Sorry... another which card for 1680 x 1050 question!

aMaZeInG · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:12

I know you guys must get so bored of this but I have been searching these forums and can't seem to get a definate answer on which card performs best at 1680 x 1050? :confused:

I had an 8800 GT which had been volt moded and overclocked to hell and back which I have just sold for £100. I love most FPS with all the candy turned on and no surprise I include Crysis in this. I have a Core Duo 2.4GHz overclocked to 3.4GHz and 4GB RAM.

Using overclockers prices the three suspects come in at:

Nvidia GTX 280 1024 MB £294
ATi 4870 512MB £170
ATi 4870 X2 2048MB £352

I am leaning towards a 280 at this stage, I would like to place an order tommorow so any advice I would be really grateful for.

Phatzy · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:14

4850 is fine at that res or 4870

reflux · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:17

GTX 280 and 4870X2 are overkill at that resolution. A 4870 would suit you fine.

gareth170 · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:17

4850 would be fine...

eyetrip · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:21

Well, if you play Crysis, you may find the 4850/4870 a let-down if you want to max it out. I think the only thing which will get close to playable frame rates at very high is GTX 280.

4870 is fine for 1680x1050, all high with 4xAA, though you may have to drop shadows to medium for totally smooth framerates - I know because I had one.

Even 4850 crossfire I can only go all high with 4xAA for totally smooth frame rates.

Edit: or possibly 4870X2

GHazy · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:21

I would say a HD4870 at that rez to last a bit. Not sure why your 8800GT cant handle that rez?? I am on 1900x1200 on a Single 8800GT and still get an average of 20fps on crysis warhead on very high with no AA. I have just bought a second hand 8800GT to sli my system for £60

aMaZeInG · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:25

GHazy said:
I would say a HD4870 at that rez to last a bit. Not sure why your 8800GT cant handle that rez?? I am on 1900x1200 on a Single 8800GT and still get an average of 20fps on crysis warhead on very high with no AA. I have just bought a second hand 8800GT to sli my system for £60

My GT was fine but I got £100 for it so was happy! I could not sli as I have a crossfire mobo.

GHazy · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:27

Fair comment... £100 for a 8800GT is very good when you can buy a new one for about £80

I think most people will point you in the direction of th 4870

aMaZeInG · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:28

ffallic said:
Well, if you play Crysis, you may find the 4850/4870 a let-down if you want to max it out. I think the only thing which will get close to playable frame rates at very high is GTX 280.

I want a decent step up from my 8800GT which performed pretty well on Crysis. That is why I feel myself leaning towards the 280.

Phatzy · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:42

dont just buy a £260+ graphics card to just play crysis. in some cases the 4780 beats the 280 in some other games and mostly close to performance

Richdog · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:43

I'd go for a 4870 for sure at that resolution if you want comfortable gaming with all the bells and whistles for a year or so. The 1GB version is a very good deal at the moment from OCUK, it barely costs more than the 512MB version. It's not too far from the GTX280 in many games, and at a much lower price.

kylew · 23 Sep 2008 at 16:52

aMaZeInG said:
I want a decent step up from my 8800GT which performed pretty well on Crysis. That is why I feel myself leaning towards the 280.

You've got a crossfire motherboard, you may want to look into 4850 crossfire. GTX280s are still overpriced and for the extra monies you're not really getting much over a 4870, and in a few circumstances you're getting less, such as 4-8AA at 1920x1200 the 4870 can out-perform the 280.

You should be able to get 4850 crossfire for about £225 which blows a 4870 and GTX280 away and you'd have the luxury of being able to get a higher res monitor while maintaining a good frame rate, if you're looking to upgrading to a higher res monitor.

As for crysis, forget about it, it's just one game. If you must play it, go for warhead, it's a better game in my opinion anyway.

aMaZeInG · 23 Sep 2008 at 17:30

Thank you so much all for your responses, I have been convinced to go for the 4870!

Now which one? I like the look of the overclocked 800MHz version, or do I go for the 1GB or just a bog standard version and overclock?! I will stop asking after this

obiwanquinobi` · 23 Sep 2008 at 17:33

aMaZeInG said:
Thank you so much all for your responses, I have been convinced to go for the 4870!

Now which one? I like the look of the overclocked 800MHz version, or do I go for the 1GB or just a bog standard version and overclock?! I will stop asking after this

I just ordered the 1GB version of the 4870 - Bargain at £188. I would be quick though, its due to be taken off the weekly specials tomorrow I think.

Craig321 · 23 Sep 2008 at 17:35

reflux said:
GTX 280 and 4870X2 are overkill at that resolution. A 4870 would suit you fine.

Hardly and overkill, nothing wrong with a little bit of future proofing.

Go for the 4870x2!

reflux · 23 Sep 2008 at 17:40

Craig321 said:
Hardly and overkill, nothing wrong with a little bit of future proofing.

Go for the 4870x2!

Pointless when multi-gpu solutions require a lot of pixels to munch on to give worthwhile extra performance.

Craig321 · 23 Sep 2008 at 17:42

reflux said:
Pointless when multi-gpu solutions require a lot of pixels to munch on to give worthwhile extra performance.

As I said above, there's nothing wrong with future proofing.

Even if he is only running at 1680x1050 graphics in games are still going to get better and better and require more powerful GPUs.

obiwanquinobi` · 23 Sep 2008 at 17:46

Craig321 said:
As I said above, there's nothing wrong with future proofing.

Even if he is only running at 1680x1050 graphics in games are still going to get better and better and require more powerful GPUs.

Hell of a price jump though, from a 4870 1GB to the 4870 X2. Bout £170 difference (Depending on which manufacturer you go for)

If you are made of money, though - Go for it. I would have probably gone for the X2 myself if I didn't have a mortgage/bills ect....

Craig321 · 23 Sep 2008 at 17:48

obiwanquinobi` said:
Hell of a price jump though, from a 4870 1GB to the 4870 X2. Bout £170 difference (Depending on which manufacturer you go for)

If you are made of money, though - Go for it. I would have probably gone for the X2 myself if I didn't have a mortgage/bills ect....

Well yeah, of course if you don't have the money then don't go for something like the 4870x2

If you're on a budget go for the 4870/4850.

Richdog · 23 Sep 2008 at 18:30

Craig321 said:
As I said above, there's nothing wrong with future proofing.

Even if he is only running at 1680x1050 graphics in games are still going to get better and better and require more powerful GPUs.

There's really no point buying a card vastly more powerful than you need just for the sake of it when it costs so much more, even if the excuse is "future-proofing". By the time he needs that much power to run at that res there will be new tech out anyway, rendering the argument void.

A 4870 will be fine at that res until the next gen come out.