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Upgrade from a 4870 to a 5850?

D

desolate

Member
Hi everyone,

Right now I game at 1280x1024 on a 17" CRT monitor but I'm about to upgrade to a 22" LCD to game at 1680 x 1050 and I'm wondering if I would see a good difference in performance if I upgrade my Radeon 4870 512MB videocard to a Radeon 5850 1GB videocard? Also will my Intel Xeon X3210 Quad @ 3.5GHz be able to provide enough power for the new 5850 so I won't be held back any?

Thanks!
 
Even @ 1680x1050 your 4870 should be just fine until Nvidia launches there new lineup.
I'd wait a little and see if prices drop. I don't think a 300$ upgrade is a good idea for you.

You cpu is fine even for 2 5850's.
 
In my Opinion your processor is plenty fast. I upgraded from a 4850 to 5850 @ 1920x1200 resolution and though the jump was fairly big I only noticed it in higher demanding games like Crysis, etc.....I would stay with the 4870 and see how it does with that 22" monitor. If you were going to a higher rez you could upgrade.

my 2 cents
 
I'd agree with the advice to stay with the 4870 for now. It should handle 1680 x 1050 just fine, and a 5850 will really be overkill at that resolution on current games. Test out the 4870 after the monitor shows up and see what you think. If it's too choppy for you, I'd almost say get a 5770, or a 5830 when it finally releases, as those cards will be more suited for a 1680 x 1050 monitor. If you were getting a 1920 x 1080 or 1920 x 1200 monitor, then I'd say definitely get a 5850.
 
ScorcherDarkly said:
I'd agree with the advice to stay with the 4870 for now. It should handle 1680 x 1050 just fine, and a 5850 will really be overkill at that resolution on current games. Test out the 4870 after the monitor shows up and see what you think. If it's too choppy for you, I'd almost say get a 5770, or a 5830 when it finally releases, as those cards will be more suited for a 1680 x 1050 monitor. If you were getting a 1920 x 1080 or 1920 x 1200 monitor, then I'd say definitely get a 5850.
Click to expand...

Going from a HD4870 to a HD5770 is a downgrade in terms of speed...

I'd say stick with the card. The HD4870 is a very capable card and it will easily handle 1680x1050. You will be able to play most games maxed with high AA settings.
 
unless you really really want a GPU upgrade, I'd stay with the 4870 given your projected 16*10 resolution

milk the 4870!
 
I upgraded my daughter last month from a 4870 to a 5850. I ran some benchmark tests and there was a measurable increase in perfomance but it wasn't worth the $300.
The main reasons that I did the upgrade was to give my niece the 4870 with her CPU upgrade and to save my wife and I a little money on the electric bill, our daughter leaves her system on 24/7.

I can get the benchmark scores a little later, they're on my personal laptop and I'm still at work.
 
Pederv said:
The main reasons that I did the upgrade was to give my niece the 4870 with her CPU upgrade and to save my wife and I a little money on the electric bill, our daughter leaves her system on 24/7.
Click to expand...

LOL on saving money on electricity by purchasing a $300 video card. You'll never recoup that in the cards lifetime!
 
bigboxes said:
LOL on saving money on electricity by purchasing a $300 video card. You'll never recoup that in the cards lifetime!
Click to expand...

My wife bought it.
Our daughter wanted the money to go towards a new car because her computer was fast enough.
Our niece didn't notice the upgrade because she's playing games on an old CRT at 1024x768.
The only person that benefited by the upgrade, that noticed the improvement from the upgrade, was my nephew. He got his sister's old CPU and 3850.
 
Pederv said:
I upgraded my daughter last month from a 4870 to a 5850. I ran some benchmark tests and there was a measurable increase in perfomance but it wasn't worth the $300.
The main reasons that I did the upgrade was to give my niece the 4870 with her CPU upgrade and to save my wife and I a little money on the electric bill, our daughter leaves her system on 24/7.

I can get the benchmark scores a little later, they're on my personal laptop and I'm still at work.
Click to expand...

The HD 5850 isn't much faster than the HD 4870, it should be theorically 50% faster which isn't bad but doesn't worth the expense, milk the HD 4870!
 
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