Upgrade - Ati HD4850 vs nVidia 9600gt silent?

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baboeska

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#24729 1-Aug-2008 04:06

Hi,
I'm upgrading my computers video card from an 8800GTS 320
(here on trademe for $1 reserve: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=168800832 )
and I'm not sure which card to upgrade to.
I will be financially limited by what the GTS sells for, so $200ish is realistic.

The 9600GT is affordable at $240ish for a silent variant, however it really isn't very powerful and I like gaming.

The 4850 is really quite powerful I hear, but at $300 + extra for aftermarket silent cooling, I'm thinking it's a bit unrealistic.

I'd also like to buy a better psu down the track, so I'm thinking saving $100ish could be worth while.
I guess the question is, will I get a 25%+ performance increase via going for the 4850, because if not, I think the 9600GT is the best card in that price bracket.

So yeah, opinions?

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#153371 1-Aug-2008 16:28

The 4850 is excellent for price vs performance. Just installed one, runs very very well and should last me a good 2 years easy.
Also installed a 9600GT in the other computer, it plays all current games well but it will struggle with newer games i'm guessing.

slyguy

47 posts

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#153444 1-Aug-2008 21:31

I've been doing pretty much the same research this end :)...

The 4850 is pretty much the best performance per $$$ at the moment, by quite a long way..

All the reading of reviews etc that i've done has convinced me that i'm buying one ! They should be good for a couple of years i would say !

I've always been an Nvidia man, well at least for the last 3 generations of cards... but this time, it looks like with Nvidia, you have to spend twice as much $$$ to get the same performance.

slyguy

47 posts

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#153445 1-Aug-2008 21:31

Linkzor

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#153448 1-Aug-2008 21:35

If you go the 9600GT way I don't think you will see much of a difference compared with your current card. Several 8XXX series cards even outperform it. If your budget allows go for the 4850, brilliant card.

eXDee

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#153453 1-Aug-2008 22:00

if you want some statistics, Company of Heroes: Opposing fronts inbuild benchmark test, we had a maximum of 90fps, average of 60fps and a minimum of 18fps with all settings maxed out on highest at 1680x1050. We dropped the settings to high instead of ultra on a couple of things, and it runs smooth as and looks ultra sharp.
If you want silent, look into the Accelero S1 cooler, or the Thermalright HR-03. If you do this (just the heatsink and fan part, not the overclocking bit) you can get near silent sound with good cooling at 40% fan speed.

charley

183 posts

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#153492 2-Aug-2008 08:18

The HD4850 singleslot reference cooler doesnt seem to be that good but with those tweaks it looks like it can do the job. The Sapphire Toxic HD4850 will be here in NZ next week so i'm told. They use a zalman cooler which looks basic but seems to do the job pretty well according to reviews.

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eXDee

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#153677 2-Aug-2008 21:01

charley: The HD4850 singleslot reference cooler doesnt seem to be that good but with those tweaks it looks like it can do the job. The Sapphire Toxic HD4850 will be here in NZ next week so i'm told. They use a zalman cooler which looks basic but seems to do the job pretty well according to reviews.

A necessary tweak is fan speed. By default its 24%. Bringing it to 40% makes things a more sane temperature.

baboeska

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#153707 2-Aug-2008 22:39

Thank you all for the advice, it sounds like the HD4850 is the right choice all up.
Considering the 8800GTS isn't that noisy, and I'm selling it, if I'm going to sell it I should really get something better otherwise there's no point from a gaming perspective.
A more powerful gpu makes sense to me, all up.
The 9600GT doesn't have much going for it in terms of gaming power, equivalent h.264 rendering to the 4850 I believe? and getting the same as I currently have would ruin the point of selling it.

It'll cost a bit more for the HD4850 and maybe an arctic cooling accelero, but it does seem like it's a really good card, and that will probably be my choice.

slyguy

47 posts

Geek

#153719 3-Aug-2008 00:01

Well, i hope it's the right decision... :) as i've just plundered for a 4870 myself (to replace my 8800gts).. To be honest, there isn't enough difference for most people to justify the extra cost of the 4870... but I was able to get one for £165.00 (NZ$ 412 ish) so thought i'd treat myself before leaving the UK.

I've read lots about both cards running really hot... but aparantly they are fine at those tempratures !

eXDee

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#153720 3-Aug-2008 00:09

Damn it. Why didn't you bring me one back? :(
The 4850 + accelero s1v2 is a nice cooler, combine it with a 120mm fan and you have a nice 20% overclock.

slyguy

47 posts

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#153721 3-Aug-2008 00:11

eXDee: Damn it. Why didn't you bring me one back? :(

What sort of cash are they going for over there ??? should i be filling my suitcases with gfx card and things, rather than clothes ?? (not sure the family would be too chuffed :D)

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layman

25 posts

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#153737 3-Aug-2008 08:47

Ahh yes the eternal quest for gaming goodness.

I'm also wishing to upgrade my x1950 pro to something a little more capable.

Have a look at this article http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-cards,1965.html which I found really useful. Especially page 6 with the graphics card heirarchy chart. Personally I was leaning towards the 4850, but now may have to look back at nvidia and compare their offerings.

Happy hunting.

baboeska

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#153755 3-Aug-2008 10:47

I think the HD4850 is the one.
9600GT doesn't really make sense, no point selling in order to get equivalent power again.
The one advantage of the 9600XT is an improvement with h.264 video, but that alone doesn't really warrant an upgrade.
I'm going to order an HD4850, crossing fingers that the 8800GTS 320 sells for a good price.
I expect performance improvements of between 10-33%, but I'm not completely sure.
Still, I figure I can't go wrong with a 4850, and the ATI OEM cards are priced very realistically.

Thanks everyone for the advice, I'm going to go for the HD4850 due to its superiority, and maybe get an aftermarket cooler depending on how noise levels are.

eXDee

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#153765 3-Aug-2008 11:51

Make sure you do the fan fix, or you'll get 75'C idle temps O_o

PlatinuM195

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#154512 5-Aug-2008 23:36

I'm thinking of getting a 4850 soon, using an 8600GT with a zalman VF1000 on it right now but still have the stock cooler for it. I'm thinking of putting the VF1000 on the 4850 but will I need a new set of ramsinks?

Or more importantly, can the ramsinks even be removed from my 8600GT since they're stuck on with thermal tape?

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