ATI 4870 Owners - Looking for your thoughts.

splicer707

Member
Aug 27, 2008
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Been looking around for a new graphics card.

I guess I switched from ATI to nVidia when my ATI 9700Pro just wasn't cutting it anymore.
But since then I have been looking for a reason to come back to ATI for my graphics card.

So after reading a bit about the 4870, I want it. Probably the 1GB 4870.

Does it matter which brand I decide on?
What, if any, problems have ATI 4870 owners had?
Anything I need to know before pruchasing?

:sun:
 

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
I went from an 8800GT to a 4870 (512MB), and I'm loving every second of it.

Visiontek has a lifetime warranty, which is the brand I bought. Although it makes no difference to me between a 5 year warranty and lifetime. Who uses video cards from 5 years ago anyways?
 

Joeydubbs

Senior member
Jun 11, 2008
211
2
81
I've had my 4870 for about a week now...very pleased with its performance. One thing to know is that this chip is HOT and runs around 70-80 degrees C at idle although the idle fan setting can be adjusted to bring this down a bit. As for brand, I went with visontek for the nice warranty...
 

splicer707

Member
Aug 27, 2008
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Excellent. Happy customers.

Just one query. I have a boring old 3450 in my work pc and the picture on the LCD Panel sometimes looks like it shimmers a little. Most noticeable on borders of windows in vista.

Thanks for posting your experiences. If anyone else has something to say about the 4870... :cookie:
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Originally posted by: Red Storm
I went from an 8800GT to a 4870 (512MB), and I'm loving every second of it.

Visiontek has a lifetime warranty, which is the brand I bought. Although it makes no difference to me between a 5 year warranty and lifetime. Who uses video cards from 5 years ago anyways?

Visiontek here too. It overclocks decently, got it to 780/1090 stable. Could push a bit more, but I like being safe. As for heat? Well, it's not much hotter than the Nvidia equivelant would be and I've seen some 8800gtx cards at 95c. I loaded my HD4870 to 100% GPU load for 5min and it never went past 85c and the fan never spun up past 40%. I read this via Rivatuner.

I like my 4870 a lot so far.

Also a quick note. AMD releases WHQL drivers about every month. Nvidia not so much. Nvidia has a lot of beta drivers they throw out and it's a couple months between WHQL releases. Not that that's a bad thing, but some people don't like beta. Also, I seem to like the Catalyst Control center better than Nvidia's control panel.
 

splicer707

Member
Aug 27, 2008
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@ cmdrdredd

I really like the idea of ATI releasing monthly drivers. Seems that they work harder at perfecting their drivers than nV.
 

Red Storm

Lifer
Oct 2, 2005
14,233
234
106
HIS has a warranty period of 1 year (according to their site), so if you're not worried about the card potentially going bad after a year of use, then you're good to go.
 

splicer707

Member
Aug 27, 2008
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Originally posted by: Red Storm
HIS has a warranty period of 1 year (according to their site), so if you're not worried about the card potentially going bad after a year of use, then you're good to go.

A year is a bit short. Maybe I should see if there is a 4870 (that I can get in Australia) that has a 2 year or longer warranty.
 

F1shF4t

Golden Member
Oct 18, 2005
1,583
1
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Originally posted by: splicer707
What about HIS (Hightech) 4870's?
I can get a really good price on one of these. :D

I got a HIS card about a week ago. Don't have any problems with my one and its a noticible ammount faster than the 8800gtx. Its a refrence design in all terms even with the generic radeon sticker on the cooler.

As most have mentioned the card does run hot. I played with the fan settings at first but couldn't be bothered now. Its stable, idles at 80C and loads at 86-87C. Its completely silent except for the first second when you turn on the comp.
Doesn't heat up the case much as all of the air is vented out the back of the case. It does radiate some heat but that nothing compared to what the gtx did when cycling air inside.

And the biggest thing is that CCC is no longer a slow POS, actually starts up almost instantly. Overall a good card, first time I got a highend ATI card.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Originally posted by: splicer707
@ cmdrdredd

I really like the idea of ATI releasing monthly drivers. Seems that they work harder at perfecting their drivers than nV.

That's kind of what I think of too. Always making things work better and fixing what doesn't work.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Originally posted by: splicer707
PowerColor PCS+ HD4870 1GB GDDR5 - http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/88...lor/47125050-23182.asp

So excited. This is meant to have the better cooling unit.

@ Dark Cupcake - Maybe the PowerColor card I just found, could be a good choice. I don't know much about this PCS+ cooling but if it runs the video card cooler.. Great!

That card, to my eyes, doesn't look like it will expell air out the back as directly as the stock cooler.
 

F1shF4t

Golden Member
Oct 18, 2005
1,583
1
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Originally posted by: splicer707
PowerColor PCS+ HD4870 1GB GDDR5 - http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/88...lor/47125050-23182.asp

So excited. This is meant to have the better cooling unit.

@ Dark Cupcake - Maybe the PowerColor card I just found, could be a good choice. I don't know much about this PCS+ cooling but if it runs the video card cooler.. Great!

Like cmdrdredd mentioned it doesn't look like this cooler exausts air out of the case. This is not an issue if your got good air flow in the case.

What resolution do you use? The price for 1gig cards is quite steep. I got mine for $325 australian but its 512mb. At the price of the 1 gig 4870 card it might be better off to pay a bit more and get a 280gtx, theres a zotac one with 5 year warranty at umart for 515 dollars.
 

splicer707

Member
Aug 27, 2008
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Originally posted by: Dark Cupcake
Originally posted by: splicer707
PowerColor PCS+ HD4870 1GB GDDR5 - http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/88...lor/47125050-23182.asp

So excited. This is meant to have the better cooling unit.

@ Dark Cupcake - Maybe the PowerColor card I just found, could be a good choice. I don't know much about this PCS+ cooling but if it runs the video card cooler.. Great!

Like cmdrdredd mentioned it doesn't look like this cooler exausts air out of the case. This is not an issue if your got good air flow in the case.

What resolution do you use? The price for 1gig cards is quite steep. I got mine for $325 australian but its 512mb. At the price of the 1 gig 4870 card it might be better off to pay a bit more and get a 280gtx, theres a zotac one with 5 year warranty at umart for 515 dollars.

I have some really good cooling in my PC.
It's the antec 182 case and it has three 120mm fans keeping the motherboard / cpu area cool :D So I hope that will do OK.

My resolution is 1680x1050 ATM.

I guess the reason I'm not looking at an nV card / GTX280 is because of my PSU. It's just 620W and I run 3 SATA HDD's, a Core2Quad Q9450 and two DVD-RW drives so I probably don't have the power I need.
 

F1shF4t

Golden Member
Oct 18, 2005
1,583
1
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That psu should be able to handle the card no probs.
I have a TR RX2 550 watt running a q6600 @ 3.15ghz B3, 3 sata hdds, 1 dvd burner and a 8800gtx @ > ultra speeds.
The 280 would need more power but the HX-620 is much better quality than my TT RX2.

I went with the 4870 myself cause nvidia cards just started to bug me (mostly drivers) and didn't want to spend much on a new card. I don't think 512mb would limit at 1680x1050 (its same reso I use), but 1 gig would be better in the future. I wasn't planning to have the card in my main rig for more than a year so it not an issue for me.
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
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alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: splicer707
Been looking around for a new graphics card.

I guess I switched from ATI to nVidia when my ATI 9700Pro just wasn't cutting it anymore.
But since then I have been looking for a reason to come back to ATI for my graphics card.

So after reading a bit about the 4870, I want it. Probably the 1GB 4870.

Does it matter which brand I decide on?
What, if any, problems have ATI 4870 owners had?
Anything I need to know before pruchasing?

:sun:

How do you know you want a Radeon 4870 when a GTX280 is faster and the HD4870x2 is faster still?
- are you just looking to try it out?
:confused:

What resolution do you game at? i was not so impressed with my Sapphire HD4870/512MB at 19x12 as an upgrade from an 8800GTX that i also got a HD4870x2 by Visiontek for a Crossfirex3 solution. Sapphire has a 2 year warranty and will charge you $15 for a "RMA fee" on top of everything else should you need warranty service. VT's is lifetime
 

splicer707

Member
Aug 27, 2008
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Originally posted by: Dark Cupcake
That psu should be able to handle the card no probs.
I have a TR RX2 550 watt running a q6600 @ 3.15ghz B3, 3 sata hdds, 1 dvd burner and a 8800gtx @ > ultra speeds.
The 280 would need more power but the HX-620 is much better quality than my TT RX2.

I went with the 4870 myself cause nvidia cards just started to bug me (mostly drivers) and didn't want to spend much on a new card. I don't think 512mb would limit at 1680x1050 (its same reso I use), but 1 gig would be better in the future. I wasn't planning to have the card in my main rig for more than a year so it not an issue for me.

I figured the 1GB card would be better if I wanted to keep the card about 24months. I generally don't upgrade that often..

The reason I was unsure about the GTX280 was mostly because I looked at the power req. 550W? And thought, that with a C2Q and all the hardware in my PC, I'm going to get into trouble.
 

splicer707

Member
Aug 27, 2008
45
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Originally posted by: apoppin
Originally posted by: splicer707
Been looking around for a new graphics card.

I guess I switched from ATI to nVidia when my ATI 9700Pro just wasn't cutting it anymore.
But since then I have been looking for a reason to come back to ATI for my graphics card.

So after reading a bit about the 4870, I want it. Probably the 1GB 4870.

Does it matter which brand I decide on?
What, if any, problems have ATI 4870 owners had?
Anything I need to know before pruchasing?

:sun:

How do you know you want a Radeon 4870 when a GTX280 is faster and the HD4870x2 is faster still?
- are you just looking to try it out?
:confused:

What resolution do you game at? i was not so impressed with my Sapphire HD4870/512MB at 19x12 as an upgrade from an 8800GTX that i also got a HD4870x2 by Visiontek for a Crossfirex3 solution. Sapphire has a 2 year warranty and will charge you $15 for a "RMA fee" on top of everything else should you need warranty service. VT's is lifetime

The main reason I think I want a Radeon 4870 is because in the past I have not been impressed by the stability of drivers from nV and I used to be an ATI customer back in the days of the 9700Pro; that was a darn good video card IMO.

At the same time the GTX280 is a bit out of my budget (and not sure about my PSU), the 4870x2 - same reason as GTX280. :confused:

I run my games at 1680x1050.
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
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alienbabeltech.com
for 16x10 it is an awesome choice

i will recommend it for the reasons you give for wanting it

it does run a little hot but you fan speed can be adjusted easily

and you better make sure your PS is up to it; 500w or better is recommended for my Sapphire 512MB ver.

i would say if you plan to game at 16x10, the 512MB might be plenty
rose.gif
 

splicer707

Member
Aug 27, 2008
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Originally posted by: apoppin
for 16x10 it is an awesome choice

i will recommend it for the reasons you give for wanting it

it does run a little hot but you fan speed can be adjusted easily

and you better make sure your PS is up to it; 500w or better is recommended for my Sapphire 512MB ver.

i would say if you plan to game at 16x10, the 512MB might be plenty
rose.gif

:cool: Thankyou for your advice apoppin.

Just went to: http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU/index.html

and here is my PSU:

HX620W (620W) Radeon? HD 4870 & 4850

:D Glad I checked. Now I feel confident of my choice.
 

sgrinavi

Diamond Member
Jul 31, 2007
4,537
0
76
Originally posted by: splicer707
PowerColor PCS+ HD4870 1GB GDDR5 - http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/88...lor/47125050-23182.asp

So excited. This is meant to have the better cooling unit.

@ Dark Cupcake - Maybe the PowerColor card I just found, could be a good choice. I don't know much about this PCS+ cooling but if it runs the video card cooler.. Great!


I have the 512 MB version of this card in crossfire with the powercolor 'regular/stock' verion; it does run about 10 degrees cooler at idle and under inital load, but once you stress it for more than a few minutes it gets just as hot, if not hotter, than the stock cooling solution.

Good news is that the fan, when cranked up, is not as loud as stock.

I am going to take mine out of the system and put another stock one back in with a pair of these Accelero TWIN TURBO