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4870 1gb upgrade to...?

I

isiTrue

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 23, 2011
Messages
129
Hello everyone,

I currently own a Sapphire 4870 1gb. I plan on upgrading to a 7950 next year. I've been looking for a good card to upgrade to in the meantime since BFBC2 is very jerky at 2560x1600 aand even at 1920x1200. I turned down details and effects to get it to run at around 90fps, but it still takes about 10 seconds after loading a map to get reasonably smooth gameplay. It starts off at about 3fps or so. And there are still points where it slows down during gameplay.

Anyway, I've been researching this for the past few days. I see the 6870 1gb for around $150, but then there are people who say to get the 6950 1gb, or 2gb. I know those are better cards, especially for 2560x1600. However, that's at least $60 more and the 7000 series is about to be released. How does the 6870 fare under 2560x1600?

Any suggestions? Perhaps from someone who upgraded their 4870 1gb recently?

Thanks.


Edit: Solved. Picked up a sapphire 6870 1gb 100314-3L. Quiet and fine for my needs.
 
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Not sure what settings you are trying to run at but you are probably running out of VRam. If so, going to another 1GB card isn't going to be the right solution.

Alternatively you can lower your settings until you come in under your available VRam. Try reducing your AA or using Edge-Detect instead (uses shaders for AA and is easier on VRam)
 
GotNoRice said:
Not sure what settings you are trying to run at but you are probably running out of VRam. If so, going to another 1GB card isn't going to be the right solution.

Alternatively you can lower your settings until you come in under your available VRam. Try reducing your AA or using Edge-Detect instead (uses shaders for AA and is easier on VRam)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I think you're right about the limited amount of Vram (I read about that somewhere). I don't use AA (it's set at 1x and I can't change it for some reason in BFBC2) and use "box" AA in ati tray tools. I thought edge detect is slower but better for wire fences in games?

I was hoping that the increased clock and memory speed of a 6870 would be enough for 2560 in bfbc2, even with some settings lowered. :/ So you're saying that it wouldn't make much of a difference from a 4870 in this case, correct?
 
I think that card is simply overwhelmed. Thats a very high resolution for that thing so its no surprise its struggling pretty heavily.

I dont know dude, it depends on how much youre wanting to spend. A 6970 or GTX570 are the best right now other than the $500 GTX580 which doesnt offer enough performance boost over the other two to justify its hefty price.

A 6950 runs in the low $200's and would give you about double the performance of your 4870. Here is one for $200 shipped after a $20 mail in rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150523

Otherwise its the 6970 or GTX570 which usually hover in the $320's.
 
MacLeod said:
I think that card is simply overwhelmed. Thats a very high resolution for that thing so its no surprise its struggling pretty heavily.

I dont know dude, it depends on how much youre wanting to spend. A 6970 or GTX570 are the best right now other than the $500 GTX580 which doesnt offer enough performance boost over the other two to justify its hefty price.

A 6950 runs in the low $200's and would give you about double the performance of your 4870. Here is one for $200 shipped after a $20 mail in rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150523

Otherwise its the 6970 or GTX570 which usually hover in the $320's.
Click to expand...

At most, I would like to spend around $200. That's what I've always spent on graphics card upgrades. 3dfx Voodoo 2, then 9500 pro, X800gto, 4870 1gb. All $200. The card that you linked is 1gb, though. And it's $210 shipped. If it were the 2gb version and without the hassle of a rebate, I'd probably get it.


On a separate note, would my PSU be enough for a 2gb 6950? From what I read, some say yes, others no. If not, then I probably wouldn't get the 6950.

Thanks for your input.
 
surprised that power supply is still running. Mine kicked the bucket 3+ years ago, and it's rma replacement also died very quickly.
 
I upgraded my 4890 to a 6950 2gb unlocked a few months back. I quickly realized that a 6950 was overkill for the games I play at 1920x1200 (BC2, COD, L4D, etc), so I snagged a cheap GTX295 and sold off my 6950 for $250. If you held on this long with your 4870, just stay another 2 months with it until the 7 series radeons are released. If upgrading right now is mandatory, get a 6950 2gb used, since more vram is useful for 2560x1600. A 5870 may also fit the bill, but may run out of vram.
 
Malecoda said:
surprised that power supply is still running. Mine kicked the bucket 3+ years ago, and it's rma replacement also died very quickly.
Click to expand...

Yeah my housemate had a PowerStream 520W that failed catastrophically about 4 years ago... the one with the green LEDs on the back right?
 
I just upgraded my crossfired 4870's to a MSI 6970 Lightning recently. I was shocked at how many games pull a lot of VRAM. Even older games like Crysis often get to 1.5GB of VRAM usage. I haven't noticed a big jump in average FPS but the minimum FPS have increased a lot. For example in Crysis 1920x1200 maxed settings the 4870's min was 19fps and average was 36fps. With the 6970 the minimum is 30fps and the average is 40fps. The minimum went up in all my games a lot more than the average did. I saw the BF3 beta minimum go up almost 20fps. The VRAM usage in BF3 was always around 1.6gb.
 
I'm not too convinced that memory monitors are accurate from what I've seen, according to my results Deus Ex Human Revolution uses less memory than any of the other basic indie games I play. Can that be right?
 
samuelmorris said:
I'm not too convinced that memory monitors are accurate from what I've seen, according to my results Deus Ex Human Revolution uses less memory than any of the other basic indie games I play. Can that be right?
Click to expand...

I'll check that game when I play it later tonight. I use MSI Afterburner and GPU-Z to check. They are always within a few MB of each other.
 
samuelmorris said:
I'm not too convinced that memory monitors are accurate from what I've seen, according to my results Deus Ex Human Revolution uses less memory than any of the other basic indie games I play. Can that be right?
Click to expand...

So. I just tested Deus Ex. I was surprised at how low it was. 1920x1200 everything maxed I get 60fps steady. However, the memory usage was between 620-650mb. Seems low for that game, but maybe its just efficient.
 
I've been doing some more research and just can't justify the extra $100 for a 6950 2gb at this time. I'll just get the 6870 1gb until the 7000 series is released.

From everything I've seen, the 6870 is pretty good even in BF3 (barely any difference between the 6950 2gb). I don't mind lowering some detail for games at 2560; it'll still be a huge step up from the 4870, won't it?
 
Malecoda said:
surprised that power supply is still running. Mine kicked the bucket 3+ years ago, and it's rma replacement also died very quickly.
Click to expand...

samuelmorris said:
Yeah my housemate had a PowerStream 520W that failed catastrophically about 4 years ago... the one with the green LEDs on the back right?
Click to expand...

Strange. I bought it because it had a lot of good reviews and wanted a PSU that was reliable. It's been trouble free for me, even through some power outages (I use a belkin surge protector.) Bought it back in 2005.

Yep, three green leds on the back. And a green fan light.
 
isiTrue said:
Strange. I bought it because it had a lot of good reviews and wanted a PSU that was reliable. It's been trouble free for me, even through some power outages (I use a belkin surge protector.) Bought it back in 2005.

Yep, three green leds on the back. And a green fan light.
Click to expand...

Results may vary. The Belkin surge-protected extension I had was crap as well, one of the switches started arc'ing when switched, so I threw it away.
 
Yeah, not individually switched.
This is the one I had (UK plugs, before you ask)
90893.jpg
 
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