4850/4870?

[inquisitive_emu]

Hi there, I'm trying to decide on a new card for an upgrade and wondering if the 4870 over the 4850 warrants the £50 here?

XFX Radeon HD 4850 512mb @ £112.69 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-117-XF
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1Gb @ £164.99 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-188-SP

Is it a straight choice or does the CPU/motherboard come into it? Or what resolution would be needed for the difference to be noticeable on (new) games?

Cheers!

 

[mame]

What resolustion do you game at ? I would probably go with the 4870. When I got my 4850 it was £117 inc. and the 512mb version of the 4870 was about £185. On top of that I wasn't sure that my (then) PSU would run the 4870 so it was potentially a lot more money for the faster 512mb card.

 

[inquisitive_emu]

Currently 1280x1024 but will hopefully be upgrading to 1680x1050/1900x1200 in the near future, not sure which yet.

How much extra do you get from the 1Gb versions of these cards as opposed to the 512mb versions then?

 

[Phatjayunoi]

What are the other components of your system?

The 1GB memory allows for better texture handling and performance at high resolutions, especially 1920x1200. A 512MB card can also handle this fine, but would struggle quite a lot once intensive AA/AF settings are on.

The 4870 especially with the prices now is easily the best choice, but that depends on your current system and monitor.

 

[inquisitive_emu]

At the minute it looks like it'll be

Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3 AMD 770 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-180-GI
Phenom II Tricore 720 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-238-AM

I'm guessing the 4870 will also be bigger size-wise, will it fit in a case such as http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-160-CM?

 

[Blackwhite]

Not bigger- thicker.
Go for 4870 1GB