Best brand for ATI 4870?

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fpsdean

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Apr 21, 2008
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I am looking at buying an ATI 4870.

What brands would you guys recommend?

Is it worth waiting for the HIS Ice 4870 assuming it comes out soon?

I have read it is due at the end of the month (any day now) on fudzilla but have not seen any other mention of this card's existence, so any info would be appreciated?

Thanks in advance
 
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fpsdean

Member
Apr 21, 2008
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Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
Visiontek has the best warranty...Sapphire has the worst.
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How is visiontek to deal with? I've read only complaints (mostly people RMAing an OC'd card and getting a reference card back)... but then again when you google a company name and RMA or warranty all that comes for the first 10 pages for anyone is the complaints too.
 
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fpsdean

Member
Apr 21, 2008
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Originally posted by: FetusCakeMix
The HIS brand comes with a very nifty screwdriver.
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Are they generally a good brand? Is the IceQ worth the wait or should I wait for Sapphire's Atomic/Toxic or something else?
 
Krynj

Krynj

Platinum Member
Jun 21, 2006
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I can't offer much more advice than that, heh. This is the first HIS card I've owned, and I bought it for the $20 mail in rebate (which I will probably never get around to mailing out, curse my laziness). I haven't owned an ATI for years. But, I am glad I did make the switch. At the end of the day, it's really up to you. You can do all the googling you want, and you will find hundreds of people who hate/love each brand for their own reasons.
 
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Foxery

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2008
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I can at least vouch for the HIS cooler being fantastic. Cool and quiet - everything a cooler should be, yet other companies just don't try. Their various 3800-series products also came with a 10% overclock right out of the box, which is a nice little bonus.
 
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fpsdean

Member
Apr 21, 2008
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Originally posted by: Foxery
I can at least vouch for the HIS cooler being fantastic. Cool and quiet - everything a cooler should be, yet other companies just don't try. Their various 3800-series products also came with a 10% overclock right out of the box, which is a nice little bonus.
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That is what I read from reviews.. instead of idling at 65 and running mid 80s under load, the IceQ 3870 idled around 37 and hit 52 with an additional overclock, and people who put their IceQ3 coolers on their 4850 or 4870s had similar results...

I don't mind the heat so much as I just don't want anything to burn up... actually in the winter the heat saves a lot on the heating bills as I don't need to turn the temperature past 60 degrees and it's still nice and toasty as long as I'm by the computer.

Not sure fan noise is really a problem especially with all the fans this box has heh....

Now all I can do is wait...
 
WaTaGuMp

WaTaGuMp

Lifer
May 10, 2001
21,207
2,506
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Every ATI card I have owned in my days have just been ATI, never owned visiontek etc heh.
 
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SlowSpyder

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
17,305
1,002
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That looks like a nice cooler upgrade for the 4850, but it basically looks similar (maybe even smaller) then the stock 4870 cooler. I've been quite happy with my HIS 2900, it's just a reference model, but I might try HIS again since I had good luck so far... and no complaints on a 200MHz overclock on the core on this 2900 either. :)
 
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BernardP

Golden Member
Jan 10, 2006
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Originally posted by: fpsdean
Is it worth waiting for the HIS Ice 4870 assuming it comes out soon?
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I think it's worth the wait. The IceQ cooler is always very well rated in every review I have seen. The IceQ4 seems especially nice because of the extra heatsink. You seem to think it is a better product. Why not wait for it and get what you really want?

 
Hauk

Hauk

Platinum Member
Nov 22, 2001
2,806
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Originally posted by: FetusCakeMix
This is my stock HIS HD4870 cooler idling with fan speed at 40%

http://i23.photobucket.com/alb...emix/videocardidle.jpg
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As they say, a is worth a thousand words.

It's not that the 4870 stock cooler is a bad one, it's that ATI tuned it to run at low fan speeds. An adequate fan profile makes a big difference. I just tuned the bios for a couple 4850's, acceptable noise level and 20c cooler. Card needs breathing space too.

Nice deal here... HIS $249.00 after rebate

 
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CP5670

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2004
5,660
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HIS cards have nice custom coolers, but their warranty seems to be among the worst out there. If you buy their cards from Newegg though, you get Newegg's own warranty on them without any extra charge and don't have to deal with HIS at all.
 
Mem

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
21,476
13
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Originally posted by: HOOfan 1
Visiontek has the best warranty...Sapphire has the worst.
Click to expand...

Actually PowerColor have the worst with only one year warranty.

Asus ,Gigabyte have a respectable 3 year warranty and are available in more countries then Visiontek.

End of the day you should consider how long you normally keep the card for(most of us upgrade video cards within 3 years ) and also price/bundle package plus what is available in your country.
 
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fpsdean

Member
Apr 21, 2008
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Originally posted by: Canai
Originally posted by: Sylvanas
First shots of an ICeQ 4850, 4870 will likely have same cooling- looks nice :)
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What's so special about that card? It's just a dual slot cooler. Looks pretty much the same as all the other ATi dual slot coolers.
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On top it does but you might notice the large 4 pipe heatsink.

I have not seen any reviews of the IceQ4 yet, but some people put their IceQ 3870 coolers on their 4870 cards and the cards idled at 37 degrees and under load at 50 and 52 degrees each with the fan speed turned down. That's pretty cool.
 
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fpsdean

Member
Apr 21, 2008
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Originally posted by: CP5670
HIS cards have nice custom coolers, but their warranty seems to be among the worst out there. If you buy their cards from Newegg though, you get Newegg's own warranty on them without any extra charge and don't have to deal with HIS at all.
Click to expand...

That's a shame. I've always heard they make a solid product too... standing behind it never hurts :|

I will preferably be getting it from newegg although if someone else lists it first and newegg does not have it listed by 8/10, I might get it elsewhere as I'd like to receive it on 8/15 if possible ;)
 
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fpsdean

Member
Apr 21, 2008
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Originally posted by: ajaidevsingh
I would wait for 4870 TOXIC "I hope its not like 4850 TOXIC and more like 3870 TOXIC"
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I would look at the toxic or atomic (which will probably come first) when they come out too...

I've always been a bit of a Nvidia fanboy with the exception of the ATI 9000 series vs the Nvidia 5 series and never really bought many ATI cards so you guys and reviews is all I have to go by.
 
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fpsdean

Member
Apr 21, 2008
35
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Guys, how about this card, from Force3d (Inno3d). It launched yesterday - have not seen reviews of the black edition yet, but the reviews of the Force3d referennce model and it's the only reference model to stand out as all the reviews it overclocks to at least 800mhz, usually 850 (but one review also showed it running the hottest as well).

http://www.force3d.com/press/3...nturbo.html?id=758&p=0

Only problem is, where to buy one no one seems to sell Force3d.
 
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Canai

Diamond Member
Oct 4, 2006
8,016
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Originally posted by: fpsdean
Originally posted by: Canai
Originally posted by: Sylvanas
First shots of an ICeQ 4850, 4870 will likely have same cooling- looks nice :)
Click to expand...

What's so special about that card? It's just a dual slot cooler. Looks pretty much the same as all the other ATi dual slot coolers.
Click to expand...

On top it does but you might notice the large 4 pipe heatsink.

I have not seen any reviews of the IceQ4 yet, but some people put their IceQ 3870 coolers on their 4870 cards and the cards idled at 37 degrees and under load at 50 and 52 degrees each with the fan speed turned down. That's pretty cool.
Click to expand...

I dunno... That cooler looks pretty much exactly like the stock 4870 cooler, but with a smaller shroud and (I'm guessing) airflow out the back of the card to cool the gray and black chips.

Originally posted by: fpsdean
Guys, how about this card, from Force3d (Inno3d). It launched yesterday - have not seen reviews of the black edition yet, but the reviews of the Force3d referennce model and it's the only reference model to stand out as all the reviews it overclocks to at least 800mhz, usually 850 (but one review also showed it running the hottest as well).

http://www.force3d.com/press/3...nturbo.html?id=758&p=0

Only problem is, where to buy one no one seems to sell Force3d.
Click to expand...

I'd stay faaar away from that cooler. The HD48xx series cards put of a ton of heat, and the last place I want that heat to go is back into the case. I wouldn't even consider a non rear-exhausting cooler for one of these cards.
 
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