4850 vs 9800GTX+ for 1920 x 1080

Nuggets

Junior Member
Nov 7, 2007
2
0
0
Hi there,
I'm building a new computer and I will be using my 40inch Sony Bravia as a monitor.
The game I will mainly be playing is WoW but I would also like to play Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 when they come out.
I was wondering which one of theses cards would be better for playing at 1920 x 1080.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150351
vs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130339

I already ordered the 9800GTX+ but noticed the 4850 afterwards and was not sure if the extra ram would make a difference for playing at the resolution.

If anyone can offer some insight or a different card suggestion please let me know.
Thank you

Build:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB
MotherBoard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L
Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX
 
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Blurry

Senior member
Mar 19, 2002
932
0
0
At 1920x1080 I'd say you don't need a whole lot of vram unless you're planning on using a ton of AA. Of the games you listed, all of them won't require a very powerful GPU to play on (it is Blizzard, so they try to target the lowest denominator in terms of hardware requirements)

The 4850 and GTX+ are pretty much neck to neck - so really just go for the cheapest one, which in this case is the Radeon.

If you prefer nVidia however, then go with the 9800gtx+. Either one will completely suit your needs.

Just my .02
 

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,939
6
81
At 1920x1080 I'd say you don't need a whole lot of vram unless you're planning on using a ton of AA. Of the games you listed, all of them won't require a very powerful GPU to play on (it is Blizzard, so they try to target the lowest denominator in terms of hardware requirements)

The 4850 and GTX+ are pretty much neck to neck - so really just go for the cheapest one, which in this case is the Radeon.

If you prefer nVidia however, then go with the 9800gtx+. Either one will completely suit your needs.

Just my .02

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,666845/WoW-Wrath-of-the-Lich-King-Benchmarks-and-Tuning/News/
This shows the HD4850 getting handily beaten by the 9800GT, so the 9800GTX should manage a considerably increase in performance over the HD4850, assuming VRAM indeed isn't an issue. It's most likely that you won't be able to crank _everything_ up with either card, so it seems like at middle settings the 9800GTX+ would be better since VRAM hopefully won't be an issue.

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/starcraft_ii_wings_of_liberty_beta_performance,4.html
Here's some SC2 benchmarks where the 512MB 9800GT beats a 1GB HD4850. The GTS250 (which is the same as the 9800GTX+ IIRC), is a good 20% or more faster.

9800GTX+ is the better buy, hands down.
However, another option might be an HD5750, which is faster than the HD4850, has 1GB RAM, is about level with the 9800GTX+ in SC2 and costs the same, but will use less power.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-859-_-Product

Basically it's a tossup between the HD5750 and the 9800GTX+, depending on whether you want low power and the security of the extra VRAM, or things like PhysX (which won't be relevant for Blizz games).
 
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Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,939
6
81
Disagree - look at other reviews, like the one from Anandtech.

Shows the 4850 beating the 9800GTX+ in many games at 1920x1200, which is close the resolution OP will be using.

http://anandtech.com/show/2556/15

The game I will mainly be playing is WoW but I would also like to play Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 when they come out.

Who would care if it got even 5x the FPS in some games if those games aren't being played?
Also at the end of the day the HD5750 is probably a better buy than either card in the OP, and the same price, so it doesn't really matter.
 

Nuggets

Junior Member
Nov 7, 2007
2
0
0
Wow. Thank you for the great information.
I realized that my TV only has VGA for the pc connection but it also has hdmi. With the 9800GTX+ I would have to go DVI(computer) to VGA adapter(TV) will my video quality be degraded because of the adapter? If so, I could order the 5750 and use hdmi. Would there be a difference in quality over those two options?
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,226
9,990
126
Wow. Thank you for the great information.
I realized that my TV only has VGA for the pc connection but it also has hdmi. With the 9800GTX+ I would have to go DVI(computer) to VGA adapter(TV) will my video quality be degraded because of the adapter? If so, I could order the 5750 and use hdmi. Would there be a difference in quality over those two options?

That all completely depends on your television (mostly), and the quality/thickness of the VGA cable (partly).

If you use HDMI to connect, the connection is all-digital, so you won't suffer from any analog degradation. HOWEVER... some TVs don't take the HDMI input and display it with a 1:1 pixel mapping. They feed it through a scaler, and overscan. This means that you will likely have to play with the overscan settings in CCC, and even then, you will NEVER get a "perfectly sharp digital picture".

On those TVs, generally, you get a better picture with the analog VGA input, which has a 1:1 or as close to possible mapping. The downside, of course, is the usual analog input culprits, like ghosting or fading. Which all depend on the quality of the VGA cable used. (Monoprice sells some very decent VGA cables for very cheap, with ferrite beads on each end.)
 

blanketyblank

Golden Member
Jan 23, 2007
1,149
0
0
In some games 1 GB of VRAM makes a difference. I had a 4850 512 and occaisonally while playing dragon age at 1920 x 1080 there would be a slight slow down in some areas. I did not get the same effect with a 1 GB 5770 though it is also a faster card.

That being said if you're connecting to a TV the ATI cards are better at sound output since they have their own audio chip and can send audio out via hdmi. I beleive this feature isn't available in the faster NVidia cards (250 and above) though they may or may not have a spdif connector for you to connect to your mobo. Not sure if the 9800 has one or not, but my 8800s did not.

As for speed 4850 and 9800 GTX+ are basically equivalents with whoever comes out ahead based on the game. Personally I'd aim for a 5770 since I've seen them sell for as low as $130 and that is a clear step above the other cards.
 

Fox5

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2005
5,957
7
81

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-328-_-Product

The cheapest ones are just about in his price range too. It's faster too.

Also, Starcraft 2 is still in beta, ATI has a habit of getting big performance increases from new driver releases shortly after the release of a new game, especially TWIMTBP titles. SC2 is likely either more optimized for nvidia cards right now, or ati cards have more optimization possible, as is the case with just about every game release.
 

bryanW1995

Lifer
May 22, 2007
11,144
32
91
In some games 1 GB of VRAM makes a difference. I had a 4850 512 and occaisonally while playing dragon age at 1920 x 1080 there would be a slight slow down in some areas. I did not get the same effect with a 1 GB 5770 though it is also a faster card.

That being said if you're connecting to a TV the ATI cards are better at sound output since they have their own audio chip and can send audio out via hdmi. I beleive this feature isn't available in the faster NVidia cards (250 and above) though they may or may not have a spdif connector for you to connect to your mobo. Not sure if the 9800 has one or not, but my 8800s did not.

As for speed 4850 and 9800 GTX+ are basically equivalents with whoever comes out ahead based on the game. Personally I'd aim for a 5770 since I've seen them sell for as low as $130 and that is a clear step above the other cards.

what game settings are you using? I play with everything maxed and 4xAA @ 1680x1050 on an i7 920, I get major slowdowns in big battles.
 

NoQuarter

Golden Member
Jan 1, 2001
1,006
0
76
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,666845/WoW-Wrath-of-the-Lich-King-Benchmarks-and-Tuning/News/
This shows the HD4850 getting handily beaten by the 9800GT, so the 9800GTX should manage a considerably increase in performance over the HD4850, assuming VRAM indeed isn't an issue. It's most likely that you won't be able to crank _everything_ up with either card, so it seems like at middle settings the 9800GTX+ would be better since VRAM hopefully won't be an issue.

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/starcraft_ii_wings_of_liberty_beta_performance,4.html
Here's some SC2 benchmarks where the 512MB 9800GT beats a 1GB HD4850. The GTS250 (which is the same as the 9800GTX+ IIRC), is a good 20% or more faster.

9800GTX+ is the better buy, hands down.
However, another option might be an HD5750, which is faster than the HD4850, has 1GB RAM, is about level with the 9800GTX+ in SC2 and costs the same, but will use less power.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-859-_-Product

Basically it's a tossup between the HD5750 and the 9800GTX+, depending on whether you want low power and the security of the extra VRAM, or things like PhysX (which won't be relevant for Blizz games).

Anandtech's more recent 5850 review actually benched WoW on a broad range of video cards and gave much different results, perhaps Catalyst drivers were optimized a lot or WoW was patched for ATI performance:
http://anandtech.com/show/2848/7

It's a 2 FPS difference between the 4850 and GTS 250/9800GTX+, and the 4850 is quite a bit faster than the 8800GT/9800GT. So it really is a toss up, hard to say what SC2's final performance will look like but that beta data definitely should be a factor.

I think the GTS 250/9800GTX+ is fine if you get a good deal on it but I don't really think $135 is that great a deal when you can get a 4850 for $100 or 5770 for $155
 
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Attic

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2010
4,282
2
76
What model of Sony Bravia is it?, the newer ones support Full Pixel on HDMI inputs (good for computers). You should get a vid card with HDMI output and use "Full Pixel" setting on the TV and then adjust overscan to 0% in ATI's control panel. Gives best quality.

Nother vote for 5770 or 5750.
 

yottabit

Golden Member
Jun 5, 2008
1,357
227
116
You'll have to be playing SC2 on likely a mix of medium and high settings with that setup. I'm running a 5770 and I can play everything at 1080p using Ultra settings but it is right on the border of what I consider acceptable framerates. It tends to be fine sticking to the overhead view but try to zoom in on some intense action and the framerate drops.

I think that will be a good card for gaming at medium settings in most modern games! It depends on how much of a stickler you are for framerates too. I'm also not sure how well SC2 runs with all the physics and everything on a dual core.
 

evolucion8

Platinum Member
Jun 17, 2005
2,867
3
81
I think that neither are an option for such high resolution, the HD 5770 is far the better option. If you have no choice, then the HD 4850 will suit you better, because the impact of performance in higher resolutions is less noticeable than the older 9800GTX+
 

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
No point in buying last-gen tech, grab a 5770, or even a 5750 if the minimal price difference is a big deal for you, and enjoy. You'll be set for DX11 as well.
for low to medium DX11 settings maybe. :D
 

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
7,121
4
0
i just replaced my g92 8800gts with a 4870 1gb, and i must say the difference is negligible. i think the ati card will overclock a bit to make it noticeably faster, but really im not seeing much difference on most games. gta4 actually seems noticeably slower... but i got it to "fix" my dying nvidia card and of course i still have weird issues. im thinking a motherboard is on the list now, i just really dont want to reinstall windows :(