4850 xxx or 4870

[cycloneuk]

What is the difference between a 4850 HD xxx edition and a 4950 HD, which one is better? Looking to get one of these 2nd hand to replace my faulty 7950 GX2. Haven't purchased a card for around 4 years so not up to date, will i notice a large difference between the 7950 gx2 and the above cards?

 

[mraerosmith1981]

You would notice a difference, and if given a choice get the 4870

 

[cmndr_andi]

The 4870 is a good deal faster than the 4850 (have a look at this comparison). The 4850 xxx is just a slightly overclocked version of the 4850 (have a look at this comparison of the xxx to the stock card) - certainly not at 4870 performance levels.

If you are buying second hand then the HD 4890 and GTX 260 (216 core) are worth keeping a look out for.

Also, if you want to consider a retail card, then this HD 5830 for £90 is a pretty nice deal (includes 2 year warranty).

 

[arc@css]

The 4850 xxx will likely just have faster core and memory speeds. I'm not too clued up about the 79XX nVidia range, though I would have thought you'd see at least a reasonable improvement. Personally, I would try to aim a little higher. What's your budget?

 

[cycloneuk]

I'm looking to spend around £60 for something 2nd hand, what's a good price for a xfx 4870 512mb, i can get one for £50?

 

[arc@css]

Slightly too much, £40 - 45 ideally for a 512mb model, though £50 isn't overly excessive.

 

[cycloneuk]

I thought so but guy won't budge below that.

 

[arc@css]

What resolution do you play at?

 

[cycloneuk]

What resolution do you play at?

1280 x 800

 

[arc@css]

Ok, I was just making sure it could handle your resolution 'in case' you still went ahead and bought the card, and it could at your res.

However, I still would look at something like the guys mentioned above, a 4890 / 216 etc if going second hand. It really is worth it. If buying new, as cmdr andi said, a 5830 is an excellent choice.

 

[cmndr_andi]

For a £60 budget I would be looking for a HD 4890 or GTX 275 second-hand.

That said, may I ask what CPU and PSU your system is using?

 

[cycloneuk]

I have a Coolermaster Real Power 700w Modular Power Supply and a AMD Phenom X4 Quad Core 9850 2.50GHz Black.

 

[cmndr_andi]

Cool, should handle any of the graphics cards mentioned above without any issue.

That said, your CPU may start bottlenecking performance in some games that make less use of quad cores. If your board supports Phenom II CPUs you may want to consider upgrading the CPU to a Phenom II X4 at some point in the future - so you can make full use out of your new high-powered graphics card.

 

[cycloneuk]

I have a MSI K9A2 Platinum, from what i can gather they support the Phenom II after the bios update.

 

[opethdisciple]

Try and get a 2nd hand dx11 card if you can.

Something maybe like a 5770, should be doable if you have around £60 to spend.