Display card help please

[renvilo]

Hi guys,

I am running a GA-X48-DQ6 mobo. At the moment I have the 8800GTX installed. Not bad but it's a bit old now but really a nice card.

I am a fan of nVidia but yea as it is a Crossfire board I was thinking of going to ATi. So here is my options:

1. Get the HIS 4850 ICE Turbo Edt (and maybe later another one to CF it)

http://www.landmarkpc.co.za/store/digital-4850-iceq-turbo-edition-512mb-radeon-4850-p-2336.html


2. Get the 3870 X2 Turbo Edt 1 GB (Maybe do a CF lateeeeeer)

http://www.prophecy.co.za/gecube-hd3870-xturbo-edition-p-27411.html


3. Getting just 1 card ATi/nVidia and run the 1 card


4. Stick with the GTX now.

My budget is limited so... What will perform the best.


Thanks guys

 

[killadoob]

Why do you want to upgrade your 8800gtx btw? should run most games pretty well?

 

[renvilo]

Yea it runs the games not to bad...

I just think the newer cards has better lighting and so on... I don't know if it's worth going crossfire anyway is it? I am a nVidia fan but I have this board... Maybe I have to swap it for SLI and just get another GTX later on??

I also heard that you can flash the XFX 8800GTX with Ultra bios. Is this true??

Thanks

 

[Chevron]

Yea it runs the games not to bad...

I just think the newer cards has better lighting and so on... I don't know if it's worth going crossfire anyway is it? I am a nVidia fan but I have this board... Maybe I have to swap it for SLI and just get another GTX later on??

I also heard that you can flash the XFX 8800GTX with Ultra bios. Is this true??

Thanks

Just stay with what you have. Next year get a DX11 card.

That is all.

 

[JohnnyQ]

Get 2 x 4850 cards in CF, it will run rings around anything available except the 4870x2, which still costs double what 2 x 4850's cost.

 

[scotty777]

ok, don't listen to JohnnyQ... JUST WAIT FOR DX11 CARDS!
Amd is planning on releasing there hd5000 series from late Q1, which means april-ish... and I'm sure you can wait 5 months... but ye, that card should still be good enough to play games on high if not max... hell, I'm still able to play games with x1600pro!

 

[Decotey]

If you wait it's always gonna get cheaper but then when do you stop waiting?
Then again the performance increase from your current card to that of a 4850 is not gonna be a huge leap so buy when the performance gap starts to increase more

 

[JohnnyQ]

ok, don't listen to JohnnyQ... JUST WAIT FOR DX11 CARDS!

ok, don't listen to scotty777... JUST WAIT FOR THE ALIENS to put little super computers into our heads. Just joking. scotty777 have a valid point and so does Decotey.

The 9800GTX ( a rebranded 8800GTX) is the direct competitor to the 4850, so their performance levels are very much the same. If you want to go the single card route stay with what you have. But... if you plan on getting a second card later, get a 4850.

 

[scotty777]

ok, it's simple, if you have say R2500 now, all you gotta go is save it, and come next year (if you put say R200 into the account with R2500 every month) you could buy a nice dx11 card by end of april, and it will be about 1.5 times the power of the hd4850 (the hd5850 that is) and you will be able to play all the nice games you want

 

[QX6700RULZ]

ummm DX11 will not be a big thing for at least another year just as DX10 even now is still nothing major. Dual 4850's is a killer and will last a long long time, get one now and one later when the R/$ improves

 

[renvilo]

Thanks guys...

I did some reading last night... I believe I can update my XFX 8800 GTX bios to a Ultra version (which by the way beats the 4850 on Everything at the moment.) I can install another 4850 later on and CF them but that time the new cards will be available. So I decided to try and to the update (will post it now coz I'm a bit scared I'll screw up something) and save some money each month. Then next year I'll have a look at what ATi and nVidia will be bringing out. If there's nothing really cool (coz DX11 doesn't actually bother me that much) the 4870X2 should be really cheaper (or even 4870 in CF. My GTX dropped with half the price a month after GTX 280 was released so..)

No use "upgrading" my GTX with the 4850 and getting another later... I can even get another 8800GTX now and swap my R4500 mobo for a R2500 SLI board.... Then I'm up there with the GTX 280's...

But thanks for the input guys