Video Card Buyer's Guide - Spring 2009
by Derek Wilson on March 30, 2009 6:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
At the $180 - $280 range, we are going to ask our readers to wait until the end of this week to make a decision. If you want a little more power than the 4870 1GB / GTX 260, but you don't want to spend the money required to push up to the next price point, we might have something (or two somethings) for you.
$180 - $280 Recommendation: Almost There ... Stay on Target (Wait a few more days)
I wish we could talk about this a little more now, but all will be clear by the end of the week.
The only real options between $280 and $400 are the 4850 X2 2GB and GTX 285 (we could only find the GTX 280 for a couple bucks less negating the value). Making this choice isn't for the feint of heart though. Yes, the GTX 285 does offer the highest performance of a single GPU solution in many cases. But the fact that the 4870 costs just a little more than half as much, and in some cases performs higher, leaves a sour taste in our mouths.
The fact that the 4850 X2 2GB comes in at the low end of this price range and the GTX 285 requires an investment of at least $50 more dollars tilts our recommendation heavily in favor of the 4850 X2 2GB in terms of value. But at the same time, Sapphire is still the only vendor out there building the 4850 X2. And while current drivers are doing pretty well, we are still reeling from the AMD driver issues we had from the end of last year up through the beginning of this year.
So there are caveats for both options. But our recommendation is the 4850 X2 2GB.
$280 - $400 Recommendation: ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB
| ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 2GB | |
| Sapphire | $279.99 |
At the highest end, there are only two options left. The 4870 X2 and the GTX 295. The GTX 295 is much more expensive, but does outperform th 4870 X2 in most cases. There are some games where the 4870 X2 does top the GTX 295, just like the 4870 1GB sometimes leads the GTX 285. But really it's diminishing returns.
If you want the top of the line, the choice is clear: the option is the GTX 295. If you want top of the line performance without breaking the bank as hard, the 4870 X2 would be the option to go with.
Our recommendation is that there are something like two games where this level of hardware make any difference at all. But if you have the money to spend we're going to go ahead and recommend the part that delivers better price/performance: the Radeon 4870 X2.
$400+ Recommendation: ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2
| ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 | |
| Sapphire | $429.99 |
| Diamond | $449.99 |
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The0ne - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - link
Maybe he's got one of them Antec P180 cases and the PS is shoved and jammed in their. I had to do it so it "could" happen :)ev0styLe - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - link
Veroxious add my Xfire ev0style or MSN ecstacy_@hotmail.co.uk I may be able to help u outfaxon - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - link
I was going to get an HD4870 1GB Vapor-X from Sapphire @ newegg for $220 by the end of the week. looks like maybe there is going to be a price drop or the release of the HD4890 in the very near future? if so sweet, it's probably going to be to fast for my needs anyway! Even then, price drops are FTMFW, and i dont mind paying $20 less for something!7Enigma - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - link
I built my gaming rig back in January with the 512-meg version of the card you are talking about. While I wish they had designed the cooler to completely exhaust the air out of the case (I'd wager only 30-40% actually goes out the back), it keeps the chip incredibly cool even at a moderate overclock. It will raise your case temps quite a bit since it is dumping most of the heat inside the case, but as long as your PSU and rear case fans are operating properly it shouldn't be a problem. I highly recommend the card(s)!just4U - Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - link
It seems that they use something very similiar now on their stock 4870s to. I have one of those and it looks alot like the vapochill cooling (silver heat pipe mind you) Thing is ... it runs really cool. I get 50C idle and no more then 65 under max load. Sapphire did a nice job on those... which has upped my thoughts of them (considering some of their "stock" cooling options in the past)7Enigma - Thursday, April 2, 2009 - link
I see about the same temps, but mind you the Sapphire Vapochill cards are slightly overclocked (780 core, 1000 memory), but it is a really well designed heatsink that with some small changes could really be fantastic. I was very pleased not to have to potentially void my warranty by buying a new card and immediately ripping off the stock heatsink to use an aftermarket one.Veroxious - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - link
It REALLY grates my nads that we get ripped off SO badly here in South Africa. On average we are paying 2 to 2.5 times more for our graphics cards. A frggin 4830 is on average $210 while a 9800GTX+ is $300!!!!! YET our memory, mobo and LCD prices are mostly on par with the US. What's up with that? Maybe I should start my own import company and offer gamers better prices. The cherry on the cake is the DISTRIBUTORS here are selling it at these high prices. Gigabyte has a futher 25-50% premium because there is a sole distributor. I'm disgusted to say the least.Back on topic. While I agree that ATI offers considerable savings for performance the drivers really are spoiling it. I have a friend who had endless problems with his Asus 4830. Yes I know the 4800 series run hot BUT I would have expected a company like Asus to fare better in the quality stakes. Also the card works a lot better WITHOUT installing the Catalyst Control Centre. NVIDIA is miles ahead in that department although when the 4800 series is hooked up it does offer amazing eye candy for the money. It just runs too hot though...........
Any of you enthusiasts willing to help a brother out by shipping a card to South Africa that I will purchase online and send to your house? Pretty please????????
SiliconDoc - Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - link
You've got to cue in the marrket size, the advertising dollars and effects, the safety of resources (theft or damage) - perhaps shipping to the horn is a factor, then heat concerns maybe give higher rma rates - a whole host of things - in the USA big ticket stores have large cheap distribution networks and outsized sales number in large quantity discount - etc. Then perhaps also an exchange rate and bit of a push from the capital marketeers backing things.So all sorts of factors.
just4U - Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - link
We have similiar problems in Canada. The 4830 Typically goes for $150, 4850/250 199 and up. The 4870 300-330 and the 260 (oddly enough) about 275.I've been noticing with the 260/216 that it's generally selling below 4870 prices in canada and the uk .. might be the same for the states to. If that's the case it would seem that it is the better buy overall.. It does really get cloudy at the top tho (260/4870/285 ect)
Proteusza - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - link
As a South African living in London, I can say we dont do much better over here. The 4850, which can apparently be had for $130 - $150, goes for £100 to £130 here. Apparently part of the reason for the difference is that all of our prices (Uk and South African) include VAT, while American prices dont because there isnt a nation wide sales tax regime, it can differ depending on the state and even the town apparently. So the prices shown exclude tax and shipping.