ATI Radeon HD 4870 (1GB - NOT xFire) vs Asus GTX 285 (1GB)

[zentreadi]

Hi folks, first time on here looking for some advice about graphics cards. First off here's the machine i'm currently building

AMD Phenom II x4 940 - AM2+
Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3
Sony AD-7200S 20X DVD±RW/DL/RAM
320gb Samsung HD332HJ
ENGTX285/HTDI/1GD3 - 1GB Asus
4GB (2x 2GB) Corsair DDR2 1066mhz
Coolermaster CM-690 V2 Dominator
Arctic Power 700W PSU
Windows 7 Home Premium

Already have a 19" monitor at home which is getting on a bit but won't be replacing for about a year.

At the moment my aim is the GTX285 (£225), main reason being that from the reviews it's a lot more powerful and i'm guessing will be able to last that little bit longer as i really don't want to upgrade my graphics card until i completely revamp everything in a few years time.

I've seen a lot of reviews about the HD 4870 around and it seems like a great card and a lot cheaper. Does anyone have any recommendations on which one to get? If it's the HD 4870 any ideas on which actual one to choose as there seems to be a lot of different models out there some 512mb others 1gb etc and to be honest i'm rather lost as to which one to buy.

For some reason i do have my heart set on the GFX 285 simply because of the power behind it but if people think that i won't see any benefit from it then i'd rather buy the cheaper card.

Just so you know i'm going to be using it pretty much mainly for gaming - I'd like to play the newer games out on High ish settings, not looking at silly resolutions though will probably be max 1900 x (not sure)

Thanks in advance.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Get the cheapest HD4890 you can find and put the money saved towards a DX11 card sometime next year.

[marksct]

Get the cheapest HD4890 you can find and put the money saved towards a DX11 card sometime next year.

you can get a 1GB 4870 for about £105

The cheapest 4890 is about £145

Is the £40 difference worth it? Would the 4870 run the newest games on highest settings?

thanks

[Domestic_Ginger]

Arctic Power 700W PSU

I have not been able to find a review for this PSU please post if you find one. As someone pointed out today it sounds a bit like artic cooler. Not sure how good it is....

There is a 600w OCZ on ebuyer for £55 which is meant to be 'reliable'; plenty of reviews out there.

btw I think the Moose might have meant 4870 and not 4890.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

you can get a 1GB 4870 for about £105

The cheapest 4890 is about £145

Is the £40 difference worth it? Would the 4870 run the newest games on highest settings?

thanks

If you are using your existing 19" monitor then the HD4870 1gb will be a good choice and you should be fine. As the previous poster noted the 700w PSU you have is really crap!! Go for a decent PSU like the previous poster also stated!! Many cheapo PSUs cannot reliably supply the power ratings they boast and in fact in many cases it is a peak rating and not a continuous one!!

[zentreadi]

Thanks for the reply's especially about the PSU. Wanted to get the one that was recommended but was out of stock at ebuyer and didn't seem to exist at Scan. In the end i went for this instead.

Corsair 550W VX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 5 Year Warranty

It had some good reviews > thanks for pointing out the need in the first place!

As for graphics card i decided to go with the Asus 4890 from overclockers for just under £170. Seemed to fit the bill for what i needed / wanted.

Thanks again for the tips it was very helpful :-)

[Domestic_Ginger]

Corsair 550W VX Series PSU - 120mm Fan, 5 Year Warranty

Snap! I ordered one too; could not resist .

[cptwhite_uk]

Currently running 4870 1Gb and 4870 512Mb on a Corsair 550VX...so you should be fine Also with an OC'd Q6600 *sweats*

[!TIMMY!]

The 4870 1gb is a great bang for buck card at the moment, id get it if your not bothered about cuda/physx and save up for a DX11 card.

[usernameisvalid]

If you are using your existing 19" monitor then the HD4870 1gb will be a good choice and you should be fine. As the previous poster noted the 700w PSU you have is really crap!! Go for a decent PSU like the previous poster also stated!! Many cheapo PSUs cannot reliably supply the power ratings they boast and in fact in many cases it is a peak rating and not a continuous one!!

Agreed. For god sake get a good PSU. Corsair for instance.

And the difference between the 4870 and the 4890 is about 15/20fps. On your 19" monitor you will not notice the difference at all.