Buying a new 3D card... need some help!

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Subversion

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Hey guys,

I'm looking to buy a new graphics card. My budget is between 2K and 3K.

What I'm looking at at the moment is a Sapphire Radeon 4870 512mb. It's only 2K, and it's a great card.

Here are my two issues:

How much NOTICABLE difference will I see between a 512mb and 1024mb version?

And also, is it worth forking out the extra 700 for the new 4890.

My problem here is this - my computer is pretty average. I have 2GB of DDR2 800 RAM, and a fairly standard dual core AMD Chip.

So I'm thinking on my rig, I won't notice much of a difference between a 4870 and a 4890, as my crappy computer will throttle it somewhat.

Any suggestions guys? Would really like some help on this one. Don't want to make the wrong decision!

Thanks.
 
if u do buy a 4870 then buy it 2nd hand, no use buying old tech retail

difference between 512 vs 1024 depends mostly on the reolution of your screen.
anything over 1680x1050 will need the 1024 to run smoothly (and im speaking in terms of gaming here)

as for your amd chip, i cannot comment, those are all foreign to me
 
I would go for the 4890, you can always upgrade your cpu, mobo and ram at a later stage. That card will be solid for some time to come.
 
my screen is a standard 17" LCD, not widescreen.

does that mean a 512mb would be fine?

Grimspoon u make a good point, i must def take that into account. but do you think right now, with those specs on my current PC, I'd notice a diff?
 
Subversion said:
my screen is a standard 17" LCD, not widescreen.

does that mean a 512mb would be fine?

Grimspoon u make a good point, i must def take that into account. but do you think right now, with those specs on my current PC, I'd notice a diff?
Click to expand...

The 512mb would even be fine on a 23 widescreen, so don't stress about that, but yeah it will deffinately do the job.

You could even consider the 4850 until your next upgrade and for the price is amazing value for money!

HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E DUAL DVI-I / TVO LITE R 1,049 excl. R 1,195 incl.
 
HD 4890 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E DVI-I / TVO HDMI (Vapor X Cool) R 2,506 inc

if you got 2-3k then get 4890.. madness on a piece of plastic
 
I'm running a 4870 512mb at 1920x1080 / 23", and at 750/900 Far Cry 2 (max, 4xAA) is noticibly a bit laggy, however when I OC to 800/1100 (750/1000 and 750/1100 are incrementally better) it's butter smooth.. or margerine if you prefer..

At 800/1100 I doubt you'd notice a major difference between the 512mb and 1GB versions..
 
guys, could you tell me where ur quoting those prices from?

the 4850 and 4890 prices!

thanks for all the advice guys, u've all been a great help!
 
HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E DUAL DVI-I / TVO LITE R 1,049 excl. R 1,195 incl.

PC INTERNATIONAL
 
Isnt the RV870 released next month? The current RV780 range will drop. Ill wait abit if i were you.
 
guys why is pcint so cheap??

wats the deal lol.

do they only supply to companies or individual consumers as well?

oh btw another online store with really great prices is www.rebeltech.co.za - generally better than sybaritic and prophecy

check it out
 
Subversion said:
guys why is pcint so cheap??

wats the deal lol.

do they only supply to companies or individual consumers as well?

oh btw another online store with really great prices is www.rebeltech.co.za - generally better than sybaritic and prophecy

check it out
Click to expand...

PC Int is legit, I buy 95% of my stuff from them. And yes the public can buy from them.
 
ok cool tnx a lot grimspoon.

So i know i won't get an unreturnable dud or anything :)
 
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