4850 or 4830?

[Quizard]

I will be getting the new Phenom II(940) when released. I play lots of games like crysis, far cry 2, all source games and so on so forth. I like to play all games at high quality at 1280x1024(no higher and sometimes with 2xAA). I will be getting a 790GX mobo from gigabyte and 4gigs of corsair domintor ram. So which one should I buy, 4830 or 4850?

-Thanks
Ricky

 

[daletkine]

My recommendation is 4830. It is retailing at newegg at much lower price point than 4850. It has only 160 stream processors less than 4850 and runs same DDR3 memory (198MHz or 10% slower). The clock speed of 4830 is lower than that of 4850 (575MHz vs 625MHz), but from what I've read it's an excellent overclocker. This is the most cost effective solution, and I think it makes no sense buying a more powerful DX10.1 chip 9 months prior to DX11 debut. FYI, DX11 is important shift, since it will add GPGPU functionality directly through DX11, so we will see a lot more apps for it than for current ATI Stream or nVidia CUDA. THis may not be important, but really more powerful graphics chips are coming out next summer, and since you'll have a quad core, you'll do just fine!
Ohh, I'm also buying Phenom II 940 on release and to keep costs down I chose this HIS unit as my video card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814161260

 

[Quizard]

ok thanks daletkine

 

[Phew]

At that resolution, either card should play the games you mentioned fine (cept Crysis with 2xAA: Crysis tanks when you turn on AA, regardless of GPU).

The bigger question is why spend so much on the mobo, CPU, and RAM and not drop <$200 for a decent 22" widescreen LCD so you can play at 16x10?

 

[JPB]

I would go with the HD4830 as well. It is a VERY nice card for the price....and may even come close to performing the same as the HD4850. That is if you don't mind overclocking.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Both cards will handle everything just fine at 1280x1024.
The 4830 will likely run "new" games at 1280x1024 with settings close to maxed out for at least 2 years.
The 4850 will likely run "new" games at 1280x1024 with settings close to maxed out for at least 2.5 years.
If the price difference is worth a few more months of not wanting to upgrade later down the road ... then get the 4850, otherwise the 4830 is probably a smarter buy. Also, you should be OK to run 8X AA most of the time...


If you wanted to run 1600:1200 or 1920:1200, then I would say 4850 at a minimum, but you don't need all that extra memory bandwidth and processing power if you aren't pushing that many pixels.

 

[sgrinavi]

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn

The 4830 will likely run "new" games at 1280x1024 with settings close to maxed out for at least 2 years.
The 4850 will likely run "new" games at 1280x1024 with settings close to maxed out for at least 2.5 years.
.

Can I borrow your crystal ball?


As with most computer tech, get the best you can afford without going over the bleeding edge... if you can swing the 4850 you will not be sorry in a few months when/if you upgrade your LCD

 

[james1701]

FYI, in Crysis, don't use AA, use Edge AA. It does not have the performance hit, but everything looks better. Edge AA even works on the plants, where AA does not. You must have AA turned off, to get Edge AA turned on and working.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Id say the HD4850 if you can. Just enjoy the best of what is available today. If money is an issue, than the HD4830 is my next recommendation.

 

[Quizard]

Originally posted by: Phew
At that resolution, either card should play the games you mentioned fine (cept Crysis with 2xAA: Crysis tanks when you turn on AA, regardless of GPU).

The bigger question is why spend so much on the mobo, CPU, and RAM and not drop <$200 for a decent 22" widescreen LCD so you can play at 16x10?

I don't really need anything bigger than 1280x1024, maybe down the road I might but as for now 1280x1024 does me fine.

 

[soccerballtux]

Get the 4830 and don't look back. Others will for some reason try to convince you to get the 4850, but there's really no reason.

 

[AzN]

4830 is very close to 4850 in performance but 4850 is nearly 50% more expensive than 4830 after rebates. When it's done overclocking I bet you can't tell the difference considering 4830 is the same RV770 core that has same limit as the 4850 overclocking. Save your money and get the 4830.

 

[Leyawiin]

If its between those two at that resolution, get the HD 4830 and save your pennies for the next big thing in a year or two. For around a $100 after rebate you can't really do much better. I said it before but that HD 4850 $150-$160 price point is kind of useless. The $100 cards aren't much slower and the $200 cards whip its butt.

 

[Visual]

personally i'd suggest even springing for the 4870, but cutting down the ram to some cheaper brand or model if you want to save cash. any generic 4gb 800mhz ddr2 kit should do - corsair or kingston value ram for example.
yes it is overkill at the tiny resolution that you need, but it is still better invested money than buying into overpriced ram. also you will really appreciate it if you upgrade to a real monitor any time soon, or connect your pc to your hdtv for some 50" gaming goodness.

it is up to you of course, and the 4830 is fine for what you currently need... but even if you go that low i still advise you to save the cash on the ram as well.

 

[Quizard]

Originally posted by: Visual
personally i'd suggest even springing for the 4870, but cutting down the ram to some cheaper brand or model if you want to save cash. any generic 4gb 800mhz ddr2 kit should do - corsair or kingston value ram for example.
yes it is overkill at the tiny resolution that you need, but it is still better invested money than buying into overpriced ram. also you will really appreciate it if you upgrade to a real monitor any time soon, or connect your pc to your hdtv for some 50" gaming goodness.

it is up to you of course, and the 4830 is fine for what you currently need... but even if you go that low i still advise you to save the cash on the ram as well.

True a 4870 would last me longer. The only things I have to pay for are the motherboard,GPU, and RAM because I won the PII. Also my new board will be able to use crossfire.....

 

[nemesismk2]

I think the 4830 would be fine for your needs.

 

[msi1337]

I just upgraded to a 4870, cause I got it for $150. did I really need a 4870..probably not for the games I play. but it's all about price point

if you can get a 4830 for $99, do it.

if you can get a 4850 for $119.99 do it.

there ya go.

 

[msi1337]

SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$129.99Your Price: $99.99With Promo Code EMCBCBKDB
$89.99 After $10.00 Mail-In Rebate


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linked

 

[Quizard]

Originally posted by: msi1337
SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$129.99Your Price: $99.99With Promo Code EMCBCBKDB
$89.99 After $10.00 Mail-In Rebate


if you are a newegg email subscriber..you can get this card for $89.99 after rebate

linked

Thanks msi I Love you lol