Upgrading from an X1950XTX

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Dec 4, 2009
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Greetings from a long time lurker who's finally mustered enough courage to create an account.

I was wondering on what I should upgrade to from an X1950XTX? I game at 1440x900 and play nearly everything from Crysis to Dragon Age Origins and looking for something that should run Mass Effect 2 and BioShock 2 decently.

Which ATI card would you guys suggest and which brand because I'm getting a decent on an XFX 4870-512MB. Would that be enough or should i get a 4890 and does 1GB really make a difference at 1440x900?

Thanks.
 
4870 would be a great setup for you. As far as the 512mb vs. 1gb, I would go 1gb. The prices are usually only $10 more for the extra 512mb which would help extend the life of the card for you.
 
Hmm ..yeah you're right about the slight price increase between the 1GB and 512MB. How about the 4890 vs. 4870 1GB at that res? Price isn't too much of an issue between the two.
 
Given your low resolution I would go with a 5770, things like DX11 and lower power usage would probably be worth it over a slightly faster card.

Otherwise either the 4870 or 4890 are great cards, even if they do require massive amounts of power :D
 
Given your low resolution I would go with a 5770, things like DX11 and lower power usage would probably be worth it over a slightly faster card.

Otherwise either the 4870 or 4890 are great cards, even if they do require massive amounts of power :D

this, 1440x900 isnt a hard resolution to run, since you mentioned crysis, go for at least an hd4870. hd5770 would be perfect for that res since it has dx11 as well as better wattage. hd4890 would be way overkill unless you plan on upgrading your monitor. nvidia has some good cards, preferably the gtx260. there have been soome used cards in the forums so check there. good luck and happy gaming!
 
My only concern with the HD5770 is it might end up like the 8600GTS/GT cards which were launched before anything DX10 had hit the market and while they had stellar performance in DX9, their DX10 performance was... just acceptable. That and the 128-bit bus.

Oh and what brand is good? Currently choosing between XFX, Sapphire and Powercolor. Suggestions?
 
My only concern with the HD5770 is it might end up like the 8600GTS/GT cards which were launched before anything DX10 had hit the market and while they had stellar performance in DX9, their DX10 performance was... just acceptable. That and the 128-bit bus.

Oh and what brand is good? Currently choosing between XFX, Sapphire and Powercolor. Suggestions?

The 8600GT/GTS never had stellar performance. They were viewed as poor cards right from the get go. And don't worry about the 128-bit bus on the 5770, the super high clocked GDDR5 more than makes up for it.

XFX is the "best" brand for ATI - great warranty, great customer service, great presence in the community (couple of XFX reps patrol the forums here, for example). But I personally wouldn't spend more than maybe another $10-20 for XFX's name.
 
My only concern with the HD5770 is it might end up like the 8600GTS/GT cards which were launched before anything DX10 had hit the market and while they had stellar performance in DX9, their DX10 performance was... just acceptable. That and the 128-bit bus.

Oh and what brand is good? Currently choosing between XFX, Sapphire and Powercolor. Suggestions?

It's as fast as a 4870 right now. And has gotten a slight boost from the later drivers with more possibly in sight. The 8600's just flat out sucked.
 
Stick with XFX and get either a 4870 1gb or a 4890 for your resolution. Best manufacturer and best price/performance.
 
I'd skip the 4870 in favor of the HD 5770 or HD 4890. The HD 4890 is overkill for your situation, so I think the HD 5770 is the sweet spot. With the latest drivers the HD 5770s pretty much go toe-to-toe with the HD 4870.. but the plus side is that they have more overclocking headroom. The HD 4890 also has more overclocking headroom than the HD 4870 due to the larger, slightly tweaked die and changes in power dissipation, but once again it's overkill for you. The HD 5770 will outperform the HD 4870 when you take both of them to their respective max clocks.
 
Yep 5770 often rivals a 4870 and can often equal a 4890 with overclocking. I'd get the DX11 card.
 
Gah the price difference between the 4870 and 5770 is almost $50 here in India. Looks like i'll prolly go for the 4870 1GB. Between Sapphire and XFX, which brand is better?
 
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