If I wanted to go ATi?

thegoonden · 17 Jun 2008 at 07:43

So, seeing as the new nvidia cards appear to not be a tremendous upgrade, and based on how most people here reckon ATI is WAY faster and cheaper and better, and kinder to puppies than nasty old NV.
I've been thinking of maybe trying ATI out again to see what all the noise is about.

I swore I would never buy one again, but the two reasons no longer matter.

1.TV-out is shockingly unusable...well that's no problem, I don't have a telly, and if I buy another it'll be DVI/HDMI

2. Linux support non existent......while this still annoys me, I now have two machines (and have done ever since my first ATI card forced me into it), as long as my linux box has a supported nv card, I am free to put what I like in the DOS-XP/DOS-Vista machine.

So the question is......

Not counting the new kit, what ATI card, or cards (board is 3x Xfire, but would like to limit to 2 cards) would I buy to humiliate my 8800GTX oc2 (626/2000)?
If proposing an Xfire solution, it *MUST*, no arguments, work in........

MSTS (still the worst system breaker I ever played....the machine in my sig ends up in single figure fps ocassionally)
GPL (this HAS to do 36fps precisely to work online, and with 20 (modern updated) cars and 16QxAA/16xaif, it chokes, on the grid, the last place you want fps induced net lag)
GTL
GTR(2)
Rfactor
LFS
The previous 4 games all run brilliantly, but if proposing xfiring 2 slower cards, then obv I'd need xfire to work with them)

Crysis (obviously)
HL2-etc
UT3
Race07
and a bunch more.

I'm just thinking that all these folks on here saying the NV cards are useless, can't be TOTALLY insane, so maybe I should "suck it and see".

Broken Hope · 17 Jun 2008 at 07:54

2 4850's should equal or beat the new GTX 280 at about half the price and are due next week.

shrek2 · 17 Jun 2008 at 07:56

Broken Hope said:
2 4850's should equal or beat the new GTX 280 at about half the price and are due next week.

I doubt that to be honest but we will see. I can't see them being that much faster than a 3870X2 and the GTX 260 runs rings around that.

bowza · 17 Jun 2008 at 08:10

Not counting the new kit, what ATI card, or cards

could look at crossfire 2 3870x2's

No idea if this is sensible or not.

Personally I would wait 9 days see what settles from the mix.

Duff-Man · 17 Jun 2008 at 08:12

Hold off for a few days and wait for the benchmarks.

I suggest that a 4870 might be a good move. Alternatively, you could wait for the 4870x2.

~>Dg<~ · 17 Jun 2008 at 09:04

i think the new cards are going to be a lot dearer than we think there going to be just look at the new nvidia ones.we were hoping for 130.00 for 4850 and i think it will be at least 160.00 just too take the

-iceblade^ · 17 Jun 2008 at 10:17

wait for a bit

for you, a Xfired 4870 system looks to fit the bill

kylew · 17 Jun 2008 at 11:06

I don't know why everyone's basing the proposed prices on what OCUK will sell them for, we all know they price gouge like we're stupid.

The GT200 Cards have been released at the same price as the US price here + VAT = $650/£335 or so, plus VAT = £390 GTX280, which you can find it at.

The Radeon 3870X2 was also the same as the US price + VAT = £299

(some places even had the 3870X2 at sub US price, £220 + VAT ($440)

The 3850/70 was also the same as the US price + VAT,

so chances are, going on the previous releases, the proper price for a 4850 will be about £120 including VAT.

~>Dg<~ · 17 Jun 2008 at 11:12

well depending on how quick it is over a gt if it aint much id go with the 30 quid saving.thats based on if theyre going to be 130.00 but i still think 150.00 minimum.well have to wait and see.remember gt when tha came out everyone was saying 140.00 and they ended up being 180-200.

marc2003 · 17 Jun 2008 at 11:22

so you were just trolling the other day.....

thegoonden said:
Will probably be NV, the ATi seems slower, and since neither SLI or Xfire is anything but a scam for idiots (or people who play the 2 games it works in), I gotta go with the quicked single card solution.

or are you just admitting you're an idiot? it has to be one of the two?

LoadsaMoney · 17 Jun 2008 at 12:14

kylew said:
I don't know why everyone's basing the proposed prices on what OCUK will sell them for, we all know they price gouge like we're stupid.

As we have to, as if we didn't, we'd be breaking the rules wouldn't we.

Biffa · 17 Jun 2008 at 13:27

Good luck finding one actually in stock cheaper than here.

jrodga2k5 · 17 Jun 2008 at 13:48

Biffa said:
Good luck finding one actually in stock cheaper than here.

I hope that was sarcasm because a lot people found the 200GTX series cheaper than here and by a lot and with more stock.

Darg · 17 Jun 2008 at 14:48

4850 = $199
4870 = $299

That's the price almost everyone thinks they'll come out as in the US.

For the OP if you really want an improvement then get 2x4870s.

Biffa · 17 Jun 2008 at 15:29

jrodga2k5 said:
I hope that was sarcasm because a lot people found the 200GTX series cheaper than here and by a lot and with more stock.

Wheres the pics? Who got one, they should have got them already right? The only one I've seen anyone actually receive is one from here.

Look I'm no advocate of buying hardware at over the odds prices, (I certainly wouldn't do it) its just that whenever there is a release like this the shop here can justify it because they have them in stock and others don't.

All my other reliable sources are either the same price +-£10 or don't have them in stock either.

All the no-name, bit-bucket sites (i.e. nearly everyone else) seems to say they have them but when you look they don't. I'd like to see someone who bought one yesterday from somewhere else for less and has recieved it already. And I'm not being a smartalec, I actually would really like to see it

jrodga2k5 · 17 Jun 2008 at 16:35

There a several quotes in the 260/280GTX threads suggesting people done a quick 2minute search and found the product no problem whatsoever. I could have ordered a 280GTX from elsewhere yesterday afternoon for a cheaper price and had it delivered today as it was in stock. However I didnt since I cant afford it. Also the GTX as said was cheaper also and in stock too :rolleyes:

I should have just ordered one to go....oh look here's one I ordered elsewhere! lol

easyrider · 17 Jun 2008 at 16:36

Broken Hope said:
2 4850's should equal or beat the new GTX 280 at about half the price and are due next week.

Rubbish.

Look for the benchmarks.

two 4850's come behind a GTX 260

thegoonden · 17 Jun 2008 at 19:20

marc2003 said:
so you were just trolling the other day.....

or are you just admitting you're an idiot? it has to be one of the two?

I thought I would see what the score is.
Since you all told me how wrong I was.

The list of essentials is in my post, if xfire works in all of those, fair enough. If not, then sod it.
So far nobody has said "oh, it wont work in MS Train Sim", so I assume it does, which is good, because I have thus far spent way over £2000 trying to get that game to run right, and am not giving up now.

I also do not understand the ATi naming, so was asking for specifics on which cards are better than the 8800GTX (a very poor NV card according to most round here). The thing is, nobody seems to have yet said "oh this card EATS the GTX", so I'm still a bit lost and confused.

thegoonden · 17 Jun 2008 at 19:26

People, can we leave the new cards out of it please. I want something to better a 2 year old card, so I don't think we need to resort to stuff that's not even out yet.

I just need to know which existing (and therefor, cheap as chips in a few days) card is the one that beats the 8800GTX. I must say, for all the "ATI rules, NV sucks" stuff I see round here, there seems to be a lack of a simple answer as to WHICH ATI card >8800GTX.
Like I say, I do not mind using two of them if there is no single card that can do it, but the 2x cards MUST work with the above games.

TheGamingGeneral · 17 Jun 2008 at 19:42

3870x2