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GTX 285 vs 4870X2 vs wait forDX11

RLVasquez

RLVasquez

RLVasquez

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Joined
25 Jun 2009
Posts
10
Hi,

My gaming system is currently as follows:

Vista 64 bit
Zotac nVIDIA 8800 GT 512mb AMP GDDR3
Intel Q6600 quad-core 2.4ghz (aftermarket heatsink and fan)
4gb 8500 OCZ HPC Reaper
ASUS IP35 Pro mobo
Thermaltake Toughpower 850w PSU
Antec 900 case (big exhaust fan in top, 2x 80mm fans front, 120mm side fan, 80mm rear fan)
19" monitor at 1280x1024 but upgrading to a 24" at 1920x1080 or 1920x1200

£250 budget for a new graphics card, the ATI Radeon 4870 X2 and nVIDIA GTX 285 seem to be the contenders.

In the Tom's Hardware benchmarks the 4870 X2 scored 254.90, whilst the fastest GTX 285 scored just 199, with the slowest scoring 188.20.

On that basis, I'd obviously go for the 4870 X2, but I'm told three things:

1) Driver/profile issues with some games (how many? which ones?) so in some cases it will only work like a single 4870

2) Produces a lot of heat

3) Problems of input lag, stuttering and CPU bottlenecking since it is a multi-core card

A third option, however, is to get a single-core 4870 1gb now so I can enjoy an upgrade in the short term, for £120, and then spend my full budget later this year when DX11 cards come out. The problem with this, of course, is it costs me £120 extra and leaves me with not such a good upgrade for a few months.

So: GTX 285, 4870 X2 or 4870 now and DX11 card later?

If it makes any difference, the games I'm looking to play right now are GTA IV, Mirror's Edge, Crysis, Crysis Warhead, Empire Total War, ARMA II, Dawn of War II and games in the future include all the new Battlefield games (Bad Company/Bad Company 2 engine I believe), Alien vs Predator, Brink, Crysis 2, Dragon Age, Alan Wake, Assassins Creed 2 and Homefront. So for instance, how will Crysis play on my 24" using a single-core 4870?

Thanks
 
4870x2 has some stuttering issues in some games.
personally i would keep what you got now and wait for the ATI 5xxx, only just around the corner
 
buying 285 now is bad ideam way too overpriced

waiting.. yo ucan wait forever. Surely, 5xxx is around the corner (3-6 months), then another 6months until its affordable. But.. what is it for? The way gaming is currently going there is just no point, why would u get directx11 card if there arent any games that utilize it? + surely those games will be directx 9 and 10 compatible.

i suggest get one of these http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-126-XF
or 2 if you can afford.

this will last you at least 2 years (btw 2 cards pretty much same price as single 285, but performance almost double)
 
the 5870 will be out BEFORE Win 7, 2 month wait for a much better card, as for being affordable, sorry but the performance that the 4870 gave vs the cost at the time of the 260/280 meant there was no reason ATi couldn't price the 4870 at around £300 and the 4850 at £200 if they wanted, however they WANTED to sell them cheap on purpose, why, because at £300 they'd sell say 2mil, at £170 they launched at, they could sell 20mil, its very simple.

AMD are making money by selling cheaper, they made a promise that was their goal and their marketing plan and they are sticking to it and have proven they are.

Expect probably a £200 price for either the top end or the "4850" slightly less than top end card and expect that kind of price largely because TSMC suck and stocks will likely not be great.

If you "have" to buy today, and a 285 is an option for you then its very simple, buy any 4870-4890 or a 260 216core gtx, those are your choices, nothing else comes close to making sense. AT a £250 budget you can basically get sli 260's, which will TROUNCE a 285/275 and come very close to a 295/4870x2 in performance.

BUt really theres incredibly few games still that need that power, only 2-3 due before the 58xx series so a single £100-150 card will tide you over for almost anything. TO be frank spending more, right now, is a waste because of the devaluing all the cards will go through within 3 months tops.

Personally, i'd grab a 4890, because more people will want a second hand 4890 in 3 months because people don't like seemingly older slower tech(even though the 4870 is barely that) so I think it will get a better price in resale. You'll be able to buy a 4890 for maybe £140 and sell for I would guess, a good £90, at worst, £70, and frankly that will leave you enough to buy the new "4850", maybe even the new "4870".


If theres nothing specifically you'll be playing and playing a lot that runs like poo now I'd wait, but I think you'll lose very little value in any cards that are in the £90-140 range.
 
Thanks for the input so far guys. My 8800 is, I think, broken. In some games my computer freezes with graphics artifacts, then the screen goes black, says 'no input' and either stays like that or restarts itself. This happens in Crysis, Warhead and DOWII. It happens sometimes within seconds of loading up Crysis, right on the main menu before even getting in the game (i.e. not a heat issue I don't think).

I have tried several different drivers, including the Omega drivers, and replaced my RAM and it still happens - so I'm assuming it's the graphics card (no longer in warranty). COD4 and Medieval Total War run fine though so I'm guessing it's a DX10 issue?

If I don't buy a new card then I can't play DX10 (or at least several) games until I do. Also, my 8800 could not cope with Crysis/Warhead. In snow/ice sections it was unplayable and even elsewhere the framerate could become choppy at times... So I don't want to just buy a straight up replacement or close to it.

So not upgrading isn't really an option.

Are the 5xxx cards definitely coming in three months time? If I were to buy a 4890 for £150 posted and sell it for £70 in three month's time, that's only £80 for three months gaming or less than £7 a week. Doesn't seem too bad.

How will the 4890 on my rig handle Crysis/Warhead at 1920x1080/1200? I've been waiting since it came out to play beyond the first few levels, saving it for when I can enjoy it in its real glory!

Also, with the 4890, and with the upcoming 5xxx cards, am I going to face CPU bottlenecking? I don't want to buy a stop-gap card and new monitor now, planning on getting a DX11 card in three months time only to find out I need a new CPU - which would mean a new mobo which would mean new RAM, none of which I can afford!
 
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If it's broken, pick up a bargain bin card, say a 9600 or something along those lines just to tide yourself over. Two months to wait is a small time to wait, and it will be all the sweeter when you have a card in your machine which will do the laundry and cook dinner and everything else!
 
It makes far more sense to be one step behind the curve. Wait till the new cards come out and then pick up a previous-generation top-end card for about £130 :)
 
I don't get why people say that, it never works out quite like that. The high end cards get cleared out in a modest sale, then later on if you still want one you have to pay over the odds as it's "ordered in special". They never sell for amazingly low prices.
 
Get the 4870X2, if you wait then you will be doing the same thing when DX11 comes out, waiting and waiting, get what you want now and in a year or 2 upgrade.
 
I m not bothering till next year anyway, as i will have a new rig, when I get a new job as celebration:P
 
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