• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

Please recommend a cheap card to replace my HD4870x2 2GB :(

Associate
Joined
26 Dec 2005
Posts
355
Location
Manchester
Good afternoon Guys,

I have (HAD!) a HD4780X2 2GB card in my pc which cost me about £350 a few years ago. Unfortunately, it has been on the way out for a while.

Massive boot problems, massive artifects... :( Won't run games or benchmark. It basically overheats just 30 secs after boot up and the fan appears to be working. After just 30 secs the fan output and the card is hotter than the sun! I think maybe something inside it has been cooked :( ?

I bought it 2 years and 2 months ago. Is there any way it is still in ASUS or Overclockers warrentee? Long shot I know.

I am resigning to having to buy a new GFX ! I cannot afford anything like £250 anymore.

Can anybody recommend a good gfx that will be able to keep up with it for around the £100 mark ? (Ie. Same performance level) I hope gfx have improved in 2 years to do this!

I don't really need a 2GB card as I don't run any games other than TFC2, CS etc but I still want something good.

Please can somebody recommend something that would be able to match my old card for a fraction of the price.

I will donate a kidney for your efforts.

Thank you.
 
You wont get 4870x2 performance for £100, the following are the best bang for the buck though in that area:

GTX460 768MB
GTX460 1GB

But first take the h/s and fan assembly off, clean everything, check thermal paste is still present and reapply, it's a long shot but you never know.
 
Can't I return the card to anybody ? I've only had it 2 years. Not overclocked and it has already broken!!

I don't think I am technically minded enough to take everything off and performance maintainence on it! :(

Would the GTX 768mb churn out approx the same ammount of performance?
 
I don't think I am technically minded enough to take everything off and performance maintainence on it! :(

You say it's been on its way out for a while, so after two years it might just be something as simple as dust building up in the cooler. That shouldn't be too hard to investigate.

Andrew McP
 
If you have warranty then get it sent off, I'm sure Asus can confirm if its still covered. You did register it when you bought it?
If you're out of warranty and you need a replacement you will not get anything as fast for £100 as others have mentioned.
Your best bet might be to get a Nvidia 460/ ATI 6850 (not as fast as a 4870x2) while you save up for something with a little more power.
You should be looking @ Nividia GTX580/570 (depending on performance of 570 when released) or ATI 6950/6970/6990 (depending on performance of ALL when released) if you're looking for similar levels of performance but you will need £250+ for one of these cards.
 
Unfourtunallty for you the 4870x2 is still a very beefy card interms of fps.

The equivalent performance wise would be a 5870.

However if you want to get near like for like performace at the cheapest price possible, your looking at buying:

5850, GTX 470, 6870 or a 5870
 
Just to say if you send it off to them and the reason it is overheating is dust buildup, most GPU manufacturers will send it back to you and charge you for the priviledge.

Cleaning your computer and components is your responsibility, if your card has overheated and damaged because you didn't keep it dust free then it will void your warranty.

So if you are going to send it back, get enough technical knowledge together to buy a can of compressed air and clean that card first, it might even fix the problem but if it doesn't at least it will be clean before going back for an RMA.
 
Another vote for cleaning it. Although I haven't had most of the issues the OP is experiencing, I found that taking it apart and removing dust build up resulted in greatly reduced temps, like 25 - 30 C less than before.

I appreciate it might be daunting if it's your first go at something like this but remember, these things aren't made of balsa wood, damaging it is unlikely - providing you don't do something daft. Cleaning it should imo be the first step you take before sending it off for RMA.
 
What Biffa said. If it does not fix it atleast your not sending them a giant dustball. I wouldnt even bother taking anything apart just buy a cheap can of air and blow it all clean before you do anything.
 
Yeah cleaning the card with compressed air is a must. You can pick them up for a few quid pretty easily. It's worth cleaning a card every few months anyway, even if its working alright.

I sold my 4670 a few months ago, after buying it new 9 months earlier, and the dust in there was ridiculous!!! Cleaning it made it look new again and I was much happier sending it to the buyer than if it was filled with dust and looking like crap.
 
Back
Top Bottom