 2009

Depends. Are your graphics lacking? Are you running out of hard drive space?

Answer one of those and there's your answer.

PaulieG · Apr 6, 2009

Ketxxx said:
I've just seen a HD4830 for £72 + postage and a WD Black 500GB for £50 + postage.. I REALLY have a urge to buy one of them! Problem is I'm not sure which.. The 4830 is made by the god awful XFX, I'm only tempted as its so friggin cheap, looks to have a real sweet cooler on it and it has a black PCB, perfect for my system. On the other hand I should probably buy the WD Black drive as my Maxtor DM10 has well and truely had its day.. the Black drive stomps all over it by literally being twice as fast at everything.. Vote now guys and help my dilemma!

Hmm, what makes XFX "god awful?"

Ketxxx · Apr 6, 2009

Graphics.. not really lacking. One of my HD3870s still plays games like Crysis Warhead with close to max settings at decent framerates. My HDD also has plenty of space.. its just old.. and now slow in comparison to new SATA2 HDDs.

XFX are terrible because should your card die (which a lot of XFX cards do) your going to need a miracle to get a RMA number.

DrPepper · Apr 6, 2009

Your 3870's will outperform the 4830 so I'd say get the HDD.

Pete1burn · Apr 6, 2009

Seconded. Get the hard drive.

Ketxxx · Apr 6, 2009

I'm looking at this from lots of angles.

New graphics: New toy to play with, OCing and tweaking fun, probably better AA performance.

New HDD: Stuff loads lots faster.. thats about it.

mc-dexter · Apr 6, 2009

Ketxxx said:
Graphics.. not really lacking. One of my HD3870s still plays games like Crysis Warhead with close to max settings at decent framerates. My HDD also has plenty of space.. its just old.. and now slow in comparison to new SATA2 HDDs.

XFX are terrible because should your card die (which a lot of XFX cards do) your going to need a miracle to get a RMA number.

Remember that the difference between SATA and SATAII is the speed of the INTERFACE, not the speed of the drive. Harddrives of today are barely reaching the limits of (P)ATA-133, and can't come close to filling the bandwith availible for SATA/SATAII. (What I'm trying to say is its a waste of money buying a SATAII drive as a similar model SATA drive should be just as fast.)

oli_ramsay · Apr 6, 2009

Save up and get a 4890

DrPepper · Apr 6, 2009

Well if you get the gpu you could sell the 3870's for a 4830 and the HDD

Ketxxx · Apr 6, 2009

In my case my HDD royally sucks now. Just check out those reviews.

(My) DM10 review
WD Black review

WhiteLotus · Apr 6, 2009

im pretty sure tatty did a huge OC on his 4830 so vote that one

Studabaker · Apr 6, 2009

I wouldn't get a WD Black, I'd stick with the Blue series. Get TWO of the 320GB drives (3200AAKS) and RAID0 them. They are single-platter drives too. Way fast. This is exactly the setup I'm going for, in fact I've got an order placed for them at this moment.

Ketxxx · Apr 6, 2009

I don't do dual HDDs, so out and out speed is the name of the game without spending crazy money.

Its interesting to see 33% of the poll shows people to be hungry

r9 · Apr 6, 2009

4830

nafets · Apr 6, 2009

God, a Maxtor DM10 series drive? That's ass-slow compared to what's available now. The WD Black drive is almost double the sequential read/write speed of your snails pace Maxtor DM10.

Please do yourself a favor and get the newer WD HDD.

A faster HDD affects everything you do on your PC, from faster boot-up, program opening, game load level times, etc...

The disparity between your old HDD and a newer, current one is much greater than that between your HD3870 and an HD4830.

Ketxxx · Apr 6, 2009

I know my HDD is bloody slow

its just a PITA that I don't have enough spare cash for both the HDD and 4830 ATM. Of course, although I'm looking for trades somebody could buy my 3870s

mc-dexter · Apr 6, 2009

If your using a Pata drive (IDE) then yeah i'd get the new HDD, but other wise it's not worth it.

I'm not sure about your 3870's as in performance wise, so i wouldn't know the amount of upgrade you would get, but surely ity's worth saving the few extra bucks for a 4870 or something

Have you concidered more RAM?

nafets · Apr 6, 2009

Considering that the HDD is the slowest thing in most any computer, you shouldn't be skimping on it. Everything else listed in your specs is fairly current and falls in line. But that HDD is an eyesore...

So many opinions.

Ketxxx · Apr 6, 2009

My HDD is SATA, but friggin slow compared to the WD Black. Theoretically I can get very similar performance from a OC'd 4830 vs. my 3870s in CF, 640 SPs vs. 640SPs. I have loads of memory kits. I'm trying to find a 4GB kit that will hit 1200MHz, looks like a kit that can do that will cost me about £90 tho.

DonInKansas · Apr 6, 2009

When I swapped my old Maxtor HDD for the one I've got now, I was blown away at the performance difference. Given the choices, I'd go HDD.

But I voted hungry since I haven't had breakfast yet... :roll:

aCid888* · Apr 6, 2009

Be smart and get the HDD.

You will regret it when you buy the 4830 and 2 weeks down the line your drive dies and you end up buying a new one anyway...you'll be truly broke my friend.

HDD :toast:

Ketxxx · Apr 6, 2009

Tight call.. 4830 and HDD at eachothers throats.. while others shovel food down their throats

For some reason I'm drawn to the 4830 its sooooo cheap and sexy looking in black. I don't like my HDD but I can probably live with it a little while longer and switch from trades for some items to cash.

HolyCow02 · Apr 6, 2009

I went with the HD because if your hard drive is old, it's more likely to fail, which means you lose your stuff.

Ketxxx · Apr 6, 2009

I would like a new HDD, and that was the original idea, then I saw the 4830 for £72... and we all know a new graphics card is more fun to play with than a new HDD.

System Name	Ravens Talon
Processor	AMD R7 3700X @ 4.4GHz 1.3v
Motherboard	MSI X570 Tomahawk
Cooling	Modded 240mm Coolermaster Liquidmaster
Memory	2x16GB Klevv BoltX 3600MHz & custom timings
Video Card(s)	Powercolor 6800XT Red Devil
Storage	250GB Asgard SSD, 1TB Integral SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s)	27" BenQ Mobiuz
Case	NZXT Phantom 530
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-E
Power Supply	1000w Supernova
Software	Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores	Fast. I don't need epeen.

System Name	Serenity
Processor	Intel i7-4770K
Motherboard	Asus Maximus VI Hero
Cooling	Xigmatek Dark Knight II SD1283
Memory	16GB Kingston DDR3
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GTX 770 4GB
Storage	2x Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSDs, RAID0
Display(s)	2x 27" Samsung curved
Case	Coolermaster HAF 932
Audio Device(s)	HT Omega Striker 7.1
Power Supply	Thermaltake 1200w
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Processor	5800x(2)/5700g/5600x/5600g/2700x/1700x/1700
Motherboard	MSI B550 Carbon (2)/ MSI z490 Unify/Asus Strix B550-F/MSI B450 Tomahawk (3)
Cooling	EK AIO 360 (2)/EK AIO 240, Arctic Cooling Freezer II 280/EVGA CLC 280/Noctua D15/Cryorig M9(2)
Memory	32 GB Ballistix Elite/32 GB TridentZ/16GB Mushkin Redline Black/16 GB Dominator
Video Card(s)	Asus Strix RTX3060/EVGA 970(2)/Asus 750 ti/Old Quadros
Storage	Samsung 970 EVO M.2 NVMe 500GB/WD Black M.2 NVMe 500GB/Adata 500gb NVMe
Display(s)	Acer 1080p 22"/ (3) Samsung 22" 1080p
Case	(2) Lian Li Lancool II Mesh/Corsair 4000D /Phanteks Eclipse 500a/Be Quiet Pure Base 500/Bones of HAF
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova 850G(2)/EVGA Supernova GT 650w/Phantek Amps 750w/Seasonic Focus 750w
Mouse	Generic Black wireless (5)
Keyboard	Generic Black wireless (5)
Software	Win 10/Ubuntu

System Name	Ravens Talon
Processor	AMD R7 3700X @ 4.4GHz 1.3v
Motherboard	MSI X570 Tomahawk
Cooling	Modded 240mm Coolermaster Liquidmaster
Memory	2x16GB Klevv BoltX 3600MHz & custom timings
Video Card(s)	Powercolor 6800XT Red Devil
Storage	250GB Asgard SSD, 1TB Integral SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s)	27" BenQ Mobiuz
Case	NZXT Phantom 530
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-E
Power Supply	1000w Supernova
Software	Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores	Fast. I don't need epeen.

System Name	Rusky
Processor	Intel Core i7 D0 3.8Ghz
Motherboard	Asus P6T
Cooling	Thermaltake Dark Knight
Memory	12GB Patriot Viper's 1866mhz 9-9-9-24
Video Card(s)	GTX470 1280MB
Storage	OCZ Summit 60GB + Samsung 1TB + Samsung 2TB
Display(s)	Sharp Aquos L32X20E 1920 x 1080
Case	Silverstone Raven RV01
Power Supply	Corsair 650 Watt
Software	Windows 7 x64
Benchmark Scores	3DMark06 - 18064 http://img.techpowerup.org/090720/Capture002.jpg

System Name	The Abominable Dust Bomb / Just A Box
Processor	AMD 6400+ BE (Windsor) @3.35Ghz / AMD 3200+ (Barton)
Motherboard	ASUS M2A VM - HDMI / Abit NF7 - S2
Cooling	Xigmatek HDT S1283 / Gigabyte 3D Cooler Ultra
Memory	2x 1Gb Kingston DDR2 667Mhz Dual Channel @800Mhz (soon 3Gb Dual) / 2x 512Mb Geil Dual DDR 400Mhz
Video Card(s)	XFX GeForce 8600GT (soon to be ASUS 8800GT) / MSI Geforce 5200FX
Storage	80Gb Maxtor 2mb cache Maxtor 500Gb 32mb cache / 2x 40Gb Maxtor's
Display(s)	19" TFT, 15" TFT, 32" TV / 15" CRT
Case	XBLADE / Everest
Audio Device(s)	(Onboard) Realtek ALC883 5.1 High Definition / Onboard
Power Supply	Antec True Power 480w / 400w Winpower
Software	Win Vista Premium SP2 / Win XP Pro SP2
Benchmark Scores	3D Mark 06 = 6709 ... lol

System Name	Dream Weaver
Processor	Ryzen 5600
Motherboard	B450 MSI Gaming Pro Carbon AC
Cooling	NH-D14
Memory	16GB Flare X @ 3200MHz CL14
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Vega 64 Nitro+
Storage	500GB evo 970 m.2 + 4TB HDDs
Display(s)	ASUS 27" 1440p 144hz FreeSync
Case	Fractal Design Define R3
Power Supply	Corsair 850W
Software	Windows 10 x64

System Name	Vintage
Processor	i7 - 3770K @ Stock
Cooling	Scythe Zipang II
Memory	2x4GB Crucial DDR3
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX970
Storage	M4 124GB SSD// WD Black 640GB// WD Black 1TB//Samsung F3 1.5TB
Display(s)	Samsung SM223BW 21.6"
Case	Generic
Power Supply	Corsair HX 520W
Software	Windows 7

System Name	Built Entirely With Parts From CompUSA
Processor	E7400 2.8 @ 3.6 [9.0*400/1.31v]
Motherboard	Gigabyte EP45-UD3R
Cooling	Masscool 8WA741
Memory	2x1GB Corsair XMS2 800 4-4-4-12
Video Card(s)	BFG 9800GTX+OC; GTS250 BIOS
Storage	2x WD 250GB AAKS in RAID0!
Display(s)	19" I-Inc LCD @ 1440x900
Case	Ultra X-Blaster Clear Side
Audio Device(s)	Audigy with X-Fi drivers; Logitech X-540s
Power Supply	Corsair TX750
Software	Vista 32-Bit

System Name	Primary\|Secondary\|Poweredge r410\|Dell XPS\|SteamDeck
Processor	i7 11700k\|i7 9700k\|2 x E5620 \|i5 5500U\|Zen 2 4c/8t
Memory	32GB DDR4\|16GB DDR4\|16GB DDR4\|32GB ECC DDR3\|8GB DDR4\|16GB LPDDR5
Video Card(s)	RX 7800xt\|RX 6700xt \|On-Board\|On-Board\|8 RDNA 2 CUs
Storage	2TB m.2\|512GB SSD+1TB SSD\|2x256GBSSD 2x2TBGB\|256GB sata\|512GB nvme
Display(s)	50" 4k TV \| Dell 27" \|22" \|3.3"\|7"
VR HMD	Samsung Odyssey+ \| Oculus Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 Pro\|Windows 10 Pro\|Windows 10 Home\| Server 2012 r2\|Windows 10 Pro

Processor	Core i5 3570K
Motherboard	AsRock z77 Pro4
Cooling	Zalman CNPS10X Extreme
Memory	2x4GB GSkill Sniper
Video Card(s)	MSI GTX970 Gaming
Storage	240GB OCZ ARC 100, Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Display(s)	LG 23" 1920x1080
Case	Antec P100
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Antec Edge 750W
Software	Windows 8.1 Pro 64

System Name	Shredder
Processor	Phenom II 955 @stock (for the time being)
Motherboard	MSI 790FX-GD70
Cooling	Noctua U12P
Memory	8 GB muskin DDR3 1600 @ 7-7-6-18
Video Card(s)	2x Sapphire 4870 1GB
Storage	64 GB Super Talent UltraDrive SSD \| 2 x WD Caviar Black 500GB in RAID1
Display(s)	Samsung 22" 2ms GTG
Case	Thermaltake Spedo Advanced Package
Power Supply	Corsair HX1000
Software	Vista Business 64-bit

Ooo... I'm tempted.

What to get?

Get the XFX 4830

Get the WD Black 500GB

I'm bored.. whats for dinner?

Heedless Psychic

Heedless Psychic

The Doctor is in the house

Heedless Psychic

New Member

The Doctor is in the house

Heedless Psychic

New Member

Heedless Psychic

New Member

Heedless Psychic

New Member

New Member

Heedless Psychic

New Member

Heedless Psychic

New Member

Heedless Psychic