4890 Vapor-X or 5870, will work on P43?

S.Moss · 27 Sep 2009 at 14:50

I don't have the best technical knowledge so forgive me if its a very simple question/answer.

I'm looking at getting either the 4890 Vapor-X 1024/2048 or the new 5870. I'm aiming more towards the 5870 to future proof to some extent, but i'm confused at the PCI BUS 2.1 requirement.

My motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3 and it says it only has PCI Bus 2.0 but would it support a 5870? Also if i did choose the cheaper option of a 4890, is it worth the extra 1GB of card ram? I would have thought so for £20.

PGdude · 27 Sep 2009 at 15:31

Yes. They will work.

More RAM = easier to run on huge resolutions. What is your resolution?

S.Moss · 27 Sep 2009 at 15:58

Currently i'm running 1280x1024 as its maximum for my monitor, but am looking to go at least 22inch wide screen in the near future.

'Wes · 27 Sep 2009 at 16:13

S.Moss said:
Currently i'm running 1280x1024 as its maximum for my monitor, but am looking to go at least 22inch wide screen in the near future.

Do go 22", you'll love it.

PGdude · 27 Sep 2009 at 16:19

You probably would manage on 1GB.

LoadsaMoney · 27 Sep 2009 at 16:21

'Wes said:
Do go 22", you'll love it.

Agreed, ive just gone from 1280x1024 (which ive been running at for eons

), to a 22 inch with 1680x1050 res, and the difference is staggering, i didn't think it would look so much bigger.

_SBradley_ · 27 Sep 2009 at 21:14

I'll be going for the 4890 Vapor-X (though I'm choosing it over the much more closely priced 5850), because it's quiet!

sbomb · 27 Sep 2009 at 22:02

warning about the 4890 vapor x, i ordered one wednesday and they have had shipments of them stolen (i phone to ask why it wasnt delivered). I have to call up tomorrow to check when they are next getting stock in

_SBradley_ · 27 Sep 2009 at 22:15

Whaaat?

The 4890 Vapor-X specifically? And multiple thefts? Between OcUK and their final destination?

sbomb · 27 Sep 2009 at 22:42

well i called up last thursday ( i ordered wednesday well intime for next day delivery) and they said they didnt have any stock in, their computers were wrong (though it still says they do on the website :S) They said a shipment was coming friday and they bumped me to saturday delivery, which was fine. I called saturday when id recieved no dispatch email and they said "they have been stolen, the office is a bit dry so i cant tell you when the next batch is coming, call monday"

So im calling tomorrow

Yes the 4890 Vapor x specifically, i ordered it because of the cooling

Speed · 27 Sep 2009 at 22:46

The 5870 or even the 5850 would be overkill for a 22" monitor, stick with the 4890.

Hotwired · 27 Sep 2009 at 22:52

Indeed, I chose the 4890 vapor-x 1GB.

I'm only running 1680x1050 max on my 22" T220 so 2GB of RAM gives effectively nothing over 1GB.

LoadsaMoney · 27 Sep 2009 at 22:55

Id get the 5850, blows the 4890 away, is not much more £'s, and isn't old tech.

Speed · 27 Sep 2009 at 23:17

Surely though he will be paying a premium for recently released card that will offer him very little noticeable performance increase with a 22" monitor over the 4890?

Maybe the 5850 would be more viable in a few months time when the price might drop, but now, especially with the resolution he is using, the extra cash it would cost is best saved imho.

S.Moss · 28 Sep 2009 at 08:33

I've gone for the 4890. It seemed the more realistic option at this point, due to the high price of the card (although i paid similar for my 8800). My next upgrade was due to be a chip, ram and OS to Windows 7 from XP but that will have to come around xmas time now.

sbomb · 28 Sep 2009 at 11:57

good stuff, i phoned them this morning and they confirmed they should be getting a shipment today, so hopefully you and i will get ours tomorrow

S.Moss · 28 Sep 2009 at 13:38

getting mine wednesday via royal mail as only day i'm in to get a parcel, if i'll be going into town but certainly looking forward to it. Damn 8800 dieing, it was only near 2 year old.

LoadsaMoney · 28 Sep 2009 at 14:07

Speed said:
Surely though he will be paying a premium for recently released card that will offer him very little noticeable performance increase with a 22" monitor over the 4890?

Maybe the 5850 would be more viable in a few months time when the price might drop, but now, especially with the resolution he is using, the extra cash it would cost is best saved imho.

Looking at the techpower up review, the 5850 is a fair bit faster at that res, anywhere from 30 to 80+fps, theres only a couple of cases where its lower than that (so only a few ahead of the 4890), but that could be because its only on beta drivers, so once the proper drivers start rolling out its going to get better.

ThorpedoUK · 28 Sep 2009 at 14:19

Can anyone give me a quick opinion, I'm finally ordering my rig today but cant decide on either the 5870 (£306) 1GB or 2x4890 Vapor-X running crossfire (4GB DDR5 etc) cheaper

Surely 2 of those beasts running xfire would outdo a single 5870?

I'm not too bothered about DX11 right now and would most likely be buying 2x5890's next year (or 300GTX) and I dont want to wait for the 5850.

What do you think? I'm looking for the most bang for my buck!

Also what kind of PSU would I need to run two of those if I went for them (I'm more tempted by the 5870 tbh, but if they outperformed it I'd go with the 4890's though I dont think they would!)

Thanks!

ThorpedoUK · 28 Sep 2009 at 14:34

Ok so you cant crossfire the Vapor-X because the cards are too big!!!