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is a 4870 overkill for 1680x1050?

  • Thread starter Thread starter uv
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uv

uv

uv

Soldato
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Howdy :)

I've returned from holiday, and managed to spend half of what I was expecting, so I'm in the mood for an upgrade :)

I currently game at 1680x1050, with a 3.2 q6600 and a 9600GT - whilst I'm pleased with performance in most games, the ol' 9600 is starting to chug a li'l in games like FC2, Warhead and the like.

Will a 4850 be a noticeable upgrade? Would a 4870 's performance increase over the 4850 be limited due to my resolution?

Looking to spend upto £200 max, but xfire/sli are out of the window as I have a P35 board :)
 
The 4870 would absolutely blow your 9600 away. You're looking at around twice as fast in most games.

Personally however I'd go with the 4850. It'd run everything maxed out at that res. tbh my 2900XT still runs games fine at that res. Got FO3 maxed out with 2xAA and 8xAF and still getting high 30s in the outdoors.
 
Whilst the 4850 would be great for that res, the 4870 will allow u more AA and AF and a little bit more futureproofing (if u can ever use that word :rolleyes:). If u were considering spending more on the 1GB 4870 then also look at the GTX 260 216.
 
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Another option is a 260 maxcore, and use the 9600GT (on your 4x slot?) to run PhysX.

Alternitivly if you dont use any PhysX games (and who does lol), just get a 4870, you wont be disapointed :)
 
cheers for the input guys :)

grabbed myself a 4870 - most expensive upgrade I've done in a while :/

Can I use it in conjunction with an x1950pro I've got lying around, or does xfire not work like that? I'm fairly sure the x1950 isn't going to be limited by my board's spare 4x slot :)
 
uvmain said:
Can I use it in conjunction with an x1950pro I've got lying around, or does xfire not work like that? I'm fairly sure the x1950 isn't going to be limited by my board's spare 4x slot :)
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no u can't.. only the 4800 series can be crossfired with the 4870
 
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i have 4870 1 gig on 1680x1050 and i dont think its a overkill would like something even more powerful tbh bring on 5870
 
this word "overkill" again :rolleyes:. i've said this before and i'll say it again. nothing is an overkill in the "technology world".. if u buy something thats more powerful then u need it will last u much longer.

simple as that
 
I don't really see the point in playing games at low res without any AA. The 4870 is a good choice for that Res. I game at the same res on a 22" samsung but I have the GTX 260 BE.

If your playing games like Crysis and FC2, then the 4870 / GTC 260 are the way forward ;)
 
Indeed i got a 280 GTX for that res, you can never have enough GPU power in my experiance, the next crop of games (hell even some of the current ones) will no doubt test current top end cards even at 1680*1050
 
gareth170 said:
this word "overkill" again :rolleyes:. i've said this before and i'll say it again. nothing is an overkill in the "technology world".. if u buy something thats more powerful then u need it will last u much longer.

simple as that
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tell me about it, if anybody remembers how games like Oblivion performed as well as Crysis when they first came out should know there is no such thing as overkill.. at least not for the minority of games.
 
On the topic of overkill. One thing ive learnt is never ever buy the second best when things first come out.

Remeber the 8800GTS? first came out everyone was like ooo get the GTS you dont need anything more. Then all those games came out at christmas which required GTX's to max at the higher resolutions.

If your ever going to buy the second best, at least wait for the games to come out first to see. I know really the ultra is the bset but at the time it was a total rip off so i just never even bothered puttin it into comparisons.

However, anothing thing to consider is, when at the end of a series life cycle. It doesn't matter if you buy the second or first best in the series. Usualy the next big games to come out will require the next series up regardless unless of corse running low ressolutions. But its fairly obious the settings im talking about i think :p
 
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