Help me choose a 4890

[greenpanda]

So ive decided upon a 4890 for my new build; (http://forums.HEXUS.net/hexus-hardwa...00-budget.html)

budget max is £200 for the card.

i would rather go for a cooler/quiet running card than o/c tbh. but if i can get the best of both worlds with an aftermarket cooler it would be nice.
have read issues with people fitting coolers and then the vrms going up in smoke.

1GB XFX HD 4890 Black Edition - £160

all and any suggestions appreciated.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The HD4890 you looked at(the XFX one) should do the trick:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167324

Here is a review:

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?...hlbnRodXNpYXN0

[greenpanda]

was also looking at the new sapphire 4890 vapor-x(not the toxic model), reviews saying its very quiet, same temps but alot quieter. cant find anywhere stocking it though, for the moment anyway.

[Jasp]

Personal preference i suppose, just picked up a novatech branded 4890 for £143 which is actually a powercolour running a stock cooler, sounds fine to me (scout case) my cousin also has a Asus 4890 in his PC (Haf 932) and its not overly loud though the coils whine under high load. Have heard the black edition is very loud mind you.

[dfour]

The black edition is a nice card especially as its nicely overclocked without voiding your warranty . Dont forget you can always set-up personal fan profiles in ATI tray tools to make te card as quiet as you want .

[greenpanda]

thanks for the info.
the case i have (antec 300) has a case fan slot just above the graphics card, so will possibly just use that with a decent fan on it.

[Phage]

The HD4890 you looked at(the XFX one) should do the trick:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167324

Here is a review:

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?...hlbnRodXNpYXN0

Excellent tip thanks.
Do you have a preference between the PCS+ and Vapor-X ?

http://www.awd-it.com/scripts/prodvi...idproduct=6593

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167324

Would your opinion change if you went Crossfire ?
Your help is much appreciated.

[greenpanda]

gonna stick with the one card for the moment.
motherboard isnt crossfire though :|, im gonna go for the vapor-x.

[Phage]

Why did you go for the Vapor-X ?
I was looking at the desigens and the PCS does look like it would dump more heat inside the case than the V-X.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Excellent tip thanks.
Do you have a preference between the PCS+ and Vapor-X ?

http://www.awd-it.com/scripts/prodvi...idproduct=6593

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167324

Would your opinion change if you went Crossfire ?
Your help is much appreciated.

The PCS+ is a superclocked card and unlike the Vapor X cooler seems to dump the hot in the case from what I can tell. If you want performance and don't care about power consumption the PCS+ is the card to go for. However the lower clocked Vapor X card will consume less power and also the cooler should produce less noise too. I would personally go with the Vapor X card.

[greenpanda]

the cooling solution on the vapor-x is the best ive seen/read about on any 4890 ive come across, unless you replace the standard cooler with an aftermarket kit, but ive read stories of peoples VRM's
melting because they weren't cooled properly.

the temps are the same with the vapor-x, but the fan speed is much lower, so same temps but nice and quiet, which is what im looking for, which means a bit of overclocking potential if i want

the sapphire is clocked at 870mhz on the core, where as the xfx is clocked at 1000mhz.
is 130mhz going to make that much of a difference?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

the sapphire is clocked at 870mhz on the core, where as the xfx is clocked at 1000mhz.
is 130mhz going to make that much of a difference?

I would say it will but again it depends on the game. I would rather go with lower power consumption,heat production and a quieter cooler over increased performance though.

[greenpanda]

should be able to set custom program settings for it so can overclock for specific games if i really need that extra 10fps.

overclocked -
http://www.pureoverclock.com/review.php?id=756&page=16

right thats it then, will go for the vapor-x over the xfx card

[wellswells]

Hmmmm i had settled on the XFX 4890 XT form Overclockers for £139... but now I'm thinking again after reading this

I've been looking on the overclockers site and all the 4890's seem quite reasonably priced: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produc...=56&subid=1403

I would prefer a quieter card though... the Saphire card on overclockers isnt a vapor-x? was wondering what the difference was between Powercolor and Saphire cards; both are reduced to 150 on overclockers.

[greenpanda]

powercolor has a slight higher clock speed and mem speed aswell.
so would probably get a few more fps out of it.

[wellswells]

All said and done, I think I'm going to go with the XFX from scans @ £136: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-X...DTV-HDCP-Ready

This is for warranty and price reasons. Its not been in stock since 26th June, don't know how long I could wait if I ordered it now.

The Sapphire Vapor-X is on there at 160 however, as is the XFX black - not sure if I could handle the sound the black is supposed to make!