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4850 is still a decent enough card, i sold mine at the beginning of the month since there is nothing i want to play until Mafia 2 comes out and i will really need an upgrade for that game anyway. It's a shame you don't have access to the Member's Market since there are quite a few around. Mine sold for £45.
I think the real question is, what are your expectations for the card, what games do you play and what resolution etc...? I got very good performance in Batman, Mass Effect 2 and Bioshock 2 @ 1920x1080, but there are many other games where the 4850 will show it's age more.
I know graphics prices are through the roof at the moment, but it might still be worth saving for a bit and going with a more expensive card if you plan on keeping it a while.
Depends which way you look at it. I bought a 4850 on release a few days short of 2 years ago for £117
4850 single cooler slot design released 22 months ago simply wasnt fit for purpose.
Mine also cost me £117. But _everyone_ was forced to spend £18-20 on a decent 3rd party cooler. Ones that came with a decent cooler were £135.
How do i access members marker?
In terms of expectations of card,i will be running at 1360x768 and just expecting every game released so far and in the next 2-3 years to be handled well (minimum 30fps).
You need 250 posts then you can get access after you enable your trust in the user CP.
1360x768 is a great resolution for a 4850, you will certainly get good performance in most current games. If you are looking for a card to last 2-3 years though i would highly recommend saving the extra for a newer card (5770 would be my suggestion).
ATI will be releasing new cards in the next few months, and the new Nvidia midrange will be around by then if not before, so if you're not in a desperate hurry to upgrade it might be worth waiting to see what things look like then.
Most cards of 'decent' performance will last 2 years in my experience. The 4850 is close to that old already, so in another 2 years i would expect it to struggle quite badly with new games, even at low resolution.