4850 or 4870

K

KayWhy

n00b
Joined
Dec 24, 2006
Messages
9
Hello,

I have an old ati radeon 1950 pro 256mb videocard and I would like to upgrade my card so I can use Windows 7 Aero and play some older games like World of Warcraft etc.

I am not a hardcore gamer and I don't plan to play any new games. I watch alot of movies on my 20" monitor (1680 x 1050 resolution), but now I want to start watching it on my bigger HD screen (not big only a 26 inch HDTV).

My budget is around 120 - 170 USD but I am not sure what to get.

Should I get 4850 or 4870?
Should I get 512 or 1 gig memory?

I know 4870 is better but I am not sure if I need all the features of that card..

Thanks
 
From your usage, a 4850 should be fine.. I used a 4850 for about a year, recently sold for $100 and bought a 4870 from tigerdirect for $122. I play a lot more advanced games though. When I had my 4850 I could play basically everything I wanted, only sometimes having to turn down settings to get 60 frames at 1680x1050. wow, videos, etc should be fine at 4850 for sure.

For the memory, I think 512 is fine. IIRC the 1gb doesn't really make a difference unless you have tons of AA or super high quality textures (oblivion uber texture pack, etc)
 
Neither, a hd 5770 is the better card, A Sapphire 5770 card on newegg now for $155, with free shipping. Better performance, 1gb, new tech, lower power consumpion, better resale, directx 11 , no brainer.
 
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i'd say 5750 xfx on tigerdirect for 122 after cashback. i got mine clocked at 850/1400. can't beat that ;) :)
 
4850 will do you ok
4870 will do you better
5770 will do you a little better yet and give you DX11 (not that DX11 games will run very well) and will run with less power
5750 will do the same as above just a little worse performance.

I suggest
4850 for aero and light gaming
4870 for the same but average gaming
5770 for lower power usage and slight increase in performance
5750 for aero and light gaming and low power

All in all i would suggest the nVidia 250 / ATi 5750
 
I second the 5750/5770 suggestion as they use far less power and run a 22" display with no problems for 90% of the games out there.
 
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