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Best 4850 card out there?

P

peekama

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 30, 2008
Messages
105
Alright, so I'm building my new gaming rig, and I'm stuck at the graphics card. I want a 4850, but there's so many different makes! I kinda like the Visiontek model. Any thoughts on the matter?

As a bit of a sidenote, I don't really need a pre-overclocked card. I want to try my hand at doing it myself.
 
they are all the same

only difference is the company that supports them- powercolor, sapphire, visiontek etc. IE warranty length, customer support etc.

And of course if they come with an aftermarket cooler.
 
All 4850s currently use the reference design. However, Visiontek provides a lifetime warranty, so I recommend you go with a card from them.
 
I would skip the asus card, I have one and I've read a few things that make me wish I had bought another brand.

For starters, all the 4850 cards run hot.
Asus provides a program to control fan speed, which can bring down heat - this is a good thing.
The bad thing is, without this program the card is running around 70 deg C in my machine.
the default fan speed is too slow and the software doesn't kick in a higher fan speed until you've logged into windows.

The msi card shown appears to have a much better heat sink and fan system, and it looks like you could leave a slot cover off and vent at least some of that hot air out the back of your PC which is very smart.

I've also heard that one of the vendors (It might be MSI) released a new bios for thier 4850 that increases the default fan speed.
For me that would be welcome, as I've spent hours and hours outside of windows doing memory tests, then doing the install of windows, then occasionally using the linux os that's on the firmware of my motherboard.
 
Zero82z said:
All 4850s currently use the reference design. However, Visiontek provides a lifetime warranty, so I recommend you go with a card from them.
Click to expand...

Not true, there are some non reference boards out their like this one.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=30981&vpn=XAE/48500+T352&manufacture=Palit Multimedia Inc.

I think it is shorter and uses a different cooler but supposedly it is also lower grade components to cut costs but should still be fine. They even used the same SKU number of the old one so people were confused, thinking they were getting a reference card.
 
I have ASUS P5Q Pro and Palit Radeon HD4850. I want to increase the fan speed in order to boost the perfomance. How can I do that?
 
Isn't there a Sapphire TOXIC version of the 4850 with an overclock and a fan upgrade? Think it's a Zalman fan.
 
I am also looking for 4850s to run crossfire in my system. I know that most cards are the same so I was looking more at the MSI R4850 with the cooler. I have people telling me "dont buy MSI" but for the same price as other cards, the MSI will run much cooler, so why not? Do they have bad customer service or something? Also, why would I buy a Toxic if the MSI has a better cooler for less money?
 
Alright, so these are the pros and cons I see so far with the cards mentioned:

Visionek: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129112&Tpk=visiontek 4850
Pros: Lifetime warranty, good price, one slot
Cons: Runs hot, runs loud, no factory overclock

MSI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127370
Pros: Beasty aftermarket cooler
Cons: two slots, more expensive, no factory overclock, people on the forums seem dubious of the card

Sapphire: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102760&Tpk=4850 Toxic
Pros: decent factory overclock, aftermarket cooler
Cons: part of the price is a game nobody really wants

To be honest, I'm leaning toward the msi card, as I can just OC it myself, and it looks like it has the best cooling solution. Does anybody have a definitive reason not to go with them or a reason to go with a different make?
 
I bought the MSI 4850 with the stock cooler last week. I got a free game with it (Witcher) and the $30 MIR. I figure I can just slap a Zalman cooler (that I already have) on it later if I ever plan on overclocking it.

MSI has very good customer service. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. Any of the 4850s are great buys. Even with the stock cooler they don't run insanely hot at load.
 
Strange:confused: I just ordered one on Monday. It's supposed to be here tomorrow.
 
The 'nilla HIS 4850 doesn't look too bad actually: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161235

Its a bit cheaper, and no shipping on it...
To be honest, the lifetime warranty on the VisionTek doesn't really matter that much. With video cards, by the time you would need to collect on the warranty, a new generation of cards would be out.:p

I think I'm going with HIS on this one. The cooling isn't the greatest, but 4850's kinda need aftermarket cooling anyhow.
 
Well, I don't really need an IceQ model. I plan on watercooling the card (eventually) so the extra $35 for a cooler would be a waste, to me at least. I'm also on a bit of a budget, so I can't really spend the extra money.:(
 
Zero82z said:
All 4850s currently use the reference design. However, Visiontek provides a lifetime warranty, so I recommend you go with a card from them.
Click to expand...

Ya, theirs is $165 after MIR at Newegg right now, every other 4850 seems to be within $5-10 and VT are the only ones offering a lifetime warranty AFAIK, well worth it imo. It's not only a lifetime warranty but VT has pretty good support, so if you ever do need to RMA it, it'll probably be less of a hassle. There's a couple others w/aftermarket coolers on Newegg 'sides the MSI one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131118
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770

The Sapphire one might be appealing at only $160. I heard the stock-cooler ASUS one actually comes with an ASUS utility that will let you control the fan directly, it can be done from within the ATI drivers right now but you have to mess around with the profiles a bit (and it won't ramp up/down the fan based on temperature readings). OTOH, ASUS might be using a custom temp probe (they have in the past with other cards/GPU), which usually is more hassle than it's worth when you update drivers, etc.

P.S. I don't think any of the 4850's run loud at stock settings, just the opposite... The fan hardly ramps up and that's why they run hot. :eek: You can tweak it from the 10% or 20% it runs at stock and raise it to 30% or something to cool it down w/o increasing noise much.

Edit: Why does Sapphire have two different models with aftermarket coolers? There's the one I'm linking, and the out-of-stock one you linked... Weird. If not the VT, I'd probably go for the MSI since you can slap in a vented PCI cover and it looks like it pipes the hot air out the back, always a plus. I'm not a fan of those oversized center 'sinks on the Sapphire/Powercolor, etc. The RAM always seems to be forgotten in that equation.

For less than the price of the HIS IceQ at ZZF you can probably just get an Accelero ($20-25) and the cheapest 4850 ($155)...
 
Interesting, if you look at the pics... The Toxic edition Sapphire (the costlier out-of-stock one, w/the Zalman cooler) has the same reference design as other 4850s, whereas the cheaper one with the different aftermarket cooler has a completely different design (the GPU is moved way to the right, etc.). Even their 1GB card has a design much more similar to the reference one. Wonder what's up with that...
 
I heard the stock-cooler ASUS one actually comes with an ASUS utility that will let you control the fan directly said:
I have the asus, and the software is very flexible with the fan settings, you can
a) hard set the fan from 0-100%
b) set 4 temperature threasholds and it will adjust the fan according to temp
c) set it to auto mode and the card will do the same as b) but with less control.

however that said...
- the fan speed only changes for windows - if you're in the bios screen, or running a memtest, you're out of luck.
- all the heat generated by the card is trapped in your case since it's not a 2 slot design.
- to get reasonable temps you really need to crank the fan up - upwards of being audible.
unless you are way cramped for space, look for a card that vents to the outside of the case!
Click to expand...
 
I have to wonder how much my case is going to affect temps on my card. I'm putting my new build in an Antec Twelve Hundred, which is almost a windtunnel. Even without a two slot card, I shouldn't have to worry about heat...
 
Impulse said:
Interesting, if you look at the pics... The Toxic edition Sapphire (the costlier out-of-stock one, w/the Zalman cooler) has the same reference design as other 4850s, whereas the cheaper one with the different aftermarket cooler has a completely different design (the GPU is moved way to the right, etc.). Even their 1GB card has a design much more similar to the reference one. Wonder what's up with that...
Click to expand...

Yea, the Palit one uses a completely different and shorter pcb than the Sapphire one. I wonder if the lack of memory and vrm cooling will be a problem with the Palit board..

nonref1.jpg


nonref3.jpg
 
i bought an asus 4850 when they were released and love it. i've dealt with their tech and rma support before and have never had an issue. i really like that saphire toxic card, too. i've built rigs using visiontek cards before and they're pretty good and have a lifetime warranty. the only brand i've ever dealt with and will never use again is powercolor. no way, no how, no powercolor!
 
The new Sapphire seems to be quite a bit shorter than the initial release - that makes it pretty desireable. The new cooler looks a bit more efficient as well.
 
I don't know, when they start messing with the reference design like that and leaving off the coolers on the memory it can sometimes be a bad sign, they could be using lower quality memory, etc. /shrug
 
Impulse said:
I don't know, when they start messing with the reference design like that and leaving off the coolers on the memory it can sometimes be a bad sign, they could be using lower quality memory, etc. /shrug
Click to expand...
Agreed, it seems like these re-releases are some kind of "economy model." While I imagine the card still meets ATI certification requirements, I wonder if these newer revisions come at some cost to the reliability, overclockability, and stability of the part. They don't seem to be touted as "high performance revisions" as we've seen with other cards.
 
Sapphire's lineup is rather confusing if you ask me... I imagine they might be updating some of their SKUs, maybe they're putting in a better BIOS or whatever, but it still doesn't make much sense. Originally they had this card:

100242L
sapphire1bz0.jpg

Standard reference design, nothing special... That one was recently deactivated at Newegg and it's apparently replaced by this other card:

100244L
sapphire2kt4.jpg

Which is identical in price at Newegg ('cept it's out of stock, but has an ETA), design (as far as I can see), and specs... Obviously the PCB color changed (no longer red like almost every other ATI card), and the model number. I can't really spot any other difference at all, even the cooler's the same.

It seems to be the same general design as their newer 1GB version, the 100242-1GL, and I suppose that might've been why they had to switch PCBs and whatnot, though that SKU resembles the original more... And the 1GB card has a different slim cooler on it, it's still a single slot card but the cooler spans the length of the card, weird. Then there's slightly more expensive Toxic model, with the same blue PCB and design, save for the Zalman cooler and memory 'sinks:

100242TXSR
sapphire3xg9.jpg


And on top of that there's this newer shorter card with a blue PCB, a similar (but probably cheaper) heatsink sans heatpipe, and a design that's decidedly not the reference design...:confused: The kicker is that it's actually the cheapest 4850 on Newegg right now, by like $5 but still, go figure.

100245
sapphire4yz9.jpg


Anyone make sense of it all? Heh, I don't see anyone else switching PCBs or updating their designs, though I'm lazy and I'm only looking at Newegg... Basically they replaced their original SKU and now they've got a non-reference design selling for less or the same as the reference one, w/a new cooler, they've got a Toxic version w/a Zalman cooler selling for like $20, and they've got a 1GB version seeling for even more.

The few other cards I've seen with non-stock heatsinks all seemed to use the reference design, one from Powercolor, one from ASUS (the ASUS being rather overpriced), and that MSI linked in this thread (still deactivated at Newegg). Powercolor/ASUS both used heatsinks similar to these, the MSI is the only one I've seen with a two-slot outside-vented cooler of sorts. :(
 
Doodies said:
Yea, the Palit one uses a completely different and shorter pcb than the Sapphire one. I wonder if the lack of memory and vrm cooling will be a problem with the Palit board..

nonref1.jpg
Click to expand...

I have the HD 3850 by Palit, with that same cooler... it is Loud!!
 
peekama said:
Well, I don't really need an IceQ model. I plan on watercooling the card (eventually) so the extra $35 for a cooler would be a waste, to me at least. I'm also on a bit of a budget, so I can't really spend the extra money.:(
Click to expand...

I'm running a Gigabyte HD4850 with an After market Xigmatek VD964 Cooler and really like it. I mostly use it for Racing Games like Grid, and my Temps are about 30C cooler.
I think I paid something like 50 Bucks with Shipping to Alaska from NewEgg, and it's every bit as good as the Accelero S1(But comes with 2 Fans). The only Problem I had was with the Darn Memsinks not staying on, so I Used some Vantek Copper Memsinks, and then Cut Off the Power Regulation Heatsink off of the Stock Cooler with a Hack Saw, reattached it with the Supplied Screws and Damn if it didn't work Great.
 
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