4850/70 vs 9800 GTX+

[Zak33]

Hi guys,

I need to upgrade a good friends PC. It's an nForce 4 mobo with an X2 4800.

I do NOT want any trouble. PSU is a good quality Tagan so no juice issues. Good cooling on the case too.

Simply put, the 4870 should be the best choice, and money's ok on any of these three cards...BUT...nVidia seem to have nailed the reiability issues on this set of cards, and the ATI seem to be causing a few heart aches.

Is this right in your experience? If it were for me, I'd not fret. But once this is installed and I walk away, I wont be there to fix it/fiddle with settings. I'll stress it for a few hours with CoD4 and other games, but......

which would you buy for someone else?

[Agent]

I have experienced the 4870 issues myself, first hand. Its a real shame as its a dam good card - if it wasn't for their current failure rate I'd have no hesitation in recommending one.

However, reliability wise, I tend to agree Zak. Its rare to hear of an issue with the 9800GTX series. 4870 issues are easy to find though

The best 'walk away' solution is the nVidia IMO, purely for the reasons you outlined.

Oh btw - I've been talking to one of your school mates this week Nice bloke

[shadowmaster]

What resolution does your friend play at? Because if its 1600*1200 or lower the ati 4850/9800gtx would probably be fine.

Personally though I would go with the ati 4870, its significantly faster then the 9800gtx and from what I know its pretty reliable. However the gtx 260 is another worthwhile option as its similar in price to the 4870.

EDIT: Actually from Agents comments it seems the 4870 is not that reliable

[cptwhite_uk]

I think the GTX260 should be given serious considersation: £205

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=827837

[Agent]

http://forums.hexus.net/help-technic...-else-had.html

[00oceanic]

I would agree with cptwhite_uk and get the GTX260
You can get it for £165 in scan which is a tiiiny bit cheaper than the 4870

[Agent]

I didn't realise it had dropped that much yet Nice!

Makes upgrading my 9800GTX too tempting....

[Lowe]

You can get them for 160 quid at Scan - Gainward.

That's my next card without a doubt, just a case of when now. Wouldn't touch the ATi because of the temps and the reliability issues. I've been burned by ATi in the past as well, so the nVidia is a no brainer for me, esp as the price has dropped so much.

[Lowe]

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=831078

[Zak33]

oh that IS nice

[Zak33]

I dont think the GTX 260 will fit in his case....but I cant find accurate measurements.

Anyone know how LONG it is, from PCI bracket to the far end?

[Agent]

10.5 inches (267 mm)

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_gtx_260.html (under specs)

[staffsMike]

I dont think the GTX 260 will fit in his case....but I cant find accurate measurements.

Anyone know how LONG it is, from PCI bracket to the far end?

10.5"

http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_gtx_260.html

under specifications

EDIT: pipped at the post

[Zak33]

pipped or not...thats too long I think

Hard Drive bays are in the way I think. Fingers crossed.....hacksaw time

[Trash Man]

Sorry for kinda going off topic kinda,

How does the 9800GX2 compare to the GX260 and GX280 performance wise? Looking to upgrade for WAR from my old X1950XTX PE, I was going to upgrade a while ago when AoC came out, but I never ended up playing it all that much so though I'd wait.

How noisy are these cards? I've got used to my 1950 with a aftermarket HS and a silent 80mm fan, the loudest part's in my case are my HDD's, don't know if I could go back to screaming GFX card fans again.

[Zak33]

not off topic at all bud,..and damn good questions. I have a fairly noisy X1900 XT 512 GDDR3 card and I need a new card soon and noise was at the forefront for me too. But i WONT BE DOING A GX2 because that's a lot of card....a LOT...and I think it might be overkill for me (or my mate)

But the GTX260 is gonna blow your X1950 to smithereens anyway...so how far dya wanna go? Even a 9800 GTX+ is gonna cream it to death.