Better video card upgrade route for a penny pincher....

[Jessica69]

OK...I'm cheap sometimes....and while contemplating an upgrade to a new video card scheme, I'm looking at two options.

First, I've got a first gen. Asus HD4850 presently running.......

But I'm moving up to a higher res. monitor in a couple of weeks (presently using a 22" widescreen LCD), and want a little more "power" for the games I play, such as Civ, WoW, GRID, etc. Not into FPS much if at all.

Now, would it better to just buy another HD4850 and Crossfire them or just dump the 4850 for a 1GB 4870? (I really hate to "waste" the 4850, though...........)

Thanks for any and all your input!!

 

[MarcVenice]

What exactly is a higher res monitor ? I'm guessing it will have a 1920*1080 resolution. For the game you mentioned, I'd wait and see how your HD4850 handles the games you mentioned. GRID is prolly the most graphic intensive, and ATI cards really like that game ( and it's a good optimised engine afaik ). If it's not satisfactory, you're going to have to figure out if you're lacking pure horsepower, or vram. It could be a little bit of both.

Then you'd probably want a HD4870 1GB, since with a second HD4850 you're still lacking vram. With some luck you can sell your HD4850 for a decent price.

 

[Jessica69]

Yeah, sorry. Looking at moving to at least a 24" with the res. you mentioned.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

Well, if you add another 4850 and Xfire them, you are still running with a 512mb frame buffer. Some games at resolutions over 1920x1200 may choke because of that. If you get a 1 GB 4870, you won't run into that issue, and then perhaps you can eventually Xfire those.

 

[Jabbernyx]

4870 1GB seems the best for that >= 1920x1080.

 

[yh125d]

512 performs alot better at 19x10 and 19x12 than people might make you think. I'd wait and see how your 4850 handles.

 

[taltamir]

1GB of video ram is only really necessary for 2560x1600 resolution... 1920x1200 NEEDS 512MB, but doesn't really need more.

 

[yh125d]

Originally posted by: taltamir
1GB of video ram is only really necessary for 2560x1600 resolution... 1920x1200 NEEDS 512MB, but doesn't really need more.

This. I've never felt slowed by my 9800's 512mb at 19x10.

 

[angry hampster]

Doing fine with an 8800GT at 19x12. Just don't get too hung up on antialiasing.

 

[Jessica69]

Hey, thanks for all the input.......guess I'll just save some $$ on buying a new video card for now and put that $$ into a better screen. As my gaming isn't that intense, if I need to do a major upgrade, guess I'll try the Crossfire solution first.....cheaper avenue and all.

Thanks!!!

 

[sgrinavi]

Originally posted by: yh125d
512 performs alot better at 19x10 and 19x12 than people might make you think. I'd wait and see how your 4850 handles.

I know.. funny thing was that no one ever complained about the frame buffer for the several months when everyone and their brothers were snapping up the 512 versions of the 4870's.

I ran GRID just fine on a single 4870 on my 24" panel just about maxed out, as I recall. If it were my cash and was trying to be frugal I would just keep my 4850 and see how things go. MAYBE look for a second, $100 (used or AR), 4850 to match.