Upgrading from X1900 XTX

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ryan256

Platinum Member
Jul 22, 2005
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Here's what I'm looking for.
1. A card that is a worthwhile upgrade from an X1900 XTX
2. A card that can run off of a single 6 pin PCIE power connection.
3. A card that is <$350.

I had thought about getting a HD4870 But those don't meet the power limitations.

EDIT: OOPS!! My bad.... What I meant to say was a 4870!


UPDATE:
Well... last night my card overheated like a mofo. Now it cannot game anymore and gives a ton of artifacts even loading windows. So now I MUST get another one.

Right now I'm trying to decide between a HIS 4850 or using an adapter to get another PCIE power connector off my 500w PSU and run either an MSI 4870 or a Powercolor 4870.

One thing I'm wondering about though is if I should bother going for a 4870 or will the CPU and chipset become my bottleneck with a 4850. My current system has an Intel E6600 on an Asus P5B motherboard with 4GB of memory. The P5B has a PCI-X 1.0 slot. Not PCI-X 2.0.

Would I even notice the difference in a 4850 and a 4870 in this system??


PS: I'm not an ATI fan boy. Its just that ATI had the best card for the money when I bought my last one and now that I need another it seems again... they have the best card for the money.
 
dug777

dug777

Lifer
Oct 13, 2004
24,778
4
0
My 4850 has a single six pin PCIE, cost about 150 USD about a month or more ago...and I'm sure it's a big step up...
 
nerp

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,866
105
106
Wha? I run my 4850 with just a single 6-pin PCIe connector. You don't need two. At least, not on any of the models I was looking at.

The 4850 is a great card. I paid $149 for mine after rebate. Considering the 4830 is $130, it's hard to justify not getting a 4850.
 
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AmberClad

Diamond Member
Jul 23, 2005
4,914
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The single PCIe 6-pin requirement is kind of limiting. Your budget is $350, but the 9800GTX, HD4870/X2, GTX260/280 all require more than one PCIe plug.

Does your PSU not have more than one? If so, does it have enough capacity to power those cards if you added a PCIe power adapter?
 
Majic 7

Majic 7

Senior member
Mar 27, 2008
668
0
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A 4850 should amaze you. I went from a 1900XTX to a 3870 a year or so ago and that was at least a 30% performance increase. Kind of downer considering how much the 1900 cost when I got it. But you never know what a year will do to performance, wasn't expecting the drastic cost drop though.
 
V

vj8usa

Senior member
Dec 19, 2005
975
0
0
Yup, you won't be disappointed with a 4850. I used an X1900XT for about 2.5 years and got my 4850 a few weeks ago, and the difference was huge. I'm getting higher framerates at 1680x1050 in most games than I was at 1280x800 with the old card. The new card's fast enough that I'm feeling CPU limited in a lot of games now.
 
Termie

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
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www.techbuyersguru.com
I had an x1900xt running at xtx speeds when I upgraded to an 8800gt a year ago. It was a good upgrade (75% faster), and the 4850 is even better, so my best guess is that you'll get about 2x the performance of the xtx. That's not bad for $150. That's the minimum step up I'd recommend to you to really see the difference and feel like it's a good investment. Of course, as you know, anything faster needs two power plugs, so there you have it: 4850 or nothing at all (until faster, lower power cards come out).
 
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ryan256

Platinum Member
Jul 22, 2005
2,525
0
71
Well... last night my card overheated like a mofo. Now it cannot game anymore and gives a ton of artifacts even loading windows. So now I MUST get another one.

Right now I'm trying to decide between a HIS 4850 or using an adapter to get another PCIE power connector off my 500w PSU and run either an MSI 4870 or a Powercolor 4870.

One thing I'm wondering about though is if I should bother going for a 4870 or will the CPU and chipset become my bottleneck with a 4850. My current system has an Intel E6600 on an Asus P5B motherboard with 4GB of memory. The P5B has a PCI-X 1.0 slot. Not PCI-X 2.0.

Would I even notice the difference in a 4850 and a 4870 in this system??


PS: I'm not an ATI fan boy. Its just that ATI had the best card for the money when I bought my last one and now that I need another it seems again... they have the best card for the money.
 
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ryan256

Platinum Member
Jul 22, 2005
2,525
0
71
Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Why did you make a complete repost ? Every1 allready said you should go with a HD4850 ... That particular HD4850 from HIS isn't a very good choice though, this one is: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121272 for example ... Unless you're gaming on a bigger screen than 24" you don't need 1gb of vram ...
Click to expand...

Because I didn't think about putting the updated info in the first post until after I posted it. Figured I'd make it easier to find.

Yes I am using an Acer 24" LCD for a display and from what I've seen extra memory is beneficial when playing at resolutions of 1600x900 or higher.
 
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MarcVenice

Moderator Emeritus <br>
Apr 2, 2007
5,664
0
0
Paying 220$ for a 1gb HD4850 is ridiculous when $220 buys you a HD4870 512mb instead or a GTX260 216sp with 896mb of vram ... I'm pretty sure a HD4870 512mb will be faster then a HD4850 1GB at 1920*1200. HD4870 1GB costs $265 btw, GTX260 costs $230 and comes with Far Cry 2, from BFG tech. Check the hot deals section for it, I think it's $200 with a mail in rebate ...
 
VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,349
10,049
126
What about a 9600GSO? Nice and cheap, almost twice as fast as you existing card. I guess it depends at what resolution you play your games at. At higher res, the 384MB is somewhat limiting.
 
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