Is this newegg deal on a 7850 good? If not, recommend a replacement card?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
H

hoorah

Senior member
Dec 8, 2005
755
18
81
So I've been hanging on to my 4850 for, well, a long time now. I play AAA titles rarely (my sister bought me BLOPS I), but mostly, I play ZPS (an old source engine mod) and DayZ.

My system's performance in dayz is middle of the road. 1680x1050 with most of the detail on low and I get 25-40fps. I'm thinking, but not positive, that a 2560x1440 monitor might be in my future, and I'd like to get a bit more performance out of the resolution I play at now. So, I need a boost, but nothing huge.

I saw this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150656

Radeon 7850, 1GB, $150 after a rebate (I hate rebates) and I get 2 games I probably won't play.

Side point - I've been reading up on bitcoin mining, and it looks like I'd be able to make a bit of money in the short term by having this thing mining for me, so that takes a bit of the edge off the price, maybe make up for the rebate if I forget to send it, and I'd be able to make a bit of cash with my leftover 4850 as well.

Is the 1GB a limitation? If this isn't a good deal on a card, do you recommend any others for the performance level I'm looking for?

In case you are wondering, the rest of the system is an i3-2120 with a single PCIEx16 slot, Corsair builder series 430W PSU
 
Termie

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
48
91
www.techbuyersguru.com
That's a deal that's come around from time to time. It's OK, but not great.

For $15 more, I'd go for this PowerColor 2GB model, especially if you really have any intention of running a 2560x1440 monitor in the future: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131473

The 1GB of VRAM on the XFX model will definitely be a limitation at that resolution.

On the other hand, if you aren't going to get a new monitor, and you're just interested in older games, this $120AR Galaxy GTX650Ti would be more than sufficient: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814162127

It's twice as powerful as your HD4850, and it's more than a match for your games at 1680x1050.

On the issue of Bitcoin mining, you'll have to wait on others to weigh in.
 
Plimogz

Plimogz

Senior member
Oct 3, 2009
678
0
71
If you typically hang onto VGAs as long as you did with the 4850, I heartily recommend that you look into getting something with at least 2GB of VRAM. Particularly if you're thinking of getting a 2560x1440 monitor at some point during the lifetime of this graphics upgrade.

With that in mind, I think 7850 2GB or 7870 would be better purchases.
 
H

hoorah

Senior member
Dec 8, 2005
755
18
81
Termie said:
That's a deal that's come around from time to time. It's OK, but not great.

For $15 more, I'd go for this PowerColor 2GB model, especially if you really have any intention of running a 2560x1440 monitor in the future: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131473

The 1GB of VRAM on the XFX model will definitely be a limitation at that resolution.

On the other hand, if you aren't going to get a new monitor, and you're just interested in older games, this $120AR Galaxy GTX650Ti would be more than sufficient: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814162127

It's twice as powerful as your HD4850, and it's more than a match for your games at 1680x1050.

On the issue of Bitcoin mining, you'll have to wait on others to weigh in.
Click to expand...

If the 1GB of RAM is going to be any sort of limitation in the future, I'll get the 2GB. The last time I bought the 4850, all of the cards with 2x the memory of whatever was standard at the time was mostly marketing fluff and made no difference in benchmarks. If thats not the case today, I'll take your word for it.

The 2560x1440 monitor is certainly going to happen, its just going to be a question of when. Probably when they become a little more mainstream on monoprice. I heard something on PCper a few weeks ago that monoprice was going to carry the korean catleap displays, so I was thinking about getting one.

As for the bitcoin mining, I don't know much about it, but I do know that it hugely favors AMD cards over nvidia. My understanding is that it will not be long into the future before using your GPU will be unprofitable, but I don't plan to do it long term, nor am I buying the GPU for mining. I'm buying it for games, but if I can subsidize the cost by mining then thats a nice incentive.
 
Termie

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
48
91
www.techbuyersguru.com
H

hoorah

Senior member
Dec 8, 2005
755
18
81
Plimogz said:
If you typically hang onto VGAs as long as you did with the 4850, I heartily recommend that you look into getting something with at least 2GB of VRAM. Particularly if you're thinking of getting a 2560x1440 monitor at some point during the lifetime of this graphics upgrade.

With that in mind, I think 7850 2GB or 7870 would be better purchases.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Thanks for the reply. I will probably get a longer lasting card.

I didn't use to hang onto video cards this long. I usually bought every 2-3 years at the sweet spot of price/performance (either black friday or a particularly good newegg shell shocker). Also, I got really into ZPS (even run my own server now) and since I was playing that all the time, I never needed to upgrade. When I played BLOPS I was the first time I felt the cards age, and then when I got into DayZ I realized it was time for an upgrade.
 
Peter Nixeus

Peter Nixeus

Senior member
Aug 27, 2012
365
1
81
www.nixeus.com
I bought a XFX 7850 Core 1GB for $140 after rebate from NewEgg last month. I can confirm Termie's statement that 2560x1440 or higher resolution gaming you will have to tone down the quality of the resolution. If you are not planning to get a 2560x1440 or go multi monitor, it is not a bad deal and you should be fine.

We have another GPU with 2GB and BF3 uses about 1.8GB of VRAM @ 2560x1440 on large multi-player maps.
 
Last edited:
Majcric

Majcric

Golden Member
May 3, 2011
1,393
55
91
Get the 2gb 7850 you won't regret it. The 7850 has no business with 1gb to start with. Even at 1680X1050 you can use more than !gb with certain games.
 
Yuriman

Yuriman

Diamond Member
Jun 25, 2004
5,530
141
106
I sold my 7850's game voucher for $70 on ebay. For $80, I don't think you can go wrong - but it might be worth jumping up to a 2GB card. Mine came out to $110 after rebate and selling the voucher.
 
H

hoorah

Senior member
Dec 8, 2005
755
18
81
Wow, selling the voucher occurred to me, but I figured there would be some DRM or way to tie it to the card and I'd never be able to sell it. That makes this much more interesting.

Will definitely be picking up a 7850 2GB or a 7870 and selling the voucher. Thanks!
 
Midwayman

Midwayman

Diamond Member
Jan 28, 2000
5,723
325
126
hoorah said:
Wow, selling the voucher occurred to me, but I figured there would be some DRM or way to tie it to the card and I'd never be able to sell it. That makes this much more interesting.

Will definitely be picking up a 7850 2GB or a 7870 and selling the voucher. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Careful with the 7870, especially the tahiti version of it. Your PS might not handle it. 430w is gtx 660 or 7850 recommended area.
 
jacktesterson

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
I have a 1GB 7850 for sale now

and owned both the 1GB and 2GB varients and seen absolutely no difference in FPS up to 1080p in any game I played.

Both overclock very well too.


I also owned a HIS IceQ 7870 2GB for a bit and It wouldn't O/C well at all (1050 MHz). In fact, my 7850's both overclocked to levels (1250 MHz) that it tied or beat the 7870 in most things.
 
jacktesterson

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
5,493
3
81
Midwayman said:
Careful with the 7870, especially the tahiti version of it. Your PS might not handle it. 430w is gtx 660 or 7850 recommended area.
Click to expand...

430w will handle a 7870 as long as its a quality unit.

I ran crossfired overclocked 7850's off a 550w with a 2500k @ 4.5GHz without issue. (OCZ ZT 550w) with tests showing it.

I also ran a 1225 MHz 7970 off the same supply without issue. (and a GTX 670)

Gaming and everyday use does not equal stress testing use.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom