Need Advice With New Graphics Card

[TSIMonster]

Well, for a gaming rig, folding really probably won't be something you do 24/7 (at least I don't on mine, I game on it instead) but if you think you'll fold enough to make it worth it, sure, go nvidia. The 9800GX2 is a great card for the money.

Question though, why did you sell the GTX260? After having both the 260 and 4870, I have to say that they were about equal in my mind. The 260 ran quieter, cooler, and folded better, but the 4870 was better in most games I played. (and I had a grudge with nvidia at the time for all those ****y, prick remarks)

[korben43]

Originally Posted by ElMoIsEviL

I have not come to my view based on opinions though.

Rather facts:

ATI Radeon HD 4870/4850 Performance Preview

4850 CF spanks the 9800GX2 in.. umm everything sometimes by over 2x.

4850 Peak power draw is around 100W and you would be using around 1.75x that for Crossfire mode (175W) numbers from ATi.

While the 9800 GX2 is rated at 200W from nVIDIA.

As for the fan noise the 4850 produces: 43 dBa while the 9800GX2 produces: 45 dBa.

Two 4850's do run hotter but does not produce as much heat as a 9800 GX2.

One thing mentioned was that the 9800 GX2 has a rear exhaust fan. That would be the only strong point besides F@H.

As for the price.. well a 9800GX2 will set you back around $300 (I've seen 'em for $280 on Newegg).

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-N891-AR GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB (512MB per GPU) 512-bit (256-bit per GPU) GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

As for two 4850's? Well they will set you back around $159 ea.

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Therefore $320 vs $280 for more than 2x the performance under several conditions and always faster.. I see no reason to recommend a 9800GX2 to a gamer.

Have you tested a 4850 yourself? I have. And I'm telling you the fan is 3 times as loud as the nvidia options. I'm not talking stock settings, but anything over 50%. I tested both cards sitting in front of my on my desk, and I'm telling you, you need to run the ati fan 50+ % to keep it cool enough. It was blazing hot to touch, compared to the 260, which was hot, but not nearly as hot. Now the GX2 does get hot, too, but you don't get as drowned out in sound as you do with a single 4850 stock fan.

If you check other sites than newegg, you can find the GX2 for around $230. You can't beat that price.

As for the reviews you linked to, they all use old drivers, even on the ATI side. And a 780i for 3-way sli testing? Come on. At least the X38 is a formidable foe compared the X48, but 790i and 780i are worlds apart. We need some updated X48 with DDR3 and 790i benches. What mobo do you have? Cause we can do the tests ourselves with current drivers and post a review on it. I think that would be one heck of a review.

For Will, I still think he'd be happy with a GX2, or he could go the get one now buy one later route with the 4870's.

[ElMoIsEviL]

Currently we're testing the 4850s for an upcoming release on a system line (4870 series as well).

Their thermals are quite contained. They do run hotter but don't seem to be affected by running hotter (unlike other GPU's which mid-game the screen goes blank and you get a message indicating that the Display Driver stopped responding and has recovered). We're had to tailor our systems and even increase our warranties due to the GeForce 8 series (for systems affected).

I've tested the 4850 at up to 60% fan speed (and the 4870 & X2's at 100%). I have found that operating at 45-50% on the 4850s is perfect and produces around 43 dBa which is less than the default ATi Catalyst Control Center used to produce using drivers prior to the 8.10 (now with fan control setting).

Mind you the boards we use are not third party name brand boards but OEM boards built to meet specific requirements therefore I can't speak for all the non-vanilla boards out there. also worth mentioning that the 4850 I posted a link to does not use the stock cooler but rather a silent cooler which cools exceptionally well.

[korben43]

Yes, aftermarket coolers do cool a lot better.

The only time I ever encounter a blank screen is when overclocking the crap out of my cards. That includes the 4850 I've tested, so I don't think it's vendor specific, both ATI and nVIDIA experience the display driver stopped working bit.

Plus, the 4850 I had oc'd for crap, whether it was a stock cooling issue or not, I don't know. But what I do know is that an oc'd 260 matches the performance of a stock 280 and that's with a stock cooler.

[Willster]

Originally Posted by korben43

Yes, aftermarket coolers do cool a lot better.

The only time I ever encounter a blank screen is when overclocking the crap out of my cards. That includes the 4850 I've tested, so I don't think it's vendor specific, both ATI and nVIDIA experience the display driver stopped working bit.

Plus, the 4850 I had oc'd for crap, whether it was a stock cooling issue or not, I don't know. But what I do know is that an oc'd 260 matches the performance of a stock 280 and that's with a stock cooler.

I ended up not selling the card due to a lousy buyer on ebay...plus im broke as can be. How can i beat a stock 280 with my 260...rather at what speeds is that accomplished?

[YMAA]

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