What to do: 4850 vs. all

What should I do?

  • Total voters
    62
L

LstBrunnenG

Supreme [H]ardness
2FA
Joined
Jun 3, 2003
Messages
6,677
It's finally come down to it. I'm about to build the following system:

Q9450
Gigabyte X48-DS4
4 GB DDR2 800 (perhaps faster)
X-Fi Titanium

I want to build the most future-proof system I can for the money. As far as CPUs go, the Q9450 is the most future proof I item I can think of without breaking the bank. The motherboard, like all LGA775 motherboards, won't support Nehalem, but it will handle everything else you could possibly throw at it with the exception of two nVidia cards in SLi. The RAM will be future proof once I add four more gigabytes (I dare anyone reading this to build an 8 GB Nehalem system at launch - with DDR3). The sound card I expect to last me as long as my Audigy 2 ZS may, may she rest in peace. This just leaves the GPU.

This GPU solution will be driving my 24" 1920x1200 display. I want it to be as future-proof as the rest of the PC. I am extremely happy with the way my 7800 GTX was completely satisfactory for me up until about a month ago. Watched the 7900 series, 8800 series, and 9800 series whiz by with no desire to upgrade whatsoever, even when I went from my 17" 1280x1024 monitor to my 24" display. I would like to repeat this success.

I currently have in hand an HD4850 I was able to get for $150 AR. It will probably make me happy at my preferred resolution in everything but Crysis. But like I said, I'm building this for longevity, not just for the games I have in hand right now. However, the summer is flying by, so I don't want to wait for something on the horizon like the dual-RV770 card or the 55nm GT200.

The way I see it, all the options above have their appeal. I could stick with the 4850 for now and be happy in all my games but Crysis. I might be able to sell it and snag a 4870X2 if I went with this option. Or, I could buy another 4850 and possibly do better in Crysis, but would this really extend the lifetime of the solution? I could sell the 4850 and get a 4870, though my gut tells me two 4850s is a faster solution for the same price. Or I could keep my eyes peeled for a great GTX 280 deal and jump on it. Though, I would feel like the X48 motherboard was a waste if I go for a single 4870 or GTX 280. A single GTX 280 (at the new and improved prices) is about my price ceiling.

Thoughts?

Oh, and games I intend to play this summer and fall, in no particular order:

Fallout 1 and 2
Command and Conquer (all games in the series except Generals)
Supreme Commander and Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
Halo 2 PC
CoD4
Flight Simulator X
Lock On: Modern Air Combat
Sins of a Solar Empire
FEAR
World in Conflict
Crysis
 
Use the 4850 for now and just sell it and buy a 4870X2 when it is released as everything is pointing to the fact it should be superior the GTX280. That way you should nicely future proof yourself for any relatively new games coming out in the near future.
 
Seems to be the popular option, I just don't look forward to the hassle.

Second 4850 would cost me $150 now and I wouldn't have take apart my PC for a few years. Even after selling the 4850, the upgrade would most likely cost me $350.

I would really, really like to see some favorable reports about CF scaling on 4850s and X48 right about now...
 
in the graphics card world is there such thing as future proof? there is a dangerous addiction for some people where they always want the latest and greatest meaning they paying a premium every 6 months for the latest card. a 4850 should be enough for pretty much everything for a while, I mean I only just brought a 8800gt which is slower than a 4850.
 
What's wrong with the CC generals series? Personally I thought game play was awesome and almost on par with RA2.

edit
btw, with the performance numbers we're all seeing from the hd 4870 I'm pretty sure a 4870x2 will be fairly future proof.
 
I accidentally voted for the single 4870, but I meant the X2. That will give you the fastest single-card solution that will be available until at least next year, and it should last you a long time.
 
The Pharaoh said:
4870X2 FTW. Knowing AMD the price will be right, too.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing there will be something akin to a 4850x2 at $399 and something akin to a 4870x2 at $499. I really can't see them selling their flagship for anything less.
chrcoluk said:
in the graphics card world is there such thing as future proof? there is a dangerous addiction for some people where they always want the latest and greatest meaning they paying a premium every 6 months for the latest card. a 4850 should be enough for pretty much everything for a while, I mean I only just brought a 8800gt which is slower than a 4850.
Click to expand...
Like I said, I was happy with a 7800 GTX from its launch until now. As long as future games are at least playable with reduced settings/resolution, I will be happy with my new setup for at least as long. Probably longer.
DeadSkull said:
What's wrong with the CC generals series? Personally I thought game play was awesome and almost on par with RA2.
Click to expand...
I've heard bad things about it in comparison to the rest of the series. I probably will play it at one point, but for now it's not at all part of the C&C or Red Alert storylines.

What I'm thinking of doing now is buying the extra 4850 now, buying nice aftermarket coolers for them both, and using them until August. If ATi's new flagship is worth the extra $200 plus the hassle of finding buyers for my 4850s, and I have the money for it, I'll likely upgrade. If it's only a few percentage points higher than my 4850 CF, then I'll have lost nothing.
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
What I'm thinking of doing now is buying the extra 4850 now, buying nice aftermarket coolers for them both, and using them until August. If ATi's new flagship is worth the extra $200 plus the hassle of finding buyers for my 4850s, and I have the money for it, I'll likely upgrade. If it's only a few percentage points higher than my 4850 CF, then I'll have lost nothing.
Click to expand...

Yea that proably the best solution for you. Thats what i did, am putting my S1s on my 2 4850 after work.

Btw i got a huge jump when running in Xfired, in mass effect on 8800gts 512mb @ 1920x1200 everything maxed with AF on i was getting 45-50fps, xfired 60 constant i dont think the engine alows it to go higher. On cod 4 before with AA,AF off i avg ed 70fps @ 1920x1200, with the 2 4850 i was getting 91fps @ 1920x1200 4x AA 16x AF. Both cards after rebate costs me around 315$ or so.
 
No offence, but you're wasting your money for now. The crossfire setup is not going to improve Crysis that substantially, and you can already play more or less everything else out there at full settings with the 4850, so why bother getting a second card? If your concern is futureproofing, adding another 4850 is not going to do it. Plus the loss you're going to take if you decide to sell them in August will not be worth it. It almost always better to go with a better single card than adding another one in crossfire. The 4870X2, although technically in crossfire, will suffer fewer problems associated with two card crossfire setups.
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
Oh, and games I intend to play this summer and fall, in no particular order:

Fallout 1 and 2
Command and Conquer (all games in the series except Generals)
Supreme Commander and Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
Halo 2 PC
CoD4
Flight Simulator X
Lock On: Modern Air Combat
Sins of a Solar Empire
FEAR
World in Conflict
Crysis
Click to expand...

My rig is basically the same as the one you're working on, and the only games in that list you won't be able to max at 1920x1200 are WiC and Crysis. Personally, I"m using the 4850 as a stepping stone - I'm planning on upgrading my video card in the fall/winter, for Fallout 3, Farcry 2, etc. Unless you're dead set on running WiC and Crysis at the highest possible settings right now, a single 4850 should last you for a couple months, and then you can grab another for cheap, or get a 4850x2 or somesuch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top