4870 just died...Whats decent upgrade ?

3

302efi

Gawd
Joined
Oct 25, 2004
Messages
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Please forgive me, but I been outta the computer hardware game for a while andI see all this new stuff on the market !

This morning my 4870 512mb ( while playing Painkiller) lost VGA signal and refuses to turn the screen on. I took the HSF off and remounted it, tried all the normal trouble shooting and it's gone I think :)

So what would be a nice, low cost upgrade from my dead 4870 512mb ?

I have multiple moniters, but only game on one 20 inch Acer @ 1680x1050. I like lots of eye candy as well....

I prefer to stay with ATI if possible.

Any recommendations in the sub $250 range ?

***If you got something used your looking to get rid of that would fit my needs, please feel free to droo me a message !***
 
A 5850 when the prices go down, or if you need it asap then a 5770 or if you can crossfire a set of 5750's. A 4890 would also be good. Best choice? A Crossfire 5750 set up.
 
The ATI 5770's are in the $160 - $200 range and the ATI 5850's are in the $280 - $350 range.
 
Also, my board is an older Abit IP35 that does not have Crossfire capability, so I'm looking for a single card solution ;)
 
For a single card look for a 5850 or 4890. The 4890 is your best bet for the money, may be slightly "older" now but they still kick ass and take names.

Ive got 2 4890's in Xfire and they simply kill any game I throw at them...and this is with all max settings at 2048x1536 resolution!
 
4890 for sure or if you're feeling cheap, you could probably get another 4870 off the FS/T forum for around 100
edit: have you checked if you can RMA it?
 
buy nothing, put your old card in the oven 400 degress for ten minutes, make sure the heatsink is off, this may very well fix your card and I'm completely serious
 
ccgenerals said:
4890 for sure or if you're feeling cheap, you could probably get another 4870 off the FS/T forum for around 100
edit: have you checked if you can RMA it?
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I'm checking the FS/T forum now :)

RMA is no go cause I bought the card used from a local guy. tThe card was completely retail though !

Visontek requires a original sales receipt for RMA....which SUCKS !
 
a 5770, or a 5850, no sense getting a non DX11(yes i know there are no DX11 games now, but soon there will be quite a few)
 
Try the oven trick. It works on some of the RRoD 360 problems. If that doesn;t work I would get another 4870 or upgrade to a 4890. These can be had used for around $100 and $150 respectively.
 
Alright guys...I'm a try the oven trick in a couple minutes and see what happens..

I'll report back with a update in a few !
 
Ask you friend for the receipt and RMA it? I do it all the time. If he bought it online, the archived invoices work too.
 
Out of curiosity, what PSU do you have now? Might not be a good idea to upgrade the video card if the PSU can't handle it.
 
Rauelius said:
A 5850 when the prices go down, or if you need it asap then a 5770 or if you can crossfire a set of 5750's. A 4890 would also be good. Best choice? A Crossfire 5750 set up.
Click to expand...
I disagree. Two 5750s new on Newegg are $280 ($140 each). Here's a XFX 5850 for $299. It's more powerful than dual 5750s and plus its a single-card solution. The 4890 is good, but you may regret not getting a current-gen gfx card when DX11 becomes more mainstream.
 
HD 4890 is a good temporary solution. I wouldn't excpect it to last years though, unless you are fine with going without DX 11 for a long time.

I would get a 4890 and then expect to upgrade again in a year when the DX 11 games start coming out. There will be better DX 11 cards then anyway, capable of handling the next wave of games.
 
Low in your budget -- 4890 or high over budget -- 5850. Don't bother with the 5770 or 5750, would definately save for the 5850 instead, brilliant card and can overclock like a dream.
 
Upgrade wise.. stretch for a 5850 if you can warrant price.

sideways replacement.. 5770 shouldn't be dismissed, you are at perfect res for it, on par with the 4870, but less power/heat & definitely less than the 4890.

A 1gb 4890 would be a bit of an upgrade (just got one myself, clocked upto 1ghz, v.happy with it) but I wouldn't imagine you would notice as much of a jump as if you got a 5850.
 
Well guys I'm posting from the machine with the card in in RIGHT NOW ! I can't believe the oven shit worked..lol !!!!

I took everything off the card, preheated the oven to 375, put the card on some tinfoil and let it sit in there for about 8-9 minutes. I let it sit all night and just put it back together a couple mins ago and it fired right up !!!

I'm not sure how much I trust the this, so my plans are to just buy something anyways, but I can atleast wait until payday now instead of hit the credit card up on the spot :D

Looks like I'm leaning towards the 5770 or the 5850. Wish the 5850's wasnt such a big jump in price over the 5770.
 
302efi said:
I'm not sure how much I trust the this, so my plans are to just buy something anyways, but I can atleast wait until payday now instead of hit the credit card up on the spot :D
Click to expand...

Technically speaking it should be just fine for quite some time.

If I were in your shoes I would just keep using it trying to hold out until fermi. The only card worth upgrading to in your situation would be a 5850, and with no fermi the prices are still too high to actually recommend buying.
 
DaFox said:
Technically speaking it should be just fine for quite some time.

If I were in your shoes I would just keep using it trying to hold out until fermi. The only card worth upgrading to in your situation would be a 5850, and with no fermi the prices are still too high to actually recommend buying.
Click to expand...


Agreed, set the cash aside now, and add a couple dollars each week the card survives. By the time it actually dies you will be able to upgrade to a lot higher tech.
 
I agree as well, glad the oven worked. Save for the 5850, it'll be worth it
 
Thanks for the help and replies with this guys !

I was already to drop some coin at either a local shop or Worst Buy today and you guys saved me some time and money :D
 
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