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NVIDIA 9800GT v Radeon 4850

Dogboy73

Dogboy73

Dogboy73

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27 May 2004
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693
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In the market for a budget(ish) graphics card to replace my ailing X1950Pro. The 4850 is my card of choice & there are some good deals around on OcUK. Prices are coming down all the time. But I've also recently spotted the Zotac 9800GT on OcUK & it's a fair bit cheaper than 4850 at only £86. It also comes with a whopping 5 year warranty. Tempting for me because my OcUK X1950 has decided to play up just a few months outside of its lousy 1 year warranty!


http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1523/print/index.html

Looking at this benchamrk test, which shows an overclocked 9800 up against a standard 9800 & a 4850, there's not a lot in it. In some tests the 4850 came out on top in others the 9800's. But in all cases there wasn't much in it. In general people seem to say go for the Radeon 4850 over the NVIDIA 9800. But with the price difference is the 9800GT the current budget card of choice? The X1950 is my second ATi/Radeon card, both have gone wrong. Not had a problem with the 2 or 3 NVIDIA cards I have had so that tends to edge me towards the Zotac 9800GT also.
 
Both cards are good but there isn't a huge gap between them. If you looked at benchmarks of newer games at 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 and added some AA then the 4850 would be a good margin better
 
I went from an 8800GT (essentially the same as a 9800GT) to an HD4850. Not a lot in it. The HD4850 has allowed me to play Far Cry 2 and Call of Juarez DX10 at 1920x1200 but the 8800GT had that covered for everything else but Crysis anyway.
 
So the 4850 comes out on top (as I thought). But with budget considerations the 9800GT?

I'm running my games at 1680x1050 on my 20" widescreen monitor.
 
The 9800GT's not a bad choice if on a budget. 8800GT is exactly the same performance if you can get your hands on one.

You have enough posts, so you could have a look in the Members Market. I know for a fact there are a few cards in the sort of range you're looking at going 2nd hand there ;)
 
That review really isnt that good with the only real games being crysis and world in conflict. Even then you can see WiC is bottlenecked.

Check this review out.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3437

A few more games, and brings the hd 4830 into a possibility. Also since the hd 4830 is the direct competitor to the 9800gt, you'll find better and newer reviews comparing the 3 cards when you google them.
 
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As said the direct competitor to the 9800gt is the 4830 while for the 4850 it is the 9800gtx+ plus the 4830 is supposed to clock really well.
 
Cheers for the info. I was thinking the 9800GT was matched with the 4850. So in actual fact it's more closely matched with the 4830 & the 4850 the 9800GTX?
 
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It's supports DX10 as well doesn't it? So it should handle Crysis pretty well then? (I'm still using Crysis as a benchmark as it's the last game I bought!).
 
It's a toss up between the 4830 & the 9800GT. The 9800Gt is still coming out on top because of that five year warranty on the Zotac card + it's cheaper than the cheapest 4830. If we're talking a few FPS here & there then surely the Zotac 9800GT is the current budget card of choice?

EDIT: actually there is this 4830 for about the same price but there's no info on warranty;

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-187-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=938
 
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Bought a Palit 9800GTX+ a few days ago to replace my 512Mb X1900XTX which started playing up big style.

Been seriously impressed with the increase in performance, just installed FEAR 2 this evening and although my monitor is a widescreen 19" that only goes up to 1440x900, FEAR2 looks stunning. All settings maxed out and running silky smooth. No idea what the FPS is but its looking seriously fast to me.

The Palit 9800GTX+ gets some cracking review scores, it comes mildy overclocked straight out of the box and its top value for the dosh.

You should be able to pick one up for @£120 or less - I managed to blag mine for £100 but that was with a bit of discount from my local PC place, I know the guys there quite well so usually they cut e a good deal. :cool:
 
That Zotac has dropped to the same price now which makes it a bargain with the extra warranty :). You get a game too but I'm not much on RTS games so I don't know if it is any good.
 
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