Lost In GFXland

[Pixiedust100]

i have having troubles deciding which HD4870 to buy,with the prices going up i can either wait for them to come down to buy a brand like Asus or Gigabyte,but i did find that The Prophecy Shop is selling a Force 3D 4870 for R3000.but it says its a reference design,what does that mean.and is it worth getting

 

[The_Techie]

It means that it using the default design that AMD (ATI) chose for the cards. Some hardware vendors add their own design (custom PCBs, heatsink and fan assemblies, etc), though you usually pay a premium for these.

I'd say it's worth getting

 

[PostmanPot]

i have having troubles deciding which HD4870 to buy,with the prices going up i can either wait for them to come down to buy a brand like Asus or Gigabyte,but i did find that The Prophecy Shop is selling a Force 3D 4870 for R3000.but it says its a reference design,what does that mean.and is it worth getting

Reference design means that they use the original ATi blueprint/design of the card with no modifications such as different cooling.

 

[Nameite]

And most probably manufactured by the same factory...so its all the same...same bios etc.

So just check the warranty and price, only things diff.

 

[tinman]

its definatly worth getting.

when i look at graphics cards, i usually decide on a model, and the nget the cheapest brand i can find.

AMD/Ati are pretty careful about who they license their chipsets to, so they are all much of a muchness. In my experience, there is little to no difference between a Gigabyte/asus/xfx/palit etc HD 4870, and the refernce design fine as well.

good time to buy now btw, before new stock comes in on the insane exchange rate

 

[scotty777]

ye, buy now, for R3000 it's a steal, but you better play with loads of AA or else that cards a waste (with aa on, the HD4870 is a true monster)