Ati 4770 or 4850?

[Hicks12]

well im looking to cutdown on power so a new gpu is an option, ive been contemplating this for awhile but just saw some power draw differences and a 9800GTX+(less power than a normal right?) uses 23W more at idle and 45w more on load, thats compared to the 4850 vapour X and iirc the 4770 is better in terms of power usage than the 4850?. Now can someone tell me what one is the best to get? Its £80 for a 4770 (sapphire) and only £80 for a Sapphire Vapour X 4850, what one is the best performer?.

[Mithrandir]

The 4850 Vapor-X is a good option with that nice cooler. (It would be my choice of card)
I think it'll run a smidgen faster than the 4770, although not sure how they compare when both OC'd.
Also the 4770 should run a little more efficient in terms of power.

[Golden Dragoon]

I would get the 4850, simply put with 800 shaders and a 256bit mem bus vs 640@higher clock and 128bit bus (yes I know the 4770 has gddr5 but it has higher latency, they have done a really good job masking it though) it is the better card for the same money, and with that cooler it could be overclocked to much higher speeds meaning you should get much better performance than a stock 4770.
However were the 4770 cheaper than the 4850, then my choice would be reversed.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would get the 4850, simply put with 800 shaders and a 256bit mem bus vs 640@higher clock and 128bit bus (yes I know the 4770 has gddr5 but it has higher latency, they have done a really good job masking it though) it is the better card for the same money, and with that cooler it could be overclocked to much higher speeds meaning you should get much better performance than a stock 4770.
However were the 4770 cheaper than the 4850, then my choice would be reversed.

I agree with this advice too.

[Hicks12]

OK, whats the actual power difference between the two though? Is the 4770 only like 10w difference? Cause ill ignore it then.

Ill wait till just in june to see if any new cards announced but if not then ill grab it .

[Mithrandir]

x-bit labs done a review and the 4770 was measured at 49.5watts compared with 109.9w for the 4850.

However, the vaporX was recorded as using 182w in the Hexus review and elsewhere the 4770 seems to be around 90w under load.

[Hicks12]

Interesting, this really makes the 4770 seem the better choice as its only a few(if any) fps off the 4850 and yet uses alot less power. Confused lol.

[Mithrandir]

Here are another couple of reviews with power consumption charts:

Hardware Canucks

Techspot


It does look like a big wattage gap difference, although they are reference 4850 rather than the VaporX model.

[Ady168uk]

qq where can you get a vapour 4850 for £80?

[shadowmaster]

qq where can you get a vapour 4850 for £80?

+1,

Anyhow I'm sure you have already thought about this, but what about the 4870 512mb at £100 from Novatech? I know its a bit more power hungry but its significantly faster.

If not and power consumption is important to you then I'd go for the 4770.

[Mithrandir]

4850 vapor X is from this weekends offer on Novatech

[zephod]

The 4850 is the quicker card really although there isn't a huge amount in it. That cooler is good though and I would expect a fair overclock.

It is a really hard one though as if your PC is on all the time the 30W idle difference could make back the money. The 4770 will also run a fair bit cooler, despite the vapour-X. I know this is a rubbish answer but honestly I don't think you could go wrong with either. I'd get the 4850 simply cause I like the cooler.

[Ali N]

I would recommend the 4850 over the 4770.

It's a very similar price yet I think the performance outweighs it

[Badbonji]

4850 is a strong gpu, this benchmark is from my laptop with the 4850:
(exactly same as desktop but lower clockspeed of 550/1800)


Remember, that is a laptop so performance will be better, and only a core 2 duo at 3.13Ghz using turbo button, 4Gb ddr2 1000Mhz (overclocked turbo button)

Although, have had many more driver problems with ATi over nvidia, so I just prefer nvidia. Although, 9800gtx+ does use a bit more power from most reviews.