4870 1GB or 4850x2?

billionairebum · Feb 18, 2009, 07:18 PM

In South Africa PC parts are really really expensive. With my last pc i paid the same amount for my 8800gt as for my thermaltake psu. Now you want to spend 25 bucks for a psu and run a 4870 with it??? No guy...

Judas · Feb 18, 2009, 08:11 PM

Replace the psu or your not going to be happy.....

then get the hd4870 1gb....

procupine14 · Feb 19, 2009, 09:05 PM

See the thing that I want to take a minute and beat a dead horse again is I already know what happens with cheap PSU's. I've seen them hit high load and destroy some nice systems. We aren't hapring on this because it isn't the latest and greatest PSU in the world but we are saying that one in say a name brand category at the same wattage will most likely blast a generic away when approaching the maximum egde of its capability. The problem with cheap PSUs isn't that they are made to do what they do (of course they are) but they are made using cheaper components like all the circuitry on the actual board internally. Therefore, they aren't as highely guaranteed to last as long/take the abuse of a nice PSU. A friend of mine used the PSU that came with his xion case despite my lectures and ended up practiacally burning his entire Core 2 setup to the ground including the 3 HDDs. I'm sorry if I'm being rude I just want to explain things to you.

PC_Inquisitor · Feb 19, 2009, 09:12 PM

4870 man... But, really go for the Nvidia side... GTX 260 Max core is The Card...

Judas · Feb 19, 2009, 11:26 PM

The cheapest PSU i would recommend period... lowest end imo... which has proved to perform very well is the Coolermaster Extreme Power lineup... they aren't cheap mind you... but they do very well considering i've used even a 500watt with 2x16amp 12v rails that powered the x1900xtx's well enough... and powered a HD3850 AGP as well.

jandarsun8 · Feb 20, 2009, 11:06 AM

I'd go with the 4870 1 gig as there are couple of different choices out there not to mention that with the x5xxx series coming out soon, the option to get a second one at a lower cost later on to xfire is there as well (with a PSU upgrade of course).

procupine14 · Feb 20, 2009, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jandarsun8

I'd go with the 4870 1 gig as there are couple of different choices out there not to mention that with the x5xxx series coming out soon, the option to get a second one at a lower cost later on to xfire is there as well (with a PSU upgrade of course).

agreed

Mac Daddy · Feb 21, 2009, 02:26 AM

Agreed !!

But remember TheAscension the final choice is always yours we can only provide feedback.

Best of luck and as always feedback and we want Benchies

Blacklash · Feb 23, 2009, 02:03 PM

It's worth noting X-bit labs tests ATi cards with quality adaptive AA on.

Not everyone uses that feature and not at said setting.

IvanV · Feb 23, 2009, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldBuzzard

That's just from the first review I saw on Newegg.

I wouldn't try running a 4870 with that PSU.

What a fraud! I'd expect a good 400W PSU to power a normal system with a 9600GT. It may have been faulty unit, I read some of the reviews there and I saw a few people saying that the first PSU they got was dead out of the box, while others are more or less satisfied. Still, some of the people with higher end computers report that, although initially ok, the unit didn't last too long.

So, regardless of anything, I'd say swap the PSU. I'm not sure if it will have to be 650W, but you will need a decent amount of power for your system (the x3 uses quite a bit of power, two hard drives, high spec RAM... add a powerful graphics card and it's definitely a more power hungry system than most) and by all means, get a good brand because on the cheap ones specs don't mean a lot.

TheAscension · Feb 24, 2009, 08:50 PM

Corsair, Thermaltake, OCZ, CoolerMaster, Antec haven't bought you guys off have they? Maybe a few kick backs? A free power supply here and there? Haha!

SeraphicSorcerer · Feb 24, 2009, 10:42 PM

Lotsa Great replies in this thread....

Definitely would get a new PSU That's well rated...

The 4870 Will keep you happy for a long time.

OldBuzzard · Feb 25, 2009, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAscension

Corsair, Thermaltake, OCZ, CoolerMaster, Antec haven't bought you guys off have they? Maybe a few kick backs? A free power supply here and there? Haha!

I don't know about Thermaltake, OCZ, CoolerMaster, or Antec, but with the amount of money I've spent on two 620HXs, and one 400CX from Corsair, I would have liked to have gotten one free

Mac Daddy · Feb 25, 2009, 12:26 PM

I have nothing but good things to say about this HX-520 I picked up almost 2 years ago.

procupine14 · Feb 25, 2009, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAscension

Corsair, Thermaltake, OCZ, CoolerMaster, Antec haven't bought you guys off have they? Maybe a few kick backs? A free power supply here and there? Haha!

I have a Zalman and they sure haven't sent me any money

Judas · Feb 25, 2009, 09:01 PM

i lost money on Ultra psu's.... down over 300 bucks

Blacklash · Mar 9, 2009, 06:27 AM

Here's a good article to pick through to compare the HD 4870 1Gb vs the HD 4850 X2 2Gb:

AnandTech: MultiGPU Update: Two-GPU Options in Depth

Click the links below each chart to get 1920x and 1680x.

IMO the HD 4850 X2 is the card for AoC @ 1920x and up with AA and all enabled. Single card will drop you into the mid 20s in deep heavy grass while the X2 will sail along @ 46FPS. That's 1920x 8xAA|16xAF all enabled and the rest set to high.

I'm running passively cooled HD 4850 1Gb Crossfire @ 1920x and love it.

BloodWolf246 · Mar 11, 2009, 06:58 PM

Alright, you guys have me a little concerned with my current setup. Is my Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU good enough for my rig? Or is it responsible for some of the crashes I've gotten recently?

BlueMak · Mar 11, 2009, 07:23 PM

Could be either way, depends on how good the PSU is.

BloodWolf246 · Mar 12, 2009, 12:02 AM

Hmm, well, on newegg, theres alot of positive feedback on similar systems using my PSU, so i guess my PSU is fine.

Crickee · Mar 12, 2009, 09:25 PM

I would go with 4850X2!

TheAscension · Apr 1, 2009, 07:21 PM

Well I've had my 4870 up and running for three weeks now and everything is working great.

I've put 19 hours of UT3, 7 hours of CS:S, and 16 hours of Bioshock on the system with the new card without any problems. The PSU seems to handle it just fine. I decided to go with the 4870 because it was more efficient per GPU and I didn't like the idea of using a bunch of electrical power to brute force my way through graphics rendering. If the 4850x2 had DDR5, I probably would've bought it.

Lucious_Verinus · Apr 4, 2009, 01:33 AM

The power supply will play a much larger role when overclocking even if you are not having issues right now. Have you attempted it yet?
Food for thought.

Lucious_Verinus · Apr 4, 2009, 01:37 AM

The power supply will play a much larger role once you start overclocking your card, have you attempted that yet? That will also reveal any weaknesses in the power supply.

Phenom II 940 BE 3.45gh
8gigs Kingston Hyperx
HD 4870 gpu 995gh, ram 1005gh
WD HD 750g
Vista 64 Ultimate
Aqua Score 126500

Feb 18, 2009, 07:18 PM	#31
billionairebum DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 16 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? In South Africa PC parts are really really expensive. With my last pc i paid the same amount for my 8800gt as for my thermaltake psu. Now you want to spend 25 bucks for a psu and run a 4870 with it??? No guy...

Feb 19, 2009, 09:05 PM	#33
procupine14 Why is it Beeping!?!?! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA, Missouri Posts: 1,400 Rep Power: 58 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? See the thing that I want to take a minute and beat a dead horse again is I already know what happens with cheap PSU's. I've seen them hit high load and destroy some nice systems. We aren't hapring on this because it isn't the latest and greatest PSU in the world but we are saying that one in say a name brand category at the same wattage will most likely blast a generic away when approaching the maximum egde of its capability. The problem with cheap PSUs isn't that they are made to do what they do (of course they are) but they are made using cheaper components like all the circuitry on the actual board internally. Therefore, they aren't as highely guaranteed to last as long/take the abuse of a nice PSU. A friend of mine used the PSU that came with his xion case despite my lectures and ended up practiacally burning his entire Core 2 setup to the ground including the 3 HDDs. I'm sorry if I'm being rude I just want to explain things to you. __________________ HTPC/file server: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom x4 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 800 (2x2GB) - 1TB WD Black - 4 x 1TB Hitachi DeskStar in RAID 5 - ATi TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner - HIS Raedon 4850 512MB - ASRock N68C-S UCC mobo - OCZ ModExtreme Pro 500W PSU GF's Gaming PC: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 1066 - 500GB Western Digital GP - HIS Raedon 5770 1GB - ASUS M3A78-EM - Zalman 650W PSU Media Streamer: Win 7 Pro 64-bit - AMD Athlon x2 3200+ - 4GB SuperTalent DDR2 800 - 250GB SeaGate Barracuda - MSI K9N6PGM2-V2 - ASUS Raedon 5450 SILENT - FSP group 250W PSU

Feb 19, 2009, 09:12 PM	#34
PC_Inquisitor HardwareHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Mexico City Posts: 91 Rep Power: 0	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? 4870 man... But, really go for the Nvidia side... GTX 260 Max core is The Card...

Feb 20, 2009, 11:06 AM	#36
jandarsun8 HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: MN, US Posts: 323 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? I'd go with the 4870 1 gig as there are couple of different choices out there not to mention that with the x5xxx series coming out soon, the option to get a second one at a lower cost later on to xfire is there as well (with a PSU upgrade of course). __________________

Feb 21, 2009, 02:26 AM	#38
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? Agreed !! But remember TheAscension the final choice is always yours we can only provide feedback. Best of luck and as always feedback and we want Benchies __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Feb 23, 2009, 02:03 PM	#39
Blacklash Che cazzo stai dicendo? Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Old Vizima Posts: 117 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? It's worth noting X-bit labs tests ATi cards with quality adaptive AA on. Not everyone uses that feature and not at said setting. __________________ AMD Phenom II X6 1055T @ 4.0GHz (1.45v)\|GeIL Black Dragon DDR3 1600 (4x2Gb) ASUS Crosshair IV (AMD 890FX)\|Powercolor Radeon HD 5870 1Gb (x2)\|Acer GD235HZbid WD VelociRaptor 150Gb HD (x2)\|Pioneer DVR-2920Q\|LG GH22LS30\|Klipsch Groove PM20 2.0 SilverStone OP1000-E\|SilverStone TJ10-B\|Xigmatek HDT-S1284EE\|Vista Home Premium x64 SP2

Feb 24, 2009, 08:50 PM	Thread Starter #41
TheAscension DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Milwaukie, OR Posts: 94 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? Corsair, Thermaltake, OCZ, CoolerMaster, Antec haven't bought you guys off have they? Maybe a few kick backs? A free power supply here and there? Haha!

Feb 24, 2009, 10:42 PM	#42
SeraphicSorcerer HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 2,295 Rep Power: 156 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? Lotsa Great replies in this thread.... Definitely would get a new PSU That's well rated... The 4870 Will keep you happy for a long time. __________________

Feb 25, 2009, 12:26 PM	#44
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? I have nothing but good things to say about this HX-520 I picked up almost 2 years ago. __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Mar 9, 2009, 06:27 AM	#47
Blacklash Che cazzo stai dicendo? Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Old Vizima Posts: 117 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? Here's a good article to pick through to compare the HD 4870 1Gb vs the HD 4850 X2 2Gb: AnandTech: MultiGPU Update: Two-GPU Options in Depth Click the links below each chart to get 1920x and 1680x. IMO the HD 4850 X2 is the card for AoC @ 1920x and up with AA and all enabled. Single card will drop you into the mid 20s in deep heavy grass while the X2 will sail along @ 46FPS. That's 1920x 8xAA\|16xAF all enabled and the rest set to high. I'm running passively cooled HD 4850 1Gb Crossfire @ 1920x and love it. __________________ AMD Phenom II X6 1055T @ 4.0GHz (1.45v)\|GeIL Black Dragon DDR3 1600 (4x2Gb) ASUS Crosshair IV (AMD 890FX)\|Powercolor Radeon HD 5870 1Gb (x2)\|Acer GD235HZbid WD VelociRaptor 150Gb HD (x2)\|Pioneer DVR-2920Q\|LG GH22LS30\|Klipsch Groove PM20 2.0 SilverStone OP1000-E\|SilverStone TJ10-B\|Xigmatek HDT-S1284EE\|Vista Home Premium x64 SP2

Mar 11, 2009, 06:58 PM	#48
BloodWolf246 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 14 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? Alright, you guys have me a little concerned with my current setup. Is my Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU good enough for my rig? Or is it responsible for some of the crashes I've gotten recently?

Mar 11, 2009, 07:23 PM	#49
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,458 Rep Power: 348 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? Could be either way, depends on how good the PSU is. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Mar 12, 2009, 12:02 AM	#50
BloodWolf246 DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 14 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? Hmm, well, on newegg, theres alot of positive feedback on similar systems using my PSU, so i guess my PSU is fine.

Mar 12, 2009, 09:25 PM	#51
Crickee DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 10 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? I would go with 4850X2!

Apr 1, 2009, 07:21 PM	Thread Starter #52
TheAscension DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Milwaukie, OR Posts: 94 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? Well I've had my 4870 up and running for three weeks now and everything is working great. I've put 19 hours of UT3, 7 hours of CS:S, and 16 hours of Bioshock on the system with the new card without any problems. The PSU seems to handle it just fine. I decided to go with the 4870 because it was more efficient per GPU and I didn't like the idea of using a bunch of electrical power to brute force my way through graphics rendering. If the 4850x2 had DDR5, I probably would've bought it.

Apr 4, 2009, 01:33 AM	#53
Lucious_Verinus DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? The power supply will play a much larger role when overclocking even if you are not having issues right now. Have you attempted it yet? Food for thought.

Apr 4, 2009, 01:37 AM	#54
Lucious_Verinus DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	Re: 4870 1GB or 4850x2? The power supply will play a much larger role once you start overclocking your card, have you attempted that yet? That will also reveal any weaknesses in the power supply. Phenom II 940 BE 3.45gh 8gigs Kingston Hyperx HD 4870 gpu 995gh, ram 1005gh WD HD 750g Vista 64 Ultimate Aqua Score 126500