• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Whats going on! is the 4870 that good?

ripkord

ripkord

ripkord

Associate
Joined
5 Feb 2004
Posts
405
Location
Glasgow
I take my eyes of the scene for a few months and ATi come back in and bitch slap nVidia???

Is the 4870 as good as it seems? I was thinking of upgrading my 7950GX2 to a 9800GX2 (apparently I didnt learn my SLi lesson........ esp. in vista x64) but upon reading reviews the 4870 seems to be my best bet.

My motherboard is nforce 590 based and I only have an athlon 4800x2 (OC'd to 3.0GHz) with 4GB ram, so not much wrong there (yeah a new CPU wouldnt go a miss but I dont think it will hold me back (?))

So... have I missed something here or can I get a top end card for <£200 ??

BTW DO I need to update my PSU I think I have a 600W (will need to check)
I'm guessing as it currently handles the power-sapping 7950GX2's cores it will be ok with a single card??

EDIT _ PSU = 600W Seasonic SS600HT, happy days.
 
Last edited:
the 4870 would be super inprovement on your 7950gx2 and it is a singe card. take it this way its better then gt260. and it is better in some games then gt280 but in other games wins by few fps but hey its shorter cheaper and has more features.

edit: i dont think u can use B*tch word here ;)
 
Wardie said:
What sort of improvement does it offer over a 8800GTX?

I'm not looking to upgrade yet but i'm just curious :)
Click to expand...

more frames better iq dx10.1 even its not used yet or is it. as far i can remember every time when i swiched from nvidia to ati i think image quality was better. just waiting for iceq4 version now to buy one my self
 
Very tempted to buy a 4870 and RMA my BFG8800GTX it's temperatures are horrific (80-90°C under load with fan speed changed to 2700rpm under Riva Tuner). Most games lock up after a while, I get the nvidia well known BSOD. Basically it is a pile of steaming....... I have tried all manner of drivers and none of them are stable, I just get different BSODs or locks ups depending on which ones I use.

Then when the 4870x2 comes out will prolly go for that. Tragically I bought an SLi mainboard and therefore dual carding is now unlikely for me but at least with a 4870 I might be able to play for longer than 30-40 mins.
 
-BA- said:
Very tempted to buy a 4870 and RMA my BFG8800GTX it's temperatures are horrific (80-90°C under load with fan speed changed to 2700rpm under Riva Tuner). Most games lock up after a while, I get the nvidia well known BSOD. Basically it is a pile of steaming....... I have tried all manner of drivers and none of them are stable, I just get different BSODs or locks ups depending on which ones I use.

Then when the 4870x2 comes out will prolly go for that. Tragically I bought an SLi mainboard and therefore dual carding is now unlikely for me but at least with a 4870 I might be able to play for longer than 30-40 mins.
Click to expand...

well if you waiting for 4870x2 its like 8 days away maybe less so just wait for it
 
Yer only problem will be having to shell out that much money (again). Kinda hoping that if the 8800GTX gets replaced I can put it up for sale you see. Anyone know what BFG are like for RMA?
 
seems like a daft question but will I be OK using a single ATi card with my Nforce 590 motherboard? is there likely to be any compatability issues??
 
ripkord said:
seems like a daft question but will I be OK using a single ATi card with my Nforce 590 motherboard? is there likely to be any compatability issues??
Click to expand...

shoud be no problem u might get 3% less performance as it is 1.1 psi -e and u can only use one card but it should be fine
 
AFAIK SLi or XFire boards are designed to work just fine with one card in and merely offer the functionality of holding two cards. My stability issues I lay at the door of an overheating card.
 
-BA- said:
Very tempted to buy a 4870 and RMA my BFG8800GTX it's temperatures are horrific (80-90°C under load with fan speed changed to 2700rpm under Riva Tuner). Most games lock up after a while, I get the nvidia well known BSOD. Basically it is a pile of steaming....... I have tried all manner of drivers and none of them are stable, I just get different BSODs or locks ups depending on which ones I use.

Then when the 4870x2 comes out will prolly go for that. Tragically I bought an SLi mainboard and therefore dual carding is now unlikely for me but at least with a 4870 I might be able to play for longer than 30-40 mins.
Click to expand...

LOL you dont want a 4870 and possibly a 4870X2 if you are unhappy with 80degrees load :p
 
psychas said:
the 4870 would be super inprovement on your 7950gx2 and it is a singe card. take it this way its better then gt260. and it is better in some games then gt280 but in other games wins by few fps but hey its shorter cheaper and has more features.

edit: i dont think u can use B*tch word here ;)
Click to expand...

I wish people wouldn't use such blanket and simply untrue statements. :rolleyes:

The GTX280 is faster in almost any situation than a 4870 by a fair amount, not just a 'few fps', but you do pay more for the privilege so you pays your monies you takes your choice etc.
 
rounddodger said:
I wish people wouldn't use such blanket and simply untrue statements. :rolleyes:

The GTX280 is faster in almost any situation than a 4870 by a fair amount, not just a 'few fps', but you do pay more for the privilege so you pays your monies you takes your choice etc.
Click to expand...

No its not, its only around 10% faster, 4870 even beats it in some at 1920x1200 with AA on, the GTX 280 just isn't worth an extra £70+ for its small increase in performance. :)
 
Last edited:
rounddodger said:
I wish people wouldn't use such blanket and simply untrue statements. :rolleyes:

The GTX280 is faster in almost any situation than a 4870 by a fair amount, not just a 'few fps', but you do pay more for the privilege so you pays your monies you takes your choice etc.
Click to expand...

The 4870 is close to a GTX280 in some situations.
 
Nah, not from benchies I've seen and my own experience of comparing my results with other users. Maybe overclocked it's near 10% of a stock 280 but otherwise it's 15-20% from what I see. Which is just over what a stock 260 performs at.

It's close but not 10% across the board as you suggest. I'm talking averages.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom