5punk

Any know how much this sucker is gonna cost?

http://news.digitaltrends.com/news-arti ... packs-2-gb

far too much, especially given it's slower than the 512MB model...


edit: I should explain, most likely this either uses low end memory (read: slow) or the 4850 chip can't deal with that much memory easily, so it kills the performance.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd ... r3-review/


I'd take the 512 model if you're going for a 4850, but currently, the 4870 might be slightly more reliable due to cooling concerns on 4850s

The 4870 is faster anyway isn't it Berk? So, faster + cooling = worth the extra no?

buzzmong wrote:The 4870 is faster anyway isn't it Berk? So, faster + cooling = worth the extra no?

absolutely. faster, better memory (GDDR5, vs. GDDR3), better cooling.

only about £30-40 more too.

Gota a Sapphire 4870, is indeed a beast.

Tis good to know.

Oh re the hot thing, the default fan speed means it idles at nearly 80 degrees. Have to use CCC profile hack to raise it. I got it at 30% and that makes it idle at about 50.

Imperatore wrote:Oh re the hot thing, the default fan speed means it idles at nearly 80 degrees. Have to use CCC profile hack to raise it. I got it at 30% and that makes it idle at about 50.

Yup. apparently the ASUS cards are better cooled, maybe. but I'm not that keen on asus support usually.

CCC fail, get tray tools, smaller and a lot less shit.*








*does cause the very occasional weird thing to happen though.

Who makes good ATi-based cards, for info? I've no experience with them at all, other than disappointing ones with rather old cards.

I did buy a one for a friend last year, as there's some really horrid bug in Sims Bon Voyage which affects all nVidia cards and while it was an absolute scrote to set up (it installed some bogus sound card device), worked okay afterwards - can't recall the manufacturer, though.

I like HIS ATi cards, they seem to be pretty rock solid and normally come with aftermarket cooling factory fitted, normally about £10-15 more expensive though. We've not broken one yet.

Sapphire are alright, I think I've had a sapphire at one point, might have been my X800GTO.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1322122 might be handy.

Or not Berk, they just go around in circles with "Zomgs, Sapphire is bad!!11!" shortly followed by "Eh? I've never had a problem with them". Same for VisionTek, starts off going "yaya teh winzoets" then "Oh noes!" then back to the start.

HIS oddly just gets glossed over, ergo, they must work and if you do get problems must be fairly easy to get fixed.


Also, currently I feel like I'm leaning at a 60ish degree angle looking at the screen when I'm sat bolt upright. Feels like all the blood is at the front of my head and that my shoulders are drooping fowards. Little bit odd.

/tangent

none of them compare to evga/bfg/xfx

Is that really the case? I was kinda hoping it would be an obvious answer that there were two or three good ones and the rest were cheaper but with support/driver/cooling issues.

Gigabyte and Gainward seem the only ones I haven't seen poo-pooed elsewhere.

Gigabyte better be good at graphics cards, as that's what my 4870 is.

Will be, at least. It's not here yet. They don't do Saturday deliveries after all :C

I've had a couple of gigabyte cards, only age condemned them to the scrap pile.

FatherJack wrote:

none of them compare to evga/bfg/xfx

Is that really the case? I was kinda hoping it would be an obvious answer that there were two or three good ones and the rest were cheaper but with support/driver/cooling issues.

Gigabyte and Gainward seem the only ones I haven't seen poo-pooed elsewhere.

From what I can tell, Yes, it is the case. Kind of.

AFAICT, the only ATI partner to sell boards with a lifetime warranty is Visiontek.

This isn't a good thing for a lot of enthusiasts;
EVGA allow you to watercool.
XFX Let you resell the card and give the buyer a lifetime warranty.
BFG are pretty fast with replacements from what i've heard.

Both BFG and EVGA offer ~3 month upgrade programs.

All 3 offer 10+ year warranties.


(afaik) No ATI parters do anything close to that, usually 3 year warranties, minimal bundles. etc. etc.

berk is pretty much on the money. most ATI OEMs just slap together a reference board, stick it in a box and ship it. Only a few like Gainward do much in the way of any thing extra at all.

I have no idea what the fuck any of you are talking about.

Roman Totale wrote:I have no idea what the fuck any of you are talking about.

and that's the way it should be, this is geek business